Established in 1984 by a dedicated band of visionary volunteers, the Jewish Holocaust Centre (JHC) is an institution dedicated to the memory of the six million Jews who were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators between 1933 and 1945.
Over the past 26 years, the JHC has become an Australian landmark, gaining many plaudits and coveted awards. In 2010, the centre attracted over 24,000 visitors, with 45% of visitors being Australian school groups.
The JHC aims to educate the public about the Holocaust by presenting the facts and focusing on Holocaust survivors who have donated much of the material on display. The JHC conducts an education program, which helps to combat racism, injustice and hatred, while fostering the values of freedom and critical thinking.
After 25 years of success the JHC have modernised the museum display. In 2010 the JHC rebuilt its museum, improving the display of photographs, artworks and text, building new display cases to house a wealth of original material from the Holocaust period, and adding state-of-the-art technology to further engage the younger audience of school students.
The museum presents the experiences of Melbourne survivors, utilising the JHC Collection of Holocaust material, which includes over 1300 survivor testimonies.
The JHC wanted to keep Holocaust survivors voices alive in the museum. When creating the new museum survivors provided the JHC much guidance and many have contributed precious items, photographs and documents that fill the walls of the museum.
