Share

Petaluma Historical Museum President Joe Noriel had to clear away a giant cow sculpture to make room for an exhibit he deemed “unexpected” for this former agricultural community.

“We needed to start doing things differently,” said Noriel, who became museum president just six months ago. “I mean, how many times can people see the poultry exhibit?”

On Nov. 9, the Petaluma Historical Museum unveiled “Schindler: The Exhibition,” featuring large accordion panels of photos and information about Oskar Schindler, artifacts (including armbands and maps of concentration camps) and newspaper clippings dating back to the Holocaust, as well as memorabilia from Steven Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List.”

The panels are on loan from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.; the remainder of the artifacts were loaned to the museum by members of the Petaluma community.  

A multimedia corner plays YouTube videos with images from the Holocaust set to music.

“We wanted to present the graphic nature of the Holocaust, but not in a gory way,” Noriel said. “It’s done in a modern vibe so the younger groups can relate.”  

Local survivors are slated to speak at various times beginning Friday, Nov. 13. “Schindler” runs through Dec. 13; museum doors will stay open seven days a week in an effort to maximize the exhibit’s exposure. 

The exhibition, which is free to the public, is co-sponsored by the Center for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide and the School of Social Sciences at Sonoma State University. Center Director Myrna Goodman and Elaine Leeder, dean of the School of Social Sciences, provided academic and organizational input during the planning phases.

The college, as well as local high schools and elementary schools, have integrated visits to view “Schindler” into their class curricula, Noriel noted.   

“It’s so important to us to have an exhibit that has people pondering what our jobs are as humans,” he said, “and keeping this particular story alive.”

Schindler saved more than 1,000 Jewish men and women from the death camps by providing work for them in his factory in Krakow, Poland. There are several copies of the list of people Schindler rescued.

Many of those names are listed on the accordion panels, behind photos of Schindler and some of the Jews he saved. The panels — the most prominent piece of the exhibit — are helping Noriel bring home to Petaluma the artifacts, survivor stories and the history of the Holocaust.

“We’ve started something really big here,” Noriel said. “ ‘Schindler’ is just the beginning of our goal to be more relevant, raise a lot of eyebrows and get people asking what’s next.”

In other words, he said, “we don’t want to leave with this one big exhibit, then put the cow back.”

“Schindler: The Exhibition” runs through Dec. 13 at the Petaluma Historical Museum, 20 Fourth St., Petaluma. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays; 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays. Free admission. Information: (707) 778-4398 or http://www.petalumamuseum.com.  

 

Survivors to speak at museum 

The Petaluma Historical Museum will host local Holocaust survivors speaking about their wartime experiences in conjunction with its new exhibit, “Schindler.”

Lillian Judd will speak during the first “Holocaust Survivor Recollections” series event 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 13. Hans Angress will speak at 11 a.m. Nov. 14; Ruth Grumpel at 3 p.m. Nov. 21; and Al and Susan Batzdorf at 3 p.m. Nov. 25.

There also will be a performance of traditional Yiddish music by Harmonia Schvesters at 2 p.m. Nov. 22. The Bay Area duo performs traditional music using vocal melodies and accordion.

For more information, visit http://www.petalumamuseum.com.

/u/40476

blogs photos video/audio

most popular rss feeds