The Bruriah Holocaust Museum opened this week to much acclaim by teachers, parents and students. Mayor Bollwade of the City of Elizabeth, along with Bruriah Dean Rav Teitz, attended the opening day of the museum, and a parent night was held the next evening, with another scheduled for the following Wednesday. The junior and sophomore curators and docents guided the guests around the museum and answered questions about the information displayed. Guests were curious to hear what the students learned in the museum-making process. The students did an excellent job pointing out the aspects of the museum to show off its uniqueness, for example the research method and use of (images of) real artifacts. Mayor Bollwage was impressed; he commented that this year’s museum was excitingly unlike the past years. It was an amazing segway into the opening of the museum.

This year, students learned and utilized authentic historical research methods to explore various topics within eight exhibit categories—Pre-War, Holocaust, WWII, Post-War, Art and Media, Spirtual Resistance, Israel and the additional category of personal Family Stories. In addition to their high-level research utilizing museum, archival and university resources, the students’ museum contributions also included their analytic perspective on the greater significance of their topic—that is, the larger impact or implications for the world on their piece of the Holocaust puzzle. Finally, each student was required to include an image of a real artifact that pertained to their topic, which they located during their research experience. This year’s museum also included original student artwork and creative pieces, which served to highlight the contributions and provide an emotional and affective element to the museum.

Popular art pieces included Gaby Barnett’s original Prismacolor drawing depicting both the illusion and the reality of the Terezin camp, and Shoshy Zahtz’s comparison of the fate of children lost in the Holocaust versus what their childhood should have been. In addition to the incredible work of the 10th and 11th graders, every single one of whose research is represented, the seventh and eighth grade BMS students should be graciously lauded for helping to physically put together the museum. The production of this year’s museum was truly a whole school effort.