Holocaust Museum & Cohen Education Center

06/02/2026

This month, The Holocaust Museum & Cohen Education Center awarded six SWFL seniors with the Anne Schuchman and Stephen Light Holocaust Museum Scholarship. The scholarship program was founded last year by Anne and Stephen to recognize students who embrace the lessons of the Holocaust and apply them to their lives, becoming upstanders – individuals who stand up for others and work to improve their communities.
Through a partnership with the Collaboratory, students applied by submitting a reflection about how learning about the Holocaust impacted them. 36 students from five counties submitted outstanding essays, making the award decision difficult.
One of this year’s winners is Laila Farley from Ida S. Baker High School. In her essay, Laila wrote “Studying the Holocaust taught me that silence enables cruelty and that empathy is an active choice. It taught me that even in the darkest conditions, people can choose to protect a fragment of humanity, sometimes in themselves, sometimes in others. This lesson has stayed with me as I navigate my own hardships. When my life feels uncertain, I remind myself that resilience is not about pretending things are okay; it is about continuing forward despite fear.”
Congratulations Laila!
Ida S. Baker High
Collaboratory

05/31/2026

We continue to mark our 25th Anniversary by sharing this series of survivor stories. This month we profile Max Weisglass (of blessed memory).
Max Weisglass was born in Borszczow, Poland in 1936. The area was occupied by the Germans in 1941. On April 1, 1942, he and his parents were forced into the ghetto.
In September 1942, the Germans and their Ukrainian collaborators arrested & deported 800 people. Max and his family escaped the action by hiding in an underground bunker in their building. The family avoided a second action using a crawl space between two houses in the ghetto. He was among 120 people hiding in that space and avoided deportation to the killing center at Belzec.
Before a third action in the ghetto, Max’s father was tipped off by a non-Jewish friend who helped them escape. The family was hidden at a farm, avoiding a round-up in the ghetto that led to 800 innocent people being killed at the nearest Jewish cemetery.
Max & his parents were hidden by a Polish woman, Mrs. Bogutska, & her son until the end of the war. They hid in Bogutska’s attic, a house only a block away from the ghetto. There, the family could hear the liquidation of the ghetto – the shooting, yelling, and screaming that took place over five days in June 1943. The woman hid the family & two others in a dirt bunker, providing food and news about the war.
The family was liberated in the summer of 1944 by the Russian army. After the war, the family lived in a displaced persons camp in Kassel in the American-occupied zone of Germany until they made plans to immigrate to Canada in 1948. The Weisglass family made a home in Montreal. Years later, Max and his wife retired to Punta Gorda, Florida.

05/29/2026

This month, The Holocaust Museum & Cohen Education Center awarded six SWFL seniors with the Anne Schuchman and Stephen Light Holocaust Museum Scholarship. The scholarship program was founded last year by Anne and Stephen to recognize students who embrace the lessons of the Holocaust and apply them to their lives, becoming upstanders – individuals who stand up for others and work to improve their communities.
Through a partnership with the Collaboratory, students applied by submitting a reflection about how learning about the Holocaust impacted them. 36 students from five counties submitted outstanding essays, making the award decision difficult.
One of this year’s winners is Yusbely Linares from Cypress Lake High School. In her essay, Yusbely wrote “My visit to the Boxcar from the Holocaust Museum and Cohen Education Center was a profoundly moving experience. It deepened my understanding of the Holocaust, strengthened my empathy for its victims, and reinforced my commitment to memory, education, and social responsibility.”
Congratulations Yusbely!
Collaboratory
Cypress Lake High

05/27/2026

The Boxcar is back for a limited time! Come visit it and the rest of the Holocaust Musuem and Cohen Education Center!

05/26/2026

05/25/2026

Now and forever, we remember. Never forget, forever honor.

05/24/2026

This month, The Holocaust Museum & Cohen Education Center awarded six SWFL seniors with the Anne Schuchman and Stephen Light Holocaust Museum Scholarship. The scholarship program was founded last year by Anne and Stephen to recognize students who embrace the lessons of the Holocaust and apply them to their lives, becoming upstanders – individuals who stand up for others and work to improve their communities.
Through a partnership with the Collaboratory, students applied by submitting a reflection about how learning about the Holocaust impacted them. 36 students from five counties submitted outstanding essays, making the award decision difficult.
One of this year’s winners is Luis Xithe from Immokalee High School. In his essay, Luis wrote “[learning about the Holocaust] changed how I see history—not as boring facts, but as something alive that teaches us important lessons for today. It showed me how cruel people can be when hate takes over. It gave me more empathy, made me notice problems in society more clearly, and made me determined to help stop hate. Now I try to speak up when I see unfairness, instead of staying silent.”
Congratulations Luis!
Collaboratory
Immokalee High School

05/22/2026

Join us at the Artis—Naples for their Community Day Event! Enjoy an afternoon of free admission to Artis—Naples, including events in Hayes Hall and The Baker Museum. Come say hi tomorrow, Saturday the 20th, from noon to 4 p.m.

05/20/2026

May 20th, 1940, Auschwitz camp complex was established as one of five killing centers used in the Holocaust. It consisted of three main camps, Auschwitz, Birkenau, and Monowitz. Most of the 1,100,000 million people murdered throughout the Auschwitz camp system were Jews, but also included were Roman and Sinti, Poles, and Soviet POWS. These people were subjugated to imprisonment, forced labor, or ex*****on before the camp was liberated on January 27th, 1945.
Pictured here is the entrance to our Auschwitz exhibit with a replica of the “Arbeit macht frei” which translates to “work sets you free”. Come to the Holocaust Museum and Cohen Education Center to learn more.

05/19/2026

In May 1939, the SS St. Louis was set for Havana, Cuba. Starting in Hamburg, Germany. The ship carried 937 passengers, almost all of whom were Jewish refugees. However, the Cuban government had canceled their landing permits while at sea and only 28 passengers were allowed to disembark.
The St. Louis was forced to leave the harbor. Both the United States and Canada denied them entry, forcing the ship to return to Europe. Even though some passengers were allowed entry to Belgium, France, Great Britain, or the Netherlands, around 250 Jewish passengers of the SS St. Louis were ultimately killed in the Holocaust. The total journey was from May 13 to June 17, 1939.
Some of the lucky individuals to disembark in England were the family of Richard Stein, one of the 2G volunteers here at the Holocaust Museum and Cohen Education Center. Richard’s grandfather, Julius Stein, was a part of a committee onboard the St. Louis who radioed for help, which made him a hero to those onboard. For a year, they were considered illegal aliens in England until they received sponsorship to immigrate to New York. Julius brought his wife, two of his four daughters, and a young Eric Stein to America.
Image one: a postcard of the St. Louis, Image two: Julius (left), Richards' great aunt Frederike (middle right), his great-grandmother Henrietta (middle left) and Grete (far right) boarding the St. Louis in Hamburg. Both images were kindly donated by Richard Stein.