In a truly bashert (meant-to-be) fashion, Nashville’s Holocaust Memorial, a sculpture garden on the grounds of the Gordon Jewish Community Center in Bellevue, is partnering with history students at Middle Tennessee State University to update its self-guided audio tour of the site.
MTSU Professor Ashley Valenzola had contacted the Memorial’s Docent Chair, Marsha Raimi, to arrange a tour of the Memorial for her class “Holocaust Justice and Memory”. At the same time, Raimi and Memorial Chair Felicia Anchor were searching for professional assistance to update the site’s audio tour. Professor Valenzola seized on the opportunity to make the project the core of the semester’s work.
Since 2022, the Memorial has added a sculptural tree and headstone in memory of the child victims of the Holocaust, a large welcome sign, additional seating, pavers to recognize donors, and six planter boxes housing live butterfly gardens. As a result, its pre-recorded self-guided tour had become outdated. The stanchions that housed the previous recordings were also outdated and damaged. The new audio tour will be housed on the Memorial’s website and accessible via QR code.
Professor Valenzola said of the collaboration, “I'm thrilled that the students are working with the Nashville Holocaust Memorial to update their self-guided tour. Through this partnership, the students will not only learn about the Holocaust and the way it's remembered in their local community; they will also contribute to a project that will last long after their semester comes to an end.”
To cap the project, half the students will present the new tour, while the other half will plan and promote the tour and a reception at the JCC. The public is invited on Sunday, December 7th at 11:00 am. Additional information will be available in November.
In conjunction with Belmont University hosting “Some Were Neighbors: Choice, Human Behavior, and The Holocaust,” a traveling exhibit on loan from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), the Memorial is offering guided tours highlighting issues raised by the exhibit.
The tour is open now and runs through December 8th. According to the event website (https://www.belmont.edu/faith-leadership/curb-special-exhibit.html), “This exhibit explores the vast difference in the ways ordinary people displayed great courage or willful complicity in the face of devastating violence during the rise of Hitler’s Germany. Neighbors made choices. Some acted with bold courage, while others stood idle as friends, neighbors, and colleagues were victimized.”
Docent-led tours of the Memorial are scheduled at the following dates and times:
Saturday, October 4, 1:00 pm
Thursday, October 9, 1:00 pm
Thursday, October 23, 1:00 pm
Thursday, November 13, 1:00 pm
Saturday, November 15, 1:00 pm
Monday, November 24, 10:00 am
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Monday, December 1, 10:00 am
Saturday, December 6, 1:00 pm
Tuesday, December 9, 10:00 am
Additional dates can be arranged with two days’ notice. Saturday and Sunday tours are offered in the afternoons only. Email nashvilleholocaustmemorial@gmail.com to schedule a tour or join one of those listed above.
Anchor commented, “It is gratifying and meaningful to expand our educational outreach and opportunities with such significant partners in furthering Holocaust education. We welcome visitors and appreciate that both MTSU and Belmont are helping us enhance our role as a community resource. We look forward to continuing to work together.”
