Sunday, December 7th marked a milestone for Nashville’s Holocaust Memorial. That day saw the most visitors in any one day in the memorial’s history. More than 60 people were guided by five MTSU History students over the course of an hour and a half, followed by refreshments in the Madeline Pargh Arts Center.
The event marked the conclusion of a semester-long collaboration between the Memorial and Assistant Professor Ashley Valanzola’s class , “Holocaust Justice and Memory”. In addition to the professor’s lectures on the Nuremberg and Eichmann trials, the course included readings on memorialization efforts in a variety of countries; examination of the impact of the Paperclip Project in Whitwell, TN; and student research on the disparate standards for Holocaust education across the states in the US.
These academic studies created the foundation for the course’s central assignment in public history: to revise the script that the Memorial uses for unaccompanied visitors, which will be available via mobile phone.
Memorial Chair, Felicia Anchor, who visited the class to provide insight into the inspiration for, and the process of its founding, commented after the tour, “I thank Dr Valanzola and her class for taking on the challenge of developing both an educational and meaningful narrative for our self-guided tour of the Holocaust Memorial. Their research discovered aspects of Holocaust history that we had not included in our earlier version and added so much. Now, the many visitors who cannot join a docent-led tour will experience an audio tour that offers both historical substance and important lessons that are focused on creating a more caring and respectful world”.
History student Bella Wallace, a Bellevue resident whose part-time job is giving tours at the Belle Meade Plantation and Winery, said about participating in the project, “This project was deeply meaningful to me. It provided the opportunity to work collaboratively with the Memorial and its docents while thoughtfully foregrounding the experiences of the families who rebuilt their lives within the Nashville community after the Holocaust”.
Ms. Wallace and two other students are registered for an independent study in the Winter semester, which will include continuing to work with the Memorial’s Docent Chair, Marsha Raimi, to finalize the revised script for recording.
The Memorial’s next set of scheduled public tours is in commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day in late January. They will be led by the Memorial’s usual volunteer docents at 1:00 pm on the following days: Sunday 1/25, Tuesday 1/27, and Wednesday 1/28. To join a scheduled tour, or request one at another time, email nashvilleholocaustmemorial@gmail.com
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