Progress:
Hey guys! You will not believe who I met this weekend. Who, you say? I had the opportunity to meet an actual Holocaust survivor named William Harvey. How, you say? Allow me to back track a little bit.
The doors of the museum opened at 10:00 AM. My brother and I left at 10 and arrived at 11:00 because it was all the way in Los Angeles. (Thank goodness there wasn't heavy traffic!) This was also my second time arriving because last week, there was an event where a majority of museums in L.A. were free. However, the line there was so long that we believed it would take at least an hour to get in. (The line extended from the museum to the houses from across the street. We were also at the very end of the line, so we decided to go home because I had finals to study for. People like their free stuff!) Anyways, when my brother and I arrived, there was already a line in the front. But, thankfully, we were able to take the elevator in the parking structure so we were able to get in immediately with no problem. Then, we proceeded to pay for our tickets and they had us place our cameras and phones in a box and walk through a metal detector. I felt like I was in an airport.
Now that you know a little bit of my morning, I will now tell you about my experience here at the Museum of Tolerance. Before I visited here, I thought the museum was only about The Holocaust. However, I found out that it is also talked about the different "tolerances" that occurred in other parts of the world throughout history. To follow my project's goal, I will mainly talk about The Holocaust but don't you worry! Here and there I'll add a sprinkle of the other tolerances I found fascinating! :')
To begin with, the building's interior was the first thing that impressed me. There was a huge spiral in the middle of the museum filled with pictures of the Holocaust survivors. If you kept following the spiral, you would eventually find the rooms of the different exhibits. There were four exhibits: the general Holocaust exhibit, "The Tolerancenter," the "Finding Our Families, Finding Ourselves" exhibit, and The Anne Frank Exhibit. I was able to visit the first three exhibits because you had to pay a separate price to visit the Anne Frank Exhibit, which was on the second floor. Anyways, after admiring the gigantic spiral and the survivors of the this tragic event, we eventually arrived at the Holocaust exhibit, or "Holocaust Section."
Hey guys! You will not believe who I met this weekend. Who, you say? I had the opportunity to meet an actual Holocaust survivor named William Harvey. How, you say? Allow me to back track a little bit.
The doors of the museum opened at 10:00 AM. My brother and I left at 10 and arrived at 11:00 because it was all the way in Los Angeles. (Thank goodness there wasn't heavy traffic!) This was also my second time arriving because last week, there was an event where a majority of museums in L.A. were free. However, the line there was so long that we believed it would take at least an hour to get in. (The line extended from the museum to the houses from across the street. We were also at the very end of the line, so we decided to go home because I had finals to study for. People like their free stuff!) Anyways, when my brother and I arrived, there was already a line in the front. But, thankfully, we were able to take the elevator in the parking structure so we were able to get in immediately with no problem. Then, we proceeded to pay for our tickets and they had us place our cameras and phones in a box and walk through a metal detector. I felt like I was in an airport.
Now that you know a little bit of my morning, I will now tell you about my experience here at the Museum of Tolerance. Before I visited here, I thought the museum was only about The Holocaust. However, I found out that it is also talked about the different "tolerances" that occurred in other parts of the world throughout history. To follow my project's goal, I will mainly talk about The Holocaust but don't you worry! Here and there I'll add a sprinkle of the other tolerances I found fascinating! :')
To begin with, the building's interior was the first thing that impressed me. There was a huge spiral in the middle of the museum filled with pictures of the Holocaust survivors. If you kept following the spiral, you would eventually find the rooms of the different exhibits. There were four exhibits: the general Holocaust exhibit, "The Tolerancenter," the "Finding Our Families, Finding Ourselves" exhibit, and The Anne Frank Exhibit. I was able to visit the first three exhibits because you had to pay a separate price to visit the Anne Frank Exhibit, which was on the second floor. Anyways, after admiring the gigantic spiral and the survivors of the this tragic event, we eventually arrived at the Holocaust exhibit, or "Holocaust Section."
"Wow." That was the first thing I said when I stepped into this exhibit. The first thing on our right was a replica of Simon Wiesenthal's office. Simon Wiesenthal was a Nazi hunter. He also tried to hunt down Dr. Josef Mengele, who was notorious for performing deadly experiment on innocent Jews. For example, he once tried to inject chemicals into his young patient's eyes and tried to stitch twins together. Wiesenthal's hunting saved many Jews, so this is why the Museum of Tolerance was dedicated to him.
Already amazed, I continued walking...
Already amazed, I continued walking...
On display, I found letters from famous people such as Albert Einstein who replied to this disastrous and horrific event.
Then at one point, we reached a station where we received a "passport" that had a picture and name of one of the children in the Holocaust. There were also machines where we would insert our card and read more about our given child. I received a card about a boy named Oro Torres and definitely was able to learn a lot about him.
When then were out of the Holocaust exhibit and reached the "Tolerancenter" exhibit. Before we walked in, there was a sign on the floor that read "Our World Today." In the entrance, there were a bunch of computer screens showing the news today. Using my expertise on an author's argument, I believe the author was arguing that our world today is too focused on technology. Anyhow, as we kept walking, there were two doors that lead to the actual "Tolerancenter." One door that allowed us to enter had a light up sign above it that said "Prejudice." The other door, which was an exit, had a light up sign that read "Non-Prejudice." This was actually one of my favorite parts of the museum. It took me a while to understand what the purpose of it was at first, but the message was basically saying that we can enter with prejudice, but we have to leave with being non-prejudice. I thought that part was so clever! :-)
Anyways, we finally entered the exhibit. This room truly opened my eyes. There was a giant sign showing the issues of prejudice starting from Martin Luther King's time. There was also a huge sign that said THINK in bright letters as a message for the audience. The author obviously wanted to send out the message that one should always think before he/she speaks because there is already too much prejudice in this world. (See picture below).
In addition, I truly agree with the sentence above in that picture. This exhibit made me realize that there will always be someone discriminating other people in the world based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, etc. This discrimination all started since the 1500s and still continues today. I know this because there was a room with a gigantic timeline of some of the major events that happened in the past, starting from the period of the pilgrims. Each image was also color coded. The white stood for diversity, the blue stood for rights, and the red stood for intolerance.
Sometimes, I feel sad for the world sometimes.
***Kelly's advice for the day:*** However, I do believe that if we all work together, we can lessen the amount of prejudice and racism currently in society.
In addition, I truly agree with the sentence above in that picture. This exhibit made me realize that there will always be someone discriminating other people in the world based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, etc. This discrimination all started since the 1500s and still continues today. I know this because there was a room with a gigantic timeline of some of the major events that happened in the past, starting from the period of the pilgrims. Each image was also color coded. The white stood for diversity, the blue stood for rights, and the red stood for intolerance.
Sometimes, I feel sad for the world sometimes.
***Kelly's advice for the day:*** However, I do believe that if we all work together, we can lessen the amount of prejudice and racism currently in society.
Anyway, after finishing these two exhibits, we were ready for the special Holocaust survivor speaker who was going to talk at 1:00 pm. This was going to occur in the Anne Frank museum (which we were not allowed to go in, but the talk was free) so we waited outside for about ten minutes. I'm glad we came in early because I finally found some artifacts from the event.
It was soon beginning...I was about to meet someone who I was waiting to meet all day. The Mr. William Harvey. The worker took us to an auditorium-like room and immediately, all the chairs filled up. I knew I could not miss his talk because it was a once in a lifetime chance. One of the workers even told us "You guys might be the last generation to meet these survivors." I could not go home until I heard his talk. The talk lasted for a little more than an hour but I learned so much about Mr. Harvey. One thing he kept emphasizing was to learn to forget your "enemies" and that we could not move forward until we learned to forgive. He gave us a background of his childhood and told us in chronological order of what he remember experiencing. For example, he told us that once a railroad track fell on him and he broke his toes and cut his knees. He also explained that when we woke up, he felt like he was in a 5 star hotel because, for a moment, he was not tortured or yelled at. This was because the Germans thought he was dead, but when he was just so weak he could not move. He was about 21 years old and weighed 72 pounds. When they found out he was alive, they took him to the infirmary.
Overall, I learned a lot about Mr. Harvey. He not only shared his stories but he also gave life lessons and told us he does not regret anything from his past. I am thankful for brave people like him and glad he survived that tragic event to tell his incredible story.
For more information: http://www.jewishjournal.com/survivor/article/survivor_william_harvey
Overall, I learned a lot about Mr. Harvey. He not only shared his stories but he also gave life lessons and told us he does not regret anything from his past. I am thankful for brave people like him and glad he survived that tragic event to tell his incredible story.
For more information: http://www.jewishjournal.com/survivor/article/survivor_william_harvey
Reflection:
Honestly, one of the best museums I have ever attended. This museum was extremely educational and there was never a moment when I was bored either.
At first I had doubts about paying a lot for this museum but I truly believe it was worth every dollar. I wish I could have stayed longer! (Thank goodness I went after finals when there was no homework! :] ) My favorite moment, besides meeting Mr. Harvey of course, was the doors that said "prejudice" on the door you use to enter and "non-prejudice" on the door you use to exit the exhibit. They were such little things but it truly amazed me. I even had to go back to take a picture! I was excited before entering this museum and I was left extremely satisfied. If i ever return to this museum again, I'll go to the Anne Frank exhibit next! :)
Now to answer this quote, I totally agree to Elie Wiesel. This is how I felt during the entire visit. I may not have personally witnessed what happened during 1933-1945, but I truly feel like I am now an expert in when it comes to The Holocaust. The pictures and stories shared were so powerful that it left me feeling as if I witnessed the tragedy myself. I truly admired this museum and I am definitely placing it as number 1 on my list of favorite museums :)
So please, if you have the chance, make sure to visit this museum. If you only have one museum to visit in your lifetime, I would choose this one!
-Kelly
Work Cited
1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Wiesenthal
2) http://www.mengele.dk/
Honestly, one of the best museums I have ever attended. This museum was extremely educational and there was never a moment when I was bored either.
At first I had doubts about paying a lot for this museum but I truly believe it was worth every dollar. I wish I could have stayed longer! (Thank goodness I went after finals when there was no homework! :] ) My favorite moment, besides meeting Mr. Harvey of course, was the doors that said "prejudice" on the door you use to enter and "non-prejudice" on the door you use to exit the exhibit. They were such little things but it truly amazed me. I even had to go back to take a picture! I was excited before entering this museum and I was left extremely satisfied. If i ever return to this museum again, I'll go to the Anne Frank exhibit next! :)
Now to answer this quote, I totally agree to Elie Wiesel. This is how I felt during the entire visit. I may not have personally witnessed what happened during 1933-1945, but I truly feel like I am now an expert in when it comes to The Holocaust. The pictures and stories shared were so powerful that it left me feeling as if I witnessed the tragedy myself. I truly admired this museum and I am definitely placing it as number 1 on my list of favorite museums :)
So please, if you have the chance, make sure to visit this museum. If you only have one museum to visit in your lifetime, I would choose this one!
-Kelly
Work Cited
1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Wiesenthal
2) http://www.mengele.dk/