New tenant coming to Union Terminal

The Cincinnati Museum Center is getting a new neighbor: The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education.

The center's move will coincide with the completion of Union Terminal's renovations, slated for November 2018.

The nonprofit will be located on the mezzanine and lower lever of the Art Deco icon. It's a good fit because the two organizations both recognize "the importance of telling history stories and connecting people with survivors, real objects and collections," said Elizabeth Pierce, president and CEO of the Cincinnati Museum Center.

The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education will occupy 12,000 square feet in the converted train station, with 7,000 square feet dedicated to exhibit space. The organization's current exhibit space on Montgomery Road is about a third that size.

"(The center) has grown and expanded its reach," said Sarah Weiss, the center's executive director. "We have a lofty vision for continued growth," including exploring how to apply the lessons of Holocaust to "other injustices we are seeing."

At Union Terminal, a part of history museum collection previously occupied the center's future location. These elements moved to the Geier Collections and Research Center when the renovations began this summer and will stay there when construction is completed, Pierce said.

The $212.7 million project focuses on replacing and repairing deteriorating parts of the 83-year-old building. In July, the Museum of Natural History & Science, Cincinnati History Museum and The Omnimax Theater temporarily closed to accommodate construction.

The Duke Energy Children’s Museum and the special exhibits area will remain open. "Vikings: Beyond the Legend" opens as a special exhibit Nov. 11.

In 2000, several hundred Holocaust survivors who relocated to Greater Cincinnati founded The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education. It started as a support group, but the focus shifted to education.

The organization has hosted lectures, films and other programs throughout the community. "The core of our work has been training educators," she noted. Staff also created a speakers bureau, a permanent exhibit and a traveling version, with help from museum center exhibit builders.

"We exist to ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust inspire action today," Weiss said.

The time is now for The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education to expand its reach and elevate its visibility, she said. "Holocaust survivors are passing away," she said. "There is a sense of urgency to get their stories out."  And Weiss is seeing a rise in hatred and anti-Semitism around the world that the center can address.

The organizations co-produced 2014's "Unlocking the Gates of Auschwitz 70 Years Later" at the National Underground Freedom Center, which is part of the museum center umbrella.

The new physical proximity will open up new avenues of collaboration. "There are so many facets of opportunity," Weiss said.  They are still working out how the center will fit into the museum center membership benefits structure and how admission to the center will coordinate for visitors to other museums.