Survivors' Ammendment for Museum Content

A letter from President Ronald Reagan to Professor Elie Wiesel, dated January 20, 1987. Reagan congratulates Wiesel on receiving the Freedom Award from the International Rescue Committee. He praises Wiesel as a "voice of conscience" who has transformed his "sufferings" into understanding and a "zeal to prevent such horrors from occurring again," wishing him continued strength in the pursuit of peace and remembrance.

This document is a program for an 'Evening of Holocaust Remembrance' held at Chapman University. The event, which took place in April 2015, features a multi-faceted commemoration including musical performances of works by George Enescu, Meir Finkelstein, George Rochberg, and Ilse Weber. Readings from the works of Elie Wiesel are also presented. A significant portion of the program is dedicated to personal testimonies from Holocaust survivors and a second-generation participant from various countries, accompanied by students and educators. The program concludes with a candle-lighting ceremony led by a cantor and reflections by university deans and directors. The event aims to honor the memory of the Holocaust through art, personal stories, and educational outreach.

This document contains Elie Wiesel's speech delivered on April 19, 1985, at the White House, on the occasion of receiving the Congressional Gold Medal. Wiesel dedicates the medal to the victims of the Holocaust and emphasizes his responsibility to both the living and the dead. He reflects on lessons learned over forty years, including the perils of silence and the sin of neutrality in the face of human dignity at stake. He recounts the suffering endured in concentration camps and laments the indifference of the 'free world' to the fate of Jewish children. Wiesel addresses the Bitburg controversy, urging the President not to visit the cemetery containing SS graves, asserting that the President's place is with the victims. He concludes by advocating for reconciliation and working towards peace and understanding in a tormented world.

This document, titled "The End and The Beginning," is a personal narrative by Elie Wiesel. It describes his severe illness from food poisoning three days after his liberation from a concentration camp (implied Buchenwald), leading to a near-death experience. He recounts how his will to live was reignited upon seeing his emaciated reflection in a mirror, which he then shattered, marking a turning point in his recovery and inspiring the outline for his book. The narrative then shifts to a reflection ten years post-Buchenwald, expressing his dismay that the world forgets the atrocities. He notes Germany's resurgence, the freedom of figures like Ilse Koch, and the spread of Holocaust denial, expressing concern that the truth of the six million martyrs is being dismissed as legend.

This document is a photograph of a tombstone located in Jerusalem, inscribed in Hebrew. It commemorates Rabbi Menashe Klein, also known as the "Baal Mishneh Halachot" (author of the work 'Mishneh Halachot'). The inscription states that he passed away on the 29th of Elul, 5771 (September 28, 2011). He is eulogized as a prominent Torah scholar, a genius, and a spiritual leader who established numerous Yeshivas, houses of Torah study, and Jewish communities in the United States and throughout the Jewish diaspora. The epitaph highlights his profound dedication to the Jewish people, both communally and individually. It also mentions that his parents, Rabbi Eliezer Zev Klein and Rachel Leah, perished for the sanctification of God's name during "days of wrath and anger," a reference to the Holocaust. Rabbi Menashe Klein previously served as the Av Beit Din (head of the rabbinical court) of Ungvar.