The Holocaust Museum and Studies Center

Mission:

The Holocaust Museum and Studies Center represents the unique character of Bronx Science. It invites us to explore artifacts from a period of intense cruelty in world history. While this Museum and Center are dedicated to memory, we are ever in the present, seeking to understand the nature of human behavior and the consequences of extreme prejudice. By studying the Holocaust and other genocidal actions of the twentieth century, we become aware of the horror regimes can perpetrate on targeted groups by manipulating cultural diversity as divisive and hierarchical rather than enriching. Within the morass of evil and incalculable loss, where numbers only begin to explain the crimes, we are ever aware of the need to resist and act on principles of fairness, inter-cultural understanding, and respect. Our learning is rooted in the foresight, dedication, and collection of Mr. Stuart Elenko, the founder of the Holocaust Studies program at Bronx Science. From its inception, the mission of the museum has been to educate students, teachers, and visitors about the horrors of the Holocaust. As a student-run museum in a diverse public school, the museum aims to promote tolerance and respect of all people, and reminds us in the words of Holocaust scholar Yehuda Bauer, "Do not be a victim. Do not be a perpetrator. Above all, do not be a bystander."