Is it really 2021 already? It seems so weird to say this but last year I told you about the Houston Arts District with its many venues. This included the amazing Houston Museum of Contemporary Craft. The Holocaust Museum Houston is another outstanding venue that we visited.

Holocaust Museum Houston

Holocaust Museum Houston

A memorial wall outside of the Holocaust Museum Houston

A chilling reminder of the death camps

As we begin the new year I want to tell you about an exhibit that made us look back to the past and reflect on an era that must NEVER happen again!!!

There are many Holocaust Museum around the world commemorating an era in history that we can never forget. Steve and I have explored the one in Washington DC which is vast and quite sobering. After about three hours of immersing ourselves in the DC memorial we left in desperate need of something fun. And went to the National Zoo to watch the pandas and get our smiles back.

Morgan Family Welcome Center

The Morgan Family Welcome Center

Oyfn Pripetshik is a song that my Bubie used to sing to me. So seeing the words here gave me goosebumps! I can still hear her sweet voice in my head.

I have no idea who these children are. But the boy reminded me so much of my mother’s brother Mike that I couldn’t stop staring at him.

The Holocaust Museum in Houston honors the families of survivors with roots in Houston, Texas. As horrifying as the Holocaust was, there is something uplifting in this exhibit. You begin your visit in the Morgan Family Welcome Center which provides a short film that sets the tone covering Jewish life prior to WWI and WWII. It covers the traditions and origins, the Weimar period in Germany’s history and a brief history of antisemitism, including examples of pogroms and propaganda.

Torah Scroll ca. 1700
This Sefer Torah from Loštice, Moravia, is one of the Czech Memorial Torah scrolls from the destroyed Jewish communities of Bohemia, Moravia, ad Silesia saved in Prague during the Nazi occupation. The Nazis made special efforts to destroy Torah scrolls, but this one survived the Holocaust intact.

Monopoly Game 1943
Artist Oswald Pöck (born October 1893 in Prague, Czechoslovakia) created this game set. He was deported to Theresienstadt in November 1941. In September 1944, he was deported to Auschwitz and never returned.

My family history

This brought back a flood of memories of stories that my Bubie and Zeyda (Grandmother and Grandfather) told me about life in Kremenchug Russia and escaping to America. My Bubie’s youngest sister was raped by Cossacks. Zeyda’s brother was murdered. My mother was born there in 1919 which meant that they had to make plans to leave. They escaped from Russia in 1921 but it took them 2 years to finally reach freedom in America. Zeyda had a cousin in Philadelphia, Dr. Nathan Seidman, who sponsored the entire family to emigrate to Philly. He saved their lives.

The Hanne Frank is a Danish rescue boat and one of many used to ferry nearly 7,800 Jews to nearby Sweden.

Anne Frank story of survival

My family escaped but far too many others were not so fortunate. Six million Jews who lived in Europe lost their lives in the Holocaust that ensued many years later.

As we wandered through the halls of the museum we saw authentic film footage, artifacts, photographs and documents exposing Nazi propaganda and the ever tightening restrictions in the steady move toward the “Final Solution”.

There is even a Memorial Room which is located in a far back corner. This is a place for meditation and contemplation. The Wall of Tears, in this room, features 600 hand painted light-reflective ceramic tiles representing the 6 million Jews that perished in the Holocaust.

The Butterfly Loft

The Butterfly Loft

Another view of the stunning Butterfly Loft.

On the second floor of the Holocaust Museum Houston we were mesmerized by the Jerold B. Katz Family Butterfly Loft. This memorial sculpture consists of 500 butterflies suspended as if in flight. These butterflies represent and memorialize the 1.5 million children who perished in the Holocaust.

A small portion of the butterflies made by children all around the globe.

Just a few more of those amazing butterflies.

For over twenty years, school children from around the world have created butterflies as part of their Holocaust studies. There are now 1.5 million handmade butterflies now in permanent storage in the Holocaust Museum Houston! A selection of these personalized butterflies is on display. They’re encased and hanging along the wall of the education center, which is just across from the Butterfly Loft.

Mandela Struggle for Freedom Exhibit

Mandela Struggle for Freedom Exhibit at the Holocaust Museum Houston

A 1964 quote by Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela – Prisoner 466/64

A replica of Nelson Mandela’s jail cell

Sybolic artwork was part of the Mandela exhibit

Just loved this colorful roaring beaded lion representing the Mandela exhibit.

Before we left we also had a chance to walk through the Mandela Struggle for Freedom Exhibit. And we couldn’t help by remark of the similarities of Mandela’s fight for freedom and the Jews.

Pinkerton’s Texas Pit BBQ

Pinkerton’s Texas BBQ all decorated for Christmas

The back of Pinkerton’s Pick-up Truck

Our pick for awesome BBQ!

Award winning BBQ at Pinkerton’s!

Sausage and Smoked Brisket from Pinkerton’s. Just look at that gorgeous pink smoke ring on the brisket.

Sausage, smoked brisket with BBQ sauce, pickled okra and cinnamon apples on the plate. A container of delicious coleslaw is peeking out next to the plate. Such a yummy dinner!

When we left we felt so emotionally drained that I really couldn’t even think about cooking dinner. So we stopped at Pinkerton’s to pick up the most amazing Texas BBQ we ever tasted. We got brisket,  sausage and coleslaw. And I managed just enough energy to make some Cinnamon Apples to go with. The brisket was the most tender and succulent you could possibly imagine. Dinner lifted our spirits for sure.