PHOENIX — 97-year-old Oskar Knoblauch has a remarkable story of survival. He was a young boy, living in Poland, when the Nazis invaded the country.
He has since told his family's story of bravery to people all across the world to help remind people to spread love and kindness. It's the same mission those with the Arizona Jewish Historical Society have with a new project in the works.
"Because the minute you start to forget these events in the past, is when these events happen again," said Dr. Lawrence Bell. "And the number one goal is to make sure nothing like the Holocaust will happen again."
Bell, the Executive Director at the Arizona Jewish Historical Society, said he's been heavily involved in the creation of a new Holocaust Museum at the center. It's expected to break ground in 2025.
The $18 million, 17,000 square-foot addition will house exhibits and educational content about the Holocaust and other acts of oppression and persecution that've happened.
"We want to make sure people remember the Holocaust, for people to remember the people who perished, but also for today's world that we become a more peaceful society," said Bell.
In 2021, there were 16 Holocaust museums in the United States. Now, as Bell prepares for Phoenix to get one, he said the Society is doing what they can to help make sure the one in the Valley will be memorable,
"We want to build an educational center for the future," he said. "We don't want to build it for the past. So we're really trying to be heavy on incorporating new technologies as they come out to try and reach people. Especially younger people in the formats that they learn now and so it'll be a combination of things. We'll have the older panels on the walls, but it's also going to have a lot of technology on it."
That includes a virtual reality feature that'll take visitors on a tour of a concentration camp. You can also experience what it was like in the secret annex Anne Frank and her family hid in.
But even more special is a 5-foot display that allows visitors to interact one-on-one with an actual Holocaust survivor. In this case, it's Knoblauch.
"The idea is to tell the Holocaust through those who've experienced it and to focus on their personal stories," Bell said. "They'll get to meet them, hear from them. We have an interactive hologram. It's 1 of 13 sites in the entire world that has this technological capability. Knoblauch was interviewed back in 2020 for hours so people now can have a conversation with him and he'll be available to answer questions."
Hundreds if not thousands of survivors lived or live in Arizona. Today, there are about 60 left. For Bell, it's important the museum focus on their stories and everything they went through.
"People are going to meet the survivors when they come here," he said. "They'll get to know them. They had an important impact on our Jewish community here. Every year, more and more are passing on and unfortunately the whole WWII generation is going to pass. The memory of WWII is fading and I think it's important to keep it alive."
The Arizona Jewish Historical Society said they've raised about $10.5 million so far on the center. They are continuing to take donations. If you'd also like more information, you can go to azjhs.org.
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