Final Post USHMM

As my internship at the Holocaust Museum comes to a close, there is a bittersweet ending to it all. Obviously I am grateful for the opportunity that was presented to me. I have been able to utilize both my Russian language and my deep admiration for history in the archival field. I got to feel like my work and the work we did at the Memorial Museum meant a lot more than labeling videocassettes or translating Russian interviews into English. We were able to provide indefinably valuable information to the rest of the world. In this digital age, ignorance can no longer be permitted in society. While working at the Linthicum branch, I was able to see some of the 3D objects. These included suitcases, carts, and even uniforms worn by actual Holocaust victims. What was interesting about the uniforms was that they had purple patches still on them, signifying them as Jehovah’s witnesses. There is something to be said to see these objects in person versus in a photo or in a film, or movie. There is a realization that all of these horrific events actually occurred. There is a power evoked seeing objects witness to the unimaginable genocide. It is a bitter goodbye because there is still so much work to be done. The generation of those who laid witness to the Holocaust is dying out; their stories dying with them. Oral history is one of the major ways to acquire these memories, and I would love to continue working along side the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in their quest of fulfilling their mission statement: Never Again. I want to thank James Gilmore, an archives specialist, and all of the people at the Holocaust Museum immensely for allowing me to have this opportunity. I think that I will never again be the same person.