The Nazi Party led by Adolf Hitler rose to power with an ideology of racial and national superiority. In the 1930s, Germany started implementing its policies, passing laws that persecuted and stigmatized many groups that they viewed as outsiders and enemies of Germany, among which were the Jews. Fleeing from social, economic and political oppression, Jews were left without a homeland, and few countries were willing to accept them. By the end of World War II, somewhere around 6 million Jews were murdered during under Hitler’s leadership. Elly Kleinman, one of America’s most respected businessmen, and a great supporter of the Jewish community was born in Brooklyn as a child of two Holocaust survivors who were able to flee Europe and make it to the United States.
Unfortunately, at that time coming to America wasn’t that easy, mostly because the Nazis kept the Holocaust a secret, and the World Jewish Congress learned about these monstrosities a bit too late. While the Nazi Germans were planning to physically annihilate all Jews of Europe, those who had no choice but to leave their homes for the survival of their families became refugees, seeking safe havens in more remote parts of the U.S. But same as most other countries, the United States did not welcome Jewish refugees from Europe. In fact, the American public wasn’t aware of the events taking place in Europe until the Allied armies liberated the concentration camps at the end of World War II. Around the time when Elly Kleinman’s parents came to U.S. thousands of other Jews also settled in the NYC area, which until this day is considered as the home of the greatest Jewish population.
As historians struggle to understand what exactly happened during that period, people like Elly Kleinman shifted some attention to another subject of great debate, and that is how did Jews manage to keep their fate during this darkest hour of humanity. The Amud Aish Memorial Museum (AAMM) founded by Mr. Kleinman, scheduled to open in a few months, will be the first museum in the world to concentrate on the perspective of the observant Jewish communities, where Holocaust survivors will have to opportunity to share their stories and educate the public.
Unfortunately, at that time coming to America wasn’t that easy, mostly because the Nazis kept the Holocaust a secret, and the World Jewish Congress learned about these monstrosities a bit too late. While the Nazi Germans were planning to physically annihilate all Jews of Europe, those who had no choice but to leave their homes for the survival of their families became refugees, seeking safe havens in more remote parts of the U.S. But same as most other countries, the United States did not welcome Jewish refugees from Europe. In fact, the American public wasn’t aware of the events taking place in Europe until the Allied armies liberated the concentration camps at the end of World War II. Around the time when Elly Kleinman’s parents came to U.S. thousands of other Jews also settled in the NYC area, which until this day is considered as the home of the greatest Jewish population.
As historians struggle to understand what exactly happened during that period, people like Elly Kleinman shifted some attention to another subject of great debate, and that is how did Jews manage to keep their fate during this darkest hour of humanity. The Amud Aish Memorial Museum (AAMM) founded by Mr. Kleinman, scheduled to open in a few months, will be the first museum in the world to concentrate on the perspective of the observant Jewish communities, where Holocaust survivors will have to opportunity to share their stories and educate the public.
