Free Enrichment Program for Middle & High School Students March 15, 2023 | 10 am-12 noon At the Virginia Holocaust Museum Please join the Virginia Holocaust Museum for a conversation with Sam Mihara. Sam is a second-generation Japanese American, and at 9 years old he and his family were forced to move into an internment camp in northern Wyoming after the United States entered World War II. They would live crowded in a single 20 x 20 square foot room for the next 3 years. Today, as one of the very few surviving prisoners who speaks nationally about this dark time in our history, Sam shares poignant personal memories of events from 80 years ago that have continued to resonate through the decades. Sam’s presentation will give students the opportunity to hear how discrimination affected his life. Audience members will have the opportunity to ask Sam questions after his presentation. This program is free and open to middle and high school students. Space is limited register today! Download the Program Flyer!

Virginia Holocaust Museum Registration Deadline:  March 9, 2023 The Virginia Holocaust Museum and The Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation present “Teaching About Japanese American Internment During World War II.” Join us as Shirley Ann Higuchi, chair of The Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, shares the history and stories of people that were imprisoned during World War II because of their Japanese ancestry. We will examine how incarceration was the result of decades of racism and discrimination in the United States and not just a reaction to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Learn the history, best practices, and resources to use in the classroom to help your students critically examine the lessons from this dark chapter in American History. FREE Educator Workshop Includes: Breakfast, Coffee & Lunch Educational Resources Copy of “Setsuko's Secret: Heart Mountain and the Legacy of the Japanese American Incarceration” Certificate of Attendance Travel Scholarships: A limited number of scholarships are available for teachers 120+ miles from Richmond. Scholarships are to help cover travel, housing, and meals. Please contact Megan Ferenczy at mferenczy@vaholocaust.org to apply. Click HERE to Download Workshop Flyer or to Register!

Pink Triangle Legacies: Coming Out in the Shadow of the Holocaust Sunday March 19th, 2023 | 2 PM  Congregation Or Ami | 9400 Huguenot Road, Richmond, Virginia 23235 Join the Virginia Holocaust Museum, Congregation Or Ami, and Diversity Richmond for a presentation by historian Dr. Jake Newsome, who tells the dynamic and inspiring history of the LGBTQ+ community’s original pride symbol by tracing the transformation of the pink triangle from a Nazi concentration camp badge into a widespread emblem of queer liberation, pride, and community. Drawing from unexplored archival sources and original interviews, Dr.Newsome showcases the voices of LGBTQ+ Holocaust victims and a rich tapestry of queer lives who found meaning in the pink triangle in a post-Holocaust world. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A and a book signing. About Dr. Newsome: Dr. Jake Newsome is an award-winning scholar of German and American LGBTQ+ history whose research and resources educate global audiences. His new book Pink Triangle Legacies: Coming Out in the Shadow of the Holocaust (Cornell University Press) tells the dynamic and inspiring history of the LGBTQ+ community’s original pride symbol. It traces the transformation of the pink triangle from a Nazi concentration camp badge into a widespread emblem of queer liberation, pride, and community. The Lambda Literary Foundation recently named Pink Triangle Legacies as one of its most anticipated new LGBTQIA+ books of 2022. The program is free and open to the public, but registration is requested. To learn more or to register, click HERE.

Happy Passover! From Executive Director Samuel Asher: We wish you and your families a happy and healthy Passover. The holiday celebrates the Israelites going from bondage in Egypt under the Pharaohs to a new life in freedom. The Passover holiday commemorates standing up against oppression and going from darkness to light. The Passover story is about liberation, a story that we also tell at the Virginia Holocaust Museum. We thank you deeply for helping us to preserve our story and inspire future generations to fight racism, bigotry and prejudice. As we gather for Seders and celebrate with family and friends, we wish you togetherness and much happiness.

The Museum will be closed on Easter Sunday, April 9th.

The Museum will be closed to the general public on Sunday, April 23rd, for Yom HaShoah.