Cape Town Holocaust Centre

Cape Town Holocaust & Genocide Centre
Cape Town Holocaust Centre is located in Cape Town
Cape Town Holocaust Centre
Location within Cape Town
Established1999
Location88 Hatfield St
Gardens
Cape Town
Coordinates33°55′49″S 18°25′00″E / 33.9302989°S 18.4166267°E / -33.9302989; 18.4166267
TypeHolocaust museum
DirectorHeather Blumenthal
Websitectholocaust.co.za

The Cape Town Holocaust & Genocide Centre began as Africa's first Holocaust centre founded in 1999.[1] It has sister Centres in Johannesburg (Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre) and Durban (Durban Holocaust Centre), and together they form part of the association, the South African Holocaust & Genocide Foundation (SAHGF).[2] The SAHGF determines the educational and philosophical direction of the centre.[3] It also conducts teacher training and is the only accredited service-provider for in-service training in Holocaust education in the country. It has trained over 5,000 teachers.[4]

The museum is situated in the downtown neighbourhood of Gardens in Cape Town. It is located in the grounds of Gardens Shul, and is in the same complex as the South African Jewish Museum and the Gardens Jewish Community Centre. It is also close to the Iziko South African National Gallery and Houses of Parliament.[5] The centre works towards creating a more caring and just society in which human rights and diversity are respected and valued.[6] Through exhibitions, events and workshops, they endeavour to commemorate the victims and survivors of the Nazi regime and the numerous genocides that happened before and since the Holocaust.[7]

The museum has a permanent exhibition that combines text, archival photographs, film footage, documents, multimedia displays and recreated environments.[8] They also offer educational programmes of various types, for groups such as students or educators. The Holocaust is taught within a South African context; lessons on racism and apartheid are mixed together.

  1. ^ Tali Nates. Holocaust Education in South Africa https://www.un.org/en/holocaustremembrance/docs/paper12.shtml Retrieved 2020-10-13
  2. ^ About Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre. Retrieved on 29 October 2023
  3. ^ S. African museum to juxtapose Holocaust with Rwandan genocide Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 5 October 2010
  4. ^ 20 years on, Africa’s first Holocaust center has a universal message on genocide Times of Israel. 8 June 2019
  5. ^ Memory Going Global: The Jewish Museum and Holocaust Centre in Cape Town AJS Perspectives. Spring 2010
  6. ^ Cape Town Holocaust & Genocide Centre https://ctholocaust.co.za/about/ Retrieved 2020-10-13
  7. ^ Cape Town Holocaust & Genocide Centre https://ctholocaust.co.za/about/ Retrieved 2020-10-13
  8. ^ Cape Town Holocaust Centre>Our Centre http://www.ctholocaust.co.za/cape-town/cape_town-main.htm Archived 2018-08-15 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2013-07-05