March 1, 2001
BALTIMORE’S MARCUS FAMILY UNDERWRITES 2001 FIRST PERSON SEASON AT UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM IN MEMORY OF SYDNEY MARCUS
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is pleased to announce a gift from the Sydney Marcus family of Baltimore, Maryland, in support of the 2001 season of the Museum’s newest public program, First Person. Featuring weekly interviews with Holocaust survivors, the program - which started during the summer of 2000 - provides a glimpse into the personal tragedies and triumphs of those who lived through Nazi horrors of World War II. The donation, which will support the program through September 2001, was made in memory of the late Sydney Marcus.
Mr. Marcus had served as a GI in World War II and witnessed the aftermath of one of the worst human atrocities of the 20th century. Upon returning to the States, he raised three children in Baltimore, all of whom have worked in Holocaust education. His youngest, Warren, has been an educator at the Museum since 1994, currently as Director of Teacher Workshops and Conferences. While working as a classroom instructor prior to the Museum, Warren invited Holocaust survivor and Museum volunteer Nesse Godin to speak to his class. Warren’s father had the opportunity to meet Ms. Godin and was moved by her personal testimony.
“My father has always been very supportive of the Museum and recognized the crucial role survivors play in bringing Holocaust history alive,” said Warren. “He would be so pleased to know that we have made this gift to support a program like First Person in his memory.” Sydney Marcus’s wife Marion still resides in the Mt. Washington neighborhood in Baltimore; another son, Glenn, works for PBS and a daughter, Penny, is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also survived by four grandchildren.
“First Person is a popular and important program that brings together survivors and Museum visitors,” said Museum Director Sara Bloomfield. “We are so pleased to be able to continue it with the support of the Marcus family gift. The survivors are the Museum’s most precious asset - hearing a survivor speak is an unforgettable experience. The fact that the Marcus family is so dedicated to ensuring that the voices of Holocaust survivors are heard speaks volumes about the devotion of Museum staff and their families to the success of the institution and its programs.”
From March 7 through September 26, First Person will run every Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. in the Museum’s Helena Rubinstein Auditorium. It is hosted by journalist Bill Benson and is free and open to the public. No reservations are required. Attached please find a March-June schedule of speakers.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, which has hosted more than 15 million visitors since it opened in 1993, is America’s national institution for the documentation, study and interpretation of Holocaust history, and serves as this country’s memorial to the millions of people murdered during the Holocaust. The Museum’s primary mission is to advance and disseminate knowledge about this unprecedented tragedy; to preserve the memory of those who suffered; and to encourage its visitors to reflect upon the moral questions raised by the events of the Holocaust as well as their own responsibilities as citizens of a democracy.
