Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Holocaust museum receives $25K donation
Exhibits include WWII tank, rail car
Supporters of the first permanent Holocaust museum in South Florida are taking a big step toward creating the place they’ve dreamed of for decades.
Julie Talenfeld, president of BoardroomPR public relations and marketing firm, and her husband, children’s rights attorney Howard Talenfeld, recently gave $25,000 to the South Florida Holocaust Museum in honor of Boardroom’s 25th anniversary. The gift is well-timed, as the museum publicly unveiled its new 26,000-square-foot building in Dania Beach just two months ago.
“We are so thrilled, surprised and grateful,” said museum president Rositta Kenigsberg. “The Talenfelds are extraordinary leaders in our community. It’s finally happening.”
The museum is an outgrowth of the Holocaust Documentation and Education Center, a nonprofit founded in 1980 to gather oral histories from survivors, liberators and other eyewitnesses. The center also develops education programs, such as the ongoing annual Student Awareness Days, and advocated to make Holocaust education mandatory in Florida schools.
Originally based at Florida International University’s campus in North Miami, the center had several homes before finally landing in its new permanent location at 303 N. Federal Highway.
The $11 million museum will showcase the center’s growing collection of artifacts, photographs and documents. The center is looking for people who want to donate mementos, interview survivors and run tours — and for $6 million to $8 million to complete the museum.
Kenigsberg said the museum could be up and running within a year after the full funding comes in. She hopes for a large contribution from a single donor in exchange for building naming rights.
Julie Talenfeld said she would like her family’s contribution to encourage others. Time is critical, she said, as the survivor population is aging