Terre Haute museum founded by Holocaust survivor has new leader
Serving as executive director for the CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center satisfies the two main pursuits Troy Fears has dedicated his life to: education and nonprofit work.
Prior to starting at CANDLES in July of this year, Fears taught at several local high schools and was principal at Terre Haute South. He was also the executive director for the United Way of the Wabash Valley for seven years.
“When this position opened up, I thought it would a good fit for my education experience plus nonprofit experience,” said Fears, a
Terre Haute native. “It kind of works in both areas. It’s been a good fit.”
Chris Newton, a Superior Court judge and a CANDLES board member, agrees — he advocated for Fears for the job.
“It seems everything Troy touches, he does it very, very well,” said Newton, whose children attended Terre Haute South.
Fears “worked hard to improve the athletics department and facilities at Terre Haute South. When I saw his name on the list of applicants, I said, ‘How can we get him?’ When he puts his mind to something, he’ll be successful. He’s what we needed. We want to maintain our relevance, and he’s the perfect person to do that. I’m really excited about having him on board.”
Alex Kor, son of the late Eva Kor, a Holocaust survivor who founded the CANDLES museum in 1995, concurs.
“Troy is a welcome addition to CANDLES,” Kor said. “He brings new energy and new ideas. With his background in education and fundraising, he checks a lot of boxes. He’ll help us get through this challenging time with with the recent loss of my mother and the pandemic.”
Upon arriving at CANDLES, Fears said, “What impressed me the most was the board and the museum itself. Being a lifelong resident of Terre Haute, I’ve known Eva’s background and her commitment to building this museum, but I just thought it was the right time to come in and move the museum forward and expand on Eva’s legacy. The challenge to do that was what excited me the most. We do a great job of reaching out to the public, telling Eva’s story.”
Fears has initiated a series of revolving exhibits provided by Yad Vashem, the Global Holocaust Museum located in Israel. “SHOAH: How Was It Humanly Possible?” a detailed timeline of events leading up to and through the Holocaust, is running now through Oct. 30. Next up will be “Stars Without A Heaven: Children of the Holocaust,” on display Nov. 5 through Jan. 1, 2022. A list of future exhibits can be found at candlesholocaustmuseum.org.
Said Alex Kor, “The rotating exhibit schedule for the next several months is pretty impressive. It gives people a new reason to come to the museum and explore.”
Fears has also continued the museum’s search for Holocaust artifacts. He traveled
to Chicago last week, where the Illinois Holocaust Museum gave him, among other artifacts, a Nazi flag and a copy of Adolph Hitler’s manifesto “Mein Kampf” that had been given to a German couple when they married at a courthouse in 1939.