It's been a very long time since I've posted here, but I finally gathered my thoughts about some profound recent and past experiences...
So, yesterday, I took my daughter to the Illinois Holocaust Museum, because she is very interested in WWII history and the Holocaust. I was indoctrinated at a very early age (being a Jewish kid, who went to Hebrew school, where Holocaust education is a massive part of the American post WWII Jewish psyche)... I was hesitant to go on many levels, but I also wanted my daughter to know about this terrible time in world history, which I could never properly convey with mere words.
This was really the first time I had been inside. Eight years ago, before the musem officially opened to the public, I had been hired as the administrative assistant to the Director and I was THRILLED to be fulfilling my dream of working in a museum! That dream very quickly turned into a nightmare, because the Director, who was a highly strategic man, had ZERO interpersonal skills and never spent any time forging a good working relationship with me or offering any real direction or details on his expectations.I was basically operating in a vacuum, with no guidance or real communication, which was a recipe for disaster and a total set-up for failure. Add to that the fact that the all-female staff was arranged in an open workspace, with rows of desks. I was in the very first row, so everyone behind me (educational coordinators, PR & fundraising folks & 2 young girls who's jobs I have yet to figure out) watched my every move, all day long, which was unnerving, to say the least. I was never made to feel like part of the team & each day was like walking into a nest of vipers!
I also got to see the reality of the behind-the-scenes drama that was intrinsically linked to this museum... It was supposed to be about preserving the memory of Holocaust survivors and their stories, as well as a glorious, new home for the original museum, which was started by actual survivors in a small, storefront in the 70's. It was also supposed to serve as an education center, for not just the Holocaust, but other genocides. I very quickly realized that the whole thing was basically a vanity project for the famous, megalomaniac architect, the Director (who had been a big shot at the Anti-Defamation League), the wealthy investors (some of whom were actual survivors and museum Board members that had done really well for themselves in post-war America), the Holocaust scholars / academics, who were advisors on the project, and the main, VERY wealthy & well-connected patron, from a high-profile, philanthropic Chicago family. I sat in on meetings where the clash of egos among these folks was so great, that I was amazed their heads all fit in the same room!
I will NEVER forget the rainy, opening day, when they did a dedication ceremony (which got national & local media coverage), with ALL of the above mentioned people sat on the stage, while former President, Bill Clinton gave they keynote address. NONE of the actual survivors (except for the wealthy, big shots on the Board of the museum) were up on that stage! They were relegated to the back rows, since many of them were quite elderly, in wheelchairs and using canes or walkers. That left a lasting impression on me, because I felt that THEY should've been the honored guests on the stage... It was shameful & deplorable, to say the least!
About 2 months into my tenure, I was sacked at the end of a particularly busy day, with no real explanation as to why. I was in utter shock & disbelief, and as I numbly packed up the personal items on my desk into a box, the Director and Assistant Director stood at the back of the room, unable to even make eye-contact with me. I left my office keys and badge on my desk and did the literal walk of shame out the door. I held it together until I got into my car & then completely lost my shit. I don't even know how I was able to drive myself home. I vowed NEVER to go to the museum or contribute a dime to it's coffers.
With eight years of perspective under my belt, I softened my resolve and paid the $18 admission for my daughter & I (which is actually a significant number to us Jews, as numerologically, 18 in Hebrew means "Chai" or "Life". The exhibits are actually well-done and their library is impressive (I had actually ordered some books on genocide and Judaica to gift to the museum on behalf of my Dad, but ended up cancelling, due to my ill-treatment by the management). I'm sure they do very good work there, from a programming & educational standpoint, but I have to say that I find it a bit reprehensible that when you come out of the main exhibit, you are directly in front of a gift shop, where books, mementos & trinkets are for sale at inflated prices. Then again, profits have to be made, right? Even at the expense of the Holocaust, because, the "selling" of it is just business, after all!
