9. The Kupferberg Holocaust Center has a large collection of Holocaust-era memorabilia
The Harriet & Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Center at Queensborough Community College is a “learning laboratory” to educate current and future generations about the Holocaust and the ramifications of prejudice, racism, and stereotyping. Though the center isn’t a museum or library, it has worked with the QCC library and Holocaust survivors under the direction of QCC History Professor and department chair Dr. William Shulman to develop a collection of over 5,000 Holocaust books. The collection also includes oral history recordings of over 300 local survivors, thousands of government records, and hundreds of artifacts from local survivors.
The center’s permanent exhibition recounts the complexities of the Holocaust in Germany, with a mix of local artifacts and archival materials, such as historical audio and film clips, as well as video testimonies spanning from pre-World War II through the end of the war. The front of the building is a three-sided glass box with walls meant to evoke the memory of Kristallnacht, as well as walls of Jerusalem stone that reflect the history of the Jewish people. The center officially launched in 1983 and has since led tours and speaker events for students and the general public.