National Holocaust Centre and Museum

The National Holocaust Centre & Museum was conceived by Stephen and James Smith and their mother Marina after a transformative visit to Yad Vashem in 1991. Recognizing a gap in their Holocaust education, the Smith family felt compelled to ensure the Holocaust was taught comprehensively in the UK. After years of fundraising and effort, the Centre, affectionately known as Beth Shalom, was established as the only national museum in the UK dedicated to Holocaust education. It features two permanent exhibitions, memorial gardens, and the unique exhibit "The Journey" for younger children.

The Centre's relationship with the Pears family and the Pears Foundation has been pivotal, with significant support from Sir Trevor Pears CMG, whom the Smith brothers consider a "third brother."

Additionally, in response to global genocides, the Smith brothers founded the Aegis Trust in 2000, which operates the Kigali Memorial Centre in Rwanda and promotes peace education across Africa. The Kigali Memorial Centre, inspired by the National Holocaust Centre, has hosted numerous international dignitaries and continues to be a significant site for genocide remembrance and education.

In today's rapidly changing world, the Centre aims to foster critical thinking to combat misinformation and racism, using the Holocaust's lessons as a foundation.

In order for the museum to be fully representative, it is important for us to have artefacts represented in all areas of the Holocaust. We currently collect items from the following areas:

• Pre and post war life of Holocaust survivors and their families
• Pre war life of all victims of the Nazis
• The Nazi propaganda machine
• Anti Jewish laws and Anti Semitic policy for the period of 1933-1945
• Nazi policy and law for the period of 1933-1945
• People who sought refuge from the Nazi regime in Europe and beyond (to include Hiding)
• Rescuers, bystanders and perpetrators
• Liberation and repatriation
• Sites of Murder (Extermination, Labour and Concentration Camps and Ghettos)
• The Kinder

The types of objects collected can include: textiles; art; documents; ephemera; social history items; oral recordings; film footage and photographs and prints.

We will not accept English World War 2 items unless these have an obvious link to the Holocaust.

The National Holocaust Centre and Museum holds a collection of artefacts relating to the Holocaust. As an actively collecting museum, we are always looking to expand this collection and collect in areas where we are deficient. We collect both actively and reactively. Reactive collecting occurs when we are working on specific projects and acquiring specific items. The primary aims behind this are to collect to enable the museum to expand the collections on display in its main Holocaust exhibition and the Journey, as the objects, photographs, ephemera, documents and testimony on display are the direct evidence of the events surrounding the Holocaust.

The items we house provide a tangible link to the Holocaust, and as custodians of such important objects, we ensure they are protected and cared for to the highest possible standard enabling us to teach from them for years to come.