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Never Forget, Never Again

Evansville Wartime Museum opens Rechnic Holocaust Exhibit

This article originally was published on Oct. 2, 2024.

Lessons of the Holocaust must be shared with future generations, Evansville Wartime Museum officials say, and that’s what the newly opened Rechnic Holocaust Exhibit seeks to accomplish.

Named for the late Edward and Regina Rechnic and their daughter, Irene, the exhibit brings uncomfortable and poignant details of the Holocaust to light — six million slain Jewish people, including 1.5 million children.

With words, digital maps, and touchscreen elements, the museum’s exhibit packs a ton of information into a small, rectangular space. It offers visitors a crash course in the Holocaust itself, as well as the Rechnics’ own powerful tale of excruciating hardship and survival.

Photo by John Martin

Also included is a 10-minute video produced by Stan Newman, titled “Never Forget, Never Again,” featuring an interview with Simon Spiegelman, a Holocaust survivor and cousin of Irene Rechnic. (There’s also a 30-minute version of the program, which will air at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 21 on WNIN-PBS9 in Evansville).

“More than a mere historical event, students need to be made aware of the fragility of societies,” says Bruce Green, an EWM board member and chair of volunteers. “They must be taught the dangers of prejudice, discrimination, and dehumanization. They need to understand the power of propaganda and extremism. They need to be taught the definitions of perpetrators and victims. They need to understand the consequences of tolerating hate and violence.”

The Rechnic family met such hate and violence head-on.

Edward and Regina welcomed Irene in 1934 in Poland, but when the little girl was only five, Germany invaded the nation and the family was forced into a ghetto. Her parents endured forced labor and were afraid for their lives.

In 1944, Edward Rechnic was able to get Irene out of the ghetto to live with another Polish family before he, Regina, and other relatives were taken to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Oświęcim, Poland. Edward and Regina survived but were left malnourished and in poor health. Reunited with Irene, they lived in Belgium before immigrating to the U.S. and, eventually, joining a family member in Evansville.

The Rechnics built a successful clothing business – Edwards Manufacturing Co. – and Irene thrived academically, graduating from Benjamin Bosse High School and Evansville College (now the University of Evansville). She spread her wings working as a translator at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City and then teaching in New Jersey.

A few years later, she attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where she worked toward a doctoral degree and taught French.

In 1982, Irene returned to Evansville to be with her father after her mother was killed in a vehicle accident. Edward died in 1985.

Photo by John Martin

Irene passed away in 2022, but her legacy lives on. She made possible a lecture series named for her parents at the University of Southern Indiana – the first two lecturers were Evansville attorney Charles Berger and award-winning author Margaret McMullan. The next presentation, on Jan. 23, 2025, features Judy Cohen, a Hungarian Jewish woman who lost most of her immediate family members and survived a Nazi death march during World War II.

The Evansville Wartime Museum’s new exhibit brings another opportunity for Holocaust education. That effort is being led by the museum’s 15-member education committee, chaired by Nancy Sanderson.

“Our education group creates programs for schools, youth groups, retirement homes, and more,” says McKay Miles, curator of the museum and an education committee member. “They try to customize their programs based on the age and goals of the group.”

The museum hosts groups to view its exhibits, but education team members also take artifacts and materials out to groups when they are unable to come to the museum. Miles says the Rechnic Holocaust Exhibit is being integrated into those educational programs, and those wanting either a tour or offsite visit may contact the museum for more information.

Museum officials note the story of the Rechnics is one of perseverance.

Speaking of Edward Rechnic in 1985, then-Evansville Rabbi Michael Herzbrun said, “(He) was an example to us of spirit and dignity. With his wife Regina and his daughter Irene, Eddie brought with him a dimension of ingenuity, an ability to create a successful life out of the most meager of possibilities.”

It’s an inspiring story that the Evansville Wartime Museum is proud to preserve, says Mike Lynn, a board member and chair of collections and displays.

Lynn says the exhibit can provide either a deep dive or a more casual look at the Holocaust timeline, but for both kinds of visitors, its goal remains the same.

“Everybody that goes through that exhibit will come out with at least a minimum understanding of never forget and never again,” he says.

WHEN YOU GO

Evansville Wartime Museum

https://www.evansvillewartimemuseum.org/

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