Holocaust centre rebrands with new name and logo

One of the foremost institutions in the UK dedicated to Holocaust heritage has unveiled a new name and branding.

Marking its 30^th anniversary this year, the National Holocaust Centre and Museum in Newark, Nottinghamshire, will now be known as the National Holocaust Museum.

The institution was founded in 1995 by the Smiths, a Christian family who sought to befriend Jewish survivors of the Holocaust living in Britain.

It runs touring exhibitions and school programmes around the country, and is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.

In a statement, the museum said it had chosen to shorten its name in recognition of the fact that it is the only museum in the UK wholly dedicated to the Holocaust.

It has also introduced a new green and white colour palette and logo featuring a white rose as a symbol of hope.

The museum said: “There is no better symbol of the Smith family's vision than a white rose. For a start, there are over 1,200 of them in our beautiful memorial gardens. Each was planted in memory of victims murdered in the Holocaust.

“Each tells a story of love, loss and resilience. For 30 years, we have lovingly tended these roses, watching them re-bloom each summer. It seems a fitting metaphor of renewal. Of the rebirth of hope. And of the need to keep cultivating it.”

“Hope is not an idle wish,” the statement continued. “It is a series of actions. It means preserving the truth about the horrors of the Holocaust, while preserving a respect for truth in the present.”

The museum said its mission had become more urgent in the age of social media.

“The Holocaust shows what can happen if we let truth wither; if we allow conspiracy theories and hate-mongering to grow over it,” it said.

“The Smith family planted a seed. It grew into something beautiful. The white rose symbolises both that beauty and the perennial need to cultivate and protect it.”