A tribute to Eliott Dlin

A TRIBUTE TO ELIOTT DLIN, DALLAS HOLOCAUST MUSEUM
Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at 6:36pm | Edit Note | Delete

I am saddened to hear the loss of our own; Dr. Eliott Dlin from the Jewish community of Dallas. I am stressed up, I cannot believe this. We had a dinner last week on February 23rd with our group after the Holocaust event at SMU. http://mikeghouseforamerica.blogspot.com/2010/03/tribute-to-elliott-dlin.html

(Notes Added: The Holocaust Museum has just sent the release on Dr. Dlin, it follows my tribute)

On Wednesday 24th, he shoots me an email to go for lunch to talk about the conference on Holocaust and Genocides I have scheduled, I could not meet with him then, I get another email to meet at Bishop McGriff's funeral on Friday 26th. Alas, we had connected.

I have known Elly since 2006, we have worked together at two of the three Holocaust and Genocides events here in Dallas. He is (was) one of the best educators about Holocaust and gave me a personal tour of the Dallas Holocaust Museum with my other friend Bernie Mayoff.

I had invited him to a meeting at the Memnosyne Foundation in 2008, and from there he became friends with us at Memnoysne as well and he was part of the interfaith service network advisory. We planned a interfaith work to clean and paint the holocaust museum, where people from different faith joined in for the project.

Eliott was the Directors of Dallas Holocaust Museum and through his encouragement I became a member of the Museuem.

The foundation for Pluralism honored him with aplaque recognizing his work in the community at the 2nd Annual Holocaust and Genocides commemoration -
http://picasaweb.google.com/HolocaustandGenocides/IIAnnualReflectionOnHolocaustAndGenocideslectionOnHolocaustAndGenocides#

I will be updating information about him on the face book as well as at: http://mikeghouseforamerica.blogspot.com/2010/03/tribute-to-elliott-dlin.html

I mourn the loss of a friend, from God we come and to God we go.
May your soul be blessed and rest in peace. Amen

Mike Ghouse, Chair
Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides
www.HolocaustandGenocides.com
Dallas, Texas

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LINK TO THIS TRIBUTE:
http://mikeghouseforamerica.blogspot.com/2010/03/tribute-to-elliott-dlin.html

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Shared by the Dallas Holocauts Museum at 4:00 PM March 4, 2010

Elliott Dlin: The Ultimate Upstander

Dear Friends,

On Wednesday, March 3rd, we lost a friend and Holocaust scholar. Elly Dlin brought as much passion and knowledge as anyone could to our mission to preserve the memory of the Holocaust and to teach the moral and ethical response to prejudice, hatred and indifference, for the benefit of all humanity.

Elly's enthusiasm for teaching about the Holocaust and genocide made it impossible for his audiences to be indifferent; he had the power to transform bystanders into Upstanders. His contributions to the Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance were many, but his most remarkable and impressive was the exhibit he set up at our current Record Street location, which now serves as the foundation for all that we do. To say he will be missed is an understatement.

Elly fulfilled many roles, but just last Sunday, he performed a comedy routine at the DHM/CET Purim Party in his Edmonton Oilers hockey jersey. A man of many talents and many friends. And, many have expressed an interest in making contributions to the DHM/CET in Elly's memory. Your sincere support is very much appreciated. We will be working to create a lasting and appropriate memorial to Elly, what he stood for, and his many contributions to the DHM/CET. Your input would be most welcome as we proceed in a thoughtful discussion on how to best honor Elly's legacy.

Sincerely,

"A different world cannot be built by indifferent people"

Elliott Dlin, an internationally-regarded expert on the Holocaust and Museum Director of the Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance, devoted his life to fighting indifference.

Dlin believed that indifference is not a neutral position. The Holocaust, he said, would not have been possible without the inaction of so many who stood by from 1933-1945. In dozens of lectures to teachers, school students and community groups, Dlin championed the term "Upstander"--someone who stands up to racism, prejudice and indifference.

"The Holocaust is the turning point in modern history that transformed the unimaginable into the replicable," he said recently. "It demands involvement and vigilance, and its lessons must be taught anew to each generation."

Dlin, 57, died Wednesday, following a heart attack. Services will be 2 p.m. Sunday in Edmonton, Canada, where he was born. A memorial service in Dallas is pending.

"Elly brought as much passion and knowledge as any one could to our mission to preserve the memory of the Holocaust and to teach the moral and ethical response to prejudice, hatred and indifference, for the benefit of all humanity," said Thomas S. Halsey, Chairman of the Board of the Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance. "His enthusiasm for teaching about the Holocaust and genocide made it impossible for his audiences to be indifferent; he could transform bystanders into Upstanders."

Rabbis William Gershon, David Glickman and Joseph Menashe of Congregation Shearith Israel said, "Elly was not only a wonderful Holocaust Scholar, but an excellent communicator who deeply touched so many lives. Our hearts go out to the Dlin Family, his colleagues at the Holocaust Museum, as well as to the entire Jewish community. His passing is a true loss for all of us."

Dlin joined the Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance as its Executive Director in January 2002, when the Museum was located at the Jewish Community Center of Dallas. In 2005, the Museum relocated to 211 N. Record St. in Dallas' West End Historic District. Dlin personally developed the Museum's current exhibition, which examines one day in the Holocaust-April 19, 1943-from three different perspectives. The Museum hosts more than 50,000 visitors annually.

"Elly's contributions to the DHM/CET were many, but his most remarkable and impressive was the exhibit he set up at our Record Street location, which now serves as the foundation for all that we do," said Halsey. "To say he will be missed is an understatement."

Last December, at the request of the Museum board, Dlin assumed the new title of Museum Director, focusing on educational, archival and other content-related programs. The Museum has purchased land for a new facility at Houston Street and Pacific Avenue, adjacent to the Sixth Floor Museum, and a fundraising campaign is being planned.

Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Elliott Dlin emigrated to Israel in 1977 after completing an MA in Modern European History from The University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

Initially, he taught high school in Jerusalem, then spent 22 years in senior positions for Yad Vashem, Israel's national museum and memorial to the Holocaust in Jerusalem. Dlin worked in the education department where he focused on developing and writing curriculum as well as training teachers to teach about the Holocaust. He helped establish the "International Seminars for Teaching Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust," a multi-language, multi-dimensional program that continues today. From 1993 to 1999, he served as director of the Valley of Communities, a 2.5-acre commemorative site in Yad Vashem where he lectured and curated more than a dozen exhibitions.

In Dallas, Dlin was a passionate speaker and captivating educator. His lectures and presentations wove together historical fact and moral perspective, often leaving spell-bound audience members wanting to hear more. He specialized in bringing a comprehensive worldview to the approach of teaching about the Holocaust, believing memory is both personal and communal.

In January, Dlin was Guest Scholar at Temple Emanu-El for a three-part lecture series entitled, Understanding the Holocaust: Changing Reflections in Film, Media and Beyond. On February 23, he was a presenter and panelist for a program at Southern Methodist University exploring the Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission, established by the Texas Legislature and signed by Gov. Rick Perry last June.

At the time of his death, Dlin was nearing completion of a Ph.D. dissertation in Museum Education at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, the subject of which is a comparative study of Holocaust Museums in North America.

Dlin is survived by his wife, Carol Bachman-Dlin; four sons, Yeshai, Oren, Ronen and Raviv; his mother, Helen Dlin; his brother, Dr. Arnold Dlin; a sister, Bonnie Cassios; and many nieces and nephews.

Memorials may be made in Dlin's name to the Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance, the American Heart Association or to Yad Vahsem.

Elly at a Feb. 23 panel
Elly was a presenter and panelist at the Museum's Feb. 23 event at SMU, exploring the Texas Commission on Holocaust and Genocide, co-sponsored by the Memnosyne Foundation and the SMU Human Rights Program

Elly at the Feb. 28 Purim Party
Elly was an avid fan of his hometown National Hockey League team, the Edmonton Oilers.

Elly at a Yom Hashoah Event
Since his arrival to the Museum in 2002, Elly has overseen planning of the annual Yom Hashoah Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at which we recognize and honor our cherished Holocaust Survivors.

The Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Holocaust, and to teaching the moral and ethical response to prejudice, hatred and indifference, for the benefit of all humanity.

For more information, visit dallasholocaustmuseum.org.
And, please visit us at 211 N. Record Street, Suite 100, Dallas, 75202.