Peter & Kathryn Kalikow Meet with CEO of the Museum of Jewish Heritage

Plans are moving ahead to create the Peter and Mary Kalikow Genealogy Research Center at Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust following a visit by Peter Kalikow and his daughter, Kathryn Kalikow, with Museum President and CEO Jack Kliger. The three reviewed plans for the Center, a new facility that will allow Museum visitors to access Jewish genealogy resources and discover their own unique Jewish history.

Kathryn Kalikow, a Principal at the real estate firm HJ Kalikow & Company, stated, “When you look out from Museum and see Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, you think about the generations of people and families who came before, looking for freedom and opportunity. My family is creating this Center to connect Jews with their own heritage, helping them gain a better appreciation of the hardship and challenges past Jewish generations overcame to allow them to create a better life for their descendants."

The new facility will use the Museum's respective collections and JewishGen, the Museum's wholly owned affiliate and the world's largest and most significant resource for Jewish genealogy, to give visitors the opportunity to preserve their Jewish family history and heritage for future generations.

Peter Kalikow observed, “My family believes that knowing and embracing one’s family history is one of the most powerful connections we have to our heritage. By utilizing the latest technology, coupled with the enormous data resources of the Museum of Jewish Heritage, this new research center will have the means of connecting Jews with their own personal history that would have otherwise been lost to time or the infamy of the Holocaust.”

The space will contain hundreds of Yizkor (Memorial) Books and print materials, multiple computer stations where people can access JewishGen’s genealogy resources and the Museum’s vast collection of records and data, along with printers for individuals to bring their research home. There also will be on-site volunteers and content experts to assist inquiring visitors.