Upcoming Events

An Exhibit Opening & Reception

We invite you to join us for an Exhibit Opening and Reception on Thursday, June 12th at 5:00. Hear Cordula Mathias, administrator of the Bettinson Art & Literary Trust, speak about by the late Brenda Bettinson’s work and the Bettinson Art & Literary Trust. Experience The Ravensbrück Series, a collection of 17 paintings created with acrylics paint and pencil on board, panel and fabric. Brenda Bettinson, who as a child lived through the nightly bombings during the London Blitz, was moved to create these paintings after she read Sarah Helm’s book, Ravensbrück: Life and Death in Hitler’s Concentration Camp for Women about the enslavement, beatings, torture, rape, starvation, surgical experimentation and murder of the women at the concentration camp. The Ravensbrück Series will be exhibited at the HHRC from June 12th to September 5th. Register here. Image information: Ravensbrück Series #15: Kommandant (1942 to 45) © Bettinson Art & Literary Trust, 2025 all rights reserved. Used by permission, on loan from Mathias Fine Art. Photo credit: Melville Mclean, 2025.

Pride Portland! Parade & Festival

Save the Date: Saturday, June 21st @ 1:00 We can't wait to join the 2025 Pride Portland! parade. The theme is Maine Transcends. We will have a trolley again this year, which makes for a fun party atmosphere. As members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community, we will gather on Saturday, June 21st to celebrate and support human rights and equal rights for all people. Pride Portland! brings people together for an annual parade and festival to celebrate and honor the accomplishments of the LGBTQ+ movement, to raise awareness of the community’s ongoing struggles, and to foster an environment of inclusivity, accessibility, and solidarity. We hope you can join us—we will have more details and a meeting location soon. Register here.

Soul Survivors Book

We are thrilled to collaborate on a beautiful book by and about Maine Holocaust survivors as a resource for students and teachers. Through the Lens: Creating Soul Survivors by Photographer Jack Montgomery will showcase stunning portraits paired with the survivor’s story about suffering, persevering and surviving the Holocaust to go on and build a new life in America. These people founded and built the Holocaust and Human Rights Center—remaining steadfast supporters and members of our close community. The book is brings together projects that date back to the beginning of the HHRC and building of the Michael Klahr Center. We are indebted to Jack, and thrilled that these evocative portraits and heartbreaking, inspiring stories now exist in a book. Writes Jack, “The things we save can become the means for our recovery. I am moved by every aspect of these stories … And I am forever grateful to the survivors for giving us this record, which no amount of denial or historical revisionism can ever erase. We are in their debt.” A generous donor has funded the gift of a free copy to every school in Maine.

Preserving Their Voices

Through several initiatives in conjunction with the 40th Anniversary celebration, we will preserve the stories and voices of our founders, Holocaust survivors who immigrated to Maine to rebuild their lives. As it turned out, they also changed the state, bringing advocacy and education to students by traveling the state telling their stories, and speaking out against antisemitism and bigotry. This project will include a stunning book, revamped multi-media installation, events with second generation survivors, four art exhibits and a timeline to honor our forty amazing years.