(JTA) — A seven-branch menorah that a World War II veteran brought to the United States from Europe as a souvenir was donated to the Dallas Holocaust Museum.
The museum and education center made the announcement Wednesday about the menorah and another item it received from the Monuments Men Foundation.
In having only seven branches, it resembles the one lit by Kohanim (priests) at the Holy Temple during biblical times in Jerusalem. It is a symbol of the Jewish people and the State of Israel.
The Dallas-based Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art was established in 2007 to honor the hundreds of “Monuments Men” who saved more than 5 million artworks stolen by the Nazis. A 2009 book by Foundation founder Robert Edsel about the Monuments Men was made into a 2014 movie starring George Clooney and Cate Blanchett.
The other artifact donated to the museum is a handmade album containing 46 tipped-in photographs showing daily work activities of the Monuments Men at the Offenbach Archival Depot, one of three principal collecting points for cultural treasures and works of art looted by the Nazis during World War II.
“The Monuments Men Foundation is pleased that after some 70 years, this menorah will now have a permanent and appropriate home at one of our city’s most important cultural institutions, the Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance,” Edsel, who is chairman of the foundation, said in a statement.
“Now, after a very long journey, it will serve future generations as an ever present reminder of the horrors inflicted on humanity by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.”
The Foundation continues to receive leads through its toll free 1-866-WWII-ART tip line about works of art and other cultural items, including objects that veterans may have brought home as souvenirs.
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