July 18



USA///MAINE:

Holocaust center meaning runs deep -- $300,000 Alfond contribution takes
education facility at UMA closer to fruition


When a new education resource center on the Holocaust is built at the
University of Maine in Augusta, it won't just be another teaching
facility. For Dr. Julius Ciembroniewicz, it will also be a memorial to his
darkest days in Krakow, Poland.

"I survived the war because I was hiding in a monastery," said
Ciembroniewicz, who is president of Maine's Holocaust Human Rights Center
(HHRC). "My brother survived because he was taken in by a peasant family.
My father separated us, that's why we survived. But I lost most of my
family."

The organization's education center, billed at $1.5 million, is expected
to be completed within three years. That came a step closer to fruition
when the Alfond family recently pitched $300,000 into the hat.

Their gift, which came from the Harold Alfond Foundation, the Peter Alfond
Foundation, and the Lunder Foundation, will go toward a creating a
permanent Holocaust exhibit space at the resource center. That space will
be named after Harold Alfond's wife, Dorothy Levine Alfond, who is also an
honorary director for the HHRC.

"It's a great cause," said philanthropist Harold Alfond, founder and
former owner of Dexter Shoe Company. "If everyone gives as much as they
can afford to give, it goes a long way toward helping the cause."

He and his family's donations bring the center's financing just shy of the
$1 million mark.

"Dorothy Alfond has been closely associated with the HHRC since its
inception," said Greg Powell, who handles the assets and donations for the
Alfonds' foundations. "Both Harold and Dorothy have helped support it over
the years. They're really happy to support this expansion project because
one of its key missions is to capture the memories and input of Holocaust
survivors in the state of Maine."

The education center will mainly comprise two classrooms, a reception area
and an exhibit space. The 6,000-square foot project will be built as an
annex to the university library.

"The objective is to address the issue of the Holocaust, to prevent new
holocausts from occurring," said Ciembroniewicz, who arrived in the United
States in 1969. "We are addressing the issue of human rights. It was the
lack of human rights that led to the Holocaust."

For the organization, it will also mean a welcome new home.

"We don't have our own place," Ciembroniewicz said. "We use offices and
the state library. We don't even have our own chairs to sit on. Having our
own center would be more effective."

The education center, which will be privately funded, has been three years
in the planning. Its motivating force is Sharon Nichols, the
organization's executive director, who is now in Poland with Maine
teachers and students on a Holocaust study trip.

"If we're going to have a center, it's because of her," said
Ciembroniewicz, who also thanked the University of Maine for allowing the
center to be built on its premises.

Charles Lyons, president of the university, has also been closely
associated with the project.

"Sharon (Nichols) approached me, inquiring whether UMA would be interested
in hosting the project," he said. "It seemed to be a natural marriage, not
only preserving the memory of the Holocaust, but also for the aims of any
public university of providing good, open exchange."

Lyons and the university's chancellor, Joseph Westphal, plan to brief the
university's board of trustees in September on plans for siting the center
at the university. The board's decision is expected by January next year,
Lyons added.

For Lyons, the center will be a testament to his UMA's values.

"This is about scholarship and learning, but I also hope it is a monument
to civil rights in general, not just a museum," he said. "My vision is of
thousands of schoolchildren coming through here and learning about basic
human rights."

(source: Blethen Maine Newspapers)