Ugly Anti-semitic phone message facilitates restoration of Holocaust boat

After a conservator of the Houston Holocaust Museum received a disturbing voicemail he posted it on YouTube. That encouraged donation, and now the boats restoration is possible.

 

A 1943 vintage Danish fishing boat which rescued Danish Jews during the Holocaust is in the process of being moved and restored, ironically enough, thanks to an anti-Semitic phone call.

Screenshot – Fox News

The boat had been deteriorating for a while, but since the museum doesn’t charge for admission, raising money for a restoration project wasn’t exactly easy–until conservator Braeden Howard received an “obscene anti-Semitic” phone call and posted the anonymous diatribe on YouTube.

“The Glenn Beck Show” got wind of the rant and shared it with viewers. Since then, the Houston Holocaust Museum has raised over $200,000 for the restoration of the boat, exceeding the $200,000 price tag for the 7-ton landlocked vessel.

TNT donated a crane, a shipyard donated a new and better cradle, and craftsmen have donated their skills.

Acting in response to a German round up of Jews in 1943, the Danes organized a boat lift to smuggle Jews to neutral Sweden. Using a boat like this one, they were able to save 7,200 Jews.

Video courtesy Houston Fox News
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View  original JTA publication at: http://www.jta.org/2013/07/11/news-opinion/the-telegraph/anti-semitic-phone-call-leads-to-restoration-of-historic-boat