Mrs Saba Feniger
It is with great pleasure I pay homage to an outstanding Lady. It is also an honour to be speaking on behalf of the people who have had the privilege to have worked with the late Mina Fink in the Jewish Holocaust Centre. Sadly, none of the Founders nor members of the Founding Executive Committee are with us any longer.
This is a brief resume of Mina's involvement with the Jewish Holocaust Centre.
Mina's connection with the Jewish Holocaust Centre predates its opening in March 1984 by many months when she was involved with the realisation of the dream of its founding fathers, Bono Wiener and Aron Sokolowicz..
The generous donation from the Leo Fink Fund and Mina's guaranteed bank overdraft enabled the Kadimah and the Federation of Polish Jews to purchase the property at 13 Selwyn St, Elsternwick, to house the very first Jewish Holocaust Centre in Australia as a memorial by survivors and others in the community.
The Holocaust Centre was to pay tribute to the six million who perished and to those heroes who resisted and fought against the German might. It was also envisaged to highlight the Righteous Among the Nations who saved Jews.
As far as the Jewish Holocaust Centre was concerned, Mina was a visionary. Whilst she realised the need of a permanent memorial, she also envisaged it as an educational tool for young people and for teachers. She joined the Founding Committee with her usual enthusiasm and leadership
She was instrumental in arranging seminars for teachers, particularly those teaching modern history to give them the opportunity to increase their knowledge of the Holocaust. The seminars have been a very successful feature of our institution ever since.
Mina became deeply involved both on intellectual and emotional levels, which was unusual for someone who was not a survivor. But she was a person who greatly felt the loss of loved ones. Her vision was an inspiration for the volunteers of a budding institution, the future of which was still to be mapped out. She aimed at ensuring that the Centre continued to grow in stature. Her vigour and interest in many aspects of the plans was instrumental in achieving that objective. Mina' s involvement in the Centre's activities was of twofold significance; firstly, due to her enormous personal input; secondly, to her high standing in the community.
I am sure Mina would have been extremely pleased and proud with the Centre's level of education and its reputation in the community at large. The growing number of schools and of students visiting is truly impressive. Since March 1984, when the museum opened, there have been in excess of 265,000 students through its doors.
Mina chaired countless meetings of the volunteers until such time when she decided to delegate the position of volunteer's coordinator to Sonia Wajsenberg and the minutes' secretary to Sonia Wajcman, two of the Centre's earliest volunteers.
While Mina appreciated the testimonies of the survivors were of the utmost importance to the visitors, she also recognised that, when guiding, the survivors needed to be trained in the technique of presenting their testimonies in the most effective way. There was also the need to structure the manner and approach of the guides in speaking to the visitors and to maximise their confidence when dealing with them. In order to achieve these aims, Mina invited various people to address the guides. She called on psychologists and teachers, also on her grand-daughter, Debbie Golvan. She invited a guide from the National Gallery of Victoria to talk to the guides and arranged a visit to the NGV as well.
Mina also suggested lectures by academics open not only to the Centre's volunteers but also to the general public. Such events are ongoing and are always well attended.
On her instigation a couple of volunteers began editing 'Centre News'. It was a slim publication, containing information about the Centre's activities.'Centre News' has grown into an informative and praised publication.
I remember that Mina chaired the first function in the newly opened Centre, namely the unveiling of five stained-glass windows by Adela Shaw, a survivor herself. Representational art was an important addition to the museum.
Over the many years, Mina and family continued their generous support of the Centre.
I had the privilege to work more closely with Mina when in 1988-1989 I undertook to re-arrange the museum in the newly extended building. She attended meetings at the initial stages when numerous matters regarding planning of the new display were discussed.
Like in any other organisation there might have been discords from time to time, but the fact that Mina supported me gave me confidence in continuing to do the job at hand.
This job was a mammoth one. Knowing that I had Mina's backing I was encouraged to go on and to undertake a variety of commitments which I might otherwise not have been game enough to do.
I feel confident in saying that Mina' s active involvement and fervent belief in the Jewish Holocaust Centre's importance has played a very significant role in its becoming the successful institution it is today. It most certainly disproves those cynics who expressed their beliefs that the Centre will close its doors within a couple of months.
I want to congratulate The Jewish Museum of Australia and The Australian Centre for the Study of Jewish Civilisation at Monash University, for your vision in introducing the project 'Talking History, Jewish Communal Leaders'. Mina' s contributions to the Jewish Holocaust Museum and Research Centre and the impact her involvement had on the community deserves to be recorded.
In the annals of the Jewish Holocaust Museum & Research Centre's history, Mina Fink, MBE, will figure as an outstanding pioneering contributor.