We are distraught to announce that our long-standing colleague, Senior Educator and friend, Karen Becher, passed away suddenly on 3rd January 2024.

Karen was part of the Beth Shalom family for nearly a decade. Nobody who met her could fail to be moved by her sincerity and passion for our cause. She was motivated by a deep desire to combat the hatreds which led to the Holocaust and which still circulate today. She was also an ardent disciple of the warm communal values, instilled by the Smith family, which this museum so powerfully harnesses as an antidote. Karen was a wonderful example of those values herself.

Whomever Karen met – Holocaust survivors, school children, adult visitors – she treated them with the same genuine interest, respect and warmth. She doted on our family of survivors, with whom she spent an incalculable number of hours chatting in the Coffee Shop.

Karen's time has been cut cruelly short. But her thoughtful & affectionate approach has enhanced the lives of thousands of people - from the schoolchildren she educated, to the hate crime perpetrators she helped to rehabilitate. She set up our groundbreaking 'Breaking The Cycle' programme with the Greater Nottinghamshire Police, turning hate into hope. If you were one of the people touched by Karen's expert care, and would like to pass on your condolences to her family, please email [email protected].

As a mark of respect for Karen, the Museum will be closed to the public on Friday 5^th January. In due course, we will recognise her legacy in a permanent way.

Our heartfelt condolences go to Karen's family - her husband Klaus and their three children. They have lost someone very special. As have we - her Beth Shalom family, to whom she was so devoted.

Please find a link to Karen's Much Loved page here