Florida Holocaust Museum is a Holocaust museum located at 55 Fifth Street South in St. Petersburg , Florida . Founded in 1992 , it moved to its current location in 1998 . Formerly known as the Holocaust Center , the museum officially changed to its current name in 1999 . It is one of the largest Holocaust museums in the United States . It was founded by Walter and Edith Lobenberg both of whom were German Jews who escaped persecution in Nazi Germany by immigrating to the United States . Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel served as Honorary Chairman and cut the ribbon at the 1998 opening ceremony . The museum works with the local community and survivors of the Holocaust to spread awareness and to educate the public on the history of the Holocaust . The Florida Holocaust Museum was founded by Walter Loebenberg and his wife Edith Loebenberg in 1992 . Both of them had been born in Germany and had escaped Nazi persecution . Walter Loebenberg was born in Wächtersbach , Germany but due to Nazi prosecution of his father and the subsequent difficulties in running the family store , the Loebenberg family moved to Frankfurt in 1936 . It was in Frankfurt in 1938 that the Lobenberg Family experienced Kristallnacht , with Walter narrowly escaping physical harm and being forced to hide . Eventually , through the support of an aunt already living in the United States , Walter Loebenberg was able to immigrate successfully and eventually moved to Chicago . He then served in the United States Army for the duration of the World War II after being drafted in 1942
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Florida Holocaust Museum