Longtime Donor Finds Purpose and Power in Preserving Memory

Terri Deutsch of Baltimore, Maryland, is the child of Holocaust survivors Morris and Frieda Deutsch, who met and married in the Zeilsheim Displaced Persons Camp in Germany.

Learning about and preserving her family’s memory has led Terri to entrust the Museum with precious heirlooms, photographs, and other materials. These photographs and records show the human side of the horrors her parents endured.

“Very few survivors are still alive to share what happened with future generations,” she notes. “Putting a face and a name on those who have been dehumanized is vital in telling the story to teach other people.”

Terri also takes satisfaction in knowing the donated artifacts assist other families of survivors in obtaining information and finding answers.

“In addition to providing sustaining funding, continually building the collection allows the Museum to make more materials accessible for its researchers and curators, educators and in-person and online visitors, and the world at large,” she says.

Curators recently reviewed some of the Deutsch family photographs and documents. Based on what they found, they were able to connect Terri with the family of the man who ran her parents’ Displaced Persons Camp and helped them immigrate to the United States.

Terri is passionate about honoring her parents’ memory and feels it gives meaning to what they suffered through. The Morris and Frieda Deutsch Professional Leadership Training Endowment Fund was established so today’s military, law enforcement, and government leaders learn this history, too, and can apply its timeless lessons when making critical decisions.

Terri holds strongly to the desire to honor her parents and keep their memory alive. Her hope is that, through the donated artifacts, she might give meaning not just to what her parents endured, but to the loss of her parents’ families, the loss of the lives of those they knew, and the loss of the dreams they had as children and teenagers.

“Events happening in the world today highlight that it's our responsibility,” Terri states. “The second and third generations must do what we can to prevent a repeat of what our parents and grandparents experienced. We'll never know the contribution that could have been made to the human endeavor by those who were lost.”

Join Terri, and others like her, by creating your own planned gift to the Museum. Contact the Planned Giving & Endowments team at 202.488.6591 or planned_giving@ushmm.org to learn more.