Jewish-American Hall of Fame Exhibit at the
Virginia Holocaust Museum
The Virginia Holocaust Museum is proud to be the permanent home of the Jewish-American
Hall of Fame exhibit. Over 50 Jewish American men and women - who have made important
contributions in all fields of endeavor - have been inducted since 1969. The large artistic
plaques have been created by outstanding sculptors, many of whom have won the American
Numismatic Society’s J. Sanford Saltus Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Art of the
Medal and/or the American Numismatic Association’s Numismatic Art Award for Excellence in
Medallic Sculpture. As people gaze on the portraits of Albert Einstein, George Gershwin, Ruth
Bader Ginsburg, Joseph Pulitzer, Dr. Jonas Salk, et al, it is hoped that visitors will reflect on
what contributions to humanity might have been made by the six million Jews (and their
descendents) whose lives were viciously taken in the Holocaust.
There are Jewish-American Hall of Fame honorees in Business, Entertainment, Literature,
Medicine, Military, Music, Public Service, Religion, Science, Social Welfare, and Sports. In
addition to the famous names, visitors will discover relatively unknowns like Gertrude Elion,
whose medical research has saved millions of lives around the world - and earned her a Nobel
Prize in Medicine; Asser Levy, one of the first Jewish settlers in America, who fought anti-
Semitism and sued for the right to bear arms in the citizens’ guards; Ernestine Rose, pioneer
fighter for Women’s Rights; and “Rosie” Rosenthal, World War II Flying “Ace”.
You are invited to take a virtual tour of the exhibit below. For further information about the
Virginia Holocaust Museum click here.