Collecting the Fragments
A call to contribute documents, artifacts and evidence to the JFCS Holocaust Center permanent archives
Why Now, Why Here
For decades, the Holocaust Center has taught the Jewish story to students, teachers, and lifelong learners across California. But the need has grown beyond what our current space can hold, and this history deserves a home close to those who carry it.
Through the Never Forget Capital Campaign, we’re building a new home for that story in San Francisco—one built for this moment and the generations ahead.
Jewish memory is carried collectively, l’dor vador, from generation to generation. Your family’s papers, photographs, and artifacts become part of that shared inheritance.
Your artifact will have a home here, in the Bay Area—somewhere you, your children, and your grandchildren can visit for years to come.
What You Can Donate
Every letter, photograph, and document tells an individual story, but together, they form part of a larger one: the story of the Jewish people before, during, and after the Holocaust. We are collecting the personal items that carried individuals and families through those years, and that continue to carry their history, and ours, today.
- Letters and correspondence
- Photographs
- Documents and papers
- Ephemera
- Personal artifacts from the Holocaust era
From liberators and US servicemembers:
We continue to welcome letters home, photographs, military papers, and objects from those who witnessed the liberation of the camps or served in postwar Europe, and from the families who kept them.
If you’re unsure whether something belongs in this collection, we encourage you to reach out. Andrew Roth, our Manager of Library and Archives, is glad to talk through what you have.
(Please note: we are not collecting published survivor books or memoirs.)
How It Works
Reach out.
Contact Andrew Roth, Manager of Library and Archives, to start the conversation: AndrewRo@jfcs.org
Or call the Holocaust Center at 415-449-3717.
Talk it through.
Andrew will speak with you about your item(s)—what they are, their history, and how they might fit into the collection. There is no obligation.
Decide together.
If you choose to donate, we’ll work with you on next steps for preserving and sharing your family’s history.
Meet the Archivist
Andrew Roth serves as Manager of Library and Archives at the JFCS Holocaust Center. After many years in publishing, he completed a Master’s degree in Archives and Records Administration at San Jose State University in 2021—a path that let him combine his interest in Jewish and German history with a lifelong passion for books and primary sources.
Andrew is the author of the Goldapple Guide to Jewish Berlin and The Opposite of Treason, the story of anti-Nazi figure Helmut Hirsch. That same care for individual stories shapes how he approaches this work: he meets with survivors and families directly, listens to the history behind each item, and ensures it is preserved with the attention it deserves.
We Are Building!
Based in San Francisco, the new JFCS Holocaust Center – Center for Jewish Peoplehood will serve all of California and beyond—bringing the Jewish story into every California classroom and shaping Holocaust education for generations to come.
Join our community’s historic campaign.