"You have a story. And you have to tell it."

George didn’t think he had a story to tell. His daughter, Elizabeth, convinced him otherwise. “I didn’t have to go to a concentration camp. I didn’t have to hide in someone’s closet. I was hidden in plain view. But my daughter said, You have a story. And you have to tell it.” – George George Read More

Posted by Admin on October 4, 2023
Faces of Genocide Film Premiere

The JFCS Holocaust Center is excited to sponsor the upcoming premiere of Faces of Genocide! Sun., Nov. 11, 2018 5:00 pm Cowell Theater at Fort Mason 2 Marina Blvd, Building C San Francisco Faces of Genocide is a unique short documentary about the shameful succession of genocidal atrocities throughout the 20th and beginning of the 21st Read More

Posted by Admin on October 11, 2018
Introducing the Next Generation Speakers Bureau

Holocaust survivors are dwindling, but their children are just getting started The JFCS Holocaust Center’s newest education initiative, the Next Generation Speakers Bureau (NGSB), was recently featured in the J. Weekly! The Next Generation Speakers Bureau is a training program for second- and third-generation speakers to share their families’ stories of survival during the Holocaust. Read More

Posted by Admin on April 26, 2018
Shoah: How Was It Humanly Possible?

We are pleased to co-sponsor an upcoming event at Congregation Sherith Israel. SHOAH: How Was It Humanly Possible?, an exhibit by the American Society for Yad Vashem, will be on display from April 16-19, 2018. This exhibit is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required. See below for details. Don’t miss two Read More

Posted by Admin on April 2, 2018
Overlooked but Not Forgotten

The Voices of Women in the Holocaust By Morgan Blum Schneider “Respond to hate with love… it is the only thing that works” –Helen Farkas, z”l [1] Why does it continue to be important to teach young women about great women in history? As Gershon Bacon reminds us, there is a “persistent tendency to assume the Read More

Posted by Admin on February 6, 2018
A Reason to Remember

“A Reason to Remember” reception and presentation The JFCS Holocaust Center is pleased to partner with Mercy High School’s Farkas Center for this special event! November 9, 2017 4:00 to 6:00 pm Mercy High School 3250 19th Avenue, San Francisco 94132     All middle and high school students from San Francisco are invited to Read More

Posted by Admin on October 25, 2017
JFCS Holocaust Center Now Offers 55,000 Video Testimonies

Impressive Visual History Archive Now Available in its Entirety in San Francisco JFCS Holocaust Center, in partnership with the USC Shoah Foundation founded by Steven Spielberg, now gives people full access to view thousands of video testimonies, and is one of just two sites in Northern California to do so along with Stanford University. The Visual Read More

Posted by Admin on August 14, 2017
Guest Blogger: Waheeb M., YouthFirst Summer Intern

John Damski: Rescuer Today’s post comes from the JFCS Holocaust Center’s YouthFirst Summer Intern, Waheeb. In addition to helping Holocaust Center staff with administrative projects, Waheeb spent part of his summer researching, writing, and editing this portrait of John Damski, a Polish Catholic who risked his life to save Jews during the Holocaust. Waheeb completed this project using Read More

Posted by Admin on July 19, 2017
Letters from Valley View Middle School

Letters for Ralph Earlier this spring, Holocaust survivor Ralph Samuel shared his story with students at Valley View Middle School in Pleasant Hill as part of the JFCS Holocaust Center’s William J. Lowenberg Speakers Bureau. The following comments make up just a small sample of some of the feedback that we received from the students at Read More

Posted by Admin on June 20, 2017
Fantastic Letters from Tamalpais High School

Letters for Leon During the first week of May, Holocaust survivor Leon Rajninger shared his story with students at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley as part of the JFCS Holocaust Center’s William J. Lowenberg Speakers Bureau. Regarding Leon’s programs, the organizing teacher wrote: “He is a treasure. My students were especially struck by his Read More

Posted by Admin on June 12, 2017
3gSF in the News!

A Legacy of Remembrance and Resilience Recently, the members of 3gSF attended Café by the Bay’s Passover Seder. At this special event, survivors of the Holocaust mingled with the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors (3Gs), sharing food, drink, and life experiences. J Weekly By Rob Gloster Berta Kohut endured more than 1,000 days at Auschwitz. She Read More

Posted by Admin on May 23, 2017
Yom HaShoah 2017

Sunday, April 23 5:00-6:15pm JCCSF, 3200 California Street San Francisco The Future of Our Past A Conversation about Memory and Testimony with Stephen D. Smith, USC Shoah Foundation, Followed by a Memorial Ceremony This community event is free and open to the public. 4:00 pm: Reading of the Names—On a continuous cycle prior to the Read More

Posted by Admin on April 7, 2017
Incredible Letters from Students at Mt. Eden High School

In the beginning of March, William J. Lowenberg Speakers Bureau member Helen Farkas addressed the students at Mt. Eden High School in Hayward, California. Following the program, we received a large stack of letters from the students at Mt. Eden. Helen really made an impression on this large group of young people; each letter was Read More

Posted by Admin on April 4, 2017
Register Now for the Day of Learning 2017!

Day of Learning Sunday, March 19 12:30 – 5:00 pm Galileo Academy of Science and Technology San Francisco All Northern California students (grades 7 – 12) and teachers are invited to this annual, free event. Come learn from preeminent educators and Holocaust survivors. At the Day of Learning, gain a deeper understanding about the Holocaust Read More

Posted by Admin on January 5, 2017
Kindertransport Oral Histories

What are “oral histories”? Oral histories are testimonies of Holocaust survivors, recorded on audio and video tape. These personal stories provide us with an immediate way to grasp the horrors of the Holocaust. The oral history clips on this site are excerpts from testimonies in the JFCS Holocaust Center collection. They have now been digitized Read More

Posted by Admin on September 16, 2016
The Botkin Family: A Bridge Between the Past and the Future

Meryl Botkin was delighted when she heard that her granddaughter, Julia, had been accepted into the Manovill Holocaust History Fellowship at the JFCS Holocaust Center. She knew that she would get the chance to see her beloved granddaughter more often throughout the school year, and it would give Julia an incredible opportunity to study the Read More

Posted by Admin on July 12, 2016
USC Shoah Foundation Adds New Holocaust Testimony Collection from JFCS Holocaust Center

More than 900 Holocaust testimonies recorded over four decades by the Jewish Family and Children Services Holocaust Center of San Francisco (JFCS) are now fully integrated into USC Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive as part of the Preserving the Legacy initiative – an ambitious plan to save recorded eyewitness testimony and bring voices of genocide Read More

Posted by Admin on May 16, 2016
Yom HaShoah - Holocaust Remembrance Day in SF

Please join Jewish Family and Children’s Services for the San Francisco observance of Holocaust Remembrance Day. This year’s program, Out of the Shadows: Rediscovering Artists, Musicians, and Poets, includes a screening of Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh, a documentary about the young Hungarian poet; five workshops, including eyewitness testimony from Read More

Posted by Admin on April 20, 2016
Thank You for Attending the Day of Learning 2016!

More than 600 students and educators representing 120 different schools from throughout California joined the JFCS Holocaust Center for the 14th annual Day of Learning. Eighteen different workshops were offered and 16 different survivors of the Holocaust and genocide shared their stories. Please visit the JFCS Holocaust Center on Facebook to view photos, tag yourself, and Read More

Posted by Admin on March 28, 2016
Day of Learning: A Focus on Children as Refugees

Registration is now open for our annual Day of Learning! We are excited to welcome over 750 students (grades 8 – 12) and educators from all public and private schools throughout California for an incredible day to gain a deeper understanding of the Holocaust and patterns of genocide. How does one apply the lessons of Read More

Posted by Admin on March 8, 2016
Follow Us on Instagram!

You’ve asked for an Instagram page and we’ve listened. We are excited to announce the launch of the official JFCS Holocaust Center Instagram! An exciting new way to stay up-to-date with our events and programs, the JFCS Holocaust Center Instagram page will also feature rarely seen items from our archive and items from the Tauber Holocaust Library’s 13,000 volume Read More

Posted by Admin on July 9, 2015
New Book Launch! Never the Last Road

We are thrilled to announce the release of Never the Last Road: A Partisan’s Life by Mira Shelub and Fred Rosenbaum. Mira Shelub is a partisan and a familiar face to many Bay Area students who have had the privilege of hearing her speak. Never the Last Road: A Partisan’s Life tells Mira’s miraculous story or resistance and Read More

Posted by Admin on May 12, 2015
We continue to remember
The JFCS Holocaust Center is comprised of the Tauber Holocaust Library and Education Program, the Manovill Holocaust History Fellowship, the Speakers Bureau, the Day of Learning, the Oral History Project and the Zisovich Fellowships programs, as well as The Next Chapter Project. All of these organizations operate on the generous support of our donors.
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