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

Personal Projects The Next Chapter enables high school youth to develop profound connections with Holocaust survivors. By participating in the program, students build a special community of social responsibility and genocide awareness. Through the Next Chapter program, students learn how to: Meet with Holocaust survivors and pass on their stories Study the history of the Holocaust and Read More

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

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

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

“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

Through interactive and cutting-edge educational programming the JFCS Holocaust Center bring the lessons of the Holocaust alive to a new generation of students, activists, and young scholars. As a senior at Galileo Academy of Science and Technology, Jessica took part in the JFCS Holocaust Center’s Next Chapter program last year. Not only did she study Read More

Reflections on the 2016-2017 University Fellowship Each year at the JFCS Holocaust Center, students from colleges and universities throughout the Bay Area apply for the Albert Jerassy University Fellowship. As part of this JFCS Holocaust Center program, two students benefit from a nine-month intensive study of the Holocaust that includes mentoring and teaching high school students, Read More

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

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

Ben’s Personal Project Ben S. is a 10th grader at The Urban School of San Francisco and a participant in the JFCS Holocaust Center’s Next Chapter program this year. As part of the program, students are matched with local Holocaust survivors, who they meet with and interview several times over the course of a semester. Read More

Ethan S. is a 10th grader at Woodside Priory and a participant in the JFCS Holocaust Center’s Next Chapter program this year. As part of the program, students are matched with local Holocaust survivors, who they meet with and interview several times over the course of a semester. Through the Next Chapter program, students learn Read More

Students Leet M. and Ella R. were matched with Holocaust survivor Stella M. during this year’s Next Chapter program. As part of the Next Chapter, students write biographies of their survivors, then create personal projects to reflect on the experience of meeting and getting to know a Holocaust survivor. For her personal project, Ella created Read More

Students Eloise M. and Ari N. were matched with Holocaust survivor Sonia K. during this year’s Next Chapter program. As part of the Next Chapter, students write biographies of their survivors, then create personal projects to reflect on the experience of meeting and getting to know a Holocaust survivor. For her personal project, Eloise created Read More

Louis’s Story Jonah K. 11th grader at Oakland Technical High School Louis D. was born in Amersfoort, The Netherlands, in 1929. He grew up in the nearby town of Arnhem. His parents operated an electrical store where they sold various appliances. Louis had one older sister. His parents were not particularly religious, but they believed Read More

Lori’s Story Idan S. 10th grader at Jewish Community High School of the Bay Lori S. was born in 1925 in Vienna Austria. Her father and mother were not very wealthy but also not poor. She grew up with a brother who was four years older, and two cousins. Her family owned a shop, with Read More

Emma T. is an 11th grader at International High School and a participant in the JFCS Holocaust Center’s Next Chapter program this year. As part of the program, students are matched with local Holocaust survivors, who they meet with and interview several times over the course of a semester. Through the Next Chapter program, students Read More

Students Sarah F. and William B. were matched with Holocaust survivor Leon R. during this year’s Next Chapter program. As part of the Next Chapter, students write biographies of their survivors, then create personal projects to reflect on the experience of meeting and getting to know a Holocaust survivor. For his personal project, William wrote “Darkness Read More

Students Nick F., Marionne S., and Byron Z. were matched with Holocaust survivor Lenci F. during this year’s Next Chapter program. As part of the Next Chapter, students write biographies of their survivors, then create personal projects to reflect on the experience of meeting and getting to know a Holocaust survivor. For his personal project, Read More

Herb’s Story Students Caroline R. and Simone R. were matched with Holocaust survivor Herb H. during this year’s Next Chapter program. As part of the Next Chapter, students write biographies of their survivors, then create personal projects to reflect on the experience of meeting and getting to know a Holocaust survivor. For her personal project, Read More

Gerda’s Story Dana W. 12th grader at Menlo-Atherton High School Gerda’s story begins in the German city of Breslau. She began her education at a well-regarded private Catholic school. The kids were friendly and she excelled in her classes. She could not understand why in 1934 the school asked her and other Jews to leave, Read More

AnneMarie’s Story Students Nicolette K. and Frederick K. were matched with Holocaust survivor AnneMarie Y. during this year’s Next Chapter program. Nicolette and AnneMarie participated in the annual Yom HaShoah program at Jewish Community High School of the Bay. Nicolette first shared about some of AnneMarie’s experiences during the Holocaust with the students at her Read More

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

Simone’s Personal Project Simone R. is a 10th grade student at The College Preparatory School and a participant in the JFCS Holocaust Center’s Next Chapter program this year. As part of the program, students are matched with local Holocaust survivors, who they meet with and interview several times over the course of a semester. Through the Next Read More

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

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

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

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

The JFCS Holocaust Center’s Next Chapter program was recently featured in The Mercury News! Read the article > The Next Chapter enables high school youth to develop profound connections with Holocaust survivors. By participating in the program, students build a special community of social responsibility and genocide awareness and are awarded 40 hours of community service. Read More

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

The JFCS Holocaust Center, in partnership with Rhoda Goldman Plaza, is pleased to present a reading, book signing and reception for Gloria H. Lyon, author of Mommy, What’s that Number on Your Arm? A-6374. Sunday, November 20, 1:00 – 3:00 pm Rhoda Goldman Plaza 2180 Post Street, San Francisco RSVP by November 6th by contacting Candiece Milford Read More

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

Survival by Luck by Naama W. Saint Mary’s College High School   The first thing Herb said he could remember was the small, idyllic town that his family lived in: a nice place on the outskirts of Prague. He was born into a Jewish family, a small one, with only one other child beside him. Read More

The Story of AnneMarie Y. by Joshua C. Stuart Hall High School   AnneMarie Y. was born in Chemnitz, Germany, She lived in a house with her father and mother. On November 9, 1938, when AnneMarie was a young child, she heard the violence of Kristallnacht[1] from inside her house. When she asked her parents Read More

Ed’s Story by Madison M. Monte Vista High School   Ed was born in the year 1930, in Dobromil, Poland[1]. Self described as a troublemaker, Ed’s first memory was at only three years old, when he had managed to swallow a coin. He remembers everyone in a frenzy around him, worried about his safety. Of Read More