Simon Preisler Learning Series

A program of the JFCS Preisler Shorenstein Institute for Holocaust Education

Join us as we continue our special virtual community programs with the Simon Preisler Learning Series featuring stories of the Holocaust and genocide. These free, educational events are open to anyone aged 13 and over. They are designed to bring us closer to the history that defines our present and to inspire social responsibility.

Check back here soon for upcoming programs!

Past Programs Include:

Fall Learning Series 2021

By the Grace of the Game:  A Conversation with Dan Grunfeld  Register here >

Tuesday, December 7th, 11AM – 12:15PM PT

A kid in New York City loves basketball and watches the New York Knicks from the nosebleeds. Years later, that same kid is center-court playing in the NBA. Ernie Grunfeld went on to be General Manager of the Knicks in the 1990s. Most Knicks fans know the Grunfeld name, but what many do not know is that Ernie Grunfeld arrived in New York at age 9 with his parents from Hungary, not knowing a word of English and having lost most of his family during the Holocaust.

Dan Grunfeld, Ernie’s son and grandson of Livia, Bay Area community member and Holocaust survivor, will speak about the “unprecedented American Dream” realized by his father and his grandparents, and his experience as a third-generation Holocaust survivor carrying on the legacy of his family story.

Presented by 3gSF in partnership with 3GNY. Get your copy of By the Grace of the Game on November 30th.

Past Events:

Stanley and Diana Steyer: A Story of Love, Betrayal, Courage, & Resilience 

Remembering Jerry Rosenstein: Special Pride Month Event  

My Family Story: Lisa Tabak 

Counting on America: A Conversation with Author Gary Reiner

An Intergenerational Conversation with Elizabeth Rosner

Voices from the Third Generation — Ezra

Salvaged Pages: A Conversation with Alexandra Zapruder

Esti Dunow: Painting Tomaszow

My Mother’s Legacy: A Second Generation Survivor’s Story

Vienna to San Francisco: Herb, Holocaust Survivor

“A Life Sentence”: Testimony from Anita, Holocaust Survivor

Three Minutes in Poland: A Conversation with Glenn Kurtz

Commemorating the Rwandan Genocide with Bihama, a Survivor

Summer Book Club 2020

The JFCS Preisler Shorenstein Institute for Holocaust Education was established in memory of Simon Preisler, z”l, father of Lydia Shorenstein and Renee Barasch, who was born in Fancsicovo, Czechoslovakia in 1925.  A survivor of Auschwitz, he settled in Germany, where he had a successful career in business after the Holocaust. Preisler’s courage and wisdom serve as a reminder of the strength of the human spirit in the face of hatred and indifference.

Please contact [email protected] with any questions.