Emily’s Generations Presentation

While Emily had two grandparents who were Holocaust survivors, Emily’s presentation centers on her grandmother’s experience. Ilsa Dahl Cole was born in 1916 in western Germany. She was raised in a small farming community and attended a Catholic high school before the Nazis rose to power. Emily’s presentation provides an overview of the rise the Nazi party, exclusion of Jews from national sports leagues, Kristallnacht, emigration out of Germany, the fate of her extended family, and Stolpersteine and other remembrance work both in Europe and America. Emily’s presentation includes maps, video testimony of her grandmother, and a plethora of family photos.

About Emily

A granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, Emily was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, where her grandmother used to share her story of survival with school groups and community members. Emily moved to Pittsburgh in 2011 and became involved with the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh in 2018, when she started volunteering as a Generations Speaker. In late 2022, she was hired by the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh and now serves as its Director of Programs and Education, allowing her to be able to both discuss her family’s personal experience with the Holocaust and the work the Holocaust Center does in the region.

Emily lives in Pittsburgh with her husband, two kids, and her two Boston Terriers. She loves being with her family, hiking, gardening, writing, and doing what she can to make the world a better place.