10.27 Commemoration Ceremony 2023
2023-10-27 15:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Schenley Park
The 2023 Commemoration Ceremony will take place on Oct. 27th at 3pm in Prospect Drive in Schenley Park. All are welcome.

The program will last for approximately an hour. It will include candle lighting by the families of those who were taken, music provided by Violins of Hope, the Clarion Quartet, and youth musicians, and concluding remarks by U.S. Attorney Eric Olshan.

More information at: https://1027healingpartnership.org/commemoration-ceremony/

Resonance of Hope: Building Bridges Through Music
2023-11-08 | University of Pittsburgh Alumni Hall – Anderson Auditorium, 4227 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, United States
Join diverse communities of Pittsburgh as we celebrate the power of hope through music and spoken word.
Hear the premiere of a work by composer Gerald Cohen and performed by Rabbi/Cantor Jeffrey Myers and the Pittsburgh Youth Chorus, especially commissioned for this event.
Alongside with CAPA Vocal Department members, vocalist Anita Levels will sing songs from the Civil Rights Movement; CAPA’s Theatre Arts program students will read quotes from Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and Dr. Martin Luther King; and poet Danielle Obisie-Orlu will introduce a piece she wrote for the event.
We will also recognize Kristallnacht, the night of shattered glass, which occurred on November 9, 1938, through poetry about the Holocaust by Valerie Bacharach, dance by Attack Theatre’s Peter Kope and Michele de la Reza, and music by Jewish and Black American composers commissioned by the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh and performed by Pittsburgh Symphony musicians David McCarroll and Tatjana Mead Chamis, and cellist Angela Park.
This concert is produced by Flavio Chamis and Gerald Savage.

A Conversation with Holocaust Survivor Albert Farhy
2023-11-09 18:00 | Eddy Theatre at Chatham University, Woodland Rd, Pittsburgh, 15232, United States
The first of our “Elizabeth Sylvian Memorial Lectures,” which address issues related to the Holocaust, including lessons still to be learned and implications for the 21st century. This program also marks the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the “night of broken glass,” the organized pogrom against Jews in Nazi Germany.
Albert Farhy was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. At the age of 13, he was forced into a ghetto then almost sent to a concentration camp, before Bulgarian officials stepped in to prevent his deportation. Albert will discuss topics including his life before and during the Holocaust, and his rescue at the hands of the Bulgarian officials. He will also recount stories about the presence of music in his life, as his father was once a musician, who played the violin and was involved with the Jewish Symphony of Bulgaria.
Your support enables us to continue our work and expand our reach with more programs like this. The recommended donation for this event is $10, but registration is free and cost should not be a barrier to attendance. There will be an option to donate when reserving your ticket, or if you’d prefer to donate directly through the Holocaust Center’s website, click here.
REGISTER HERE*
*Please note, this is an in-person event.
Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh’s annual Kristallnacht program is generously supported by Edgar Snyder.

Ilsa's Story: A Personal History of the Holocaust
2023-11-14 18:00 - 19:00 | Whitehall Public Library, 100 Borough Park Drive, Pittsburgh, PA, 15236, United States
“A story of tragedy, family, and survival.
The library is honored to host Emily Loeb of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh for a special picture presentation about her grandmother’s experience as a Holocaust survivor. As Director of Programs and Education of HCPgh, Ms. Loeb will answer questions about the organization, the type of work they do, and how the tragedies of the Holocaust are still felt in communities today.
Refreshments will be provided.
Bio: 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 combine a cause she cares about with her professional skills. Emily lives in Pittsburgh with her husband, two teenaged kids, and her Boston Terrier. She loves being with her family, hiking, gardening, writing, and doing what she can to make the world a better place.”
Registration: https://tockify.com/whitehall.public.library/detail/656/1700002800000

The Panama Affair: Financial Scandal, Political Corruption and the Rise of Modern Anti-Semitism in 19th-Century France
2023-11-28 18:15 | Carnegie Mellon University
The French anti-Semitic movement of the 1890s- typically associated with the Dreyfus affair- was in fact launched by a different scandal. In the 1892-93 Panama scandal, the anti-Semitic movement first coalesced over a broadly shared outrage about a corrupt foreign investment scheme in which hundreds of thousands of ordinary investors lost their fortunes. Seeing the scandal as revealing Jews’ nefarious control of France’s democratic institutions, anti-Semitic leaders channeled the populist impulse in France into a politically potent kind of anti-Jewish xenophobia. This presentation looks anew at the affair as a formative moment in the history of anti-Semitism, and provides a new perspective on anti-Semitic movements’ critique of liberal democracy, capitalism, and globalization.
Located in the Rachel Mellon Walton Room in Posner Hall (First Floor), Carnegie Mellon University

A Night of Hopes and Hops
2023-12-06 18:30 | East End Brewing Company, 651 Washington Road, Pittsburgh, PA, 15228, United States
“Join us for an engaging evening of storytelling and hope, with Debbie Leuchter Stueber at our Mt. Lebanon Taproom!
You might know Debbie from the Pgh area beer scene, or as a member of the Pittsburgh Beer Ladies. Debbie is also the daughter of Holocaust Survivors Edith and Kurt Leuchter. She will be sharing her parents’ story of survival during the Holocaust; hiding from Nazis and fighting in the French Resistance, and making a new life in America.
This event is free to attend, and your mere attendance benefits the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh by unlocking grant funding.
Note: Please arrive by 6:30pm so that you can grab a beverage or a bite, and settle in for the presentation, which starts promptly at 7pm and will last about an hour, including Q&A.
(In case you’re new to our Mt. Lebanon Taproom’s neighborhood, you might be pleased to learn that metered parking on Washington Road is free after 6pm.)”

Irena’s Vow Community Film Event
2023-12-10 15:00 - 18:00 | Jared L. Cohon University Center, 5032 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, United States
The Film Irena’s Vow is an inspiring tale that showcases the triumph of the human spirit over tragedy.
DOORS OPEN AT 2:30 PM ET
Jared L. Cohon University Center
Carnegie Mellon University
University Center, 5032 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Join Classrooms Without Borders in partnership with The Collaboratory Against Hate and the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh for the remarkable premiere of the film “Irena’s Vow.”
Given the dark days we have experienced since war broke out in Israel, our community invites you to join us for this Community Event. As we light the Hanukkah candles, let us come together, raising our voices to honor the festival of lights. Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, encompasses themes of miracles and divine intervention, freedom and independence, rededication and renewal, light in darkness, family and togetherness, tradition and heritage, resilience and perseverance, community and unity, gratitude, and the importance of education and learning. These themes collectively symbolize the holiday’s significance in Jewish tradition, emphasizing the enduring values and lessons it imparts.
Irena’s Vow” stands as a powerful reminder of the indomitable human spirit in the face of the Holocaust’s darkness, illuminating the triumph of courage, compassion, and resilience in the most challenging of times connecting us

In this captivating narrative featuring Sophie Nélisse, Dougray Scott, Andrzej Seweryn, and Maciek Nawrocki, the true story of Irena Gut Opdyke unfolds. This tale revolves around the resilience of the human spirit in the face of immense tragedy. Irena Gut, a 19-year-old, is unexpectedly promoted to housekeeper in a Nazi officer’s home just as the Jewish ghetto faces imminent liquidation. Fueled by a determination to save twelve Jewish workers, she makes a bold decision to shelter them in the safest place she can think of: the basement of the German commandant’s house. Over the next two years, Irena relies on her wit, humor, and unwavering courage to conceal her friends until the conclusion of the German occupation. Her story is a testament to the enduring power of the human spirit, marked by the incredible feats of bravery amidst a backdrop of Nazi parties, a daring blackmail scheme, and the birth of a child. Irena Gut Opdyke’s journey is undoubtedly one of the most inspirational stories of our time.

Register here.

Righteous Among the Neighbors Celebration
2024-01-17 19:00 - 20:15 | Jewish Community Center – South Hills, 345 Kane Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA, 15243, United States
Righteous Among the Neighbors is a joint project of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh and the LIGHT Education Initiative, in partnership with student journalists at Mt. Lebanon High School, to honor non-Jewish Pittsburghers who have supported the Jewish community and stood up against antisemitism, particularly in response to the October 27th, 2018 attack on three Pittsburgh area Jewish congregations.
As part of the mission of LIGHT—to “inspire, prepare, and empower the next generation of humanitarians”—Mt. Lebanon students have conducted interviews with the 24 Pittsburghers nominated as Righteous Among the Neighbors for 2023 and written article-length profiles about their efforts.
We invite you to join us to celebrate our 2023 Righteous Among the Neighbors honorees at the JCC South Hills on January 17th!
Register here.

The Last Forgotten Victims? Black Lives in Nazi Germany
2024-01-26 12:00 | Zoom
Join us virtually for our annual commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day as we hear from Dr. Robbie Aitken, professor at Sheffield Hallam University, as he discusses the concept of ‘forgotten victims,’ which looks at the experiences of Germany’s Black resident community. Dr. Aitken’s research suggests that there was a genocidal intent in Nazi policy towards Black people, which while not systematically implemented, had a devastating effect on Black lives. The talk will also consider why their stories are missing from public and academic knowledge of the Nazi period as well as more recent attempts to make these life stories visible.
This event is in partnership with the Jack Buncher Chair in Jewish Studies at Carnegie Mellon University, the Jewish Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh, and the Department of Social Sciences at Chatham University.
This is a virtual event. Registration is free and donation is optional. Click here to register. A link will be made available closer to the date of the event.

Professor Robbie Aitken is an Historian of Black Europe and Empire at Sheffield Hallam University. He has written widely on the development of a Black community in Germany from the 1880s up to 1945. His publications include Black Germany, the Making and Unmaking of a Diaspora Community, 1884-1960, (with Eve Rosenhaft). Currently he is working on the Black experience of Nazi Germany as well as post-war compensation claims made by Black victims of the Holocaust.
He has worked with a wide range of non-academic audiences such as schools, museums, artists, film directors, and community groups, and has been involved in several public exhibition and memorial projects in Berlin as well as developing and staging his own travelling exhibition ‘Black Germany’, which has been shown in the UK, Germany, and Cameroon.

Lee Goldman Kikel Discusses "Perseverance"
2024-01-27 13:00 | Castle Shannon Library, 3677 Myrtle Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15234, United States
“Lee Goldman Kikel will join us to talk about her late father Melvin Goldman and how she came to share his meaningful story in the book Perseverance: One Holocaust Survivor’s Journey from Poland to America.
It was in the late 1970s, over thirty years after most of his family was murdered during the Holocaust that Melvin Goldman sat down alone to record his life story. Then, twenty years after his death, Goldman Kikel, Melvin’s only child, found her father’s recordings. It was then she learned that he hoped his story would find its way into the world. In Perseverance, Goldman Kikel fulfills her father’s dream. She tells his story.
Books will be available to purchase.
Registration is appreciated. Register by calling the library at 412-563-4552, emailing the library at castleshannon@castleshannonlibrary.org, dropping by the front desk, or messaging us on FB.”

An Evening with Holocaust Historians Elizabeth B. White and Joanna Sliwa
2024-01-31 19:00 | Riverstone Books, 5841 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15217, United States
Riverstone Books and the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh are pleased to present an evening with Elizabeth B. White and Joanna Sliwa
World War II and the Holocaust have given rise to many stories of resistance and rescue, but The Counterfeit Countess is unique. It tells the remarkable, unknown story of “Countess Janina Suchodolska,” a Jewish woman who rescued more than 10,000 Poles imprisoned by Poland’s Nazi occupiers.
Mehlberg operated in Lublin, Poland, headquarters of Aktion Reinhard, the SS operation that murdered 1.7 million Jews in occupied Poland. Using the identity papers of a Polish aristocrat, she worked as a welfare official while also serving in the Polish resistance. With guile, cajolery, and steely persistence, the “Countess” persuaded SS officials to release thousands of Poles from the Majdanek concentration camp. She won permission to deliver food and medicine for thousands more of the camp’s prisoners. At the same time, she personally smuggled supplies and messages to resistance fighters imprisoned at Majdanek. Incredibly, she eluded detection, and ultimately survived the war and emigrated to the US. Drawing on the manuscript of Mehlberg’s own unpublished memoir, supplemented with prodigious research, Elizabeth White and Joanna Sliwa, professional historians and Holocaust experts, have uncovered the full story of this remarkable woman.
Register here.
Dr. Elizabeth “Barry” White recently retired from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, where she served as historian and as Research Director for the USHMM’s Center for the Prevention of Genocide. Prior to working for the USHMM, Barry spent a career at the US Department of Justice working on investigations and prosecutions of Nazi criminals and other human rights violators. She served as deputy director and chief historian of the Office of Special Investigations and as deputy chief and chief historian of the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section. She lives in Falls Church, Virginia.
Dr. Joanna Sliwa is a historian at the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) in New York, where she also administers academic programs. She previously worked at the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and at the Museum of Jewish Heritage—A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. She has taught Holocaust and Jewish history at Kean University and at Rutgers University and has served as a historical consultant and researcher, including for the PBS film In the Name of Their Mothers: The Story of Irena Sendler. Her first book, Jewish Childhood in Kraków: A Microhistory of the Holocaust won the 2020 Ernst Fraenkel Prize awarded by the Wiener Holocaust Library. She lives in Linden, New Jersey.

A Love Story for the Ages
2024-02-15 18:30 | Hampton Community Center, 3101 McCully Rd, Allison Park, PA, 15101, United States
Hear Generations Speaker Deborah Leuchter Stueber recall her parents’ harrowing story of love and resilience during the Holocaust. The presentation will be accompanied by a 30-minute slideshow and a virtual question-and-answer via Zoom with her parents, Edith and Kurt, themselves.

And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank
2024-03-01 - 2024-03-10 | New Hazlett Center for Performing Arts, 6 Allegheny Square E, Pittsburgh, PA, 15212, United States
by James Still
Directed by Art DeConciliis
Immerse yourself in this inspiring multi-media story based on the true life of Anne Frank and her childhood friends, Eva Schloss and Ed Silberberg, who survived the Holocaust during World War II.
LEARN MORE
March 1 – 10, 2024
Special Dates:
Preview: Friday, March 1st at 7:30pm – Pay What You Can
Opening Night: Saturday, March 2nd at 7:30pm
Sensory Inclusive: Saturday, March 9th at 2:30pm – Pay What You Can
Audio Describe: Sunday, March 10th at 2:30pm
ASL / Live Caption: Sunday, March 10th at 2:30pm

BUY TICKETS
Ticket Prices
– Adult: $39
– Artist: $24
– Student: $19

Special Video Showing of Perseverance
2024-03-04 19:00 | New Hazlett Center for Performing Arts, 6 Allegheny Square E, Pittsburgh, PA, 15212, United States
Experience a special one-time showing of the world premiere production that brought a powerful memoir of healing and renewal to the stage.
Join us on March 4, 2024 for a special viewing of Perseverance with a post-show discussion about the book, play and the Holocaust with The Author: Lee Kikel, The Playwright: L.E. McCullough, and The Director: Art DeConciliis.

BUY TICKETS

Passages to Safety: Untold Stories of Jewish Refugees in Latin America
2024-03-12 18:00 | Welker Room, James Laughlin Music Hall, 5798 Woodland Rd, Pittsburgh, PA, 15232, United States
While Latin America only permitted about 84,000 Jewish refugees during the Holocaust, pockets of hope emerged. Tens of thousands of Spanish and Jewish refugees escaped Nazi-occupied Europe with the help of diplomats like Gilberto Bosques Saldívar of México. Jews were also offered crucial passage away from Nazi persecution by governments in Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, and Ecuador. Join Irvin Moreno-Rodriguez, interim director of the Sara and Sam Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center and member of the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education, for a discussion about Jewish refuge in Latin America during the Holocaust.

This program is free, but the suggested donation is $10. We always appreciate your support of our efforts in Holocaust and antisemitism education!
This event is part of our “Elizabeth Sylvian Memorial Lectures,” which address issues related to the Holocaust, including lessons still to be learned and implications for the 21st century.
Sponsored by: Drs. Ricardo & Blima Mitre, Todd Rosenfeld & Delilah Picard, Anonymous, Chatham University Social Sciences Department, and the Center for Latin American Studies at University of Pittsburgh.
Register here.

Biography:
Irvin is a first-generation Mexican-American who’s dedicated his life to education, community organizing, and leadership for Latinos.
Irvin earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice from Stockton University in 2015 and went on to complete his Master of Arts in Holocaust and Genocide Studies from the same institution in 2022. His impressive academic qualifications are matched by his impressive track record of community involvement.
Currently, he serves as the Board President of El Pueblo Unido of Atlantic City. This advocacy organization works tirelessly for immigrant rights in Atlantic County, New Jersey. Irvin has held various other high-profile positions in the past, including member of the Fund Development Board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Atlantic & Cape May Counties, Executive Member of the Hispanic Advocacy Committee for Equity (H.A.C.E), Secretary and Advocacy Chair of the Hispanic Association of Atlantic County (HAAC), and Co-Chair of the Education Committee of the NAACP’s Atlantic City Branch.
In recognition of his tireless work and dedication to promoting Holocaust education in the state of New Jersey, Irvin was appointed by Governor Phil Murphy as a member of the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education in 2021.
Irvin is the current interim director of the Sara and Sam Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center at Stockton University.

A Night of Hope & Hops: Debbie Leuchter Stueber Generations Breweries Talk
2024-03-26 18:30 | Grist House Brewing, 10 Sherman St, Pittsburgh, PA, 15209, United States
Join us at Grist House Craft Brewery (10 Sherman St, Pittsburgh, PA 15209) for the third installment of Generations Speaker Debbie Stueber’s “A Night of Hope & Hops” series – where she shares her parents’ stories of survival, at local breweries! Hear about Kurt and Edith Leuchter, as told by Debbie, and their story of surviving the Nazis, joining the French Resistance, and making new lives in America. Kurt and Edith will likely join at the end for Q&A with the audience. And come have some good beer, while you’re listening and learning!
Event is free, but your support helps us continue our work!
RSVP here.

Slippery Rock University's Holocaust Remembrance Program
2024-03-27 15:30 - 17:15 | Miller Auditorium & Performing Arts Center, 102 Maltby Ave, Slippery Rock, PA, 16057, United States

Whistleblowers Who Exposed the Holocaust
2024-04-15 12:00 | Zoom
Join the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh for a virtual lunch & learn with Historian Dr. Rafael Medoff and whistleblower attorney Mark Zaid as they discuss the new nonfiction graphic novel Whistleblowers: Four Who Fought to Expose the Holocaust (written by Medoff; drawn by Dean Motter; foreword by Zaid).
Register here. A Zoom link will be provided closer to the event.
About Whistleblowers:
Whistleblowers tells the true story of four courageous individuals who risked their careers—or their lives—to confront the unfolding Holocaust.
Who were the whistleblowers?

Alan Cranston—a young journalist and future U.S. senator who exposed the truth of Hitler’s plans.
Henry Morgenthau, Jr.—a member of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s cabinet who confronted the President over the plight of Jewish refugees fleeing Hitler
Jan Karski—an eyewitness to Nazi atrocities who met with American and British officials to alert them about the death camps.
Josiah E. DuBois Jr.—an American civil servant who blew the whistle on colleagues inside the Roosevelt administration who were blocking the rescue of refugees.

About Dr. Rafael Medoff:
Dr. Rafael Medoff is founding director of The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, based in Washington, D.C., which focuses on America’s response to Nazism and the Holocaust. He is the author of more than 20 books on the Holocaust, Zionism, and American Jewish history. Dr. Medoff is also a leader in the field of using political cartoons, comic books, and animation as tools in Holocaust education. His latest book is the nonfiction graphic novel Whistleblowers: Four Who Fought to Expose the Holocaust to America, with Dean Motter. Medoff also is coauthor, with Neal Adams and Craig Yoe, of We Spoke Out: Comic Books and the Holocaust; coauthor of the forthcoming book Cartoonists Against the Holocaust, with Craig Yoe); and co-creator, with Neal Adams, of the Disney Educational Productions animated series “They Spoke Out: American Voices Against the Holocaust.” Dr. Medoff has authored Holocaust-related comic strips for Marvel Comics, the Washington Post (with Art Spiegelman of “Maus”), the Los Angeles Times, and The New Republic.
About Mark Zaid:
Mark S. Zaid is a renowned national security attorney based in Washington, D.C. He regularly handles high-profile cases involving federal employees and contractors, including whistleblowers, and often comments on national media programs. Mark is the grandson of Rabbi David Max Eichhorn, the U.S. Army Chaplain who led services for the survivors of Dachau Concentration Camp in May 1945, and he co-edited the book “GI’s Rabbi” (2004) concerning his grandfather’s World War Two correspondence. He is also a longstanding comic-book collector and dealer and lectures on the history of comic books.

Ilsa’s Story: A Personal History of the Holocaust
2024-04-15 17:30 - 19:00 | Connellsville Canteen Café and Museum, 131 West Crawford Avenue, Connellsville, PA, 15425, United States
Ilsa Dahl Cole was born in 1916 in northwest Germany. She was raised in a small farming community and attended a Catholic high school before the Nazis rose to power in 1933. Ilsa’s granddaughter, Emily Loeb (Director of Programs & Education at the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh), tells her story of survival and immigrating to America, sharing Ilsa’s reflections of a changing society as antisemitism spread throughout Germany.
Doors open at 5:30 pm. Reservations Required. Costs $10.00 (includes meal). Learn more and RSVP by calling the Connellsville Canteen at 724-216-4518.
Generations programming is generously supported by the Sylvia & Martin Snow Family Fund.

"999: The Forgotten Girls" Digital Screening
2024-05-02 - 2024-05-12 | Online
The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh is excited to be partnering with the JFilm Festival for the screening of 999: The Forgotten Girls.
Award-winning author of the international bestseller 999: The Extraordinary Young Women of the First Official Transport to Auschwitz, Heather Dune Macadam directs this riveting documentary based on her critically acclaimed book. The first prisoners to arrive at Auschwitz were 999 unmarried, teenage Jewish girls sent by the Slovak government to meet the demands of the Nazis to provide a slave labor force. Macadam’s documentary reveals the important untold story of their unbreakable bonds and introduces a piece of Holocaust and women’s history that should never be forgotten.
Official Selection: Hamptons Documentary Festival, New York Jewish Film Festival
Winner: Audience Award – Miami Jewish Film Festival
“Macadam’s achievement is a needed tribute to these young female victims and the survivors who have kept their memories alive.” — Nora Lee Mandel, Maven’s Nest
Available for viewing online May 2-12 in PA, WV, and OH. Learn more and purchase tickets here.

Silent Tears, The Last Yiddish Tango
2024-05-05 14:00 - 15:30 | Beit Kulanu (Formerly Rodef Shalom Congregation), 4905 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, United States

2024 Yom HaShoah Commemoration
2024-05-06 19:00 | Campbell Memorial Chapel, Chapel Hill Road, Pittsburgh, PA, 15232, United States
Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, is the day set aside to remember the approximately six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust. The Holocaust Center has been holding a community-wide commemoration every year since the establishment of the Center in 1980.
This year’s commemoration will be held on May 6, 2024, at 7 pm in Chatham University’s Campbell Memorial Chapel. The commemoration will include a candle-lighting ceremony in which six candles are lit in memory of the six million and three additional candles are lit in honor of the Veterans, the Liberators, and the Righteous, those non-Jews who risked their lives to save the lives of their Jewish friends and neighbors. The candle-lighters are composed of Holocaust Survivors and/or descendants, community members, and lay leaders.
The commemoration will also include a film made by Chatham University students featuring local Holocaust survivors, music played by members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, songs and poetry performed by middle and high school students, and a memorial for local survivors who have passed away.
This program will be in-person, as well as live-streamed.
RSVP for in-person attendance here.
RSVP for virtual attendance here. A link to the livestream will be provided to registrants closer to the event.
A recording of the program in its entirety will also be uploaded and shared at a later date.
For more information, call: 412-421-1500 or email csahovey@hcpgh.org
Please note, the location of this event has been changed from Eddy Theatre to Campbell Memorial Chapel on Chatham University’s Shadyside Campus.

"999: The Forgotten Girls" In-Person Screening and Q&A
2024-05-08 19:00 - 20:30 | The Oaks Theather, 310 Allegheny River Blvd, Oakmont, PA, 15139, United States
The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh is excited to be partnering with the JFilm Festival for the screening of 999: The Forgotten Girls.
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Heather Dune Macadam.
Award-winning author of the international bestseller 999: The Extraordinary Young Women of the First Official Transport to Auschwitz, Heather Dune Macadam directs this riveting documentary based on her critically acclaimed book. The first prisoners to arrive at Auschwitz were 999 unmarried, teenage Jewish girls sent by the Slovak government to meet the demands of the Nazis to provide a slave labor force. Macadam’s documentary reveals the important untold story of their unbreakable bonds and introduces a piece of Holocaust and women’s history that should never be forgotten.
Official Selection: Hamptons Documentary Festival, New York Jewish Film Festival
Winner: Audience Award – Miami Jewish Film Festival
“Macadam’s achievement is a needed tribute to these young female victims and the survivors who have kept their memories alive.” — Nora Lee Mandel, Maven’s Nest
Learn more and purchase tickets here.

Waldman Arts and Writing Awards Ceremony 2024
2024-05-09 19:00 | Welker Room, James Laughlin Music Hall, 5798 Woodland Rd, Pittsburgh, PA, 15232, United States
Join us as we celebrate the participants and winners of the 2024 Waldman Arts & Writing Competition. The event is open to the public and all students are strongly encouraged to attend along with their families, friends, and teachers. Winners will be honored and receive their award certificates; reception with light treats to follow.

Register here.

A Night of Hope & Hops: Debbie Leuchter Stueber Generations Breweries Talk
2024-06-03 18:30 | Inner Groove Brewing, 751 E Railroad St, Verona, PA, 15147, United States

Generations Speaker Presentation by Clare Drobot
2024-06-18 18:00 | Mellon Board Room in Chatham University’s Mellon Hall, Woodland Rd, Pittsburgh, 15232, United States
Join us as we welcome Clare Drobot for her first public talk with the Holocaust Center!
Clare knew her paternal grandparent’s, Wanda and Jan Drobot, affectionately Yay and Nana, as Polish immigrants living near her childhood home in Northern Virginia. But when Wanda passed away in 1998, Clare began an unexpected journey exploring their shared and individual histories. Both Wanda, née Salomea Wander and Jan, originally Jakub Djament, were Holocaust survivors who raised their children as Catholic in Post-WWII Poland. This is the story of Clare’s search to uncover her family’s past and understand the legacy of her Grandparent’s survival.
About Clare:
A dramaturg, playwright, and producer Clare Drobot is currently the Co-Artistic Director at City Theatre in Pittsburgh working alongside fellow Co-ADs Marc Masterson and Monteze Freeland. She has worked in various capacities at Premiere Stages at Kean University, Laura Stanczyk Casting, Williamstown Theatre Festival, The McCarter Theatre, The BE Company, Play Penn, and New Dramatists. Her work as a writer has been seen in Ars Nova’s ANT FEST and the New Hazlett Theatre’s CSA Series among others. She serves on the boards of the National New Play Network and Brew House Association and is a graduate of Leadership Pittsburgh (LP XXXVIII). BA/BFA Carnegie Mellon University, member of LMDA.
Registration here.
The program will take place in Mellon Board Room, which is in the lower level of Mellon Hall (Mellon Center) on Chatham’s Shadyside campus. We will have HC Event signs directing you around. Click here for a map of Chatham’s campus.
Generations programming is generously supported by the Sylvia & Martin Snow Family Fund.

Reckoning with Antisemitism as Christians
2024-06-27 18:30 - 20:30 | Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, 616 N. Highland Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
Learn more and register: https://www.casp.org/reckoning

Please register below by Wednesday, June 26 at 5 p.m.

Generations Speaker Presentation by Dr. Melissa Marks
2024-07-18 18:00 | Mellon Board Room in Chatham University’s Mellon Hall, Woodland Rd, Pittsburgh, 15232, United States
We are excited to host Dr. Melissa Marks’s presentation for the first time! The program will take place in Mellon Board Room, which is in the lower level of Mellon Hall (Mellon Center) on Chatham’s Shadyside campus. We will have HC Event signs directing you around. Click here for a map of Chatham’s campus.
Register here.
Bio: Dr. Melissa Marks is the daughter and granddaughter of Holocaust survivors. Her desire to understand the history and psychology of the Holocaust led her to become a social studies teacher, a career she loved for a decade. Currently, she is in her 21st year as a Professor of Education at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. She is a member of advisory boards for the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh, Seton Hill’s National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education, and the Westmoreland YWCA Racial Justice Committee.
Presentation Synopsis: When we learn about the Holocaust, we need to learn individual stories that inspire us: Inspire us to stand up for what is right, inspire us to speak out against evil even when we feel scared, and inspire us to hope even in the darkest times. We need to recognize the power each of us has. The stories that I will share about my mother, my grandmother, and their extended family showcase the power individuals have in the choices we make. My mother and grandmother survived because of luck, quick wits, and the willingness of strangers to put what was right ahead of their own safety. My grandfather survived the camps because he hoped to see his baby daughter married under a chupah.
Generations programming is generously supported by the Sylvia & Martin Snow Family Fund.

Building Bridges: An evening with the Bamileke Community
2024-08-05 19:00 - 20:30 | Eddy Theatre at Chatham University, Woodland Rd, Pittsburgh, 15232, United States
Join us for an evening of learning and conversation with leaders in the Bamileke and Holocaust Center Generations communities. During this program, we will learn about the Bamileke experience of persecution, explore the intersections between the two communities, and talk about the relationships that have been building between children of survivors of the Holocaust and the Bamileke genocide.
The Bamileke are a minority ethnic group in Cameroon who experienced a genocide from the late 1950s to early 1970s. The Holocaust Center Generations group is composed of children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors.
Register here.

2024 Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh Teacher Training
2024-08-06 08:30 - 2024-08-07 16:00 | Chatham University Shadyside Campus, 1 Woodland Road, Pittsburgh, PA, 15232, United States
The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh 2024 Summer Teacher Training, held in partnership with Echoes & Reflection, is free of charge, and Act 48 credit hours will be available. It will be held in-person on Chatham University’s Shadyside campus, with courses led by Lynne Ravas, veteran educator, Generations Speaker, and Echoes & Reflections facilitator.
Both days will include vetted resources and ready-made lesson plans that teachers can use in their classrooms immediately. We will also discuss the Holocaust Center’s Generations Speaker Program and how it complements these lessons.
While we encourage you to attend both sessions, the option is available to register for only one of the two days. There will be free parking, and lunch will be provided. Check-in is at 8:30 a.m. on each day.
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Teacher Training Day 1 – Tuesday, August 6 from 9:00am-4:00pm (5 credit hours)
Antisemitism: Understanding and Countering this Hatred Today
It is critical for young people to understand the dangers of antisemitism today and the threat that it poses to both Jewish and non-Jewish populations. This program helps teachers to educate about antisemitism, examining its complexities from historic and contemporary perspectives. Educators gain strategies to help students respond to and counter antisemitism and forms of hate.
Dismantling Antisemitism Training with the Holocaust Center’s Noah Schoen
Who are Jewish people? What is antisemitism, and where does it come from? Why did the Holocaust happen? At the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh, we teach about the Holocaust with the goal of helping people comprehend its root causes. Understanding antisemitism is a critical part of this work. Our training builds capacity for participants to understand what antisemitism is, how it affects Jewish and non-Jewish people, and what we can do about it.
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Teacher Training Day 2 – Wednesday, August 7 from 9:00am-4:00pm (6 credit hours)
Foundations of Holocaust Education: Focus on the Weimar Republic
This program is designed to enhance teachers’ knowledge, capacity, and confidence to teach about the Holocaust with a specific focus on the Weimar Republic and the conditions that led to the Nazis being elected in 1932. Educators are introduced to pedagogical principles and explore classroom lessons, visual history testimonies and other resources that examine aspects of the history and its continued relevance today.
How We Remember: The Legacy of the Holocaust Today
How did the world respond when the reality of the Holocaust came to light? How can we learn from the international response to crimes against humanity in interpreting memory and history? During this program, educators examine the pursuit of justice at Nuremberg, the effect the trials had on how we understand the Holocaust, how survivors coped with the trauma to build new lives in the aftermath, and how we remember and memorialize the Holocaust today.
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This program is generously supported by The Jack Sittsamer Holocaust Endowment Fund for Teacher Training.
