Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh

Generations Speaker - Lee Goldman Kikel
2025-03-27 17:30 - 18:30 (America/New_York) | C.C. Mellor Memorial Library – Edgewood, 1 Pennwood Ave, Edgewood, PA, 15218, United States
“Generations Speakers are the children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors. They have all been recruited, vetted, and coached by the Holocaust Center staff and veteran Generations Speakers to develop presentations about their survivor relative’s story. The Generations Speakers are all extremely passionate about what they do: preserving their family legacy; making sure that future generations hear a factual, well-researched, personal account of a Holocaust survivor; and most importantly, never forget what their parents and/ or grandparents experienced.” ~https://hcofpgh.org/resources/speakers/
Book sale and discussion will take place after the presentation. Learn more here.
Speaker Bio:
Lee Goldman Kikel grew up in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, where she spent many of her early years in her family’s jewelry business, both as a child and an employee.
Lee’s father, Melvin Goldman, did not talk much about his childhood in Poland, or his family. In the 1970s, he began recording details of his experiences on cassette tapes, which lay dormant until 2015, when Lee found them and finally listened to his testimony. Lee honored his wishes to transcribe his story as a book, published in 2019 as Perseverance: One Holocaust Survivor’s Journey From Poland to America. In April 2023, Pittsburgh’s Prime Stage Theatre debuted a theatrical adaptation of her book, entitled Perseverance, written by playwright L. E. McCullough and generously supported by a National Endowment for the Arts grant.
Over the years, she has told her family’s story to many audiences, and she has also become a generations speaker as part of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh. She has discussed the Holocaust and anti-semitism with diverse audiences around the region and beyond. These engagements have fostered multidisciplinary ways to reach audiences of all ages and in a variety of subject areas, and have taught her both the importance of sharing Holocaust education and the value of presenting the content in engaging ways.
Goldman Kikel is a lifelong Pittsburgh resident, having earned both a BS in psychology and a master’s degree in education from the University of Pittsburgh. She also worked in the mental health field as a rehabilitation counselor.

A Holocaust Story: Love and Resilience During World War II
2025-03-24 19:00 | Monroeville Public Library, 4000 Gateway Campus Blvd., Monroeville, PA, 15146, United States
RSVP here.

Spaces of Treblinka: Guest Speaker Jacob Flaws
2025-03-20 17:00 - 18:30 | Carnegie Mellon University

Americans and the Holocaust Exhibit
2025-03-17 - 2025-04-28 | Carnegie Free Library of Beaver Falls, 1301 7th Ave, Beaver Falls, PA, 15010, United States
The Holocaust was the systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. Holocaust history raises important questions about what the international community, including the United States, could have done to stop the rise of Nazism in Germany and its assault on Europe’s Jews. Questions include: What did Americans know? How did Americans respond? What more could have been done?
Americans and the Holocaust looks closely at America’s role in this history. The United States alone could not have prevented the Holocaust, but more could have been done to save some of the six million Jews that were killed. This exhibition examines the motives, pressures, and fears that shaped Americans’ responses to Nazism, war, and genocide.
Learn more here.

Generations Speakers Series - 80th Anniversary of Liberation: Alison Brown Karabin
2025-03-12 18:00 | Welker Room, James Laughlin Music Hall, 5798 Woodland Rd, Pittsburgh, PA, 15232, United States
Alison Brown Karabin will share the story of her grandmother Elizabeth Brown (z”l), a beloved Pittsburgh survivor originally from Hungary. Alison will recount Elizabeth’s survival in Auschwitz-Birkenau and the Volary death march, before settling in Squirrel Hill and raising her family. This event is part of a series of programs in 2025, recognizing the 80th anniversary of liberation.

Register here.

Edith and Kurt Leuchter: A Story of Love and Resilience
2025-03-11 18:00 - 19:00 | Cranberry Public Library, 2525 Rochester Rd., Cranberry Township, PA, 16066, United States
She was born in Bruchsal, Germany. He was born in Vienna, Austria. As hidden children, their paths crossed briefly in a French orphanage. This is just a part of their story, separately and together: surviving the Holocaust, fighting Nazis in the French Resistance, and making a new life in America. This is the true story of Kurt and Edith Leuchter, as told by their daughter Deborah Stueber. Kurt and Edith will attend virtually to answer audience questions.
Deborah Leuchter Stueber has been a volunteer for the past 30 years at the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh. In 2021 she was chosen as their Volunteer of the Year. Sharing her parents’ Holocaust experience with schools, universities, and various organizations for the last several years has been her passion. She feels strongly that it’s the responsibility of her generation and generations to come to carry on the survivors legacy.
Register here.

Act 70 Wellness Day for Educators
2025-03-07 08:30 - 14:30 | Chatham University Shadyside Campus, 1 Woodland Road, Pittsburgh, PA, 15232, United States
We all know that teaching the Holocaust is emotionally taxing, not just for your students, but also for you. The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh believes that you (the teacher) must first take care of yourself before you can take care of others (your students). With that in mind, we’re holding our first-ever “Act 70 Wellness Day” on Friday, March 7, 2025, on Chatham University’s campus in Shadyside.
The day will be centered on supporting you and giving you the tools and connections to other educators so you can continue to do the difficult work. The day will include self-care activities, networking opportunities to meet other Holocaust educators, and information about local organizations that can help you teach the Holocaust more easily. Act 48 credits will be provided.

Register here.

I Never Saw Another Butterfly and The Terezin Promise
2025-02-28 - 2025-03-09 | New Hazlett Center for Performing Arts, 6 Allegheny Square E, Pittsburgh, PA, 15212, United States
I Never Saw Another Butterfly and The Terezin Promise
By Celeste Raspanti
Directed by Wayne Brinda
ARTICLE: Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle – Prime Stage Theatre presents ‘I Never Saw Another Butterly and The Terezin Promise’
In the Terezin concentration camp, Austrian artist Friedl Dicker-Brandeis teaches Jewish children to make poems and drawings in secret art classes. Witness her passion, the children’s creativity, and the irrepressible power of Art to bring hope and healing into the darkest hours of the Holocaust.
Feb. 28 – March 9, 2025
BUY TICKETS
Special Dates:
Preview: Friday, February 28th at 7:30pm – Pay What You Can
Opening Night: Saturday, March 1st at 7:30pm
Sensory Inclusive: Saturday, March 8th at 2:30pm – Pay What You Can
Audio Describe: Sunday, March 9th at 2:30pm
ASL / Live Caption: Sunday, March 9th at 2:30pm
More Information
Summary and what you will see –
I Never Saw Another Butterfly is an uplifting and inspiring story about the use of art in times of tragedy. The story centers around Raja, a young Czech teenager who is forced into Terezin, or Theresienstadt, a Jewish ghetto that was used as a stopping point for transport to the death camps in the east, Auschwitz in particular. While many Jewish artists, filmmakers, and other people of cultural or political prominence were sent there, the ghetto itself was still a miserable place to live. Disease was everywhere, and starvation was the norm.
We are Honoring the 80th Anniversary of the end of World War II and the Liberation of the Concentration Camps.
Of the more than 15,000 children who passed through Terezin, only 141 are known to have survived. Many drawings, poems, and other works of art that Raja and her friends smuggled out of Terezin have been shared with the world, and through them, these 15,000 children live on.
Through the eyes of the children who lived in this camp, we see how art helped them not only survive their time in the ghetto, but also how it helped them cope. The play uses poetry from the book by the same name, a collection of artwork and poetry by the children of the Terezin Concentration Camp,1942-1944

Book Talk: Between Two Worlds- Jewish Brides after the Holocaust
2025-02-24 18:00 - 19:15 | Cathedral of Learning: Room 501, 4200 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, United States
Please join us for the second annual Renee Sachs Memorial Lecture on Holocaust history. Dr. Robin Judd, Professor of History at Ohio State University, is a specialist in Jewish, transnational, and gender history, with particular interests in Holocaust studies and the history of migration. She will be speaking about her award-winning book Between Two Worlds, which tells the story of the Jewish Holocaust survivors who married North American and British military personnel.

"I am a Jew: A Holocaust Family Memoir" Book Talk & Discussion with Philip Terman and Susan Terman
2025-02-21 12:00 | Zoom
While survivor Edith Dach, Susan Terman’s mother, never wrote about her Holocaust experience, she and other family members told many stories to Susan. Susan then shared her family’s stories with her brother-in-law, Pittsburgh-area poet Philip Terman. From there, the book I am a Jew: A Holocaust Family Memoir was born.
Containing Susan’s sharing of her mother’s stories recast as poems, I am a Jew: A Holocaust Family Memoir describes episodes of one family’s personal Holocaust experience. Join the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh online on Friday, Feb. 21 at noon, as we discuss the writing of the poetry and creation of the book, hear more about Edith Dach’s life, and read some of the poems with Philip and Susan.
If you would like to purchase the book I am a Jew: A Holocaust Family Memoir in advance of the program on February 21, please visit Amazon.

Register here.

Righteous Among the Neighbors 2024 Cohort Celebration
2025-02-06 19:00 - 20:30 | Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, 5738 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15217, United States
Join the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh as we honor the 2024 class of Righteous Among the Neighbors!

Righteous Among the Neighbors is a project of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh that honors non-Jewish Pittsburghers who support the Jewish community and take action to uproot antisemitism. In partnership with the LIGHT Education Initiative and Mt. Lebanon High School, student journalists interview honorees and write article-length profiles about their efforts.

Register here.

A Night of Hope and Hops: A Generations Talk by Debbie Leuchter Stueber
2025-01-31 18:00 | Hazel Grove Brewing Company, 4609 Irvine St, Pittsburgh, PA, 15207, United States

"The City Without Jews" Cine-Concert
2025-01-27 19:00 | Beit Kulanu (Formerly Rodef Shalom Congregation), 4905 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, United States
Join the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh Jewish Studies Program for a screening of The City Without Jews accompanied by live original music composed and performed by world-renowned klezmer violinist Alicia Svigals and celebrated silent film pianist Donald Sosin.
This is a free event, but registration is required. Register here.
Hosted by the Holocaust Center of Pittburgh and the University of Pittsburgh Jewish Studies Program
Co-sponsored by:
Ed and Arlene Lipsman in memory of Charles and Hilda Lipsman
Carnegie Mellon University’s Jack Buncher Chair in Jewish Studies
University of Pittsburgh German Department
Film Pittsburgh
Rodef Shalom Congregation
The Tree of Life
Violins of Hope Greater Pittsburgh
Made possible by Sunrise Foundation for Education and the Arts
About the Film:
The City Without Jews (Die Stadt ohne Juden), H. K. Breslauer’s 1924 silent masterpiece, is based on the bestselling dystopian novel by Hugo Bettauer. It was produced two years after the book’s publication and, tragically, shortly before the satirical events depicted in the fictional story transformed into all-too-horrific reality. All complete prints were thought to be destroyed, but thanks to the discovery of a nitrate print in a Parisian flea market in 2015, this “lost” film can once again be appreciated in its unfortunately ever-relevant entirety.
Set in the Austrian city of Utopia (a thinly-disguised stand-in for Vienna), the story follows the political and personal consequences of an antisemitic law passed by the National Assembly forcing all Jews to leave the country. At first, the decision is met with celebration, but when the citizens of Utopia eventually come to terms with the loss of the Jewish population – and the resulting economic and cultural decline – the National Assembly must decide whether to invite the Jews back. Though darkly comedic in tone and stylistically influenced by German Expressionism, the film nonetheless contains ominous and eerily realistic sequences, such as shots of freight trains transporting Jews out of the city. The film’s stinging critique of Nazism is part of the reason it was no longer screened in public after 1933.
About the Musicians:
Alicia Svigals and Donald Sosin have been bringing audiences to their feet throughout the US and Europe with their unique and stirring violin and piano scores for Jewish-themed silent films. Sosin is renowned silent film pianist and composer, and Svigals is the world’s leading klezmer violinist and a founder of the Grammy-winning Klezmatics. After meeting at a silent film festival in Italy, the two soon recorded their first original score for the 1923 German film The Ancient Law, followed by City Without Jews and The Man Without a World.
Donald Sosin (pianist and composer) has performed his silent film music at Lincoln Center, MoMA, the Kennedy Center, BAM, the National Gallery, and major film festivals in the US and abroad San Francisco, Telluride, Hollywood, Yorkshire, Pordenone, Bologna, Shanghai, Bangkok, Berlin, Vienna, Moscow, and Jecheon, South Korea . He records for Criterion, Kino, Milestone and TCM. He has worked with Alexander Payne, Isabella Rossellini, Dick Hyman, Comden and Green, and has played for Mikhael Baryshnikov, Mary Travers, Marni Nixon, Howie Mandel, Geula Gill, and many others. He records for Criterion, Kino, Milestone, Flicker Alley and European labels, and his scores are heard frequently on TCM. He has had commissions from MoMA, EYE Amsterdam, Deutsche Kinemathek, L’Immagine Ritrovata, the Chicago Symphony Chorus, the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Denver Silent Film Festival, and the Best Original Film Score award by the 2022 Mystic Film Festival.
Alicia Svigals, violinist/composer and a founder of the Grammy-winning Klezmatics, is the world’s foremost klezmer fiddler. She almost single handedly revived the tradition of klezmer fiddling, which had been on the brink of extinction until she recorded her debut album Fidl in the 1990’s. Svigals has performed with and written for violinist Itzhak Perlman, and has worked with the the Kronos Quartet, playwrights Tony Kushner and Eve Ensler, poet Allen Ginsburg, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, Debbie Friedman and Chava Albershteyn. She was awarded a Foundation for Jewish Culture commission for her original score to the 1918 film The Yellow Ticket and is a MacDowell fellow. In February 2018, Svigals and jazz pianist Uli Geissendoerfer released Beregovski Suite, their fantasy on klezmer melodies culled from the archive of early 20th century Soviet Jewish ethnomusicologist Moshe Beregovski. In May 2023, Svigals was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters by the Jewish Theological Seminary for “extraordinary contributions to the arts and Jewish life.” In June 2024 she released her newest album, Fidl Afire, on the Borscht Beat label – a return to her roots with a full-on party band. In August 2024 she was awarded the 2024 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship in Folk/Traditional arts.

Reckoning with Antisemitism: Listening to Jewish Voices
2024-11-20 18:30 | John Knox Room at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, 616 N Highland Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
Please join Christian Associates and the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh as we welcome a panel of Jewish leaders to share how antisemitism has affected their lives and community and what they hope their Christian neighbors will come to understand about the Jewish experience.

The panel will include Eric Lidji, director of the Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives at the Senator John Heinz History Center; Sara Stock Mayo, a spiritual leader, musician, poet, and activist; and Alan Iszauk, Pittsburgh Jewish community member.

Register here.

“A Night of Hope & Hops” at Acclamation Brewing
2024-11-14 18:00 | Acclamation Brewing, 314 Arch St, Verona, PA, 15147, United States
Join us at Acclamation Brewing for “A Night of Hope & Hops” with Generations Speaker Debbie Stueber! Hear her tell stories of her parents, Kurt and Edith Leuchter, including their experiences 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.
This event will also feature a celebrity bartender! Liz Berlin is a captivating solo performer and founding member of triple-platinum Pittsburgh band Rusted Root. Seating and bar with Liz will open at 6:00, Debbie’s talk will begin at 6:30. Acclamation will generously be donating all tips to the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh.
RSVP: https://www.acclamationbrewing.com/event-details/pub-speaker-debbie-stueber-the-holocaust-center-of-pittsburgh
Liz enchants audiences with her original songs, from tranquil to funky to raging. Over the years, she’s explored various musical genres and bands, from childhood roots in classical music, to indie psychedelic Americana band Drowning Clowns, to Social Justice Disco, an anthemic activist collaboration with jazz diva Phat Man Dee. Beyond her music, Liz and her husband Mike Speranzo co-own Mr. Smalls Theatre and Recording Studio, showcasing world-renowned acts and local artists alike. She’s dedicated to education, founding Creative Life Support’s youth artist development programs.

Generations Speaker Lee Kikel at Saint Luke the Evangelist Parish
2024-11-11 19:00 | Upper CDC Center at the Saints John and Paul campus – Saint Luke the Evangelist Parish, 2586 Wexford Bayne Rd, Sewickley, PA, 15143, United States

Music in Theresienstadt: A Conversation with Anna Hájková
2024-11-10 17:30 | Beit Kulanu (Formerly Rodef Shalom Congregation), 4905 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, United States
As we commemorate the 86th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the November pogrom, this event connects the outbreak of public anti-Jewish violence in Nazi Germany with the remarkable cultural production in the Theresienstadt ghetto. In the three and half years of its duration, the 140,000 inmates in Terezín played, composed, and listened to music, which provided comfort, spare time, and a framework to make sense of the terrifying conditions in the camp. Historian Dr. Joshua Andy and Theresienstadt expert Dr. Anna Hájková will explore the many meanings of music in Theresienstadt. During the program, members of the Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestras (TYRPO) who visited Terezin this past summer will perform music and talk about their experience.
Registration here.
Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh’s annual Kristallnacht program is generously supported by Edgar Snyder.
Co-sponsored by the Winchester Thurston School, University of Pittsburgh Jewish Studies Program, University of Pittsburgh German Department, and The Jack Buncher Endowed Chair in Jewish Studies at Carnegie Mellon University

From the Ghetto to the Forest:‬‭ Surviving the Holocaust‬‭ in‬ Belarus‬‭ with guest lecturer Anika Walke‬ ‭
2024-10-25 12:15 - 13:00 | Posner Hall, Posner Grand Room 340, 4980‬‭ Margaret Morrison St, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, United States

“A Night of Hope & Hops” at Golden Age Beer Company
2024-10-01 18:30 | Golden Age Beer Company, 337 E 8th Ave, Homestead, PA, 15120, United States
Join us for another 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!

A Blessing, Not a Burden: The Story of Two Holocaust Survivors, Eva and Mickey Kor, told by their son Dr. Alex Kor with Graham Honaker
2024-09-26 17:30 | Beit Kulanu (Formerly Rodef Shalom Congregation), 4905 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, United States
The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh is pleased to welcome Dr. Alex Kor, son of Eva and Mickey Kor (z”l) and his co-author, Graham Honaker.
Eva Kor (z”l) was a Holocaust survivor who advocated for healing through forgiveness, the subject of two critically acclaimed documentaries Eva: A-7063 and Forgiving Dr. Mengele, and the founder of the CANDLES Holocaust Museum in Terre Haute, Indiana. Alex will share the story of his mother, as well as his father Mickey Kor (z”l) who was also a survivor, and the lessons we can all learn through their incredible strength, perseverance, and hope. Alex will demonstrate the interactive hologram technology utilizing his mother’s testimony. A limited number of copies of his book about his parents’ Holocaust experiences, A Blessing, Not a Burden, will be available for preorder through the registration site. Alex (and co-author Graham Honaker) will sign the books at the event.
This talk by Alex and Graham coincides with our theme for this programming year, Generations: The Memory Keepers, as we look to the next generation and descendants of Holocaust survivors, to continue to tell their family’s stories.
This event is a part of RAD Days 2024.

Register here.

Resilience Rising: Amplifying Voices of Hope: Opening Reception “Für das Kind / For the Child”
2024-09-22 18:00 - 20:00 | Beit Kulanu (Formerly Rodef Shalom Congregation), 4905 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, United States
Mark your calendar for the Opening Event on September 22nd, 2024, and stay tuned for more details on this impactful experience.
Event: Resilience Rising: Amplifying Voices of Hope Opening Reception
Date: September 22, 2024
Time: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Location: Rodef Shalom Congregation Freehof / Aaron Court 4905 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Registration: https://cwbpgh.org/event/resilience-rising-amplifying-voices-of-hope/?mc_cid=5c8000eeb1&mc_eid=d275d4bca9
The exhibit will be open to the public at Rodef Shalom Congregation Aaron Court from September 22 to October 1, 2024.
More Fall Exhibit Details COMING SOON!
Resilience Rising: Amplifying Voices of Hope
This fall, prepare to embark on a powerful journey that spans from the Kindertransport era to today’s ongoing battles against hate and discrimination. “Resilience Rising: Amplifying Voices of Hope” will illuminate the strength and spirit of those who have faced adversity and fought for justice.
Experience a series of engaging community events, explore a moving traveling exhibit, and immerse yourself in profound personal narratives, evocative music, and poignant poetry. This program promises to captivate and inspire, bringing to light stories of resilience and hope.

Exhibition: Visit the “Für das Kind / For the Child” at community centers, and educational institutions, to gain insight into Kindertransport history and personal stories behind the artifacts.
Speaker Series: Events featuring Kindertransport survivors, historians, and experts, discussing topics like its impact on families and communities, with interactive Q&A sessions.
School Outreach Program: Integrating Kindertransport history into school curricula, providing resources, lesson plans, and virtual classroom visits by survivors or experts, along with student projects and oral history interviews.
Community Storytelling Workshops: Workshops exploring family histories, connections to the Kindertransport, or themes of displacement and resilience, culminating in public sharing events.
Film Screenings and Panel Discussions: Screenings of related documentaries followed by discussions with filmmakers, scholars, and survivors, delving into historical context and contemporary relevance.
Art and Memory Workshops: Art-based workshops allowing participants to create works inspired by Kindertransport themes, fostering creative expression and reflection on personal and collective memory.

Author Chris Heath in Conversation with Emily Loeb
2024-09-13 18:00 | Riverstone Books, 5841 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15217, United States
Author Chris Heath visits Riverstone Books to talk about his new book, No Roads Leading Back, with Emily Loeb. Join us for this discussion, followed by a time for Q&A and book signing.
Want to pre-order your copy of the book? You can do so here. Please note in the order comments that you plan to pick it up at the event.
About the book:
This by turns shattering and hope-giving account of prisoners who dug their way to freedom from the Nazis is both a stunning escape narrative and an object lesson in the ways we remember and continually forget the particulars of the Holocaust.
No Road Leading Back is the remarkable story of a dozen prisoners who escaped from the site where more than 70,000 Jews were shot in the Lithuanian forest of Ponar after the Nazi invasion of Eastern Europe in 1941. Anxious to hide the incriminating evidence of the murders, the S.S. later in the war enslaved a group of Jews to exhume every one of the bodies and incinerate them all in a months-long labor—an episode whose specifics are staggering and disturbing, even within the context of the Holocaust. From within that dire circumstance emerges the improbable escape made by some of the men, who dug a tunnel with bare hands and spoons while they were trapped and guarded day and night—an act not just of bravery and desperation but of awesome imagination. Based on first-person accounts of the escapees and on each scrap of evidence that has been documented, repressed, or amplified since, this book resurrects their lives, while also providing a complex, urgent analysis of why their story has rarely been told, and never accurately. Heath explores the cultural use and misuse of Holocaust testimony and the need for us to face it—and all uncomfortable historical truths—with honesty and accuracy.
About the author:
Award-winning journalist CHRIS HEATH has written about a wide array of subjects for GQ, The Atlantic, Esquire and Vanity Fair. His story “18 Tigers, 17 Lions, 8 Bears, 3 Cougars, 2 Wolves, 1 Baboon, 1 Macaque, and 1 Man Dead in Ohio.” won the 2013 National Magazine Award for Reporting; his story “The Militiamen, the Governor and the Kidnapping That Wasn’t” was nominated for the 2023 National Magazine Award for Feature Writing. He has also written about popular culture, including the books Pet Shop Boys, Literally and the 2004 UK bestseller Feel, about British pop star Robbie Williams. He co-wrote the lyrics for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s The Boy in the Dress, which premiered in Stratford in November 2019. Based in Brooklyn, Heath grew up south of Birmingham in the United Kingdom.
About the conversation partner:
A granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, Emily became involved with the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh in 2018, when she started volunteering as a Generations Speaker. Since early 2023, Emily has served as the Director of Programs and Education, in which she oversees the Holocaust Center’s public and education programs, as well as fundraising and the annual budget. Prior to joining the Holocaust Center, for over a decade, Emily ran the Gendler Grapevine Project, a sunset initiative established to honor the work and vision of Rabbi Everett Gendler that funded initiatives that celebrated the deep connections between Jewish traditions, social justice, and the environment. She is currently writing a book about Rabbi Gendler’s life. Prior to that, she worked for a Native American-owned and focused consulting company, where she served as a project manager, proposal writer, and editor. With the goal of centering her professional and volunteer work around causes she believes in, in 2017, she founded Shattering Glass Ceilings Scholarship for women who are first-generation college students. Emily grew up in Kansas City, where her grandmother was a Survivor Speaker for the local Holocaust center. Emily earned her bachelor’s degree at Colgate University, studying Geography and Peace Studies, and a master’s degree in Geography from the University of British Columbia. She lives in Pittsburgh with her husband, two teenaged kids, and two Boston Terriers. She loves being with her family, hiking, gardening, writing, and doing what she can to make the world a better place.

RSVP here.

An Evening with Solange Lebovitz, a Holocaust Survivor
2024-09-12 18:00 | Eddy Theatre at Chatham University, Woodland Rd, Pittsburgh, 15232, United States
Learn about Holocaust survivor Solange Lebovitz’s experiences as a Jewish child and teen living in occupied France, hiding from the Nazis and their collaborators. While she was living in hiding, her other family members were in concentration camps and her brothers were members of the French Resistance.
Solange was born in 1930 in Paris, France. She survived by hiding in Normandy with help from a selfless, brave Catholic couple. In 1952, she married a fellow Holocaust survivor, and they then settled in Pittsburgh. Solange has two children, five grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Solange is also an accomplished poet and writer, and some of her poetry will be read at this event. Participants will also have the opportunity to ask their own questions during the program.
This event is a part of RAD Days 2024.

Register here.

Jewish Heritage Night at PNC Park
2024-08-27 18:40 | PNC Park, 115 Federal Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15212, United States
The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh will be at Jewish Heritage Night hosted by the Pittsburgh Pirates!
Experience a unique blend of sports, culture, and community during Jewish Heritage Night at PNC Park! Join us for an evening of baseball, where you can reconnect with old friends and make new ones. Plus, enjoy an optional pregame Kosher Meal catered by Elegant Edge Catering Company, featuring a Loaded Chili Dog or an All-Beef Kosher Hotdog, complemented with Pasta Salad, Coleslaw, Chips, and Bottled Water. Each ticket also includes a special Pirates/Jewish Heritage Night co-branded bucket hat.
Don’t miss out on this wonderful opportunity to celebrate your heritage and enjoy America’s favorite pastime!
Get tickets here. Purchase Deadline: Aug 23, 2024 4:40 PM EDT

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.
–
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.
–
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.
–
This program is generously supported by The Jack Sittsamer Holocaust Endowment Fund for Teacher Training.

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.

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.

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 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.

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
