Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh

Harbor from the Holocaust and the Shanghai Ghetto
2025-11-10 18:30 (America/New_York) | Rodef Shalom Congregation, 4905 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, United States
Join the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh, a program of The Tree of Life, for our annual Kristallnacht commemoration featuring a 20 minute film screening of Harbor from the Holocaust, which tells the story of nearly 20,000 Jewish refugees who fled Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II to the Chinese port city of Shanghai. This documentary explores the extraordinary relationship of these Jews and their adopted city of Shanghai, even through the bitter years of Japanese occupation 1937-1945 and the Chinese civil war that followed.
The film will be followed by a discussion with Iris Samson, co-producer of Harbor from the Holocaust, and Cindy Berg Vayonis, a descendant of Holocaust survivors whose parents and grandparents found refuge in the Shanghai Ghetto.
The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh’s annual Kristallnacht program is generously supported by Edgar Snyder. Co-sponsored by Carnegie Mellon University Askwith Family Chair of Holocaust, Carnegie Mellon University Jack Buncher Chair in Jewish Studies, Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Chinese Cultural Center, University of Pittsburgh Jewish Studies Program, and WQED.
The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh is a program of the Tree of Life.
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1758226174819?aff=oddtdtcreator
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More About the Film:
It was a relationship that produced some exceptional artists, statesmen and authors, as well as “ordinary” people who survived to carry on their Jewish religion and traditions that would have otherwise been consigned to oblivion.
This documentary takes a captivating look at why Shanghai was uniquely positioned, through geo-political, cultural and historical influences, to allow this remarkable influx to happen, due to those past relations with Jews predominantly from the Middle East, the Iberian Peninsula and Russia, and because of its centuries of control by and openness to foreigners as a vigorous center of trade and commerce.
This story cannot be viewed in black and white, good vs. evil, suffering vs. thriving, wealthy vs. poor. The story, much like the city itself, is nuanced and complex, incorporating many kinds of foreigners, many classes of Chinese, many kinds of Jews, and many layers. Shanghai was not a place of tolerance and openness, so much as it was a place of fractionalized, disparate forces which were sometimes competitive and sometimes complimentary, but always existed within tenuous and often difficult transactional alliances. Even the people whose stories will be shared have very different tales of how they lived in Shanghai, what their families experienced, and how they were able to function on a day-to-day basis.
Rivaling all elements and in tragic contrast to those who could not escape, this is a Holocaust story of life.
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If you would like to support the work of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh, we would greatly appreciate your generosity! Even a gift of $18 helps us with our mission to preserve the stories of the Holocaust and to educate future generations. You can make your gift when you reserve your ticket or by clicking this link.

Voices for Change
2025-11-13 18:00 | August Wilson African American Cultural Center, 980 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15222, United States

Teaching Jewish Life and Antisemitism in the Classroom
2025-11-20 08:30 - 15:30 | Chatham University Shadyside Campus, 1 Woodland Road, Pittsburgh, PA, 15232, United States
This training will provide resources for educators to teach two key topics: Jewish life in Europe before the Holocaust and in Western PA, and the history and dynamics of antisemitism.
In the morning we will learn from visiting Dr. Lauren Granite Centropa Archive, which interviewed over 1,000 European Jews between 2000-2019 about their memories of the 20th century. You’ll experience a lesson about the diversity of European Jews and leave with materials to teach it in your classroom.
In the afternoon we will provide practical resources that will help you teach the complex topic of antisemitism to students. In partnership with the Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives, we’ll also offer resources to teach students about historic and present-day Jewish life in Western PA.
Featured educators include:
Dr. Lauren Granite, U.S. Education Director of the Centropa Archive
Noah Schoen, Manager of Community Outreach at the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh
Eric Lidji, Director of the Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives
Register here.

Holocaust Education Girl Scouts Patch Program Public Launch Event
2025-12-07 17:00 - 18:00 | Chatham University Shadyside Campus, 1 Woodland Road, Pittsburgh, PA, 15232, United States
Join us for the launch of the Holocaust Education Girl Scout Patch, created by local Girl Scout Lily Sassani with the mentorship of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh. The program will feature a video documenting the development of the patch and an overview of the stories it tells, followed by a Q&A with Lily.

This program is generously funded by the Jewish Women’s Foundation of Greater Pittsburgh.
Register here.
The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh is a program of The Tree of Life.
About the Patch:
Over the past two years, Lily Sassani has been working to develop the patch program in pursuit of The Gold Award, the highest honor in Girl Scouts, with mentorship from Holocaust Center staff.
The mission of the patch program is to address the injustices of the Holocaust and antisemitism, as well as to empower individuals to build a more humane and respectful society. The patch program is framed by the Girl Scout’s values of courage, inclusion, and truth, with the goal of educating participants about the Holocaust and the role of Girl Guides during World War II. By the end of the program, Girl Scouts will understand these core teachings and learn the importance of opposing discrimination, as well as gain the inspiration to channel these teachings into action.

Teaching the Holocaust Through Literature
2025-12-11 08:30 - 14:30 | Allegheny Intermediate Unit, 475 E Waterfront Dr, Homestead, 15120, United States
In this program, educators will learn instructional strategies for teaching the Holocaust through literary selections from veteran educator Lynne Ravas. Shared approaches will help build historical understanding, create empathy, and provoke compassion with students. Educators are encouraged to bring your own books (BYOB) to pair these specific text(s) with their exploration of Echoes & Reflections resources.
Register here.

Information Session for Girl Scout Troop Leaders
2026-01-21 11:00 - 12:00 | Virtual
Join us to learn about the Holocaust Education Patch Program and discover how you can complete it with your troop.

This informational session for Girl Scout Troop Leaders will include an overview of the program curriculum and the steps to participate, followed by a Q&A.
Links to join the event will be emailed to registrants at a later date.
Featuring:
Lily Sassani, Girl Scout and Creator of the Patch Program
Emily Loeb, Director of Programs and Education at the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh
Julia Gaetano, Marketing and Education Associate at the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh
A webinar for Holocaust organizations interested in the program will be held at a later date.
Register here.

Pianist Carolyn Enger’s The Mischlinge Exposé
2026-01-27 18:30 | Eddy Theatre at Chatham University, Woodland Rd, Pittsburgh, 15232, United States
Join us for our annual International Holocaust Remembrance Day program featuring Carolyn Enger. Register here.

The Mischlinge Exposé weaves a multimedia tapestry around this little-known aspect of the Holocaust. Interweaving video and audio testimony from Carolyn’s godmother and her father, both labeled “Mischling, Grade A” by the Nazis, with the music of composers from the salon period who converted to Christianity in the decades before the war, and works reacting to questions of identity after the war, the program vividly illustrates what it was like to be between worlds in Germany in the first half of the 20th century. Through the telling of her family story, Ms. Enger’s concert and live documentary The Mischlinge Exposé directly addresses universally significant issues of identity and inclusion, encouraging empathy, tolerance, and engagement.
About Carolyn Enger:
Internationally celebrated American pianist Carolyn Enger has gained critical acclaim for her exquisite lyrical playing, as well as her deeply felt interpretations. In addition to an active performance schedule on two continents, including recent performances at the Virginia Holocaust Museum, Holocaust Museum Houston, Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation, Stockton University, Baruch College, Kean University, Bruce Museum and Noontime Concerts in San Francisco; Ms. Enger has enjoyed remarkable success as a recording artist. The New York Times selected her Naxos recording of intimate Ned Rorem miniatures, Piano Album I & Six Friends, as one of the newspaper’s “Best In Classical Recordings”, writing “Among the 90th–birthday tributes this year to the essential American composer Ned Rorem, this recording especially stands out,” while Gramophone declared, “Enger raises the miniatures to a higher level.” Recently the recording was “Album of the Week” on Sirius XM’s Symphony Hall and was featured on their program Living American. Her latest recording Resonating Earth was released in September 2024 to glowing praise: “a thoughtful programme…enthralling” (Nigel Simone, International Piano), “lovingly performed…a beautiful, meaningful recital” (Steve Smith, Night After Night, “sensitively performed and intelligently curated” (Frances Wilson, Interlude), and has been streamed over 500,000 times on Apple Music.
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If you would like to support the work of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh, we would greatly appreciate your generosity! Even a gift of $18 helps us with our mission to preserve the stories of the Holocaust and to educate future generations. You can make your gift when you reserve your ticket or by clicking this link.
The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh is a program of The Tree of Life.

Professional Development Workshop with Emily Loeb & Kate Lukaszewicz
2026-01-29 09:00 - 15:00 | Intermediate Unit 1, 1 Intermediate Unit Dr #1, Coal Center, PA, 15423, United States

Righteous Among the Neighbors Celebration
2026-02-12 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 2025 class of Righteous Among the Neighbors! Register here.

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, Mt. Lebanon High School student journalists interviewed honorees and wrote profiles about their efforts.
Righteous Among the Neighbors is generously supported by the Phyllis G. and Jerry D. Silverman Family Endowment Fund.
Per JCC security requirements, all attendees 18 and over must provide a valid photo ID upon entry. Please use the JCC’s Darlington entrance.
The Righteous Among the Neighbors Celebration is hosted by the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh Center for Loving Kindness.

“Degenerate:” The Saxophone and the Third Reich
2026-02-22 15:00 | Alumni Concert Hall at Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, United States

A Conversation with Holocaust Survivor Jerry Guttman
2026-02-23 18:00 | Eddy Theatre at Chatham University, Woodland Rd, Pittsburgh, 15232, United States
Join us for an evening with Jerry Guttman as he shares his story of surviving the Holocaust.

Jerry Guttman was born in Dresden, Germany, in 1932. With his parents’ forethought, he managed to escape Hitler’s racial laws, as well as Mussolini’s subsequent antisemitism.
From Italy, the family evacuated to Tangier, Morocco, where Jerry spent his formative years, including his bar mitzvah. He later graduated high school in Milan, Italy, where the family moved after World War II.
At the age of 21, with the Sponsorship of a prominent American Diplomat whom Jerry met in Milan, he was able to emigrate to the United States. Shortly after his arrival, he was drafted into the Army and served during the Korean War. He was later accepted to attend The University of Pennsylvania on the GI Bill.
Jerry built a career and family in Philadelphia, where he lived for many years with his late wife, Avie, before moving to California to be closer to their children. After many years on the West Coast, Jerry moved back to Pennsylvania in 2021.
Audience Q&A will follow. This program is free and open to the public.
Register here.

Memorial Complexes, Rayzebilder, Testimony: A Spatial Approach to Holocaust Memory in Belarus (and Beyond)
2026-03-16 17:15 - 18:45 | Cathedral of Learning: Room 501, 4200 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, United States
Anika Walke, the Askwith Family Associate Professor of Holocaust Studies at CMU, will deliver the third Annual Renee Sachs Memorial Lecture in Holocaust Studies at the University of Pittsburgh: “Memorial Complexes, Rayzebilder, Testimony: A spatial approach to Holocaust memory in Belarus (and beyond).” The memory of the Holocaust and World War II in Belarus is deeply inscribed into the local landscape. The lecture introduces works by the Yiddish writer Hirsh Reles and memorials created by architect Leonid Levin to explore how legacies of systematic violence shape the natural and built environment in the former Soviet Union.

A Holocaust Story of Love and Resilience
2026-03-16 19:00 | Adat Shalom, 368 Guys Run Rd, Cheswick, PA, 15024, United States

(Re)Building the Bridge: a conversation about the Black–Jewish relationship
2026-03-19 18:00 | Hazelwood Brew House, 5007 Lytle Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15207, United States
Join the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh and Center of Life for (Re)Building the Bridge: a conversation about the Black–Jewish relationship. Register here.

The program will center on a conversation between Center of Life’s Rev. Tim Smith, and Avi Dresner, son of Civil Rights Activist Rabbi Israel “Sy” Dresner, and will trace the history of the African American-Jewish relationship during the Civil Rights Movement and explore ways to collaboratively address racism and antisemitism today. It will be moderated by Emily Loeb of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh, whose uncle Rabbi Everett Gendler was also a Civil Rights activist.
The conversation will explore the topics such as conditioning, stories, and grace. What have we been conditioned to think, believe, and act about people with different beliefs and experiences? How can we learn to see our common humanity in others’ stories? How can we connect with, and offer grace to, others as we collectively build new bridges toward understanding and justice?
This program is part of Avi Dresner’s national project, Black–Jewish Reconciliation: (Re)Building the Bridge, which explores the historic African American–Jewish alliance during the Civil Rights Movement—particularly the relationship between Rabbi Dresner and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.—and engages communities in dialogue about the value of that alliance today. The project is supported by the Ford Foundation.
Starting at 5:30, community partners engaged in Jewish and African American community organizing will be present to share information about local programs and opportunities for involvement.
About our co-hosts:
Center of Life works to provide families and youth with the skills, education, training, and resources needed to strengthen themselves and their communities, with a focus on long-term economic revitalization.
The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh connects the horrors of the Holocaust and antisemitism with injustices of today and through education empowers individuals to build a more civil and humane society. The Holocaust Center is a program of The Tree of Life.

Butler's Jews and their Neighbors
2026-03-26 18:00 | Butler Area Public Library, 218 N McKean St, Butler, PA, 16001, United States
This is the first of a three-program series highlighting stories of Jewish people in Butler County and Western Pennsylvania.

Jewish people have been living in Butler County continuously since 1858, becoming part of the fabric of the community. This program will introduce attendees to well-known and lesser-known stories from the history of the Jewish communities of Butler County.
Presenter: Eric Lidji, Director of the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Register here.

Yom HaShoah Commemoration
2026-04-13 19:00 | Rodef Shalom Congregation, 4905 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, United States
Register here.

Join us in remembering the approximately six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust on Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The Holocaust Center has been holding a community-wide commemoration every year since the establishment of the Center in 1980. This year’s program will feature music played by students from Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra, poetry readings, filmed testimony from Holocaust survivors, a candle-lighting ceremony, and other traditional elements.
During the candle-lighting ceremony, six candles are lit in memory of the six million Jewish victims, 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 Holocaust Survivors and/or descendants, community members, and lay leaders.
There are both in-person and virtual attendance options available (select the ticket that reflects your preferred attendance option when registering).

Łódź to Pittsburgh: A Holocaust Survival Story
2026-04-29 18:00 | Butler Area Public Library, 218 N McKean St, Butler, PA, 16001, United States
Lee Goldman Kikel, daughter of Holocaust survivor Melvin Goldman, will be sharing her father’s story of survival and resilience.

In middle age, Melvin Goldman recorded a series of cassette tapes telling his life story, leaving them to be found decades later after his passing. His daughter, Lee Goldman Kikel, discovered the recordings—a priceless family heirloom conveying memory and the history of a Polish Jewish family which became the basis of a 2019 Holocaust memoir. Lee’s presentation focuses on her father’s recounting: his pre-war childhood, ability to survive the Łódź ghetto, Auschwitz and other concentration camps, and a miraculous recovery while knowing most of his family perished. Lee tells how hope, tenacity, and perseverance amid major losses guided her father to become a United States citizen and start a new life in Pittsburgh.
This is the second of a three-program series highlighting stories of Jewish people in Butler
County and Western Pennsylvania.Presenter: Lee Goldman Kikel

Generations Speaker: Michelle Ultmann
2026-05-05 18:30 | C.C. Mellor Memorial Library – Edgewood, 1 Pennwood Ave, Edgewood, PA, 15218, United States
Michelle Ultmann is the daughter of two survivors: her mother from Germany and her father from Austria. She will share the story of her mother, Ruth, who was a young teenager during Kristallnacht in her hometown. After the November pogrom, Ruth was sent to England for the duration of the war through the Kindertransport.
Registration opens on April 1.

After the Synagogue Shooting
2026-05-20 18:00 | Butler Area Public Library, 218 N McKean St, Butler, PA, 16001, United States
This is the third of a three-program series highlighting stories of Jewish people in Butler County and Western Pennsylvania.

REACH (Remember, Educate and Combat Hate), is the 10.27 Healing Partnership Speakers Bureau of survivors and family members who lost loved ones in the Oct. 27, 2018 synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh. REACH speakers share their lived experience of targeted violence and connect with audiences on a personal and human level. The individuals within REACH are an invaluable source of resilience and strength.
Presenter: REACH Speakers Bureau
Register here.

Save the Date - Generations Talk by Susan Straus
2026-06-01 18:00 | Oakmont Carnegie Library, 700 Allegheny River Blvd, Oakmont, PA, 15139, United States
Susan Straus (she/her) is the daughter of Jewish Holocaust survivors. Susan will tell the story of her father, Henry Straus, who was born in Germany in 1928. Her presentation describes Henry’s experiences growing up in Germany under conditions of rampant antisemitism and what he and his family endured during and after Kristallnacht, the November 1938 pogrom.
Susan encourages the audience to think about how victims of the Holocaust could be resilient in the face of unimaginable challenges and the effects of indifference toward others’ pain and suffering. She also encourages participants to consider what they can do to promote social justice in the world.
