Flares of Memory: Stories of Childhood During the Holocaust
Copyright 2001 by Oxford University Press. In a series of writing workshops at the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh, survivors who were children or teens during World War II assembled to remember the pivotal moments in which their lives were irreparably changed by the Nazis. These “flares of memory” preserve the voices of over forty Jews from throughout Europe who experienced a history that cannot be forgotten. Ninety-two brief vignettes arranged both chronologically and thematically recreate the disbelief and chaos that ensued as families were separated, political rights were abolished, and synagogues and Jewish businesses were destroyed. Survivors remember the daily humiliation, the quiet heroes among their friends, and the painful abandonment by neighbors as Jews were restricted to ghettos, forced to don yellow stars, and loaded like cattle into trains. Vivid memories of hunger, disease, and a daily existence dependent on cruel luck provide penetrating testimonies to the ruthlessness of the Nazi killing machine, yet they also bear witness to the resilience and fortitude of individual souls bombarded by evil. “I don’t think that there will be many readers who will be able to put this book down.”–Jerome Chanes, National Foundation for Jewish Culture
The book features: Malka Baran, Moshe Baran, Shulamit Bastacky, Arnold Blum, Walter Boninger, Leon Brett, Ruth Drescher, Simon Gelernter, and others.
If you are interested in obtaining a copy of Flares of Memory, it can be purchased from several online stores, including:
From Pittsburgh To Poland: Lessons of the Holocaust
This film features three Pittsburgh Holocaust survivors on their journey back to Poland. It won four Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards as well as the 2006 National Gabriel Award for Outstanding News/Informational Documentary, winner of the regional Edward R. Murrow Award for Outstanding News Documentary, and the Western Pennsylvania Press Club’s Golden Quill Award for Outstanding Videography.
If you are interested in obtaining a copy of From Pittsburgh to Poland, please contact the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh, 412-421-1500.
The Holocaust Testimony Project “Never Forget”
The Holocaust Center of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh celebrated its 30th anniversary by releasing The Holocaust Testimony Project — a two-disc DVD set preserving the firsthand accounts of Pittsburgh residents who lived through that devastating time. The project consists of survivor accounts, and the account of one liberator. It features survivors Solange Lebovitz and Harry Schneider.
The Holocaust Testimony Project is now available to stream on our YouTube channel.
The Gate is Open…You can go!
A Jewish prisoner of the concentration camp, a Christian U.S. Army nurse, and a U.S. Army investigator recall the joys and trials of the liberation of Mauthausen concentration camp and its satellite camps by U.S. troops in 1945. Their informal comments were recorded during a presentation based on the book, Flares of Memory. Approximate Running Time: 30 minutes. Holocaust survivor Fritz Ottenheimer is featured.
If you are interested in obtaining a copy of The Gate is Open…You can go!, please contact the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh, 412-421-1500.
CHUTZ-POW! Superheroes of the Holocaust
CHUTZ-POW! SUPERHEROES OF THE HOLOCAUST is an acclaimed and ongoing comic-book series created and published by The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh that seeks, as its mission, to place stories of UpStanders’ courage, resilience, and sacrifice at the forefront of Holocaust awareness. Each volume is an anthology by award-winning creative collaborators, telling true-life stories of heroic survivors who brought light into some of the darkest recesses of World War II.
There are currently four installations in the series, all available to purchase. Learn more at https://hcofpgh.org/chutzpow/.