40th Annual Waldman Arts & Writing Competition

Established in 1980, the Holocaust Center was created as a living memorial to honor Holocaust survivors who came to Pittsburgh to rebuild their lives. Rather than build a statue or monument, local survivors and their children built an organization that would be a home for them—to talk about their stories and experiences, to gather in community, and to invite the rest of the Jewish community and all of Pittsburgh to gather together for commemorations like Yom HaShoah, Kristallnacht, and International Holocaust Remembrance Day. In an act of resilience against antisemitism, they undertook a mission to create a comprehensive resource center that would help people learn about the Holocaust and counter intolerance and hate in all its forms.

It was local survivors themselves that inspired Hal and Diane Waldman to start the Arts and Writing Competition in 1984. For its 40th year, celebrated this history with the theme “Local Legacies: Holocaust Survivors of the Pittsburgh Region.”