Please Join Us in Support of  the Holocaust Center
The Holocaust Center of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, located in the heart of Squirrel Hill at the Jewish Community Center, is the only full-scale educational resource center of its kind in Pennsylvania.  At one location, it offers students, teachers and the general community consultation on and access to curricula development, books and materials, a speakers bureau, organizes programs, seminars and exhibits on the history of the Nazi Holocaust, 1933-1945, and its meaning for today’s world.

Individuals come from as far away as north-central Pennsylvania to take part in its activities and tap its resources to learn the lessons of the Holocaust - - to speak out against bigotry, racism, discrimination and hate.  During this country’s economic downturn, there appears to be a dramatic increase in hate activities, intolerant and violent behavior. Therefore, the need for effective tolerance teaching and mutual acceptance and respect programs is more urgent than ever. The Holocaust Center is in the forefront of that educational effort.

The Holocaust Center of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh is the only organization offering prejudice reduction programs on an on-going basis in the region. These programs are offered at the Center and in on-site visits by speakers directly at the school.

Your support of the Holocaust Center as a member provides the vital base for this important institution in Pittsburgh, which, last year alone, reached hundreds of teachers and schools, and thousands of students and community individuals.  Here are samples of some of the outstanding programs that the Center has presented with the help of its contributors and volunteers.

• Lessons from Kristallnacht 2008, a community-wide program and teacher symposium dealing with Sophie Scholl, a courageous anti-Nazi resistance fighter with the White Rose Society.  Keynote Speaker Jud Newborn gave a passionate, insightful view into the world of college-based Nazi resistance.  Over 200 people attended these programs. 
• More than 1,500 area middle and high school students participated in the annual Arts and Writing Seminar at the University of Pittsburgh, where they viewed the film The White Rose as well as heard from a local survivor.  Many of these students submitted entries to the annual Competition in visual arts, performing arts and creative writing. 
• The annual Yom Hashoa/Holocaust Remembrance Day program drew in over 700 people  - - community members, students, university professors and seniors - - to listen to renowned Holocaust scholar Deborah Dwork from Clark University in Worchester, Massachusetts.  She spoke to rave reviews on Children in the Holocaust, and the program included the very poignant candle-lighting ceremony with local survivors. 

This year, we are thrilled to have collaborated with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre in bringing the ballet, Light/The Holocaust and Humanity Project to the Pittsburgh area.  In addition to the ballet performances, there were many related events throughout the region, centering on Holocaust education (list enclosed). Over 15,000 community members and students have been touched by these programs. Of particular interest were the exhibit Tempted, Misled, Slaughtered: The Short Life of Hitler Youth Paul B and the city-wide Kristallnacht program, Music from the Holocaust, presented by the Carnegie Mellon University Philharmonic Orchestra at the Carnegie Music Hall, attracting over 800 attendees.  This collaboration has been the most extensive and impactful one in the Center’s 27-year history.

Please join us in this crucial work by making a contribution to the Holocaust Center this year.  Be counted among those in our community who want to keep the memory alive and to learn from the past, so that our young people can make finer choices and build a better world.

Donate Today!