Holocaust Center of Northern California
Encyclopedia
The Holocaust Center of Northern California (HCNC) is a non-profit organization formed to ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust never be forgotten. HCNC provides services and programs to fulfill its mission of education, research and remembrance.
In 2010, the Holocaust Center of Northern California's collections and programs were relocated to Jewish Family and Children's Services of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin, and Sonoma Counties to form the JFCS Holocaust Center.
The Jewish Community Relations Council intervened on behalf of the Weisses who were released. A Committee of Remembrance was formed, composed of Holocaust survivors and refugees, who decided to initiate three projects:
The first Yom HaShoah commemoration was held in April 1978
The Holocaust Library and Research Center of San Francisco, opened in 1979.
“Holocaust,” dedicated in November 1984 in Lincoln Park, was created by the sculptor George Segal.
The Holocaust Center of Northern California is in collaboration with the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service
.
The Bay Area Holocaust Oral History Project
merged with the HCNC.
HCNC also provides adult education opportunities by sponsoring lectures and film series, and collaborating with other cultural institutions to co-sponsor community performances, exhibits, films, conferences and seminars.
HCNC is a primary sponsor of annual community Yom HaShoah commemorations throughout the Bay Area.
HCNC has one of the largest Yizkor (memorial) book collections in the world, with over 500 rare Yizkor books.
, as well as interviews with liberators of concentration camps and witnesses to the events of the Holocaust.
OHP has over 2000 recorded video and audio oral testimonies, which are available for research, as well as 800 transcripts.
In 2010, the Holocaust Center of Northern California's collections and programs were relocated to Jewish Family and Children's Services of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin, and Sonoma Counties to form the JFCS Holocaust Center.
History
The Holocaust Center of Northern California, formerly known as The Holocaust Library and Research Center of San Francisco, was established in 1977 in reaction to the opening of a Nazi bookstore in a neighborhood in San Francisco where a large population of Holocaust survivors lived. Enraged, several Holocaust survivors broke into the bookstore, and set fire to its inventory. Two individuals – Mr. Morris Weiss and his son Allan Weiss – were arrested.The Jewish Community Relations Council intervened on behalf of the Weisses who were released. A Committee of Remembrance was formed, composed of Holocaust survivors and refugees, who decided to initiate three projects:
- An annual day of remembrance for Holocaust victims:
The first Yom HaShoah commemoration was held in April 1978
- Establishment of a research library:
The Holocaust Library and Research Center of San Francisco, opened in 1979.
- A lasting memorial in San Francisco:
“Holocaust,” dedicated in November 1984 in Lincoln Park, was created by the sculptor George Segal.
The Holocaust Center of Northern California is in collaboration with the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service
Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service
The Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service is an alternative to Austria's compulsory national military service / alternative service founded in 1992. Since 1998 it is part of the Austrian Service Abroad...
.
The Bay Area Holocaust Oral History Project
Bay Area Holocaust Oral History Project
The mission of the Bay Area Holocaust Oral History Project is to gather oral life histories of Holocaust survivors, liberators, rescuers, and eyewitnesses. The project is developing and maintaining a catalogue database for public use...
merged with the HCNC.
Education
HCNC provides educational opportunities to students and educators through its various programs:- Survivors Speakers Bureau
- Manovill Holocaust History Fellowship
- Day of Learning (annual day-long program of workshops on the Holocaust and genocide)
- Shalhevet (an annual trip to Poland and Israel)
- Morris Weiss scholarship
- Educator workshops
- Educator resource center
HCNC also provides adult education opportunities by sponsoring lectures and film series, and collaborating with other cultural institutions to co-sponsor community performances, exhibits, films, conferences and seminars.
HCNC is a primary sponsor of annual community Yom HaShoah commemorations throughout the Bay Area.
Research
HCNC’s Laszlo N. Tauber Library and Research includes over 12,000 volumes on the Holocaust and genocide, as well as an archives which features personal papers, government records, rare books, photographs, artifacts and special collections. Special collections include a Historical Pamphlet collection, Periodicals collection, Survivor Testimony collection, and oral history transcripts.HCNC has one of the largest Yizkor (memorial) book collections in the world, with over 500 rare Yizkor books.
Oral History Project
HCNC’s Oral History Project records interviews with Holocaust survivors, including refugees, hidden children, children sent on the KindertransportKindertransport
Kindertransport is the name given to the rescue mission that took place nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. The United Kingdom took in nearly 10,000 predominantly Jewish children from Nazi Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland and the Free City of Danzig...
, as well as interviews with liberators of concentration camps and witnesses to the events of the Holocaust.
OHP has over 2000 recorded video and audio oral testimonies, which are available for research, as well as 800 transcripts.