Classrooms Without Borders

The Ravine of Memory: Babyn Yar Between the Holocaust and the Great Patriotic War
2026-07-12 14:00 (America/New_York) | PA
The Ghetto Fighters’ House invites you to a special Talking Memory program marking the launch of Dr. Shay Pilnik’s book, The Ravine of Memory: Babyn Yar Between the Holocaust and the Great Patriotic War.
Prof. Elissa Bemporad
Our first speaker is Prof. Elissa Bemporad. Drawing on the long history of Jewish life in the lands of present-day Ukraine, she invites us to look beyond familiar narratives of persecution and to consider a more complex historical reality.
In her presentation, she argues that any examination of Jewish life in the lands of present-day Ukraine must begin with an important caveat: it would be a mistake to impose a teleology of violence on a long and rich history that generated remarkable religious, political, and cultural contributions to Jewish civilization. While episodes of violence undeniably formed part of this history, relations between Jews and non-Jews were shaped far more often by coexistence, interaction, and mutual entanglement.
This caution is particularly relevant in the context of Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, which has relied in part on historical distortions. More broadly, it serves as a reminder against reading the Jewish experience in the region retrospectively, as though it were destined from the outset to culminate in persecution and catastrophe.
Dr. Shay Pilnik
Our next speaker, Dr. Shay Pilnik, joins us on the occasion of the publication of his new book, The Ravine of Memory, which examines the place of Babyn Yar in Soviet literary and cultural memory.
In his talk, he explores how Babyn Yar—where more than 100,000 people, the vast majority Jews, were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators—has been remembered and forgotten in Soviet literature and culture, in both Russian and Yiddish. Revisiting well-known works alongside lesser-known texts, he reveals how Babyn Yar became a powerful symbolic site that illuminates both the fragility and the courage of those who bear witness to atrocity.
Inna Kalenska
Our final speaker, Inna Kalenska, will bring us from the historical and cultural landscape explored in The Ravine of Memory to the ongoing work of preserving and reconstructing the history of Babyn Yar today.
Her presentation examines the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center’s approach to memory work through archival research, digitization, and public engagement. It will focus on the “Names” Project and the role of archives in reconstructing the individual histories of Holocaust victims.
The talk will also reflect on how the ongoing war shapes contemporary memorial practices and influences the ways historical memory is preserved and communicated.

Elie Wiesel: Witness, Writer, Moral Voice Marking the 10th Anniversary of His Passing
2026-06-28 14:00 | PA
Ten years after the passing of Elie Wiesel (1928–2016), one of the most influential Holocaust survivors and moral voices of the twentieth century, the Talking Memory International Lecture Series invites you to a special program exploring his life, legacy, and enduring impact on Holocaust memory and contemporary moral discourse.
Dr. Yoel Rappel
The program will open with remarks by Dr. Yoel Rappel, who knew Elie Wiesel for more than thirty years, worked with the Elie Wiesel Archive at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center from 2008 to 2015, and has written extensively about Wiesel’s life and legacy.
Drawing on both personal acquaintance and scholarly engagement, Dr. Rappel will address the question, “Who Was Elie Wiesel?” Exploring the many dimensions of a man who became a witness to history, a celebrated author, a public intellectual, and a global advocate for human dignity, he will offer unique insights into Wiesel’s remarkable life and influence.
Prof. Michael Berenbaum
Prof. Michael Berenbaum will discuss Wiesel’s significance as a writer, the vocation that established his reputation and anchored his existence.
He will also examine Wiesel’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning career as a public intellectual, his role as a voice for Holocaust survivors, and his unique place as a moral laureate of the Jewish people.
Prof. Dina Porat
Prof. Dina Porat will explore the profound questions that accompanied Elie Wiesel throughout his life after liberation:
Was he primarily a witness or a writer? What mission did he see for himself, and what legacy did he hope to leave to future generations?
Through a comparative examination of the reflections of Primo Levi, Aharon Appelfeld, and Abba Kovner—who grappled with similar questions—Prof. Porat will illuminate the distinctive nature of Wiesel’s self-understanding and literary vision.
Dr. Ana Bărbulescu
Dr. Ana Bărbulescu will explore how the Elie Wiesel National Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania embodies Elie Wiesel’s conviction that historical memory must serve as an active ethical safeguard rather than a passive archive.
Drawing on Wiesel’s belief that “the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference,” she will examine the Institute’s role in transforming Holocaust remembrance into a living commitment to historical justice.
With an archive of more than one million official state documents, the Institute serves as a unique bridge between scholarly research, public policy, and educational initiatives, ensuring that the memory of the victims continues to inform contemporary understanding and responsibility.
Join the Conversation
Join us for a thoughtful and timely conversation honoring the life, work, and legacy of Elie Wiesel, whose voice continues to challenge, inspire, and guide us in confronting the moral questions of our time.

From Slavery to Freedom Film Series: “American Dignity"
2026-06-17 18:00 - 20:00 | Heinz History Center, 1212 Smallman Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15222, United States
Presented as part of the From Slavery to Freedom Film Series, “American Dignity” follows voting rights organizer Charles Douglas III as he seeks guidance and clarity from civil rights veteran Charles Mauldin, who at just 17 years old was sixth in line during the historic 1965 march across Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge.
This film captures Douglas’s conversations with Mauldin and other civil rights activists as they reflect on the lessons learned over 60 years ago and how organizers today can carry those lessons to make lasting, democratic change.
Following the screening, Mauldin will discuss the film with Samuel W. Black, director of the African American Program.
This program is presented in partnership with Classrooms Without Borders.
The program is free for all to attend.

The 80th Anniversary of the “Zivia Conference” at Kibbutz Yagur: Testimony, Resistance, and Remembrance
2026-06-07 14:00 | PA
This special Talking Memory program marks the 80th anniversary of the “Zivia Conference,” held at Kibbutz Yagur in June 1946, and explores the enduring power of first-person testimony in shaping our understanding of rescue, resistance, and moral responsibility after the Holocaust.
At the heart of the program is Zivia Lubetkin — a leader of the Jewish underground in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, a central figure in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, and later a prominent voice in the postwar Yishuv. At the United Kibbutz Movement committee gathering at Yagur, Lubetkin delivered her searing testimony about the destruction of Polish Jewry, the struggle for resistance, and the human realities behind a history that was only beginning to be understood.
Our first speaker, Lori Weintrob, will present insights drawn from three decades of scholarship on women and the Holocaust. Her talk will explore ways of teaching about Zivia Lubetkin and other “heroines of the Holocaust,” whose words and actions continue to inspire new generations. Focusing on Lubetkin’s testimony as both a historical document and a moral legacy, the presentation will encourage educators, historians, and the broader public to reconsider approaches to Holocaust and genocide education, as well as contemporary efforts to confront global antisemitism.
Batya Brutin will examine how Zivia Lubetkin has been commemorated visually and culturally over the decades. Despite Lubetkin’s central role in the youth movements in Poland, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the founding of Kibbutz Lohamei HaGeta’ot, and her testimony at the Eichmann trial, her visual representation remains surprisingly limited. Her image appears in paintings, murals, stamps, and memorial works in both Israel and Poland — sometimes alongside her husband, Yitzhak (“Antek”) Zuckerman, sometimes as part of a collective of fighters, and at times as an individual figure. Across these depictions, artists consistently emphasize her determination, resilience, and inner strength.
Ruth Kupperberg will read selections from the words and testimony of Zivia Lubetkin, highlighting her resistance and heroism. The excerpts shared will illuminate the bravery of a young woman during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the enduring lessons of courage we can draw from her story today.
Register at the Zoom link below.

Memory and Meaning: Teaching the Holocaust in Today’s Classroom
2026-05-18 09:00 - 15:00 | Intermediate Unit 1 1 Intermediate Unit Drive Coal Center, PA 15423, 1 Intermediate Unit Drive Coal Center, PA 15423, Coal Center, PA, 15243, United States
In recognition of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, this session provides updated resources, reflective practices, and age-appropriate strategies for teaching Holocaust history in modern classrooms.

Out of the Sky: Heroism and Rebirth in Nazi Europe
2026-05-17 13:00 | Virtual
In this special Talking Memory book launch for Out of the Sky, author Matti Friedman will delve into the extraordinary story of the Jewish parachutists of 1944—young men and women who, having escaped Europe, made the fateful decision to return under a British mission into Nazi-occupied territory. Focusing on figures such as Hannah Senesh, Friedman will explore the gap between the mission’s tragic reality and its powerful afterlife in Israeli memory. Drawing on years of archival research, he will reflect on how these stories were shaped, what defines heroism in the face of failure, and the enduring role of narrative in constructing collective memory.
Following Friedman’s discussion of his book, Dr. Rochelle Saidel will focus on Haviva Reick (1914–1944), one of the three women among the Jewish parachutists sent from Mandatory Palestine to Europe during World War II. Operating in Slovakia during the Slovak National Uprising, Reick worked to aid Allied airmen and rescue Jews. Captured and murdered by Nazi collaborators, her story highlights the courage, moral commitment, and tragic fate of those who risked everything to save others.
The program will conclude with Shlomit Dagan, Director of the Hannah Senesh House, who will highlight the story of Hannah Senesh and reflect on the ongoing work of remembrance and education at the Hannah Senesh House.

Talking Memory: In Conversation with Goldie Morgentaler Author of Letters from the Afterlife
2026-05-03 14:00 | PA
Join us for a powerful literary encounter with acclaimed writer and translator Goldie Morgentaler as she presents her novel Letters from the Afterlife: The Post-Holocaust Correspondence of Chava Rosenfarb and Zenia Larsson.
Rochelle Saidel will open the program with reflections on the book as a rare and intimate window into postwar lives, drawing on correspondence that reveals the inner worlds, creative resilience, and evolving identities of Holocaust survivors rebuilding their lives across continents.
Drawing on her experience as the daughter of celebrated author and Holocaust survivor Chava Rosenfarb, Morgentaler explores memory, loss, and the enduring presence of the past through a moving and imaginative narrative.
Extraordinarily little has been written about how women who survived the Holocaust dealt with life after the war, with the trauma of their immediate pasts, and with the debilitating sense of alienation they felt in a changed world. Letters from the Afterlife chronicles the experiences of two female Holocaust survivors as they adjusted to life in their adopted countries of Canada and Sweden, where they knew neither the language nor the culture.
A compelling conversation on literature, legacy, and the voices that continue to shape our understanding of the Holocaust across generations.

JFilm 2026: Hold on to Your Music – A Mother's Legacy
2026-05-02 18:30 | McConomy Auditorium Jared L. Cohon University Center 5032 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15213, 5032 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, United States
In this deeply personal and profoundly universal documentary, based on the internationally acclaimed book and theatrical production, Grammy-nominated concert pianist Mona Golabek shares the extraordinary story of her mother, Lisa Jura, a child-prodigy pianist. In 1938, Lisa was one of 10,000 unaccompanied Jewish children rescued from Nazi-occupied Europe and brought to England on the Kindertransport. As antisemitic persecution engulfed Vienna, Lisa’s father, reduced to penury like so many of his fellow Jews, miraculously won a Kindertransport ticket while gambling. Faced with an unthinkable decision, he and his wife had to choose which of their three daughters would be saved. They chose Lisa. Featuring interviews of towering Jewish scholars and spanning three generations, this life-affirming film stands as a luminous testament to survival, artistry, and the enduring strength of a mother’s love.
Film subject Mona Golabek will be opening the screening with a special live piano performance sponsored by Steinway, and following the film she will be present for a Q&A.
Winner: Torchbearer Award—Miami Jewish Film Festival
Nominated: Best Documentary—UK Jewish Film Festival

Hold Onto Your Music: A Mother's Legacy
2026-05-02 18:30 | McConomy Auditorium Jared L. Cohon University Center 5032 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15213, 5032 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, United States
Content is protected.

Hold On To Your Music Trailer
2026-05-02 18:30 | McConomy Auditorium Jared L. Cohon University Center 5032 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15213, 5032 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, United States

Educator Workshop: When Democracies Falter: Jim Crow, Nazi Germany, and the Educator’s Call
2026-04-17 09:00 - 15:00 | Intermediate Unit 1 1 Intermediate Unit Drive Coal Center, PA 15423, 1 Intermediate Unit Drive Coal Center, PA 15423, Coal Center, PA, 15243, United States
In an era of rising polarization and threats to democratic values, educators are essential defenders of truth and justice. This session aligns with Pennsylvania Acts 70 and 35, examining the parallels between Nazi antisemitism and Jim Crow racism. Participants will use case studies and primary sources to help students analyze the fragility of democracy and the urgent need to stand against hate. $15 for six Act 48 hours.

Holocaust Survivors and Their Legacy: Voices Across Generations
2026-04-12 14:00 | Virtual
“Holocaust Survivors and Their Legacy: Voices Across Generations” is a powerful Talking Memory program that brings together creative voices exploring how the Holocaust continues to resonate across generations.
Centered on the transmission of memory, trauma, and resilience, the program invites audiences to consider not only the experiences of survivors, but also how their stories have shaped the identities, responsibilities, and creative expressions of their children and grandchildren.
The program will feature Stacey Goldring, founder of Searching For Identity, who is the writer and producer of the documentary Traces: Voices of the Second Generation, which gives voice to the children of Holocaust survivors as they reflect on inherited memory, loss, and resilience, illuminating how the past continues to shape the present.
Through personal testimony and storytelling, Goldring’s work highlights the enduring impact of the Holocaust and the role of the second generation in preserving and transmitting these histories. The documentary will be available for free viewing, with a link provided as part of the program below, allowing audiences to engage more deeply with these personal narratives.
In addition, the creators of the project and exhibition “And Yet, And Despite Everything”, Debbie Morag, an Israeli photographer who was born in the Bergen-Belsen DP camp, and Dr. Mala Meir, also the daughter of Holocaust survivors, will present their work, which engages with questions of continuity, identity, and the fragile yet persistent threads connecting multiple generations.
Together, these conversations offer a nuanced and moving exploration of legacy—how memory is carried, reinterpreted, and kept alive—ensuring that the voices of the past continue to shape the moral and cultural landscape of the present and future.
Register for the free screening of Traces: Voices of the Second Generation:
https://www.tracesfilm.com/watchnowaccess

The Cure for Hate: Cranberry Public Library
2026-03-17 18:00 - 20:00 | Cranberry Public Library, 2525 Rochester Rd., Suite 300, Cranberry, PA, 16066, United States
Join us for a powerful screening of The Cure for Hate, a gripping documentary that follows former white supremacist Tony McAleer on a journey of redemption and transformation. Through raw storytelling and deep reflection, the film explores the forces that drive hate—and the paths to healing.
Following the screening, engage in a thought-provoking Q&A with Tony McAleer, former neo-Nazi turned anti-hate advocate, and Peter Hutchison, the film’s director. This is an opportunity to discuss the roots of extremism, the power of personal change, and how we can foster greater understanding in our communities.
This event is free and open to the public. Don’t miss this chance to be part of an urgent conversation on confronting hate and building a more compassionate future.
PA Educators with a PPID are eligible for 2 Act 48 hours.

Educators Opportunity: From Hate to Hope: The Journey of Tony McAleer & the Cure for Hate Act 48 Program
2026-03-16 09:00 - 14:00 | Intermediate Unit 1 1 Intermediate Unit Drive Coal Center, PA 15423, 1 Intermediate Unit Drive Coal Center, PA 15423, Coal Center, PA, 15243, United States
A moving conversation with a former white supremacist turned advocate for compassion. This session explores radical transformation & offers a roadmap for confronting hate with humanity & healing.
Participating educators will receive a $25 gift card & their schools are eligible for up to $125 in substitute teacher reimbursement. Six Act 48 credits will be awarded.

Rescue and Remembrance: Imagining the German Collective After Nazism
2026-02-22 14:00 | PA
Join us for a special Talking Memory conversation marking the launch of Rescue and Remembrance: Imagining the German Collective After Nazism (University of Wisconsin Press, 2025). In this thought-provoking book, Dr. Kobi Kabalek explores how postwar German society grappled with questions of rescue, responsibility, and collective memory in the aftermath of Nazism. He
will give a brief introduction of his book that examines how the rescue of Jews during the Holocaust has been understood, remembered, and represented in Germany from the Nazi period to the present.
Harry Legg will comment on the book, its contribution to current research on the non-Jewish German population’s attitudes and actions toward Jews during the Nazi regime. Dr. Kabalek and Legg will then hold a reflective discussion on memory, postwar narratives, the postwar commemoration of rescuers, and the ongoing challenges of confronting the past.
This program is hosted by the Ghetto Fighters’ House Museum in partnership with Rabin Chair Forum, Classrooms Without Borders, and the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre.

Educators Opportunity: Brave Spaces: Fostering Civil Dialogue in the Classroom Act 48 Program
2026-02-20 09:00 - 15:00 | Intermediate Unit 1 1 Intermediate Unit Drive Coal Center, PA 15423, 1 Intermediate Unit Drive Coal Center, PA 15423, Coal Center, PA, 15243, United States
Educators will explore strategies to engage students in respectful and informed dialogue around difficult topics, emphasizing civil discourse as a critical civic skill.
Participating educators will receive a $25 gift card & their schools are eligible for up to $125 in substitute teacher reimbursement. Six Act 48 credits will be awarded.

The Final Final Solution
2026-02-18 19:30 | Beth Shalom, 5915 Beacon Street, Pittsburgh, 15217
Darkly funny. Unapologetically sharp. Uncomfortably timely.
The Final Final Solution is a fearless, hour-long stand-up cabaret that takes on October 7, 2023 and its aftermath with biting wit and raw humanity. Fresh from a smash run at Estonia’s Freedom Festival and now on a U.S. tour, this performance transforms unimaginable pain into something incisive, shocking, and deeply human.
This is theater that doesn’t look away—and doesn’t ask you to, either.
Tickets: $18
Student Tickets: $5
Doors open at 7:00 PM. Show starts at 7:30 PM.

Israel and the Media: Is the World Against Us?
2026-02-17 17:30 - 19:00 | Community Day School, 6424 Forward Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15217, United States
Gil Hoffman is executive director of HonestReporting, a leading advocate for fair Israel coverage in global media. For 24 years he served as chief political correspondent and analyst for The Jerusalem Post, and he lectures on political strategy at Israel’s College of Management. Named one of the top 100 most influential Jewish personalities, he graduated Magna Cum Laude from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, served in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, and has lectured across all major English-speaking countries—recently becoming the first Israeli speaker to reach all 50 U.S. states.
Suggested donation: $10
Childcare and pizza provided.

Talking Memory: With All Their Might: Landsberg after Liberation: Survival, Culture, and the Rebuilding of Life
2026-01-25 14:00 | Virtual
Through testimony, music, archival memory, and personal reflection, this program traces how survivors transformed displacement into community and loss into renewed life—affirming memory as an act of resistance and responsibility.
Yigal Cohen, CEO of the Ghetto Fighters’ House, will open the event followed by Judith Stelmach, Project Manager at Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Israel.
We are honored to have Doris Baumgartl, Mayor of Landsberg am Lech, who will give the opening remarks, as we reflect on the aftermath of liberation and the struggle to rebuild Jewish life in the shadow of destruction.
Karla Schönebeck will explore the internal and external challenges Holocaust survivors faced as they sought to create new, free, and self-determined lives in Eretz Israel. Through the remarkable story of a Jewish orchestra formed in postwar Germany—on the very soil of the perpetrators—she will examine strategies of survival, cultural persistence, and intellectual resistance. Her talk also addresses the experience of displaced Eastern European Jewish culture, often misunderstood by both American liberators and German Jews outside the DP camps.
Ronit Lusky will share moving moments from the Ghetto Fighters’ House delegation to Landsberg am Lech for the “Liberation Concert”, a tribute to the first concert performed by eight Holocaust survivor musicians on May 27, 1945—an act of remembrance, resilience, and renewal.
Dr. Hannah Rosenbaum-Erlichman, daughter of Holocaust survivors Fela Zyndorf and Szlamek Rosenbaum, who were married in the Landsberg DP camp on March 27, 1947, will share her personal connection. Through her parents’ story, she will reflect on survival, continuity, and the pride of the second generation.
Noam Rachmilevitch will present the story of the Landsberg am Lech DP camp. In 1945, hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees arrived in DP camps in Germany, many alone and without surviving family. Some organized themselves into kibbutz-style collectives rooted in youth movements. One such group in Landsberg am Lech, the largest DP camp in Bavaria, was formed by former members of the Dror (Freiheit) youth movement from Poland. They called themselves “Kibbutz Lohamei HaGetaot” and prepared for immigration to Eretz Israel. After training at Kibbutz Ginosar and in Waldheim, the group immigrated and, in April 1949, helped establish Kibbutz Lohamei HaGetaot. His presentation will follow their journey.
This event is at 2pm on Zoom.

Talking Memory: The Landsberg Community: A Microhistory of German Jewry under National Socialism
2026-01-11 14:00 | Virtual
This program focuses on the German Jewish community in Landsberg before and during the Holocaust. The event will open with remarks by Yigal Cohen, CEO of the Ghetto Fighters’ House.
Prof. Guy Miron will examine the world of German Jewry from the eve of the Nazi rise to power through the outbreak of World War II, exploring how the persecutions of the Third Reich reshaped personal lives, communal structures, and Jewish identity. His lecture highlights how communities living under oppression nonetheless exercised agency in shaping their everyday experiences.
Sonia Schätz will present the new permanent exhibition Wege nach Landsberg (Paths to Landsberg) at the Landsberg am Lech Town Museum, which addresses the Nazi period and its postwar legacies. Focusing on the daily lives of six Jewish families, her talk explores the changing realities of Jewish life from 1933 onward, the responses of the non-Jewish environment, and the curatorial choices involved in conveying this history and its relevance today.
This event in on Zoom at 2pm EST.

Listening as Witnessing: Dori Laub and the Creation of the Fortunoff Archive
2025-12-14 14:00 | PA
Join the Ghetto Fights House Museum for a profound two-part series exploring the art and responsibility of listening to Holocaust survivors. Inspired by the groundbreaking work of Henry Greenspan and Dori Laub, Conversations that Endure invites participants to reflect on the lasting impact of survivor testimony—how it is heard, remembered, and carried forward by future generations.
Listening as Witnessing: Dori Laub and the Creation of the Fortunoff Archive
The second program in the series will honor the legacy of Dori Laub, a pioneering psychoanalyst, Holocaust survivor, and co-founder of the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies. The program will open with remarks by Stephen Naron, Director of the Fortunoff Archive, who will reflect on Laub’s groundbreaking work and enduring influence on the field of testimony and trauma studies. Following his introduction, filmmaker Ohad Ufaz will present and discuss the documentary film The Listener, which was directed by Ufaz and Micha Livne. This film is a moving exploration of Laub’s life and his profound dedication to listening — not only as an act of empathy, but as a bridge between past and present, memory and witness.
There will be a pre-screening of the documentary “The Listener” for all registrants.
2 pm EST

Exodus 1947
2025-12-10 19:00 - 20:30 | Rodef Shalom Congregation: Levy Hall, 4905 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, United States
Exodus 1947 and the Legacy of Survival: Heroism, Agency and Nation-building
With a Special Guest Speaker: Aviva Halamish

Join us for this unique opportunity to hear a story of resilience, resistance, and renewal in the shadow of the Holocaust. CWB Scholar in Residence Avi Ben-Hur will facilitate a discussion with Professor Aviva Halamish on how the survivors of the Exodus transformed loss into leadership. Prof. Halamish will share the untold story of their impact on the making of modern Israel.

GUEST SPEAKER: Dr. Aviva Halamish
Professor Emerita of History at The Open University of Israel, she specializes in 20th-century Jewish history, immigration, Zionist movements, and kibbutz life. Author of numerous books, including The Exodus Affair: Holocaust Survivors and the Struggle for Palestine. She is the recipient of the 2023 AIS Lifetime Achievement Award.
FACILITATOR: Avi Ben-Hur, CWB Scholar in Residence
Trained as a Holocaust educator by Yad Vashem, he has led global seminars with Classrooms Without Borders. Avi is an expert in modern Israeli history, covering the Ottoman period, the British Mandate, and the founding of the State of Israel.

Registration: An Evening with Eli Sharabi
2025-12-07 19:00 | PA

Howard Chandler's Zoom Birthday Party
2025-12-03 17:00 - 18:00 | ZOOM | Registration required and closes 30 minutes prior to the start of the program
Join us to celebrate Howard’s 97th birthday!

Talking Memory: A Contrarian’s Tale: Reflecting on Henry Greenspan’s REMNANTS and What Remains: Moments from a Life Among Holocaust Survivors
2025-11-30 14:00 | PA
Join the Ghetto Fights House Museum for a profound two-part series exploring the art and responsibility of listening to Holocaust survivors. Inspired by the groundbreaking work of Henry Greenspan and Dori Laub, Conversations that Endure invites participants to reflect on the lasting impact of survivor testimony—how it is heard, remembered, and carried forward by future generations.
A Contrarian’s Tale: Reflecting on Henry Greenspan’s REMNANTS and What Remains: Moments from a Life Among Holocaust Survivors
The first program marks the launch of Henry Greenspan’s new literary memoir, REMNANTS and What Remains: Moments from a Life Among Holocaust Survivors. The event will open with brief remarks by Prof. Debórah Dwork, followed by a conversation with Greenspan about his decades of work and reflection on Holocaust testimony as sustained and deepening collaboration.
2 pm EST

Programming from Our Partners: Talking Memory: Fanny's Journey
2025-11-16 14:00 | Virtual
The Ghetto Fighters’ House is pleased to host an online event celebrating the opening of “Fanny’s Journey,” an exhibition that brings to life the experiences of Fanny Ben Ami through her powerful drawings. Fanny’s Journey tells the extraordinary story of Fanny, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl who was born in Germany and grew up in France. After the Nazis rose to power and life for Jews became dangerous, her family fled Germany for France. There, Fanny found herself on her own, responsible for leading a group of Jewish children on their way to freedom. The exhibition presents paintings created by Fanny later in life, accompanied by short excerpts from her testimony.
The program will include opening remarks by Prof. Aryeh Barnea, who will share his knowledge about the OSE – Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants – (Children's Aid Society) that operated an underground network that rescued thousands of Jewish children, including Fanny, by placing them in children’s homes, hiding them in foster families, or smuggling them across borders. The curator of the exhibition, Lilach Efraim, will give a behind the scenes look at the new exhibit. A presentation of OSE documents located in the Ghetto Fighters’ House archive will be given by archivist Greta Barak.

Educators' Opportunity: Footprints of Community: Exploring Small-Town Jewish Life in Washington and Fayette Counties
2025-11-07 09:00 - 15:00 | Intermediate Unit 1 1 Intermediate Unit Drive Coal Center, PA 15423, 1 Intermediate Unit Drive Coal Center, PA 15423, Coal Center, PA, 15243, United States
This session—aligned with Pennsylvania Act 70 of 2014 and the Pennsylvania Department of Education history standards—offers a rich exploration of the history and contributions of Jewish communities across our region. Educators will leave with ready-to-use lesson plans and digital tools to bring these stories to life in their classrooms, strengthening instruction and meeting state requirements. The session will also feature insights from Eric Lidji, whose work in preserving local Jewish history has been instrumental in making these narratives accessible and engaging. It is a valuable opportunity for anyone seeking meaningful, standards-based resources. $15 for 6 Act 48 hours.

"Echoes Across Time: Voices of Survival and Lessons for Our Future" Session 7
2025-10-29 15:00 - 16:30 | ZOOM | Registration required and closes 30 minutes prior to the start of the program
“Echoes Across Time: Voices of Survival and Lessons for Our Future”
In collaboration with the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre

As we stand on the cusp of history, the voices of Holocaust and genocide survivors grow more urgent, reminding us of the cost of silence, the value of empathy, and the power of resilience. “Echoes Across Time” invites audiences to explore the critical lessons these testimonies offer—on values, democracy, and the warning signs of oppression. Through monthly episodes, each centered around a survivor’s testimony about their life experiences, this series probes the question: Are we truly listening? Join us as we amplify stories from the Holocaust to Rwanda, Cambodia, and beyond, engaging with survivors, scholars, and advocates who work tirelessly to preserve these legacies and inspire a more compassionate future.
“From Tragedy to Healing: Rwanda’s Path to Restorative Justice”
Featuring: Rwanda genocide survivor and Director of the Kigali Genocide Meorial and Aegis Trust, Freddy Mutanguha, shares his powerful story of survival, healing, and contributing to the country’s unique journey through restorative justice. This session will examine Rwanda’s approach to rebuilding—through forgiveness, communal healing, and reconciliation—and the powerful lessons this path holds for the world. Freddy’s testimony provides insight into how survivors and communities alike can transform trauma into hope, and how memory and accountability can drive long-lasting peace and understanding.

Freddy Mutanguha is CEO of the Aegis Trust and Director of the Kigali Genocide Memorial. Freddy led the development of Aegis’ peace education programme in Rwanda and is now leading Aegis’ work to take this model beyond the borders of Rwanda to areas at risk, including the Central African Republic, South Sudan and Kenya. Joining Aegis in 2004 during the construction of the Kigali Genocide Memorial as a team leader responsible for genocide documentation, he was appointed Country Director in 2006. Freddy is Chair of the board of Miracle Corner Rwanda, an organisation which aims to empower the community in Rwanda by helping young people to acquire the vocational skills they need to thrive socially and economically.
He holds a master’s degree in project management from the Maastricht School of Management and trained as a teacher, securing a bachelor’s degree in Education from the Kigali Institute of Education. He survived Rwanda’s 1994 genocide as a teenager, and as an orphan head of household, in 2016, the Justice and Security Foundation declared him a Peace award winner for his outstanding contribution to peace. He is also profiled in the Atlanta Human Rights Museum as a prominent activist for human rights.
Helping to found AERG, Rwanda’s student survivors association, Freddy went on to become vice-President of IBUKA, the national umbrella association for Rwandan genocide survivors. He is an External Advisory Committee member of the USC Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive in Los Angeles, and lectures internationally on the impact of the Genocide and the importance of forgiveness as way of post-conflict reconstruction.
Tali Nates

Tali Nates is the founder and director of the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre (JHGC) and Chair of the South African Holocaust & Genocide Foundation (SAHGF). She is a historian who lectures internationally on Holocaust and genocide education, memory, reconciliation, and human rights. Born to a family of Holocaust survivors, her father and uncle were saved by Oskar Schindler. Tali has been involved in the creation and production of dozens of documentary films, published many articles and contributed chapters to different books among them God, Faith & Identity from the Ashes: Reflections of Children and Grandchildren of Holocaust Survivors (2015), Remembering The Holocaust in Educational Settings (2018), Conceptualizing Mass Violence, Representations, Recollections, and Reinterpretations (2021) and The Routledge Handbook of Memory Activism (2023).
In 2021 she was part of the 12-member Expert Group of the Malmö Forum, serving in an advisory capacity to the Secretariat of the Malmö Forum on their programme on Holocaust remembrance, education and actions to combat antisemitism. Tali serves on many Advisory and Academic Boards including that of the Contested Histories Initiative, the Interdisciplinary Academic Journal of Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center and the Academic Advisory Group of the School of Social and Health Sciences, Monash University (IIEMSA), South Africa.
In 2010, Tali was chosen as one of the top 100 newsworthy and noteworthy women in South Africa by the Mail & Guardian newspaper and won many awards including the Kia Community Service Award (South Africa, 2015), the Gratias Agit Award (2020, Czech Republic), the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Award (2021) and the Goethe Medal (2022, Germany).

November 2025: After the Genocide in Cambodia: Rebuilding from Devastation

Bus Tour of the Jewish Monongahela Valley
2025-10-19 08:30 - 16:00 | PA
Join Eric Lidji, Director of the Rauh Jewish Archives, and Classrooms Without Borders for this bus tour of the Monongahela Valley.
We’ll visit:
Charleroi

Rodef Shalom Congregation / Second Chance Community Church
First National Bank of Charleroi
Elks Lodge

Brownsville

Ohave Israel / Elmo’s
Lunch on your own

Donora

Ohav Shalom Congregation / Campfire Boys and Girls

Educators' Opportunity: Addressing Antisemitism in the Educational Spaces at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit
2025-10-13 08:30 - 14:30 | Allegheny Intermediate Unit, 475 E Waterfront Drive, Homestead, Pennsylvania, 15120
This workshop provides tools to understand and teach about contemporary antisemitism. Participants will examine its forms, functions, and consequences, as well as the historic roots of anti-Jewish hatred and how it manifests today, particularly in the U.S. To provide context, the session includes a brief overview of Jewish beliefs, customs, and diverse expressions of Jewishness, along with the Jewish connection to Israel. Interactive activities-such as analyzing media and planning responses to antisemitic incidents-support social problem-solving skills and align with the PA Career Readiness Skills. This workshop also fulfills the requirements of Act 70 of 2014.
