JFCS Holocaust Center

The JFCS Holocaust Center is a program of Jewish Family and Children’s Services of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties.

We are dedicated to the education, documentation, research, and remembrance of the Holocaust. As Northern California’s primary resource for education about the Holocaust and other genocides, our programs increase awareness about the causes and consequences of hatred, anti-Semitism, and indifference—during the Holocaust, as well as during contemporary times.

Inspiring moral courage and activism in future generations of youth, our Preisler Shorenstein Institute reaches more than 20,000 public and private school students and educators each year. Our Tauber Holocaust Library houses more than 12,000 volumes, an archive of more than 2,000 recorded oral histories, and many rare artifacts, memorabilia, and images documenting the Holocaust.

Many Bay Area Holocaust survivors are part of our Center’s William J. Lowenberg Speakers Bureau where they work with Bay Area high schools and colleges and share their stories of courage and resilience.

Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) is one of the oldest and largest family service institutions in the United States, founded in 1850 by immigrant pioneers who arrived in California during the Gold Rush and created an extended family to care for each other. Today, JFCS continues to be that extended family, serving thousands of people annually with the highest quality, research-based social services designed to strengthen individuals, strengthen families, and strengthen community.

JFCS’ commitment to Holocaust survivors is deep and abiding. Over the decades, we have provided support and services to thousands of Bay Area survivors that have given them comfort and strength. JFCS ensures that survivors’ needs are met through comprehensive services that may include, meals, transportation, social engagements, senior home care, counseling, and reparations claims.