Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh, Chatham University, Woodland Road, Pittsburgh, PA (2026)

06/14/2026

Join us on June 24th for an evening of celebration and reflection on the past year of the Reckoning with Antisemitism as Christians project: https://reckoning-one.eventbrite.com

Over the past 12 months, Christian clergy and lay leaders across southwestern PA have been engaging with Reckoning with Antisemitism as Christians, a new project co-founded by Christian Associates of Southwest PA and the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh.

We will hear from Christians who have been reckoning with antisemitism and from Jews who have taken part in their efforts. We will also share (for the first time!) a published book of sermons written by local Christian clergy who have engaged their congregations and communities in conversations about antisemitism, from the pulpit and beyond.

06/12/2026

This past October we hosted a program with journalist and author Eric Marcus. Eric is the founder and host of the award-winning Making Gay History podcast, which brings LGBTQ+ history to life through the voices of the people who lived it. In honor of Pride Month, we’re spotlighting the individuals who are featured in season 14 of Making Gay History, The N**i Era. You can listen to the episodes or read the transcripts here: https://makinggayhistory.org/the-podcast/
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Stefan Kosinski was born into a Roman Catholic family on January 1, 1925, in Torún, Poland. He could not attend school after the war started, as Poles were disallowed by the N**is. He began working at the age of 14 to help support his family.

Stefan met Willi, an Austrian soldier serving in the German army. They began a relationship and spent evenings together away from suspicion and made plans for their future. However, Willi received his orders and was shipped to the Eastern front in April of 1942.

Stefan professed his love in a letter to Willi, writing his his return address on the envelope. This caught the attention of the Gestapo, who then summoned Stefan to their offices. He reported to the Gestapo on September 19, 1942, where he was interrogated for two weeks and endured beatings by N**i officers. Stefan was then sentenced to five years in prison for violating Paragraph 175 under the German penal code, but was eventually transferred from the penitentiary to a series of labor camps in Poland and Germany until the end of the war.

Stefan continued to face discrimination when he returned home as an openly gay man. He was never able to advance his career after earning a degree in economics because of his conviction record and his identity. With the help of Lutz van Dijk, Stefan wrote a book titled "Damned Strong Love."

Stefan Kosinski died in November 2003 at the age of 78. He never found out what happened to Willi.

Listen to Stephan tell his story or read the episode transcript: https://makinggayhistory.org/podcast/stefan-kosinski/
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Featured photos retrieved from Making Gay History

06/07/2026

Collectively, the essays in “Place Envy” recount Michael Lowenthal’s many journeys of dislocation and relocation: to foreign countries and subcultures and to the riskiest shores of family and self. “Place Envy” addresses questions of identity (q***r, Jewish, and other) and the weight of family history, particularly when that family has been fragmented by the Holocaust.

Hear from Michael this Thursday, June 11, 2026 at 7 p.m. at the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall for a discussion about his memoir. Tickets are free with registration. Save your seat: pittsburghlectures.org/lectures/michael-lowenthal/

06/05/2026

Today the Holocaust Center hosted a special luncheon for local Holocaust survivors and their families in recognition of World Holocaust Survivor Day. This international initiative, launched by the JCC in Kraków, Poland, encourages Holocaust and Jewish life centers around the world to honor survivors and their families through programs in their local communities.

We were delighted to welcome a survivor, several members of the Second Generation (children of survivors), and a few members of the Third Generation (grandchildren of survivors). It was wonderful to bring everyone together and celebrate the strength, resilience, and legacy of our survivor community.

If you are a descendant of Holocaust survivors and live in the Pittsburgh area, or know someone who is, we would be glad to connect with you. Learn more about our Generations program here: https://hcofpgh.org/resources/generations

06/02/2026

Join us TOMORROW for a virtual talk with Holocaust survivor Elizabeth Bellak, sister of Renia Spiegel.

Renia Spiegel was born in 1924 to an upper-middle class Jewish family living in Poland. At the start of 1939 Renia began a diary sharing her hopes and dreams. She continued writing until she was killed by the Gestapo in July 1942.

Meet Renia’s younger sister Elizabeth Bellak who survived the Holocaust and has preserved Renia’s legacy of beauty and love, along with Elizabeth’s daughter, Alexandra. Register at https://hc-renia.eventbrite.com

About Renia's Diary

Renia Spiegel was born in 1924 to an upper-middle class Jewish family living in southeastern Poland, near what was at that time the border with Romania. At the start of 1939, Renia began a diary. “I just want a friend. I want somebody to talk to about my everyday worries and joys. Somebody who would feel what I feel, who would believe me, who would never reveal my secrets. A human being can never be such a friend and that’s why I have decided to look for a confidant in the form of a diary.” And so begins an extraordinary document of an adolescent girl’s hopes and dreams. By the fall of 1939, Renia and her younger sister Elizabeth (née Ariana) were staying with their grandparents in Przemysl, a city in the South, just as the German and Soviet armies invaded Poland. Cut off from their mother, who was in Warsaw, Renia and her family were plunged into war.

Like Anne Frank’s diary, Renia’s diary became a record of her daily life as the N**is spread throughout Europe. Renia writes of her mundane school life, her daily drama with best friends, falling in love with her boyfriend Zygmund, as well as the agony of missing her mother, separated by bombs and invading armies. Renia had aspirations to be a writer, and the diary is filled with her poignant and thoughtful poetry. When she was forced into the city’s ghetto with the other Jews, Zygmund is able to smuggle her out to hide with his parents, taking Renia out of the ghetto, but not, ultimately to safety. The diary ends in July 1942 and is completed by Zygmund, after Renia is murdered by the Gestapo.

06/01/2026

Join us on June 24th for an evening of celebration and reflection on the past year of the Reckoning with Antisemitism as Christians project: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/reckoning-with-antisemitism-as-christians-reflections-at-one-year-tickets-1988560210119

Over the past 12 months, Christian clergy and lay leaders across southwestern PA have been engaging with Reckoning with Antisemitism as Christians, a new project co-founded by Christian Associates of Southwest PA and the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh.

We will hear from Christians who have been reckoning with antisemitism and from Jews who have taken part in their efforts. We will also share (for the first time!) a published book of sermons written by local Christian clergy who have engaged their congregations and communities in conversations about antisemitism, from the pulpit and beyond.

05/29/2026

Last week, Generations Speaker Lynne Ravas spoke to 425 students at Butler Area Middle School! The teacher, Lisa McKinsey, has invited a Generations Speaker to come to her school for the last few years. We are thrilled to see educators form relationships and friendships with speakers and the Holocaust Center, and continue to request a speaker to come back to present to their classes or schools each year. Although we are closing out the school year, our Generations Speakers are still able and interested to speak to non-school groups! Churches, synagogues, social groups, libraries, summer teen programs, and so on – feel free to reach out to us and check out the Request a Speaker page to bring someone to you: https://hcofpgh.org/resources/speakers/

05/28/2026

Join us on June 3rd for a virtual talk with Holocaust survivor Elizabeth Bellak, sister of Renia Spiegel.

Renia Spiegel was born in 1924 to an upper-middle class Jewish family living in Poland. At the start of 1939 Renia began a diary sharing her hopes and dreams. She continued writing until she was killed by the Gestapo in July 1942.

Meet Renia’s younger sister Elizabeth Bellak who survived the Holocaust and has preserved Renia’s legacy of beauty and love, along with Elizabeth’s daughter, Alexandra. Register here: https://lnkd.in/gYKP7a_z

About Renia's Diary

Renia Spiegel was born in 1924 to an upper-middle class Jewish family living in southeastern Poland, near what was at that time the border with Romania. At the start of 1939, Renia began a diary. “I just want a friend. I want somebody to talk to about my everyday worries and joys. Somebody who would feel what I feel, who would believe me, who would never reveal my secrets. A human being can never be such a friend and that’s why I have decided to look for a confidant in the form of a diary.” And so begins an extraordinary document of an adolescent girl’s hopes and dreams. By the fall of 1939, Renia and her younger sister Elizabeth (née Ariana) were staying with their grandparents in Przemysl, a city in the South, just as the German and Soviet armies invaded Poland. Cut off from their mother, who was in Warsaw, Renia and her family were plunged into war.

Like Anne Frank’s diary, Renia’s diary became a record of her daily life as the N**is spread throughout Europe. Renia writes of her mundane school life, her daily drama with best friends, falling in love with her boyfriend Zygmund, as well as the agony of missing her mother, separated by bombs and invading armies. Renia had aspirations to be a writer, and the diary is filled with her poignant and thoughtful poetry. When she was forced into the city’s ghetto with the other Jews, Zygmund is able to smuggle her out to hide with his parents, taking Renia out of the ghetto, but not, ultimately to safety. The diary ends in July 1942 and is completed by Zygmund, after Renia is murdered by the Gestapo.

05/26/2026

Don't miss these upcoming opportunities to hear children of Holocaust survivors tell their parents' stories; Learn more at hcofpgh.org/events.

Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh

06/14/2026

06/12/2026

06/07/2026

06/05/2026

06/02/2026

06/01/2026

05/29/2026

05/28/2026

05/26/2026

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