Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre

Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre The JHGC honours the memory of the victims of genocide in the 20th century and teaches about the cons

The Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre (JHGC) serves as a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, N**i Germany and the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. As a centre of memory, education, dialogue and lessons for humanity, the JHGC focuses on human rights issues such as prejudice, racism, ‘othering’, antisemitism, homophobia and xenophobia. Conscious of the dangers of indifference, apathy and silenc

e, the JHGC urges its visitors to be an active voice against instances of hate speech and related human rights violations in their own communities. The JHGC was founded in 2008 and officially opened to the public in March 2019 as a public-private partnership with the City of Johannesburg. The JHGC, together with its sister Centres in Cape Town and Durban, forms part of the association, the South African Holocaust & Genocide Foundation.

We are deeply saddened to share the passing of Holocaust survivor Paul Heskovits (Inlander).Born in 1939 in Budapest, Pa...
04/12/2025

We are deeply saddened to share the passing of Holocaust survivor Paul Heskovits (Inlander).

Born in 1939 in Budapest, Paul survived the war through a series of extraordinary rescues: slipped off a deportation train as a toddler, hidden by family, twice smuggled in and out of the Budapest Ghetto, and narrowly avoided death many times. After the war, he spent three years in a Jewish orphanage before being adopted by relatives in South Africa, where he built his life and became a valued member of the survivor community.

Paul will be deeply missed by all at the JHGC. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family at this difficult time.

We are saddened to announce the passing of Holocaust survivor, Ady (Abba) Wander.Born in 1936 in Vishniks, Bukovina, he ...
13/11/2025

We are saddened to announce the passing of Holocaust survivor, Ady (Abba) Wander.

Born in 1936 in Vishniks, Bukovina, he and his parents were among 55 Jewish families deported to the Copaigorod ghetto in Ukraine, where thousands were held in brutal conditions. Their survival came through a rare chance - being taken out of the ghetto to repair windows in a nearby school. After years of displacement following the war, he moved to Israel where he met his wife. Ady and Rebecca eventually settled in South Africa in 1967, where he built a life, raised a family, and became part of the local survivor community.

A cherished presence, Ady will be deeply missed by all at the JHGC. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family at this difficult time.

Photograph courtesy of Julian Pokroy

We are sad to announce the passing of Holocaust survivor, Helen (Chaja) Lieman (née Kaluska).Born in Pultusk, Poland, sh...
09/10/2025

We are sad to announce the passing of Holocaust survivor, Helen (Chaja) Lieman (née Kaluska).

Born in Pultusk, Poland, she survived through escaping German occupied Poland first to Soviet-occupied Bialystock and then deported by the Soviets to Siberia. She then moved from Siberia to Kazakhstan where she was when the war ended and returned to Poland in 1945. Shortly after she met her husband Mendel and they married. They moved to South Africa in 1978.

Helen was an active member of the Holocaust survivor group and will be missed by all at the JHGC. We wish her family strength at this difficult time.

(Photograph courtesy of Stephen K Photography)

It is with great sadness and heartbreak that we announce the passing of our dear friend and colleague, Dowi Bele, after ...
01/09/2025

It is with great sadness and heartbreak that we announce the passing of our dear friend and colleague, Dowi Bele, after a short illness.

Dowi’s smile and warmth welcomed everyone to the JHGC, where she started in 2018 as a receptionist and in 2024 became the Centre's administration officer.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family, friends, and the whole JHGC family. Her memory will live on in the Centre always.

If you would like to send any memories or messages to her family, you can email them to [email protected].

Last week the JHGC was honoured to host Ms Yulia Svyrydenko - the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of...
30/04/2025

Last week the JHGC was honoured to host Ms Yulia Svyrydenko - the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Economy of Ukraine, Mr. Vitalii Koval - Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, and H.E. Liubov Abravitova - Ambassador of Ukraine to South Africa to open the exhibition Communicating Historical and Current Trauma by Art, making connections and learning lessons from the past for the current day and the future.

The exhibition is a series of posters with augmented reality by artist Yuliya Fedorovych which depicts the history and consequences of Holodomor, the famine orchestrated by the Soviet Union between 1932 and 1933 which killed millions of Ukrainians. Please come visit the exhibition which is up until the end of May.

Wishing all South Africans a happy Freedom Day, marking 31 years since the first democratic elections. This year we keep...
27/04/2025

Wishing all South Africans a happy Freedom Day, marking 31 years since the first democratic elections. This year we keep the wisdom of a learner from SEDCO in mind – the importance of individual power in creating equality and unity. 🇿🇦

07/04/2025

Today, 7 April, marks 31 years since the start of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. This video shares the testimony of Sylvester Sendacyeye, a survivor of the 1994 genocide, who continues to volunteer at the JHGC and share his story with school learners.

During Kwibuka31, the commemoration of the genocide which marks the 100 days during which approximately 1 million Tutsi and those opposing the genocidal regime by the genocidal regime, the JHGC will be holding a number of events and sharing the testimonies and stories of survivors and upstanders.

Our first event will be an online book launch with Heidi Kingstone, author of Genocide: Personal Stories, Big Questions on 30 April. More details will be shared soon.

To mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz, we welcomed 95 grade 9 ...
27/01/2025

To mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz, we welcomed 95 grade 9 learners from Masibambane College , in collaboration with . Their special programme included a talk by Holocaust survivor Miriam Lazarus, pictured above.

12/12/2024

One of the core principles of the JHGC is to teach lessons from history to better understand the present. We are frequently asked about this online, and to end off the year, we wanted explain what this means to us and hopefully inspire you to learn from history to better the future.

Address

1 Duncombe Road, Forest Town
Johannesburg
2193

Opening Hours

Monday 09:00 - 15:00
Tuesday 09:00 - 15:00
Wednesday 09:00 - 15:00
Thursday 09:00 - 15:00
Friday 09:00 - 15:00
Sunday 09:00 - 15:00

Telephone

+27116403100

Website

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