Holocaust Education and Commemoration Committee

Ayduth Lachayim (Witness to Life) is a manuscript documenting the experience of Holocaust survivors who resided in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1981. the project was conceived by Larry Hersh, a survivor, and presented to the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland. The Federation established the Holocaust Education and Commemoration committee, chaired by Rose Kaplovitz and comprised of Holocaust survivors, to coordinate the project. the goal of the committee was to prepare a book of documentation and biographical information concerning the survivors of the Holocaust that would be "a symbol of life, rebuilt from the ashes of oppression, from the ghettos and concentration camps of Europe." A representative number of survivors were identified and information was gathered via a standardized questionnaire. Funding for the project was provided by a grant from the Irene and Sidney Zehman Foundation of Cleveland.

A copy of Ayduth Lachayim was presented to the archives of the Yad Vashem martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority in Jerusalem, Israel during the World Gathering of Holocaust Survivors in June 1981. The World Gathering brought together 10,000 survivors from around the world including a delegation of more than 100 from Cleveland. the Jewish Community Federation provided $13,500 in grants and loans to defray costs of the trip to Israel for twenty-six Clevelanders.

From the guide to the Ayduth Lachayim = Witness to Life : Holocaust Survivors in the Cleveland Jewish Community Records, 1981, (Western Reserve Historical Society)

Ayduth Lachayim (Witness to Life) is a manuscript documenting the experience of Holocaust survivors who resided in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1981. the project was conceived by Larry Hersh, a survivor, and presented to the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland. The Federation established the Holocaust Education and Commemoration committee, chaired by Rose Kaplovitz and comprised of Holocaust survivors, to coordinate the project. the goal of the committee was to prepare a book of documentation and biographical information concerning the survivors of the Holocaust that would be "a symbol of life, rebuilt from the ashes of oppression, from the ghettos and concentration camps of Europe." A representative number of survivors were identified and information was gathered via a standardized questionnaire. Funding for the project was provided by a grant from the Irene and Sidney Zehman Foundation of Cleveland.

A copy of Ayduth Lachayim was presented to the archives of the Yad Vashem martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority in Jerusalem, Israel during the World Gathering of Holocaust Survivors in June 1981. The World Gathering brought together 10,000 survivors from around the world including a delegation of more than 100 from Cleveland. the Jewish Community Federation provided $13,500 in grants and loans to defray costs of the trip to Israel for twenty-six Clevelanders.

From the guide to the Ayduth Lachayim = Witness to Life : Holocaust Survivors in the Cleveland Jewish Community Photographs, 1915-1981, (Western Reserve Historical Society)