Founded by local Holocaust survivors and grounded in their commitment to education that inspires action, we are dedicated to providing transformative learning experiences that touch hearts and change minds. Our organization inspires and develops upstanders who exemplify the best of humanity today.
The Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center exists to ensure the lessons of the Holocaust inspire action today. We educate about the Holocaust, remember its victims and act on its lessons. Through innovative programs and partnerships, the Center challenges injustice, inhumanity, and prejudice, and fosters understanding, inclusion, and engaged citizenship. Located at Cincinnati’s historic Union Terminal, we impact more than 2.5 million people every year through digital and in-person events, museum tours, educational experiences, social media, and virtual content. From Australia to India, individuals from more than 25 countries and 30 states engage with our mission.
The Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center was formed by a passionate group of Holocaust survivors and their families, and opened its doors in 2000. The organization’s opening was the realization of a dream nurtured for more than 35 years by several predecessor organizations.
In the years following the Holocaust, hundreds of survivors, primarily from Eastern Europe, began new lives in Cincinnati. They formed the Jewish New American Society, serving to help the survivors integrate into the local Jewish community and foster community with those who had been through similar experiences. Later, this organization was reorganized under the name Jewish Survivors of Nazism. The group’s primary purpose was to provide social opportunities and Jewish connection through events, holiday parties, picnics, and commemorations. In addition to these events, from its earliest organizational meetings, the group discussed the appropriate way to preserve the memories of those they had lost.
In 1994, the aging of the leaders of the Jewish Survivors from Nazism led them to approach the children of local survivors to take over and reenvision the organization. Thus, a new group was born called The Combined Generations of the Holocaust. It included children of survivors and others interested in a wider mission of developing and delivering educational, outreach, and social programs promoting Holocaust history, understanding, and preservation.
In 2000, after much consideration, the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education opened on the Cincinnati campus of Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). The space included offices and a resource library for teachers. The Center expanded the annual Yom HaShoah commemoration to include a series of Holocaust Awareness programs across the Cincinnati region, including presentations by educators and authors, concerts, films, and exhibits.
During 2001 and 2002, the Center developed and funded a permanent exhibit geared toward young people called “Mapping Our Tears,” which opened to the public in 2003. The exhibit combined audio and video testimonies with artifacts and memorabilia of more than 60 local eyewitnesses.
In 2007, after years of nurturing from HUC-JIR, the Center re-launched as an independent not-for-profit organization.
In October 2009, the Center moved to Rockwern Academy in Kenwood where it flourished for nearly a decade. In 2018, it was renamed the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center, honoring lead supporters.
In 2019, the Center relocated to the prominent Cincinnati landmark, Union Terminal. This unique partnership is the first of its kind in the United States, putting Cincinnati on the map for bringing the lessons of the Holocaust into the civic conversation.
How can you make your mark today? We are committed to building a community of upstanders. Find us on social media and join the movement.
Be inspired by local stories of resilience and survival, and learn how to meet your moment and become an upstander today.
With antisemitism and hate increasing at alarming rates, your support has never been as important as it is today. Your gift enables the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center to carry out its vital mission.
Join other change makers by getting involved with the Cincinnati Upstander Project, a movement that leverages dynamic programming, public art, and other interactive experiences to inspire upstander behavior.
Volunteers power our mission. Become a docent, an ambassador, or simply lend a hand. Explore all the ways you can make your mark with us.
Learn from the resilience of the human spirit. Be inspired to make your mark and become an upstander. Plan your visit to the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center today.
