Joyce Kamen is a storyteller, filmmaker, and community advocate who has been instrumental in preserving and sharing Holocaust survivor testimonies in Cincinnati. The dozens of testimonies Joyce documented became part of the heart of the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center, and are shared throughout the Center today.
“I hope the telling of their stories lifted the survivors’ burdens, knowing their voices would echo for generations” — Joyce Kamen, on her role in documenting the stories of Cincinnati’s Holocaust survivor and liberator community
In this emotional and thought-provoking interview, Joyce shares her journey, the challenges of recording survivor testimonies, and the lasting impact of her work on Cincinnati’s Jewish community and beyond. Joyce’s meticulous documentation of Holocaust survivor stories during the 1990s are an essential part of the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center’s collection and are instrumental in the experience of every visitor that comes through the Center’s doors. This work was born from the grassroots efforts of Cincinnati’s Combined Generations of the Holocaust, and other predecessor organizations. Through these efforts, Joyce captured stories of immense suffering and the resilience and hope that continue to inspire new generations to become upstanders. She also discusses her recent collaboration with her granddaughter, Lilly, on a children’s book series highlighting upstanders and Holocaust resilience, ensuring these vital lessons resonate with younger audiences.
This episode is part of the Cynthia & Harold Guttman Family Center for Storytelling. Subscribe so you don’t miss an episode https://www.youtube.com/@holocaustandhumanity
Our gratitude to Margaret & Michael Valentine for their ongoing support of this series.
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Episode Resources
Visit us to see and hear some of the testimonies Joyce collected https://www.holocaustandhumanity.org/
View the testimonies collected in Project Eternity that are now housed at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn507930
Watch more episodes of Hear My Story, where the tradition of collecting and sharing important stories lives on
Watch the documentary Joyce produced, “Because they were Jews” https://youtu.be/V3G2OxTsEb4?si=P7CRpp1D9uafYCfF
Learn more about being an upstander, and bringing upstander training to your group https://www.holocaustandhumanity.org/upstander/
Order Joyce and Lilly’s book
