Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center

10/02/2026

Thank you for having us!!

10/02/2026

What happens to the stories that don’t make it into the final film?

In 1973, filmmaker Claude Lanzmann began the 12-year journey of creating Shoah, recording more than 230 hours of interviews and footage for what would become one of the most significant Holocaust documentaries ever made.

Much of that footage was never seen in the final film—but today, it has been preserved, digitized, and made accessible as an extraordinary archive of testimony and memory.

Join us for a lecture with Jennifer Cazenave as she explores the making of Shoah through this remarkable collection, uncovering new perspectives on Holocaust testimony, Lanzmann’s filmmaking process, and what it means to preserve memory in the digital age.

A powerful look at the stories beyond the finished film—and why preserving them matters.

09/30/2026

Join us the weekend of October 23-25!! This will be a performance you don't want to miss! Purchase your tickets today! https://ci.ovationtix.com/34479/production/1278593

Before becoming a ballet, it was a family🤍

This October, Ballet Rhode Island premieres a new work built from one woman’s decision to carry her parents’ story forward and her trust in us to carry it with her.

Nachtigal takes its title from the family name at the heart of the story. The name echoes Nachtigall, the German word for nightingale, a connection that has come to hold particular resonance in the creation of the work. Known for its song in darkness, the nightingale offers an image of memory, voice and endurance: not an erasure of the night, but a voice that continues within it.

Since 2009, Lilliane has shared her parents’ story through the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center and this October, that story moves into a new form.

Book your seats, and get ready to be moved. Tickets at balletri.org or visit the 🔗 in our bio

In Motion
Woodman Center at Moses Brown (Providence, RI)
October 23 – 7:00pm
October 24 – 1:30pm, 7:00pm
October 25 – 1:30pm

United Theatre (Westerly, RI)
November 6 - 7:00pm

Pictured: John and Anka Nachtigal with their daughter Lilliane. Photo courtesy of Lilliane Birch.

09/30/2026

Thank you for coming!! We loved having you and everyone left the PD with new insights and ways to improve their teaching!

Many thanks to Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center in Providence, Rhode Island, for hosting the Fortunoff Video Archive this week for a warm and productive discussion.

Our Education & Outreach Program Manager Eliana Swerdlow met with educators, students, community members, and families of survivors to discuss the archive's origin, interview methodology, and work developing digital teaching materials rooted in testimony.

Eliana’s work with area schools and community organizations is crucial to reaffirming the educational use of testimonies that is so central to our mission.

Learn more about all of our teaching resources: https://fortunoff.library.yale.edu/education/

09/25/2026

Check out this story about Fran and Audrey written by our Director of Education, Laura! They both are apart of our second-generation group and our Executive Board!

09/14/2026

This October, we are honored to collaborate with Ballet RI on In Motion, featuring a World Premiere inspired by the story of Lilliane Birch’s mother, a Holocaust survivor whose life was shaped by an extraordinary act of kindness.

As a young girl, Lilliane’s mother performed a random act of kindness for a classmate. Years later, during the Holocaust, that seemingly small act would come back to her in an unimaginable way—helping save her from the gas chambers. She would go on to survive the horrors of the Holocaust, including the experiments of Dr. Josef Mengele.

Lilliane, a second-generation survivor, has carried her mother’s story with her. Now, through this collaboration with Ballet RI, that story is being carried forward once again, this time through movement, music, and art.

Because memory does not end with the person who experienced it. It is passed down. It is remembered. It is retold. And it can move generations.

This collaboration reminds us that Holocaust education is not only about learning history; it is also about understanding the human stories within it and ensuring those stories continue to be heard.

We invite you to experience In Motion and witness this remarkable story come to life on stage.

IN MOTION | October 23-25

Return to American Impressionism, where brushstrokes become bodies, in an audience favorite, Yury Yanowsky’s Bathers. Witness a collision of femininity, identity, and power in the company premiere of James Whiteside’s City of Women. Be moved by one family’s journey in a World Premiere created in collaboration with the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center. Inspired by the story of Lilliane Birch’s family, asking what it means to remember, and how memory itself can be carried forward.

Three stories. One stage. And for one evening, they’re all yours. Book your seats, and get ready to be moved.

Tickets at balletri.org or visit the link in our bio

In Motion
Woodman Center at Moses Brown (Providence, RI)
Performances:
October 23 – 7:00pm
October 24 – 1:30pm, 7:00pm
October 25 – 1:30pm

United Theatre (Westerly, RI)
November 6 - 7:00pm

Photo by Ian Travis Barnard featuring Ballet RI Company dancer Tara McCally.

09/11/2026

🍎🍯 Shana Tovah from the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center!

As we welcome Rosh Hashanah and the Jewish New Year, we take a moment to reflect, remember, and look ahead with hope. May the year ahead be filled with peace, sweetness, dignity, and meaningful moments with family and community.

Wishing you and your loved ones a sweet and happy New Year! ✨

09/02/2026

🎥 The Art of Listening: Engaging with Holocaust Survivor Testimony

What does it mean to truly listen to a survivor’s story?
Join us for an engaging workshop exploring Holocaust survivor testimony through selected testimonies and guided discussion. Together, we’ll consider how thoughtful listening can deepen our understanding of memory, history, and the human experience.

Featuring Eliana Swerdlow, Education and Outreach Program Manager at the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies at Yale University.

📅 Thursday, September 24, 2026
🕕 6:00–7:15 PM
📍 401 Elmgrove Avenue, Providence, RI
✨ Free and open to everyone. No prior knowledge is required.

📚 This program also qualifies as professional development for educators.
👉 RSVP through the link/QR code on the graphic!

09/01/2026

✨A Story of Refuge, Resilience, and Community.

This Hispanic Heritage Month, join us for Dominican Haven: The Jewish Refugee Settlement in Sosúa, 1940–1945, featuring renowned historian Marion Kaplan.

Discover the remarkable story of Jewish refugees who found safety in the Dominican Republic during the Holocaust era and built a new community in Sosúa with the support of their Dominican neighbors.

📅 Tuesday, September 15, 2026
🕕 6:00 PM
📍 Dwares JCC | 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, RI
🎟️ Free & open to the public
🗣️ Spanish-language interpretation available

Join us for an evening of history, remembrance, and learning. RSVP through the link in our bio!



✨Una historia de refugio, resiliencia y comunidad.

Este Mes de la Herencia Hispana, acompáñanos en Dominican Haven: The Jewish Refugee Settlement in Sosúa, 1940–1945, con la reconocida historiadora Marion Kaplan.

Descubre la extraordinaria historia de los refugiados judíos que encontraron seguridad en la República Dominicana durante la época del Holocausto y construyeron una nueva comunidad en Sosúa con el apoyo de sus vecinos dominicanos.

📅 Martes, 15 de septiembre de 2026
🕕 6:00 PM
📍 Dwares JCC | 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, RI
🎟️ Gratis y abierto al público
🗣️ Interpretación al español disponible

Acompáñanos en una velada de historia, memoria y aprendizaje. ¡Confirma tu asistencia a través del enlace en nuestra biografía!

08/24/2026

📖 AUGUST BOOK RECOMMENDATION

What can a dress teach us about the Holocaust?

This month, we’re highlighting The Dressmakers of Auschwitz by historian Lucy Adlington—a powerful account of approximately 25 women and girls, mainly Jewish prisoners, who were forced to work in the Upper Tailoring Studio at Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Their sewing skills became a means of survival, but their story reveals so much more: the realities of forced labor, N**i plunder, women’s experiences during the Holocaust, resistance, and the difficult choices people faced to survive.
Swipe through to learn more about the women behind the story, including Auschwitz survivor Berta “Bracha” Kohút, whose experiences helped preserve this important history. 🧵

📚 Have you read this book? Let us know in the comments!