Holocaust Community Services
Since 1999, Holocaust Community Services Has Helped Ensure That the Chicago Holocaust Survivor Community and Their Families Can Continue to Live Independently and with Dignity
Survivors’ Assistance Program
Resources and Support
Holocaust Community Services (HCS) is a collaborative effort of Jewish Child and Family Services (JCFS), CJE SeniorLife, and the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, in partnership with HIAS Chicago. HCS serves survivors ranging in age from 75-105; average is 85 years old. More than 90% of survivors served by HCS are from the former Soviet Union. For survivors, the consequences of advanced aging are compounded by the physical and emotional horrors they endured during the war.
The number of Holocaust survivors turning to community agencies has steadily increased as aging and frailty take their toll; in just the past six years, HCS quintupled in clients. The project now serves more than 1,900 survivors with monthly financial assistance, and over 2,000 in total with other programming, referrals, and socialization opportunities.
HCS provides a full-range of resources and support to survivors and their families:
- Comprehensive assessments to determine need for financial assistance for food, medication, and homecare
- Support for one-time emergency needs
- Transportation
- Support groups
- Wellness classes
- Events
- Restitution and reparations assistance
HCS also provides training to professionals and community members who work with survivors and their families; the classes teach awareness and advocacy around the growing needs of aging survivors.
The program is supported by social welfare grants from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany Inc., KAVOD SHEF, and other generous foundations and donors. About 75% of the total funding is allocated from the Claims Conference, which supports organizations serving Jewish Holocaust survivors in 47 countries, providing for in-home caregiving, food assistance, medical care, and transportation.
For more information on Holocaust Community Services at CJE, please call 773.508.1004
Stories of Victims & Survivors
Never Heard—Never Forget are two volumes of stories commemorating victims and survivors of the Holocaust in the former Soviet Union.
“Memory is a precious human gift and a significant Jewish value, but unless memories are recorded they will be forgotten. Since its inception, The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center has been engaged in recording oral histories of Holocaust survivors. Memories of that genocide that are indelibly planted in their minds and are evoked through thoughtful, probing, nonjudgmental questioning, and active and sympathetic listening. Each survivor’s oral history enriches and supports the historical record by adding a crucial component to the collective memory of the Shoah.
Survivor testimonies help to counter Holocaust denial—the effort to murder the victims a second time by obliterating the truth of their experiences. We must also still contend with those who minimize, distort, and downplay the Holocaust. Firsthand survivor accounts aid in dispelling such disinformation and misinformation. They also become an important aspect of family history. They provide vivid testimonials as to family roots and histories, and can lead to intergenerational discussion and genealogical exploration.” *
Never Heard—Never Forget: Volume I & Volume II
Stories of victims and survivors of the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied territories of the former Soviet Union (FSU). Volume II has more than 135 newly-published personal and family narratives of Chicago-area Holocaust survivors’ experiences, written in both English and Russian, with archival photos and documents. These compelling accounts were collected by volunteers, descendants of survivors, and CJE SeniorLife’s Holocaust Community Services.
Prices:
NHNF Volume I (2017)—$25
NHNF Volume 2 (2022)—$36
NHNF Volumes I & II bundle—$54
Proceeds from the sales of Volumes I and II will go to the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center for exhibits and programs on the Soviet Holocaust story and to Holocaust Community Services at CJE SeniorLife for assistance to Holocaust survivors from the FSU and for ongoing efforts to document and preserve the history of the Soviet Holocaust experience.
For more information, please email NeverForgetBook@cje.net
*Foreword to Never Heard Never Forget: Stories of Victims and Survivors of the Holocaust in the Soviet Union
The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center is thrilled to share the launch of the new online exhibition experience, The Holocaust in the Soviet Union, developed in partnership with Holocaust Community Services at CJE SeniorLife.
The site is a first-of-its-kind online experience, for the museum itself, and for sharing the little-known history of the Holocaust in the Soviet Union as told through the stories of Chicago-area survivors and their families. This new site includes an online exhibition; a research page with access to the museum’s full photo and object collection connected to the Holocaust in the Soviet Union; a stories page developed in partnership with Holocaust Community Services at CJE SeniorLife highlighting individual stories of Chicago-area survivors and rescuers; and a page dedicated to secondary classroom educator and student activities.
This project was a remarkable interdepartmental and community effort, and the result is a truly elegant and powerful online experience.
We Can Help
Contact Us Today
Whether you’re not sure where to start or have specific questions for our team of professionals, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Call to talk with a team member immediately at 773.508.1000 or submit the contact form to the right and someone from CJE will be in touch shortly.