The DNA Shoah Project

Jews, Genetics & History

Seventy years after the Holocaust, scores of families still seek information about loved ones lost in the chaos of war. But a unique, non-profit effort at the University of Arizona is working to change that. Scientists are building a database of genetic material from Shoah survivors and their immediate descendants in an effort to match displaced relatives, provide wartime orphans and lost children with valuable information about their biological families and eventually, when the database has reached sufficient size, assist European governments with Holocaust-era forensic investigations.

For the first time in Colorado, on Thursday, March 11 at 6:30 p.m., Congregation Emanuel (51 Grape Street, Denver) welcomes Matthew Kaplan, research coordinator for the DNA Shoah Project, for a presentation on this innovative program. Facilitators will be available after the talk to assist those interested in contributing their DNA to the project. Shoah survivors, second- or third-generation descendants, or World War II-era immigrants and their descendants are encouraged to participate. All are welcome. There is no fee.

This program is presented by the Jewish Genealogical Society of Colorado and cosponsored by Temple Emanuel, Denver Chapter Hadassah, Colorado Jewish Child Survivors of the Holocaust and Baraban.com Russian Denver.

For information or carpools from Boulder and north suburban Denver, call (720) 221-6858.