New Shoah Project from Haver, the Rabbinic Council of Boulder

As our community continues to evolve and pass from generation to generation, it is increasingly important to remember who we are, where we came from, and the personal and political struggles of how we got here. To that end, Haver, the Rabbinic Council of Boulder and several community members have established the Shoah Family History. This project is charged with collecting information, stories, pictures, and video from Boulder county families and their relatives’ experiences during the Holocaust (Shoah).

“This database will enable a deeper connection in our community to the Jewish history and experience,” says Rabbi Eva Sax Bolder. It will also serve as a resource for learning, as well as for events like Yom HaShoah, an annual community program offered by Haver, the Rabbinic Council of Boulder.

All the information collected from the community will be stored securely and accessed by permission. “Security is very important to me,” says Michelle Goldman, co-creator of the Shoah Family History. At this time, “information is very top level.” That is to say, the only personal data they would ask for, aside from the stories of family experiences, might include a prompt to verify who you are. “Someday,” explains Goldman, “one of the organizers might call a person who filled out the free form to curate things like survivors’ memoirs or video recordings. But that’s a later stage of the project.”

To participate in this endeavor, either by offering up your personal history or to get involved in the project, community members are invited to fill out this Google form or contact ShoahFamilyHistoryBoulder@gmail.com.

Names of Shoah victims and survivors will become part of this year’s community-wide Yom HaShoah Program, which is Sunday, May 5^th, 7-8:15pm at Congregation Har HaShem and on livestream at www.harhashem.org.