The New Americans Club of New Orleans

Survivors of the Holocaust

In 1952, volunteers from the National Council of Jewish Women met boats at the New Orleans Port of Embarkation filled with passengers escaping the Nazi regime. Volunteers helped these families through customs and served them food at the Jewish Community Center. They also served as interpreters, helping the immigrants connect with family in the United States and secure housing. These survivors, with the support of the Council of Jewish Women, settled into schools and jobs and found a sense of community within what would be known as the New Americans Club of New Orleans.

Tulane University's Lawrence N. Powell wrote, "Approximately 140,000 Holocaust survivors came to America after 1948, when Congress passed a new immigration law. Most settled in the New York area. The remainder flowed through such ports as New Orleans on their way to new homes on the prairies and the West Coast; about 150 of them settled in New Orleans.

They were mainly in their 20s and 30s. Often they formed their own communities, standing in as aunts and uncles for each other’s American-born children. (In New Orleans they called themselves the New Americans.) They prospered as small businessmen, independent craftsmen, professionals. They scrimped to educate their children. By 1953, only 2 percent of the postwar immigrants still required outside assistance; by 1990, their per capita income far exceeded the national average, as did that of their children." 

Resources

HolocaustSurvivors.org 

WW2 Museum Digital Collections - Survivors

Anne Levy  Jeannine Burk

Holocaust Educator of the Year

Each year, the New Orleans Jewish Community Center's Holocaust Committee invites schools to nominate teachers who excel in Holocaust education for the "Educator of the Year" award, which will be presented at the Yom Ha’Shoah commemoration held at The National WWII Museum. We are looking for educators from Upper Elementary, Middle, or High School who strongly commit to teaching about the Holocaust and promoting its lessons in their classrooms. Your nomination will recognize the dedication of teachers who keep the memory of the Holocaust alive and relevant for future generations. To nominate an educator, please fill out the form below. 

Nominate an Educator

New Orleans Holocaust Memorial

The New Orleans Holocaust Memorial sits in Woldenberg Mississippi Riverpark, which was built in 1984 for the New Orleans World’s Fair. The art sculpture, dedicated in 2003, was designed by Israeli sculptor Yaacov Agam as a tribute to victims of the Holocaust and his commitment to telling their story.

In Memory

May their memory be for a blessing.

Josef Adler 
Karl Baum
Simon Baum
Recha Baum
Margo Berger
Jack Berman
Violetta Berman
Felix Bibelkraut
Rose Bibelkraut
Kurt Block
Reni Block
Sigmund Boraks
Margo Boraks
Abush Borenstein
Isaac Borenstein
Pola Borenstein
Abe Brum
Ann Brum
Henry Brum
Guta Brum
Jeanine Burk
Inge Elsas
Fred Ferran
Jean Ferran
Esther Feigenbaum
Jacob Feigenbaum
Felicia Fuksman
Max Fuksman
Eva Galler
Henry Galler
Joseph Gitlin
Sala Gitlin
Niusa Goldfarb
Solomon Goldfarb
Jacob Grossman
Regina Halpern
Ernest Holzman
Judel Kirzner
Sarah Kirzner
Hyman Lader
Molly Lader
Abraham Langer
Helen Lasoski
Henry Lasoski
Abe Lederman
Toby Lederman
Joseph Lefkowicz
Rifka Lefkowicz
Lola Liberman
Solomon Liberman
Harry Liverant
Beryl Lom
Gabe Matz
Shirley Matz
David Meisel
Margot Mendler
Leopold Mendler
Esther Nachimofski
Joe Nachimofski
Sammy Nachimofski
Dora Niederman
Isaac Niederman
Freda Radasky
Solomon Radasky
Ellie Reiter
Rudolph Reiter
Gertrude Rosenblat
Ralph Rosenblat
Chaia Rosenberg
Bernard Ross
Frieda Ross
Sarah Ross
Mirel Rottersman
Nathan Rottersman
Abe Sher
Helen Sher
Henia Sher
Joseph Sher
Leo Sher
Rachel Sher
Rose Silver
Mark Skoretzki
Ruth Skoretzki
Leon Smekura
Wolf Stein
Martin Wasserman
Liselotte Weil
Gertrude Witokowski
Max Witokowski
Herman Wizer
Gina Wizer
Albert Yuspeh
Shep Zitler

Holocaust Memorial Committee

Photos