A digital public history exhibit featuring Beaver County and Western Pennsylvania eyewitness accounts of the Holocaust, WWII, and antisemitism.
Eyewitness to
the Holocaust and World War II
Voices & Stories of an Era
“I knew very little about the Holocaust,” Howard Cohen recalled. “I grew up in Beaver Falls and it was never discussed. It wasn’t even discussed in my history class. I remember coming home in fourth grade and telling my mother my teacher had a neat tattoo on her arm with a bunch of numbers.”
Cohen remembered his mother pulling him aside and telling him, “‘Now listen, don’t say anything about that. I want you to forget what you saw. Do not mention it to her or anyone else.’ She forbade me to discuss it with anyone.”
~Howard Cohen, from “Local man helps preserve history by collecting Nazi artifacts.” Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, 2020.
What's Inside
Albert Zimmerman
Dachau
Fritz Ottenheimer
Patriotic Duty & Without Conscience
Joe Capone
That Happened
Jaqueline Winowich
Cries
Tony Sercel
It Made Us Awful Angry
Judah Samet
Camp Survivor
Guy Prestia
In My Own Words
Edith Stein
I Feel Guilty for Surviving
Bess Winograd
Antisemitism & the Jewish Experience in Rochester, Pennsylvania
Antisemitism of the Pre-War Years
KKK in Beaver County
Listen to Their Stories
About this Exhibit
This digital public history exhibit features local eyewitness accounts of the Holocaust and WWII, including a special section on local antisemitism during the pre-war years. The voices and stories shared here are taken from the archives of the Veteran Voices of Pittsburgh Oral History Initiative and The Social Voice Project. Judah Samet’s story, recorded by the Veteran Voices of Pittsburgh Oral History Initiative, is courtesy of the Veterans Breakfast Club. Bess Wonograd’s story is courtesy of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), Pittsburgh Section, which has for 32 years conducted more than 500 oral history interviews focused on the the history, traditions, and contributions of Jewish community.
Attribution
Joe Capone: That Happened – Recorded on May 9, 2012 by the Veteran Voices of Pittsburgh Oral History Initiative at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Interviewer: Todd DePastino. Audio and videography: Kevin Farkas. ©℗Veteran Voices of Pittsburgh Oral History Initiative (Farkas Collection)/The Social Voice Project. All Rights Reserved.
Fritz Ottenheimer: Patriotic Duty, Without Conscience – Recorded March 27, 2012 at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Interviewer: Todd DePastino. Guest: Fritz Ottenheimer. Videography: Todd DePastino/Kevin Farkas. Audiography: Kevin Farkas. Editing & publishing: Kevin Farkas. ©℗Veteran Voices of Pittsburgh Oral History Initiative (Farkas Collection)/The Social Voice Project. All rights reserved.
Guy Prestia: In My Own Words – Recorded January 19, 2015 at the Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Interviewer: Kevin Farkas. ©℗Veteran Voices of Pittsburgh Oral History Initiative (Farkas Collection)/The Social Voice Project. All Rights Reserved.
Judah Samet: Camp Survivor – Recorded March 26, 2014, the Veterans Breakfast Club hosted its 2nd Beaver County breakfast event at Seven Oaks Country Club in Beaver, Pennsylvania. This recording was made by the Veteran Voices of Pittsburgh Oral History Initiative. ©℗The Veterans Breakfast Club.
Tony Sercel: It Made Us Awful Angry – Recorded June 2013 at the Carnegie Free Library of Beaver Falls. Interviewer: Kevin Farkas. Audio short engineered and produced by Kevin Farkas. ©℗Veteran Voices of Pittsburgh Oral History Initiative (Farkas Collection)/The Social Voice Project. All Rights Reserved.
Edith Stein: I Feel Guilty for Surviving – Recorded May 2, 2016 at the Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Interviewer: Todd DePastino. Videography: Kevin Farkas, Bryan Chemini. Editor: Jonathan Stile. ©℗Veteran Voices of Pittsburgh Oral History Initiative (Farkas Collection)/The Social Voice Project. All Rights Reserved.
Bess Winograd: Antisemitism & the Jewish Experience in Rochester, Pennsylvania – Recorded March 19, 1974 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Description: her immigration at age four to the United States; first residence in Pittsburgh; education, Rose Street School and Raleigh High School; employment at Grant’s Bake Shop; early medical care; father’s illness; parent’s death; participation in socialist groups; courtship and marriage; residence in the Hill District of the city after marriage; moves to Rochester, PA to build and operate a theater; building a synagogue in Rochester; her son who became a rabbi; experiences with anti-Semitism in Rochester; social life there; vacations; her activities with the National Council of Jewish Women, Hadassah Hospital, and chairmanship of the Jewish National Fund of Beaver Falls for thirty years; recollections of Ku Klux Klan activities in Rochester; effects of the depression; changes in attitudes toward raising children; her homelife in Rochester; views about her accomplishments; changes in social attitudes. ©NCJW.
Jaqueline Winowich: Cries – Recorded November 23, 2012 at the John Heinze History Center. Audio short engineered and produced by Kevin Farkas. ©℗Veteran Voices of Pittsburgh Oral History Initiative (Farkas Collection)/The Social Voice Project. All Rights Reserved.
Albert Zimmerman: Dachau Concentration Camp – Recorded June 6, 2013 at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Interviewer: Todd DePastino. Audio and videography: Kevin Farkas. ©℗ Veteran Voices of Pittsburgh Oral History Initiative (Farkas Collection)/The Social Voice Project. All rights reserved.