Holocaust Centre North

In 1995 a conversation in Leeds prompted what would become the Holocaust Survivors’ Friendship Association (HSFA). Against a backdrop of devastating conflicts in Bosnia and Rwanda, where genocide was happening on an appalling scale, a small group of social workers met in the offices of the Leeds Jewish Welfare Board. This was for a routine conversation about their weekly meetings with clients.

However, the conversation soon focused other matters and, apropos of nothing, it suddenly became apparent that a few people in the room shared something remarkable in common.

They were Holocaust survivors.

And what became even more incredible was that, after a little research, they found others in Leeds who were also survivors.

“It was a big moment,” explains Barbara Cline, who has worked for over 40-years at the Leeds Jewish Welfare Board. “They had been in Britain for 50-years and had never spoken about their experiences. This burden had been bottled up for so long and it was incredibly liberating to finally talk about it with people who could relate and understand.”

The foundations for a new mutual support group were established that day and, soon after, meetings were established where survivors came to share their experiences over tea and coffee. In 1996, the HSFA was formally established, and it wasn’t long before they were venturing out into schools, and other organisations to do talks about the Holocaust.

What had started from conversations would go on to develop into a powerful, community-led educational organisation telling a global history through local stories from the North of England.

At every stage of our development, we continually return to the core values of bearing witness to the truth and showing solidarity with survivors that shone so brightly on that day in 1995.

Holocaust Centre North seeks to raise awareness of human rights, freedom and equality by exploring one of the darkest chapters in contemporary history. We are dedicated to telling a global history through local stories by collecting, preserving and displaying the documentary evidence and testimony of survivors and refugees who built new lives as members of northern communities after the Holocaust.

The archive comprises organisational and personal papers, covering the 1880s to the present day. We actively collect physical and digital records, including:

• Material up to the end of the Second World War
• Records which tell the story of survivors and refugees post-war, e.g., naturalisation or compensation papers
• Recorded testimonies (video and audio)
• Original documents, e.g., passports, certificates, ID papers
• Correspondence, e.g., letters and postcards
• Photographs
• Objects – the toys, household items and mementos on display really help bring the history to life

Catalogue: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/7d3652e7-87dd-4261-8eb9-5fdbdacd5097