Our Mission
The Holocaust Center of Northern California is dedicated to the remembrance of the Holocaust through its commitment to education, documentation, research, and the recording of oral testimonies of eyewitnesses to the Holocaust. By showing the link between the Holocaust and contemporary issues, the Holocaust Center is a leader in the effort to increase awareness among the general public about the causes and consequences of racism, anti-Semitism, intolerance, and indifference during the Holocaust and today.
- The Holocaust Center, through its Oral History Project, collects and preserves eyewitness testimonies and provides the opportunity for Holocaust survivors to record their life stories, thus creating a legacy for future generations.
- The Holocaust Center develops and produces educational programs and materials for educators and students for use in public, private, and religious schools and community groups, as well as for the general public.
- The Holocaust Center maintains a university-quality research library with special emphasis on the collection of rare, out of print Yizkor (Memorial) volumes; an archive of recorded oral histories; original artifacts, documents, publications, and photographs from the Holocaust era; and contemporary writings on the Holocaust.
- The Holocaust Center sponsors lectures, films, commemorations and other programs focusing on the Holocaust as a platform for tolerance and reaches a multi-ethnic and multi-religious audience teaching tolerance through the lessons of the Holocaust.
Our Founding
In April 1977, the National Socialist White Workers Party opened a bookstore
at 3608 Taraval Street in San Francisco, California. According to newspaper reports
a group of 50 survivors of Hitler's death camps attacked the store with hatchets
and crowbars destroying its inventory. Out of this incident Holocaust survivors
and refugees of the Third Reich assisted by the Jewish Community Relations Council
founded the Committee of Remembrance. The Committee created as a living memorial
to the victims of the Holocaust, a permanent institution for Holocaust related
activities, education, and documentation, the Holocaust Library and Research
Center, which on September 9, 1979, opened its doors at 601 14th Avenue in San
Francisco. In 1986, it was renamed the Holocaust Center of Northern California.
Our Location
121 Steuart Street (between Howard and Mission Streets)
San Francisco CA 94105
The Holocaust Center of Northern California is located in the Jewish Community Federation building on Steuart Street between Mission and Howard. The Center is just off the Embarcadero, and across the street from the Rincon Center.
Directions to the Holocaust Center
Public Transportation
The Holocaust Center is easily accessible via Muni, BART & ferry. You can reach us on MUNI lines: K,L,M,N and via BART (Embarcadero Station)
For directions, click here: transit.511.org.
Driving Directions:
Nearby Parking Facilities
- There is metered on-street parking near the Holocaust Center.
Rates are $0.25 per 7.5 minutes. Meters can be found along the Embarcadero near Howard St.
- 75 Howard St. Parking Garage
(entrance is near the southwest corner of Howard St. & Steuart St.)
Rates:
$6.00 after 4:00 pm
$2.50 per 15 minutes
$27.00 maximum
- U.S. Parking Parking Lot
(entrance is on Main St. near Folsom)
Rates:
$5.00 after 5:00 pm
$3.00 per 20 minutes
$14.00 maximum
- 201 Mission St. Parking Lot
(entrance is on Howard not Mission on the north side of Howard
between Beale & Main next to the entrance to U.S. Parking)
Rates:
$5.00 after 4:00 pm
$3.00 per 15 minutes
$16.00 maximum
Hours
Regular hours:
Tuesday-Thursday: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
The Holocaust Center will be closed for the Jewish holidays, as follows:
- Erev Rosh Hashana: Wednesday, September 8 - closing at 3:00 pm
- Rosh Hashana: Thursday, September 9
- Erev Sukkot: Wednesday, September 22 - closing at 3:00 pm
- Sukkot: Thursday, September 23
- Shmini Atzeret: Thursday, September 30
Groups over 10 by appointment only.
Contact info@hcnc.org for more information about arranging a group visit.
Phone
Main: 415.777.9060
Fax: 415.777.9062
Direct your inquiries regarding:
- Library and Archives holdings, including Yizkor books and oral history collections, to Judy Janec, x206
- Educational programs, to Morgan Blum, x203
- Donations, to Leslie Kane, x205
