Preserving Memory. Inspiring Action.
HAMEC uses the lessons of the Holocaust to educate students and adults locally and globally, helping them understand the consequences of racism, intolerance, and ethnic cleansing. By studying this watershed event, visitors explore moral choices and reflect on how its lessons apply today.
Holocaust Awareness Museum at a Glance
Educating students and adults in the Philadelphia area and throughout the world
The Jewish Identity Center’s Holocaust Awareness Museum and Education Center, America’s first Holocaust museum, is 60 years young. Yaakov Riz, the museum’s founder, was a Holocaust survivor who lost 83 members of his family in Adolf Hitler’s concentration camps. Riz vowed that if he survived he would dedicate his life to establishing a museum that would memorialize the millions of Jews and non-Jews who perished at the hands of the Nazis. Riz’s dream, courage, and commitment have inspired the museum’s genesis, growth, and struggle against intolerance.
6,000,000 Murdered
Deliberate choices were made employing all of the apparatus in a fascist state to engage in the mass murder of Jews.
400,000 Students
Over the last 14 years, our Holocaust Survivors and Heroes have shared their stories with over 400,000 students across middle and high schools, and colleges.
220,800 Survivors
According to the 2025 Claims Conference Demographic Report, there are 220,800 Holocaust Survivors alive worldwide, living in more than 90 countries.
Resources to Help you
At HAMEC, we invite you to discover resources that bring history to life and connect you with the personal stories behind it. Our Virtual Exhibit offers an interactive way to explore the Holocaust from anywhere in the world, while the Legacy Library preserves the powerful voices and testimonies of survivors and their families for future generations.
Through the Yaakov Riz Resource Center, educators, students, and lifelong learners can access books, documents, and digital tools to support research and learning.
We also welcome you to visit and explore our archives in person, where history becomes a living resource to inspire reflection, dialogue, and action.
Virtual Exhibits
Discover how the lessons of the Holocaust continue to shape our community today. This virtual exhibit highlights the stories of Holocaust survivors who made Philadelphia their home
Our Full Library Catalog
The Legacy Library preserves the powerful voices of Holocaust survivors, liberators, and their families, ensuring their stories live on for generations to come.
Yaakov Riz Resource Center
The Yaakov Riz Resource Center contains over 1,000 books, videos, and survivor testimonies. It is available for you to search online at your convenience.
News + Events
Happening at the Museum
A Hanukkah candlelighting ceremony at the Westerbork transit camp in the Netherlands, December 1943. (photo credit: Rudolf Werner Breslauer, Yad Vashem Archive) Yad Vashem exhibition chronicles the times and lives ...
