HMLA | What History Teaches: Between Terror and Resilience – Jewish Life in Nazi Germany

Learn how German Jews created spaces of dignity, connection, and hope in the face of terror, prosecution, and prejudice in the 1930s.

Featured speaker: Jordanna Gessler serves as Chief Impact Officer at Holocaust Museum LA and is the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors.

Throughout the 1930s, German Jews were caught in a cycle of relentless terror created by the Gestapo and targeted laws designed to strip away their dignity. As they desperately sought escape and refuge, most countries made immigration exceedingly difficult. Neighbors who were once friends now ostracized them. Their children were pushed to the back of classrooms, they were banned from park benches, and they lost their jobs. Amid constant persecution and prejudice, Jews fought to carve out small crevices where their humanity and identity could survive. They formed creative support networks, shared information, and leaned on community resilience. In these acts, we see the ingenuity and courage with which Jews created spaces of dignity, connection, and hope.

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