Yaffa Eliach, pioneering Holocaust historian, dies at 79
Yaffa Eliach, a prominent historian of the Holocaust who opened the first center for Holocaust studies in the United States, has died.
Eliach, a Holocaust survivor, died Nov. 9 at 79, The Jewish Press reported.
In 1974, she opened the Center for Holocaust Studies in Brooklyn. It later merged with the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York.
Eliach created the “Tower of Life,” or “Tower of Faces” exhibit for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. The three-story exhibit features 1,500 photographs from Eishyshok, her Lithuanian birthplace near Vilna, showing life there before the war. Nearly all of the village’s 3,500 Jewish inhabitants were killed during World War II, according to The New York Times.
Eliach also published several books about the Holocaust.
Following the war, she fled to prestate Israel in 1946. Several family members had been killed in the war.
In 1954, she moved to the United States with her husband, David Eliach, and studied at Brooklyn College and the City College of New York. In 1969, she started working at Brooklyn College, teaching Jewish studies. n
—JTA News and Features
Calvin Cooper
On Oct. 27, Calvin Cooper, loving husband of Starr Nathanson Cooper died after a long, hard-fought battle with cancer. He is survived by two sons, Kevin and Andy Cooper. He was a very special “Pop” to Jack Cooper. He was a beloved brother-in-law of Shelley Pleet and the late A. Bernard Pleet. He was loved by many close friends. A memorial Service was held in Florida. Contributions can be made to Memorial Foundation Urologic Oncology Division, 3329 Johnson St., Hollywood, Fla. 33021
