It is customary in the Jewish tradition to have a memorial observance (Yarhzeit) on the anniversary of the death of an immediate family member and it is traditional to visit grave sites between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  Survivors of the Holocaust lost so much and they had many things taken from them.  They do not have actual anniversary dates of death to observe nor do they have cemetery graves marked with a family stone to visit.  Additionally, there are no family members to visit and remember the memory of those that did not survive.  One of the things that we can give back to Survivors is a date and a place to observe a Yarhzeit and a location to recite prayers typically said at the graveside of a loved one.  The Yizkor Service at Brandeis University is one of the times during the year that Survivors can gather together united in the presence of people who want to pay tribute to those lives lost and to recite the Mourners’ Kaddish to fulfill an observance that otherwise would be one more thing just taken from them.

Like all other Holocaust awareness programs this too is also a time for the community to show respect and be thankful that some lives were spared and there are Survivors amongst us.

This event is held on the Brandeis University Campus in Waltham and is usually on the Sunday between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur it is open to the public and it is free.

Boston’s Jewish Community Relations Council along with Generations After and many other Boston based Jewish organizations, synagogues and schools co-sponsor this Yom HaShoah observance in Faneuil Hall each year on the Sunday following Yom HaShoah.  This is our once-a-year opportunity to honor Survivors and to observe the Yarzheit of six million Jewish souls.  There is no other day more appropriate for the entire Jewish community to come together to pay tribute to those who were slaughtered and to be thankful for those who were miraculously spared.  It is our duty as children and grandchildren and as a Jewish community to continue to consecrate this observance both while there are still Survivors among us and certainly when we are left to carry on for them.  A well attended event is the only influence we have to ensure that these programs do not cease, that lives lost were not taken in vain, that lessons learned are not forgotten and that history is not altered to suit the mission of others.

One of our most important objectives of Generations After as an organization is to ensure that there will always be a Greater Boston community-wide Yom HaShoah observance, where homage can be paid to relatives and kinsmen lost in the Holocaust, where people will stand and recite Mourners’ Kaddish for lives destroyed by hatred and sing HaTikvah for lives enriched by hope and recall the many Children of Israel taken from the world forever, who in death gave the world the State of Israel.

The Bikur L'Chagim (holiday visits & gift basket deliveries) program is our oldest program.  Volunteers making visits are CORI screened (Criminal Offender Record Information) and encouraged to be assigned a Holocaust Survivor in their community to visit throughout the year and especially around the Jewish Holidays.  Holiday gift bags are made up and given to Generations After members to deliver to Survivors.  Bringing the gift bag and visiting a Survivor is one of the ways in which 2G and 3G members can honor Survivors.  Since inception in 1999, Generations After volunteers have made over 1,800 visits to Holocaust Survivors on Jewish Holidays.

Since 2005 the Holiday Visit Program is co-sponsored with the Jewish Family & Childrens' Service.

Generations After provides to Holocaust Survivors that need assitance with various forms and documents, especially as many Survivors are no longer able to travel to the German Consulate in Boston. This service is also co-sponsored with the Jewish Family & Children's Service.

Generations After provides transportation services to Survivors who would like to attend Survivor events but are unable to travel on their own or don't have any other means of transportation available.

Café Europa an annual luncheon event for Holocaust Survivors and their descendants.  It is an opportunity to reunite with old friends, to reminisce and once again share survivor stories, to enjoy being together, to laugh to dance and to be with kindred spirits whose individual histories are all very different, yet exactly the same.

Members of Generations After, Inc are invited.  The event is free to Holocaust Survivors and to Generations After members, contributions to the American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors of Greater Boston are welcomed.

Boston’s Jewish Community Relations Council along with Generations After and many other Boston based corporations, Jewish organizations, synagogues and schools co-sponsor this scholastic challenge.  High school and middle school students in Massachusetts from both public and private schools of both secular and religious curriculum from all religions and nationalities are invited to submit essays that fulfill the objective of the theme of the event.  Essays are collected and read by a panel who select one High School student’s essay and one middle school student’s essay to receive the award and a scholarship.  A presentation ceremony is conducted at the New England Holocaust Memorial.

This event is open to the public and is free of charge.

Mmbers of Generations After work with Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston as docents of the new England Holocaust Memorial Site.  Pre-arranged tours are conduced by 2G members of GA at the site to local area schools as well as tourist to the city of Boston.  Tours include information on the memorial site as well as personal family histories and an opportunity for visitors to ask questions as they walk through the memorial.  Link to New England Holocaust Memorial