The Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Center

Administration Building, Room 202
718-281-5770
KHC Website

Dr. Laura B. Cohen, Executive Director
Marisa Berman Hollywood, Associate Director

Established in 1983, the Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Center (KHC) uses the tragic lessons of the Holocaust and other mass atrocities to empower current generations to become agents of social change. Based in Queens, the most diverse county in the nation, the KHC educates students, faculty, and the local community about the ramifications of prejudice, racism, and stereotyping. The Center contextualizes the history of the Holocaust within the larger framework of how and why genocide happens, not merely as an extreme outcome but as part of a continuum that starts with everyday acts of bigotry and oppression.

Founded upon this philosophy of educational empowerment, the KHC is neither a museum nor a research facility; it is a learning laboratory where students, survivors, and community members connect through their hearts, minds, and actions. In its 9,000 square-foot building open to both students and the general public, the KHC offers both virtual and in-person programs, commemorative events, lectures, and tours. In addition, the KHC houses a gallery featuring original exhibitions and a permanent installation about the Holocaust. The Center also hosts interactive presentations with first- and second-generation Holocaust survivors for Queensborough students and faculty across all academic departments, as well as collaborates with CUNY Explorers, CUNY College Now, the Center for International Affairs, Immigration & Study Abroad, and the Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning (CETL).

Each semester, the KHC offers two kinds of internship programs to provide Queensborough students the opportunity to explore connections between the Holocaust and contemporary social justice issues. The Curatorial Fellowship, in partnership with the Art and Design Department’s Gallery and Museum Studies Program, provides students with hands-on experience curating, installing, and maintaining exhibitions and archival collections at the KHC. Project-based internships offer students experience working at a nonprofit committed to human rights while gaining first-hand knowledge about how the Center’s mission connects to its community through programming. Upon completion and successful presentation of their work at an undergraduate research event, students receive a stipend and a certificate. With support from a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Challenge Grant since 2012, the KHC also hosts an annual faculty-curated colloquium about global human rights and mass atrocity issues for our students and the broader community.

Culture & Community

Cultural and Community Connections