Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois

According to its website (selfhelphome.org), The Selfhelp Home is a non-profit retirement community designed to accommodate the needs of older Jewish adults throughout the Chicago area. JGSI has published several articles about the history of the organization, most recently in Morasha Vol. 35, Number 1 (Spring 2019, page 4). The history and legacy of The Selfhelp Home was also captured in the film Refuge: Stories of the Selfhelp Home by Ethan Bensinger (https://vimeo.com/73011912). As part of his research, in 2007, Bensinger created an archive of personal interviews for the film that included 30 residents who had been victims of Nazi persecution. This archive (films and transcripts) can be found online, courtesy of the Leo Baeck Institute in New York, and is now included in JGSI's Jewish Chicago Database of names (JJCD). More information about the film can be found at http://refugestories.com.

To search just the Selfhelp Home interviews and transcripts, use the Collection drop-down menu and select Selfhelp Home. To search all collections in the database, leave the Collection field blank.

email: JJCD@jgsi.org

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