3GDC Forms Part of Living Links
At this critical moment in time for Jews around the world, 3GDC is excited to announce that we are joining the Living Links network of 3G organizations. 3GDC represents the DMV’s grandchildren of Holocaust survivors, constituting a living memorial that preserves and honors the legacy of our grandparents through education, advocacy, and community-building.
Living Links, the first nationwide organization created to engage and empower 3G (third-generation) descendants of Holocaust survivors, has joined forces with the USC Shoah Foundation. The new partnership will expand a program that teaches 3Gs to share their family stories in classrooms and with community groups to counter antisemitism, bigotry, and hate.
At a time when the number of Holocaust survivors is dwindling and antisemitism is on the rise, 3Gs are uniquely positioned to offer personal accounts about how unchecked intolerance and hate led to the Holocaust. There are an estimated one million grandchildren of Holocaust survivors who live in the United States.
“My parents’ generation—the children of survivors—were often afraid to ask questions about their parents’ experience or unwilling to dredge up wartime pain,” said David Wachs, co-founder and co-president of Living Links. “Sharing this unique thread of my identity is a powerful way for me to connect with others and to make a lasting impact.”
In 2023, 3GDC participated with nearly a dozen independent 3G groups that had formed over the last decade to create Living Links. Leaders from 3GDC participated in strategy sessions and focus groups to develop Living Links’ mission. 3GDC is one of fourteen 3G affiliates, with several more in early stages of development. Each 3G organization will maintain its autonomy, while the Living Links—USC Shoah Foundation partnership will provide a professional infrastructure and networks within the field.
“Antisemitism is not endemic to any one region,” said 3GDC President A.J. Siegel. “By working with affiliates across the country we have the opportunity to evolve how we engage with others using our grandparents’ stories to show the horrors of the most extreme forms of intolerance and to combat modern-day anti-Jewish hate. Over the last sixteen months, I was honored to participate on 3GDC’s behalf in discussions to define what a national 3G movement would look like.”
Expansion Plans
In cooperation with the USC Shoah Foundation, Living Links will increase the number of 3G affiliates nationwide, help the existing affiliates grow, and expand the speaker training program. Founded in 2010, the speaker training program has trained around 500 individuals and reached approximately 60,000 students to date.
The partnership comes at a moment of urgency and peril when antisemitism is being normalized throughout society, according to Dr. Robert J. Williams, Finci-Viterbi Executive Director Chair of the USC Shoah Foundation.
“Recent events make it clear that we need new and innovative pathways and resources for reaching the next generation,” Dr. Williams said. “This partnership is an important and necessary step in reaching the next generation.”
Partnership with USC Shoah Foundation
As it marks its 30th anniversary year, the USC Shoah Foundation aims to strengthen connections with descendants of Holocaust survivors, especially the families of the more than 55,000 survivors who recorded testimony for the Visual History Archive.
“We are thrilled to partner with the USC Shoah Foundation because we have the same goals to preserve the memory of the Holocaust and to build a better future", said Jennifer Loew Mendelson, co-founder and co-president of Living Links. “Their organizational expertise, vital networking, and expert guidance will ensure Living Links' success in becoming a vibrant independent organization.”
A lead gift of $1 million has been pledged toward a program budget of $5 million over the next three years.
About the USC Shoah Foundation
Founded in 1994, the USC Shoah Foundation preserves and amplifies the voices of the past to build a future that remembers. The Visual History Archive is home to more than 56,000 testimonies of survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust, contemporary antisemitism, the Armenian Genocide, and other historical events of genocide, crimes against humanity, and related persecution. It is the largest such collection in the world.
About Living Links
Living Links, formed in 2023 is a new organization for grandchildren (3Gs) of Holocaust survivors and all victims of Nazi persecution. 3Gs (and a growing number of 4Gs) have an essential voice in countering hate and keeping the history of the Holocaust relevant in today’s world. Living Links is partnering with the USC Shoah Foundation to empower descendants of Holocaust survivors to create enduring communities devoted to preserving and sharing their families’ legacies.
