About Capital District Holocaust Memorial, Inc

Founded in 2018, CDJHM is a 501(c)3 registered nonprofit organization dedicated to memorializing the six million Jews and other innocent victims of the Holocaust while educating the public about the consequences of hatred, brutality, and apathy.

Through its memorial and innovative education programs, CDJHM honors the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, recognizes the rescuers and liberators who stood up to the Nazi regime, and connects present and future generations to the lessons of history. By fostering awareness, empathy, and moral courage, CDJHM seeks to inspire individuals to stand up, speak out, and work toward a more just and tolerant world.

Goals

CDJHM serves as a beacon of hope in today’s world.

Educate

Educate

By preserving the memory of the Holocaust, CDJHM is confronting hatred and apathy. Our interactive experiential education program which is based on the renowned Echoes & Reflections immersive Holocaust education courses is already changing lives.

Honor

Honor

CDJHM’s efforts honor victims of the Holocaust who were murdered, survivors who settled in New York State, and those who resisted the Nazi regime and its sympathizers through its important work. Legislation was enacted into law in December 2025 to achieve this important goal.

Inspire

Inspire

By creating a permanent memorial, traveling memorials, education, and other programs, CDJHM motivates people to stand up and take action to combat hate, injustice, and prejudice in all its forms.

Connect

Connect

CDJHM serves as a vital connector, linking Holocaust educators, organizations, and communities to preserve memory and confront hatred and prejudice. As memory of the Holocaust fades, the urgency to understand the consequences of hate and to act together grows. Guided by the Jewish concept of tikkun olam — healing of the world — CDJHM is an essential conduit in New York State for generations to come.

What Makes CDJHM’s Plan Different?

If members of your family were murdered or suffered during the Holocaust and survivors fled to New York State, or if your family served as a liberator or rescuer, you will have a place to memorialize them at the first and only state-sponsored Holocaust Memorial designed by our team. Visitors to both the envisioned permanent memorial and traveling memorials will be able to link to the highly acclaimed Echoes & Reflections Holocaust education program which CDJHM proudly utilizes through QR codes embedded in the exhibits’ walls. Whether your family settled in Montauk Point at the tip of Long Island or Rouses Point on the Canadian border, near the Berkshire mountains or Niagara Falls, you will have the opportunity to create a lasting memorial to them through CDJHM.

Benefits to Students and the General Public

Understanding how antisemitism and hate can lead to violence and (potentially) genocide is an important lesson for all learners. Our education program is specifically designed to raise awareness about antisemitism in its past and contemporary manifestations and to teach people of all ages about the specific history of the Holocaust. Our curriculum aims to cultivate more empathetic, tolerant, and engaged young people including students of all ages who will benefit from the program.

 

Holocaust Awareness

People who study the Holocaust are not only learning about what happened to those who were victims of the Nazis. Those who engage with our programs will reflect on the past in order to learn how people should act morally and ethically in society. Studying the Holocaust brings to the forefront issues about human rights and social justice in general.

Holocaust Education

Through this type of education, students and the public will enhance their abilities to grow as responsible citizens in a democratic society, increasing their critical thinking, empathy, and civic participation skills.

Picture of students with a teacher asking "How many of you have seen, swastika or other sympbols of hatred againsyt HJews...antisemitic symbols at school, at work, on the street, in your community, on a mailbox, whatever?

  • Teaches valuable lessons about the dangers of remaining silent, apathetic, and indifferent to the oppression of others.
  • Increases understanding of the roots and ramifications of prejudice, racism, and stereotyping in any society.
  • Encourages learners to promote social justice, human rights, and genocide awareness, while also enhancing empathy and understanding of the positions of minority groups in our country and beyond.
  • Supports effective examination about basic moral issues.
  • Promotes understanding of the learner’s own responsibilities in helping to combat prejudice and hate, and encourages studentsto consider how they can make a positive difference in this world.

Governor Hochul signs Bill to create a New York State Holocaust Memorial during a Hanukkah Reception at the Executive Mansion (Darren McGee/ Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)

New Law to Create a New York State Holocaust Memorial

New York State is dedicated to promoting education about the Holocaust and to preserving its history. In early 2025, bipartisan support led to new legislation (A.472C /S.121B) which was signed into law in December 2025. CDJHM’s permanent and traveling memorials as well as its educational programming can provide answers to school districts seeking to meet the academic standards required by this legislation.

CDJHM Timeline

December 2025

Governor Hochul signs the bill

June 2025

The NYS Legislature unanimously passed both the Senate and Assembly versions of bills to create a permanent Memorial to the Holocaust at the NYS capital located

Spring 2025

Senator Pat Fahy sponsored S5784 and Assemblymember Gabriella Romero sponsored A7614 and then introduced legislation to establish a permanent New York State Holocaust Memorial, directing the commissioner of the Office of General Services to erect a monument to be known as the New York state Holocaust memorial in the Empire State Plaza.

2024

Began educating members of the NYS Legislature about the proposed Memorial with an eye toward moving its permanent location from Niskayuna to Albany, NY at the Empire State Plaza.

August 21, 2020

Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, NY graciously donated two acres of land for the development of a memorial in the Capital District.

June 11, 2018 to February 5, 2019

– A Joint Design Committee consisting of design professionals and representatives of the Jewish Community met to begin the redesign of the Memorial. The committee, facilitated by Michael Blau, of Adirondack Studios, met numerous times to develop a revised design concept for the memorial. A new design was prepared by Dan Dembling, of Dembling + Dembling Architects, P.C.

June 20, 2019

After a series of meetings and public hearings with the Town of Niskayuna Planning Board, the Town Board approved and granted a Conditional Special Use Permit.

January 22, 2018

Dr. Michael Lozman founded the Capital District Jewish Holocaust Memorial (CDJHM) and served as its president.

January 18, 2018

Dr. Michael Lozman submitted a site plan application and SEQR Environmental Documents to the Niskayuna Town Planning Board for consideration of a design for a Holocaust Memorial on a parcel of land on Route 7 to be donated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, N.Y.

CDJHM Leadership

Board of Directors

  • Daniel Dembling, President
  • Jean Buzz Rosenthal, Board Chair
  • Dana Mandel, Treasurer
  • Scott Lewenden, Secretary
  • Brian Epstein
  • Dr. Warren Geisler
  • Gay Griffith
  • Evelyn Loeb, Chair – Education Committee
  • Deborah Sturm Rausch, Chair – Public Affairs & Communications Committee
  • Edward Sossner
  • Rabbi Greg Weitzman

Founder – Capital District Jewish Holocaust Memorial, Inc.

Dr. Michael Lozman *
November 22, 1937 ~ October 11, 2024

Dr. Michael Lozman, z

An Orthodontist, Dr. Michael Lozman *, was the visionary and founder of Capital District Jewish Holocaust Memorial, Inc. His commitment to remembrance and to overcoming hate and prejudice knew no bounds. Michael’s goal of creating a permanent Holocaust Memorial in the Capital District officially began in 2018, but his work on the project started long before that. Through his commitment and work on this issue, Michael forged a special friendship with Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger, who graciously donated two acres of land for the development of a Holocaust memorial in the Capital District. He was grateful to the Roman Catholic Diocese for its support and was proud to “have the Roman Catholic Church and the Jewish community working together on a project of such value.” Michael’s legacy and vision for this project will continue to live on as plans for the permanent Memorial continue to take shape.

Dr. Lozman’s work to respect and remember took many forms. In 2001, Michael traveled to his father’s village in Sapotskin, Belarus, where he was dismayed that the local Jewish cemeteries had been neglected or destroyed. Always a man of action, Michael created the Restoration of Eastern European Jewish Cemeteries Project, which, over the years restored ten cemeteries in Belarus and five in Lithuania. A perpetual educator, Michael developed and led multiple student exchange trips for college students to visit Auschwitz and Schindler’s Factory, meet with local leaders, and restore local cemeteries so they would be protected for future generations. Students from Union, Xavier, Dartmouth, Siena, Binghamton, and Duke benefitted enormously from these educational experiences.

Out of respect for his work and his dedication, Michael was honored to be appointed to the United States Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad by President Biden in 2023.

Prior to his passing in October 2024, Dr. Lozman was delighted about the Memorial’s proposed new location next to the New York State Museum and was confident that the Memorial’s future was in good hands. We pledge to continue to work toward achieving his vision.

*Of Blessed Memory