In May, American and Israeli survivors of the Holocaust were reunited in Los Angeles to commemorate Yom Hashoah and share their experiences. All are members of the Los Angeles and Tel Aviv branches of Café Europa, a Holocaust survivors’ support group created by Jewish Family Service (JFS) and The Jewish Federation’s Tel Aviv/Los Angeles Partnership and the Municipality of Tel Aviv-Yafo.

The two groups began meeting in 2001 via videoconference, and in April 2004, L.A. members visited their sister group in Tel Aviv. That visit brought about several reunions of friends and relatives, most notably the reunion of two cousins, Esther Fruchter, 81, of Los Angeles, who believed all her family had perished in the Holocaust, and, Esther Nissenbaum, 82, of Israel.

This year’s reunion allowed the Israeli visitors to see how their Los Angeles counterparts have made a new life for themselves in America. “Café Europa is about life,” said Susie Forer-Dehrey, associate executive director of JFS.  ”It allows survivors to learn from each other and gives them a comfortable place where they don’t have to explain the past.  Everyone in the group understands.”

The reunion agenda included joint social programs, visits to major Jewish and secular institutions including the Skirball Cultural Center, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and the Farmers’ Market.

The reunion also had its solemn moments, as the group gathered, along with local Jewish day school students, for their own Yom Hashoah observance at Mount Sinai Memorial Park. Afterwards, survivors connected with the students over a special lunch program. This was especially meaningful, as today’s young Jews may be the last generation to learn about the Holocaust firsthand from survivors.

Café Europa provides an informal, relaxed setting where Holocaust survivors can engage in conversation, participate in social and educational activities, and develop supportive relationships. It is also a place where aging survivors (the members’ average age is 80) can learn from one another how to face the challenges of a rapidly changing world. In addition, there are lectures by health professionals, meetings with local political figures, trips to museums and other cultural events and Jewish holiday celebrations.

Established in 1988 in Los Angeles and 2001 in Tel Aviv, Café Europa gets its name from a café in Stockholm, Sweden, where Holocaust survivors came to look for their lost relatives immediately after World War II. It meets at JFS’ Pico-Robertson and Valley Storefronts.

This article originally appeared in the summer 2005 issue of Mosaic.