2025 Western Region Tribute Dinner

She serves as the board president of the Koret Foundation, one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the United States that strengthens Jewish and general communities worldwide. She also serves as executive director of Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS), based in the San Francisco Bay area. JFCS is one of the largest and oldest family service institutions in the United States, addressing the needs of hundreds of thousands of children, families, and older adults every year. JFCS also operates the Holocaust Center, educating tens of thousands of teachers and students each year. Dr. Friedman oversees the highly successful, state-funded California Teachers Collaborative on Holocaust and Genocide Education in coalition with ethnic groups throughout the state. In 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Dr. Friedman as co-chair of California’s groundbreaking Governor’s Council on Holocaust and Genocide Education. Her work is widely supported by California teachers, the state legislature, and the California Department of Education—helping to ensure that accurate, high-quality Holocaust education is provided to every student in every school in all public and private school systems. Dr. Friedman is the editor of Rywka’s Diary: The Writings of a Jewish Girl from the Łódź Ghetto, now translated into 15 languages and the subject of a forthcoming documentary film. She is also an executive producer of the award-winning, internationally distributed film Among Neighbors, which illuminates the past and current story of the Jews of Poland. At Tel Aviv University (TAU), Dr. Friedman serves as a vice president of the Board of Governors and chair of the Global Campaign. She is also the founder of TAU's Koret Center for Jewish Civilization, in partnership with Israel’s ANU Museum of the Jewish People. Dr. Friedman is an executive committee trustee for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a national organization devoted to building a strong relationship between the United States and Israel. In addition, Dr. Friedman is a trustee for the University of Southern California Shoah Foundation, the Polin Museum in Warsaw, and the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History. Dr. Friedman is the recipient of multiple national and international honors and awards, including an honorary doctorate from TAU. She was recently awarded the Global Light Unto the Nations Award by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) for her work combating antisemitism, educating about the Holocaust, and building strong and democratic societies at home and abroad.  Photo: Anita Friedman in the Anita Library. ©2019 Jamey Stillings, courtesy of First Republic Bank

As life grew increasingly dangerous inside the Warsaw ghetto, David escaped and joined other relatives in Deblin, where he spent 16 hours a day performing forced labor. In 1944, he and a friend escaped yet again but were caught and sent to Auschwitz. At the notorious concentration and killing center, David used a fake name and posed as a Catholic Pole. Eventually, he was sent to another labor camp in Germany and then on a death march with other remaining prisoners. As the Allies closed in, he and another prisoner managed to escape once again. A few days later, on April 13, 1945, American troops liberated him. He learned that his parents and all but one of his eight brothers and sisters had been murdered. In 1946, David immigrated to the United States without any knowledge of the English language. He took on a series of odd jobs, including door-to-door sales of vacuum cleaners, jewelry, and silverware. Then, in 1951, David was drafted to serve in the US Army. After an honorable discharge, he married Renee Frelich, a survivor from Brussels. The couple eventually settled in Los Angeles, where David launched a number of new business ventures, including Western Fabrics Company, which became the largest textile distributor west of the Mississippi. In 1979, while running Western Fabrics, David bought his first piece of commercial property at the corner of Sierra Avenue and Marygold, which he eventually developed into Fontana Plaza. Throughout the 1980s and to this day, David has continued to acquire and develop commercial properties in Fontana. David and Renee remained married for 50 years until her death in 2002. They share two children, Helene (1960) and Michael (1963), and four grandchildren, Melanie, Shane, Mathieu, and Sydney.  In addition to supporting the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, David serves as a benefactor for Young Artists International, the Anti-Defamation League, and the Museum of Tolerance. Photo: David Wiener.

She oversees a team of educators and historians advancing quality Holocaust education in schools across the country, including the development of classroom resources and professional development. In her 20-year Museum career, Gretchen has created programming and resources for both the visiting public and specialized audiences, including military and government leaders. She has produced numerous educational films; facilitated programs and workshops for government and military professionals, both nationally and internationally; and worked with key partners to support the US government’s commitment to train government leaders about genocide prevention. Before joining the Museum’s staff, she was a member of the humanities faculty at the North Carolina School for Science and Mathematics in Durham, North Carolina, and served as an adjunct professor of English at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina. She received a BA in German and history from West Virginia University and an MA in modern European history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Photo: Gretchen Skidmore. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum