The House of Ruach — A Don and Gwen Hecht Philanthropic Foundation

A world in which God
would choose to live.

Guided by Jewish values, The House of Ruach empowers organizations and individuals to realize their highest potential — where dignity, justice, and compassion flourish across all communities.

Dr. Donald Hecht Memorial Holocaust Education Initiative

The Path to Nazi Genocide

A 38-minute educational film from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, distributed for middle and high school classrooms. Free to watch, free to teach with. Choose the source that works best for you.

U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

The film plus the historical timeline, educational article, and discussion resources.

Watch at USHMM →

United Nations

The UN Holocaust Outreach Programme edition — subtitled in all six official UN languages.

Watch at the UN →

YouTube

Stream the film in chapters — the simplest option for a classroom screen.

Watch on YouTube →

Bringing this into your classroom?

Tell us where to send the educator guide, discussion resources, and updates from the Initiative.

Coming to classrooms in 2026

Holocaust Education Kits

In partnership with Hands-on History, the Initiative is helping bring interactive Holocaust Education Kits into middle and high school classrooms — so students don’t just read history, they hold it.

Each kit contains 25 high-quality reproduction artifacts — from a Shabbat candle and a 1940s Jewish cookbook to a ghetto ration card, a Kindertransport tag, and liberation-era reunification documents. Every artifact is paired with a student profile and a guiding question, organized across five themes and aligned with California History–Social Science Standards (Grades 7, 8, 10, and 11).

Jewish Life Before the War Rise of Antisemitism Nazi Oppression & Resistance Deportation & Camp Life Liberation & Aftermath

Want the kits in your classroom?

Join the waitlist. We’ll tell you the moment the Holocaust Education Kits are available — and how to bring them to your students.

Preview the kit at Hands-on History →

From Remembrance to Responsibility

The Holocaust did not begin with camps.

It began with the erosion of democratic norms. With propaganda. With laws that targeted groups of people. With the normalization of persecution.

The Dr. Donald Hecht Memorial Holocaust Education Initiative transforms remembrance into responsibility — applying the lessons of history’s only fully industrialized genocide to counter xenophobia, challenge hate, and prevent the dehumanization of any human being, anywhere.

Historical Literacy Civic Responsibility Human Dignity

Mission & Vision

Six values. One vision.

The House of Ruach is committed to empowering organizations and individuals to realize their highest potential. Our six values are the branches of our Tree of Life — and our three golden roots are dignity, justice, and compassion.

AreyvutShared responsibility for one another
ChesedLoving-kindness, mercy, compassion
EmunahFaith, trust, and steadfast purpose
HaskalahKnowledge and informed responsibility
Tikkun OlamRepairing the world
TzedakahJustice and ethical generosity
Please note: The House of Ruach does not accept unsolicited grant applications. Funding is by invitation only.

August 2026

Times Square · NASDAQ · The New York Times Center

Our message, carried to three of the world’s most iconic stages.

[ Times Square billboard photo ]
[ NASDAQ keynote photo ]
[ NY Times Center photo ]