About the project

Why UNDENIED exists

With the alarming rise in Holocaust denial in the United States, including on college campuses, this project was created by SSI's founders in loving memory of their family members. Every International Holocaust Remembrance Day, SSI chapters hand out free books on the Holocaust across college campuses in North America. Their stories cannot be denied, and we will not let this happen.

Why books, and why campuses?

In 1933, student groups across Germany carried out organized book burnings, an early step in a broader campaign of denial and erasure. Handing out books at universities today is a deliberate, symbolic answer to that history: a commitment that these stories will never again be buried.

Why give them away for free?

Elie Wiesel wrote that to forget the dead is to kill them a second time. With leisure reading at an all-time low among students, it is unlikely someone would choose to pay for a book about the Holocaust. Removing that barrier entirely means more students actually pick one up and read it.

Who receives the books?

SSI is a non-religious organization, and this project is aimed primarily at non-Jewish students who may be less familiar with Holocaust history. For many, UNDENIED is the first time they encounter a full account of what happened.

How are costs kept low?

Most books are gently used copies sourced from thrift stores and individual donors rather than bought new, and publishers offer discounts on bulk orders. The goal each year is to distribute at least 1,000 books across campuses.

Read the full story of this project ▼

Host a campus book drive

Our goal is to give away at least 1,000 books each year.

We have determined various focus areas. For each, five titles are chosen — each discussing a different aspect of the Holocaust.

Personal Story

Soviet Union

Children

Righteous Nations

Resistance

Personal accounts from the Holocaust

1. If This Is Man — Primo Levi
2. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
3. Night — Elie Wiesel
4. The Jewish Dog — Asher Kravitz
5. The English German Girl — Jake Wallis Simons

Holocaust of Jews in the Soviet Union region

1. The Bielski Brothers — Peter Duffy
2. The Holocaust by Bullets — Father Desbois
3. In Broad Daylight — Father Desbois
4. Through Soviet-Jewish Eyes — David Shneer
5. Anatomy of Genocide — Omer Bartov

Children in the Holocaust

1. The Children's Block — Otto Kraus
2. Survivors — Allan Zullo
3. We Are Witnesses — Jacob Boas
4. I Have Lived a Thousand Years — Livia Bitton-Jackson
5. Four Perfect Pebbles — Lila Perl

Righteous Among the Nations

1. Irena's Children — Tillar Mazzeo
2. Oscar Schindler — Anna Revell
3. In My Hands — Irene Gut Opdyke
4. The Hiding Place — Corrie Ten Boom
5. The Fantastic Laboratory of Dr. Weigl — Arthur Alan

Jewish Resistance

1. The Jewish Resistance — Paul Roland
2. Beyond Courage — Doreen Rappaport
3. The Bravest Battle — Dan Kurzman
4. The Light of Days — Judy Batalion
5. Fugitives of the Forest — Allan Levine

BOOKS
PROGRAM

Host a campus book drive

SSI chapters receive a package of books to distribute on campus. Book a public, well-populated space to host a drive, hand out free books, and talk with students about Holocaust remembrance.

EDUCATOR
NOMINATION

Recognize a teacher

Nominate the teacher who taught you Holocaust history and helped you understand its weight. Tell us their name, where they teach, and what made their lesson stay with you — SSI will recognize educators who help students remember.

NEVER FORGET

SSI STUDENTS REMEMBER

IN LOVING MEMORY

Two men who resisted the Nazis, whose stories were passed down as first-hand witnesses to their family members - the founders of SSI Movement.

LEONID OSTROVSKY

One of only nine survivors of the Babi Yar revolt

In September 1941, shortly after German forces captured Kiev, the city's Jewish residents were ordered to gather with their belongings under the false promise of relocation. Instead, over two days, 33,771 Jews were murdered at the Babi Yar ravine. Over the next two years, more than 100,000 Jews, Roma, Ukrainians, and Soviet prisoners of war were executed there, making Babi Yar one of the largest massacre sites of the Holocaust. Among the victims were 12 members of Leonid Ostrovsky's family, from elderly relatives to his one-year-old cousin, Sarah, whose names are now commemorated at Yad Vashem. In 1943, Leonid was one of approximately 300 prisoners who revolted and attempted to escape Babi Yar. Only 18 escaped, and just nine survived the war. This project honors Leonid Ostrovsky and the memory of all those murdered at Babi Yar. May their memories be a blessing.

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ISAAC ESTIS

Red Army soldier who fought against Nazi Germany

Isaac was born in a small town near Kiev. When he was a child, his parents were murdered in a pogrom, leaving him to be raised by his two older sisters. He later married Lia, but shortly after their wedding, he joined the Red Army to fight against Nazi Germany. While Isaac served on the front lines, Lia courageously raised their two young sons alone, hoping for his safe return. Isaac's story was shared by countless Jewish families during World War II. Approximately 1.5 million Jews fought in the Allied armed forces, including about 500,000 in the Red Army, 550,000 in the U.S. Armed Forces, 100,000 in the Polish Army, and 30,000 in the British Army. More than 120,000 Jewish soldiers in the Red Army were killed in combat, while another 80,000 were murdered as prisoners of war. Thousands more Jewish soldiers from Allied nations gave their lives in the fight against Nazi Germany, and many were recognized for extraordinary bravery and helped liberate the concentration camps.

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​This project is supported by the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Visit their website at: www.wiesenthal.org

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The Next Chapter

Our call for Holocaust education was just the beginning.

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