Holocaust Archive

The Holocaust is the name given to the systematic extermination of nearly six million Jews that was perpetrated by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II. The Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery wish to create an appropriate way to memorialize those individuals who survived or died in the Holocaust and are buried in Mount Hope Cemetery. The FOMH formed a Holocaust Committee in the spring of 2021 with the following charge:
- Determine the number of Holocaust survivors buried at Mount Hope
- Create a Holocaust Archive of survivors’ stories on the FOMH website
- Raise funds to erect a Holocaust Monument at Mount Hope
Using the resources available from the Center for Holocaust Awareness and Information (CHAI) of the Jewish Community Federation, cross-referenced with the burial records of Mount Hope Cemetery, the committee compiled an initial list of about 40 names to include in the Friends of Mount Hope Holocaust Archive. After extensive research, the Holocaust Committee has now identified close to 100 survivors who are buried or remembered with cenotaphs in the cemetery. To tell their stories we either linked to an existing story in the CHAI Holocaust Archive or we have done our own research using available internet resources, original documents, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum database, the Yad Vashem database, and through family interviews. Each survivor is added to our Holocaust Archive as their story becomes available. Each person is listed with their full name(s), birth and death dates, locale of death, images of gravestone or cenotaphs, and burial locations in the cemetery.
The final charge to the Committee was fulfilled through a fund-raising campaign that ran from January to April of 2022. One hundred thirty-one generous donors and organizations contributed over $34,000 for the monument and accompanying educational programs. A complete list of donors is available. The monument is expected to be completed by November 2022 and will have an installation and dedication ceremony in May 2023.

Hilde (Kunz) Roche
Born: October 22, 1920, Frankfurt-am-Main
Died: 2015, Thousand Oaks, CA
Location: B’rith Kodesh, Range 7, Grave 1192
Parents: York and Margaret Kunz
Husband: Ernest Roche
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Alexander Rosenfeld
Born: June 23, 1916, Krakow, Poland
Died: May 7, 1992, Rochester, NY
Location: B’rith Kodesh, Range 7, Grave 1842
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Eric Samuel
Born: 1906
Died: January 25, 1981
Location: Beth El, Range 10, Row G, Grave A-3
Wife: Thekla B. Samuel
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Thekla B. Samuel
Born: 1916
Died: August 16, 1991
Location: Beth El, Range 10, row G, Grave A-4
Husband: Eric Samuel
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Irwin Jacob Schiffres
Born: June 10, 1930, Cologne, Germany
Died: August 4, 2010
Location: Beth El, Range 10, Row B, Grave 198
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Eugene Schoeman
Born: October 30, 1909, Croev, Germany
Died: December 3, 1989, Rochester, NY
Location: Beth El, Range 10, Row G, Grave 5
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Erna Schopler
Born: 1899, Nuremberg, Germany
Died: October 28,1988, Rochester, NY
Location: Range 10, NE 1/4 Lot 234, Grave 4
Husband: Ernest H. Schopler
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Ernest H. Schopler
Born: 1885, Furth Germany
Died: April 2, 1990, Rochester, NY
Location: Range 10, NE 1/4 Lot 234, Grave 3
Wife: Erna Schopler
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Bernard Schuster
Born: May 17, 1928, Jasionowka, Poland
Died: July 17, 2000, Rochester, NY
Location: Temple Sinai, Range 10, Grave 260
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Irving Simon (Itzak Sajewicz)
Born: May 3, 1925, Swir, Poland
Died: May 16, 2010, Brighton, NY
Location: Beth El, Range 10, Section A, Grave F19
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David Von Perlstein (Hans Detlef von Perlstein)
Born: Unknown
Died: July 6, 1983
Location: Beth El, Range 10, Row G, Grave 28
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Carola Wachtel
Born: 1904
Died: January 6, 1994, Rochester, NY
Location: Beth El, Range 10, Row F, Grave 7
Sister: Elsa Fenster
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Kurt Weinbach
Born: July 6, 1928, Vienna, Austria
Died: September 20, 2010, Rochester, NY
Location: Beth El, Range 10, Row D, Grave 408
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Larry (Lothar) Weiss
Born: August 8, 1937, Berlin, Germany
Died: October 7, 2018, Rochester, NY
Location: Beth El, Range 10 A H 10
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