FYHS Names, Not Numbers Program Draws Nearly 600 Guests

On Monday evening, July 20th, HTC's Fasman Yeshiva High School (FYHS) welcomed nearly 600 community members, alumni, survivors, and friends to the Holiday Inn North Shore in Skokie for the premiere of the 2025–26 Names, Not Numbers® – A Movie in the Making Holocaust documentary.

Now in its eighth year participating in the nationally acclaimed Names, Not Numbers® program, FYHS continues to transform Holocaust education into an experiential project by connecting students directly with Holocaust survivors. Created by educator Tova Fish-Rosenberg, the program empowers students to research, interview, film, and produce a professional documentary that preserves firsthand testimony for future generations.

The 2025–26 documentary, produced by FYHS seniors, featured the extraordinary stories of Dr. Edith Eger A"H, Allan Hall, Naomi Jacobson, and Hedy Kaufler. Through months of preparation, interviews, filming, and editing, students documented each survivor's life before the war, their experiences during the Holocaust, and the resilience and faith that enabled them to rebuild their lives. The survivors' willingness to entrust their stories to the next generation created an unforgettable educational experience for both the students and the nearly 600 guests in attendance.

This year's film was dedicated in loving memory of Dr. Edith Eger A"H, who passed away just one month after students traveled to San Diego to interview her, as well as past Names, Not Numbers participants Arkady Khanuk A"H and Motik Militsakh A"H, whose memories continue to inspire this important work.

The evening, co-sponsored by the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center and the Simon Wiesenthal Center, highlighted the importance of preserving firsthand Holocaust testimony at a time of rising global antisemitism. As one of the last generations privileged to hear directly from survivors, Yeshiva students have embraced the responsibility of ensuring these stories continue to educate and inspire future generations. Upon completion, the documentary will be permanently archived at Yad Vashem, The National Library of Israel, and the Gottesman Library of Yeshiva University.

HTC extends its sincere gratitude to our Holocaust survivors and their families, Tova and Dov Fish-Rosenberg, Program Coordinators Avigail Schechter and Roz Sugarman, WBBM journalist Regine Schlesinger, the filmmaking team, and the many corporate sponsors and individual donors whose generosity made this meaningful program possible.

This year's documentary and past documentaries are now available to view at htc.edu/nnn