Craine Receives Commission Education Award

Sandra Craine, a second-generation Holocaust survivor, is the first recipient of the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust’s Education Legacy Award in recognition of her commitment to Holocaust education in the State of Georgia and dedicated service to the community of Holocaust survivors.

Craine received the award at the GCH Days of Remembrance event, a Holocaust commemoration program, at the Georgia State Capitol in the House Chambers, on Friday, May 10, with State School Superintendent Richard Woods presenting her the honor. Just days before Mother’s Day, this year’s Days of Remembrance program was themed “Honoring Mothers in the Holocaust: Sacrifice and Valor.” Participants lit candles in honor of the brave mothers or grandmothers of many Georgia Holocaust survivors who protected their families in the most difficult of circumstances.

Sandra Soloway Craine was born in a Displaced Persons Camp in Trusberg, Germany, to parents who had survived the Holocaust. In 1949, the family immigrated to the United States to start a new life. Craine grew up in Detroit, Mich., surrounded by caring aunts and uncles, all Holocaust survivors, but no grandparents, as they had perished in Europe. As a second-generation survivor, Craine says she learned at an early age the importance of remembrance.

After a teaching career in Detroit, Sandra and husband, Lew, an architect, and their two children moved to Atlanta in 1982. Craine worked at Jewish Family & Career Services as an employment counselor, then eventually transitioned to the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta, where she worked for more than 20 years, rising to the position of assistant executive director.

In 1986, Craine began realizing her life-long vision of preserving the history and teaching the lessons of the Holocaust at the newly established Georgia Commission on the Holocaust, a secular, non-partisan state agency. In her 37- year tenure at the Commission, she made impact by both enabling many of Georgia’s community of survivors to tell their stories to students and other audiences around the state and by sharing her own family’s story, as she continues to do.

According to Craine, “Education is a core value for me, and joining the Commission also fulfilled my passion for working with Holocaust survivors. In this work, I have been privileged to work with a dedicated staff and volunteers.”

GCH Executive Director Sally Levine said: “Sandra Craine has dedicated her life and career to teaching about the Holocaust. Providing guidance and support to our Georgia survivors, liberators and rescuers and their families, Sandra has brought their powerful stories to audiences throughout the state. Sandra has always understood that Holocaust education can be transformative, encouraging engaged citizenship, empathy, and responsibility. Her work has left a legacy for Georgians, for years to come.”