About Judy
Although Judy was born after the Holocaust, its lessons shaped her from an early age. Reading The Diary of Anne Frank as a young girl sparked a lifelong commitment to understanding not only the tragedy of the Holocaust, but the resilience, courage, and humanity of those who survived it. As a girl, she also had a dream in which she looked through barbed wire at a child in a concentration camp, and realized she was looking at herself.
Judy is in love with Judaism. She believes it has so much to teach the world about how to live. She is driven to be as educated as possible about Jewish tradition, history, and teachings, which is why she still takes part in book clubs, Torah study, and a variety of classes. Her learning gives her deep pride and joy in being Jewish, and it continues to help her become the person she wants to be.
When they got married, Judy and Dennis Schwartz made aliyah, immigrating to Israel. After some years there, they returned to Canada, but Judy's commitment to the State of Israel and the Jewish people never left her.
Since moving to Burlington in 1974, Judy has dedicated more than five decades to strengthening Jewish identity, fostering understanding across communities, and putting compassion to work. Through countless volunteer roles across Hamilton and beyond, she has embodied the belief that community is something we build through commitment, generosity, and service.
Judy's leadership has touched nearly every corner of Jewish communal life in Hamilton and the Greater Hamilton Area. Across all of it, she has brought people together, built partnerships, and created opportunities for learning and connection. She is known not only for her dedication, but for her ability to make things happen.
Preserving Survivor Voices: A Legacy of Holocaust Education
One of Judy's most enduring contributions has been her work in Holocaust education and survivor testimony.
In 1994, Judy was selected as an interviewer for the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation (now the USC Shoah Foundation), established by Steven Spielberg to preserve the testimonies of Holocaust survivors and witnesses. As a volunteer, she devoted hundreds of hours to interviewing Holocaust survivors from the Hamilton area. She recorded the testimonies of 57 survivors from Hamilton and the Greater Hamilton Area, and their stories are now curated and accessible to the public through Windows to Witness.
Building a Culture of Holocaust Education
Judy's commitment continued through her leadership with the Holocaust Education Committee of the Hamilton Jewish Federation. Joining the committee in 1998, she became instrumental in expanding Holocaust education programming across the region, helping develop the Survivor Speakers Bureau, which connected Holocaust survivors with thousands of students and educators and gave young people the chance to encounter history through personal testimony.
Under her leadership, the committee built and grew educator seminars, facilitator training workshops, and preparation for survivors giving presentations. Her work forged meaningful partnerships with educators and school boards, helping shape genocide and human rights education across Hamilton schools.
A Lifetime of Community Building
Beyond Holocaust education, Judy's impact reaches across the broader community.
As a dedicated volunteer with the Hamilton Jewish Federation for more than three decades, Judy has served in numerous leadership roles. She has supported campaigns, interfaith initiatives, community outreach, and advocacy, and built bridges with churches, community organizations, educators, and diverse cultural groups across Hamilton.
At Beth Jacob Synagogue, she served in leadership roles for many years, including as President of the Sisterhood and as a Board Member, and was a strong advocate for meaningful participation and leadership opportunities for women.
Through Israel Bonds and the Jewish National Fund, Judy demonstrated her commitment to Israel and global Jewish communities, and was honoured with the Woman of the Year award for her outstanding service to Israel Bonds. Through Hadassah-WIZO and the National Council of Jewish Women, she supported initiatives in education, health, social welfare, and the enrichment of Jewish life.
Her civic and interfaith work extended still further. Judy was chosen as the sole representative of the Jewish community on an anti-racism board. She was later one of just 12 people, from 35 candidates across Hamilton, selected for intermediate training in interfaith mediation at the University of Guelph. She took her work into churches, Baháʼí temples, and Christian women's groups, teaching about Judaism through ritual objects and interactive dialogue, and served on two interfaith councils alongside Rabbi Selzberg in Hamilton. In Catholic and public schools alike, she brought Jewish traditions to life through hands-on experience and conversation.
As Executive Director of the Jewish Students Association, now Hillel, at McMaster University from 1998 to 2014, Judy built interfaith relationships across the campus community. She also organized a program honouring gay men and others persecuted by the Nazis, remembered through the symbol of the pink triangle.
Her commitment to community causes was also reflected in her volunteerism as a fundraiser and canvasser for organizations supporting arthritis, heart and stroke, and cancer research. She also served on a committee supporting lupus fundraising initiatives, continuing a long-standing dedication to improving the health and well-being of others.
Across every organization and every role, Judy has carried the same message: communities become stronger when people choose to use their voice to contribute.
A Lifetime Learner
Judy’s commitment to learning has remained a constant throughout her life. As a newlywed, she learned Hebrew in preparation for a new life in Israel. When she returned home, she continued to seek out opportunities to develop and grow through book clubs, Torah study groups, and the Rabbi’s classes through Shaarei Beth El.
Her connection to Jewish learning has also brought meaningful new milestones. Judy celebrated becoming a Bat Mitzvah at age 40 as part of the first group Bat Mitzvah at Beth Jacob and was called to the Torah for an aliyah for the first time. In 2025 at age 79, with the encouragement and guidance of Laura Wolfson, she learned to read Torah herself—a remarkable new chapter in a lifelong journey.
The Heart of Windows to Witness
Judy believes that every survivor's testimony is both a gift and a responsibility. That philosophy is at the heart of Windows to Witness.
As the generation of Holocaust survivors grows smaller, preserving their voices becomes increasingly urgent. Through this project, visitors are invited not only to learn about history, but to encounter individuals whose experiences remind us of the consequences of hatred and the enduring power of compassion, resilience, and hope.
For Judy, Holocaust education has never been only about remembering the past. It is about shaping the future. She hopes that everyone who encounters these stories will leave with a deeper understanding of our shared humanity, and a renewed responsibility to stand against hatred, strengthen communities, and carry these voices forward for generations to come.
Windows to Witness is Judy Schwartz's legacy of memory transformed into action: a lifetime of relationships, service, and advocacy dedicated to ensuring that the lessons of the past continue to guide the future.