THE CENTER FOR HOLOCAUST, GENOCIDE, AND
HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION OF NORTH CAROLINA
(THE HOLOCAUST SPEAKERS BUREAU)
http://www.holocaustspeakersbureau.org
Mission
The Center for Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Education for North Carolina (Holocaust Speakers Bureau) assists local educators and organizations deal with the challenging topics of Holocaust, genocide, tolerance, and human rights. We work with interested teachers, schools, and organizations to develop age- appropriate materials and presentations for all students, and we offer an extensive resource library. Wherever possible, we arrange for survivors (and, in some cases, their liberators or children of survivors) to address classes and other groups.
In Fall 2009, Sharon Halperin and Deborah Long met for the first time, thanks to the efforts of a friend in common. The mutual friend realized that Sharon and Deborah were both daughters of Holocaust survivors. At their first meeting, Deborah told Sharon about her lifelong efforts to find her mother and father’s missing family members, and Sharon told her about her work keeping the lessons of the Holocaust alive. For years, Sharon has been getting phone calls from teachers seeking someone to talk to students about the Holocaust. The following is Deborah’s account about the inception of the Holocaust Speaker’s Bureau:
We were both motivated to find more survivors, as well as World War II liberators, realizing that we were in a race against time. An article in the August 25, 2010 Chapel Hill News gave us the publicity we needed to come into contact with a number of survivors and liberators in our area. At an initial meeting in late 2010, eight survivors and one liberator came together to discuss the possible goals of a Holocaust speakers bureau. During April 2011, we began to see our work pay off. Not only were our survivors and liberators getting teaching/speaking engagements, we had an overwhelming response to our April 27 Holocaust program. More than 230 people, four mayors, and one state representative attended the Varsity Theatre in downtown Chapel Hill to honor survivors and liberators who live in our area. The Holocaust Speakers Bureau has visited hundreds of schools and spoken to thousands of students. PowerPoint presentations accompany survivor talks. Traveling exhibits are made available to educators as well as reference books, DVDs, and artifacts. Community events, including several theatrical performances followed by panel discussions, were attended by overflow audiences. In 2014, we embarked on an ambitious project to film our survivors and liberators so that school teachers may easily access these remarkable stories. We have lost two of our speakers in the last year, so we feel the urgency of time to film these testimonies now. Join us in our efforts. Donate here. Deborah Long
