HCNC Survivors Speakers Bureau

Winner of Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula Marina and Sonoma Counties’ 2002 Distinguished Service Award for Program of the Year and a quietly vanishing opportunity.

Members of the Holocaust Center’s Speakers Bureau teach students and adults about the Holocaust through eyewitness testimony. Survivors, liberators, and rescuers speak at the Holocaust Center and in classrooms, religious institutions and community venues. Through firsthand accounts of the horrors of the Holocaust, thousands of students and Bay Area residents learn about the importance of tolerance, embracing diversity, and combating hatred. The Speakers Bureau helps to ensure that the Holocaust will not occur again and that its universal lessons are remembered.

HCNC's Survivor Speakers Bureau is a program that can be presented at school sites or at the Holocaust Center. The program itself, either at the Center or in your school, include a 15-20 minute slide-show, which provides an historical overview of the rise and fall of Hitler from 1933-1945. A Holocaust survivor then tells his/her story. The Speaker addresses students for 45 minutes, followed by a 15-minute moderated question and answer period.

Visit the Speakers Bureau at HCNC

Classes and community groups can arrange a Speakers Bureau event at the Holocaust Center, Monday through Thursday, between the hours of 10am-4pm. Participants will view a brief history of the Holocaust, covering the rise of Nazism in 1933 through liberation of the concentration camps in 1945, presented in historic photographs and artifacts from the era. A Holocaust survivor will speak, giving a first hand account of his or her experience, followed by a moderated question and answer period. Visitors to the Center are engaged intellectually and emotionally through a blend of history, analysis and first-hand experiences. In addition, visitors will be guided on a tour of the Holocaust Center’s current exhibit of artifacts, photographs, and art from HCNC’s archival collections and may stay to watch a documentary or film. Groups of up to 75 are welcome.

Schedule a visit by using our online Speakers Bureau Request Form . For questions contact Rachel Isquith at 415.777.9060 ext. 204.

The Speakers Bureau at Your Site

Holocaust survivors, liberators and rescuers can visit schools and institutions to share their experiences. A brief history of the Holocaust, covering the rise of Nazism in 1933 through liberation of the concentration camps in 1945, is presented in historic photographs and artifacts from the era. A Holocaust survivor will speak, giving a first hand account of his or her experience, followed by a moderated question and answer period. Survivors frequently address school assemblies of 300 – 1000 students.

Schedule a visit by using our online Speakers Bureau Request Form. For questions contact Rachel Isquith at415.777.9060 ext. 204.

Scheduling a Speaker

Schedule a visit by using our online Speakers Bureau Request Form. It is preferable to schedule a speaker at least two weeks in advance, giving the Speaker and HCNC time to best prepare for your program. Speakers are available for programs from Monday through Thursday, between the hours of 10am-4pm.

Hearing a Holocaust survivor speak is frequently an emotional experience. HCNC strongly recommends that students be prepared and have some basic knowledge of the Holocaust and World War II. Teachers may wish to have students prepare questions in advance and encourage them to write their reflections as a follow-up to the program. A note of thanks to the survivor speaker can help the students articulate what the experience meant to them. This feedback is important to the speakers. Letters sent to the Holocaust Center will be forwarded to the speaker. Teachers are strongly encouraged to be in touch with Rachel Isquith, HCNC’s Director of Community Outreach, prior to visiting HCNC or inviting a speaker to your venue so that HCNC can assist you with background information and curriculum materials in preparation for the experience.

Once the visit is complete please help HCNC by filling out and returning an Evaluation Form.

Helping Support The Speakers Bureau

Although the survivor speakers volunteer their time, the Holocaust Center encourages donations (depending on the size of the group) to support the program. HCNC greatly appreciates a suggested donation of $100 for assembly programs and $50 for classroom programs. This donation ensures that HCNC can continue to provide the Speakers Bureau program to schools and organizations in the Bay Area.

The 2007-2009 Survivors Speakers Bureau program is made possible, in part, by a gift from the estate of Harry Marder.