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 Have spoken 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 survivor speakers help to ensure that the Holocaust will not occur again and that its universal lessons are remembered.

How do I arrange for a Holocaust survivor to speak at my school or institution?

The Holocaust Center and Jewish Family and Children's Services are working together to coordinate the Surivors Speakers Bureau program.

To request a speaker for your school or institution, please send an email to Gayle Zahler at GayleZ@jfcs.org and provide the following information

1. Your name, email address and telephone number
2. The name and address of your school or institution
3. The number of students and their grade level or the number and type of audience
4. The date you would like the speaker to address your class or audience.
5. Briefly describe your students’ preparation. Examples: completed a Holocaust study unit; viewed a film; or read a Holocaust memoir.

How much advance notice must I give to schedule a speaking date?

You must send an email request, as indicated above, at least four (4) weeks before the speaking date you request. We will not honor requests made less than four (4) weeks in advance.

What is the appropriate age or grade to hear a Holocaust survivor speak?

Grades 8-12, college students and adults. Requests for speakers to address students below grade 8 will not be honored.

What preparation must my students have prior to hearing a survivor speaker?

Hearing a survivor speak is a supplement to your Holocaust curriculum and is not intended as a replacement for formal Holocaust study. Requests for speakers in classrooms that have not had some study of the Holocaust will not be honored.

What happens after I send my email request for a speaker?

The names and contact information for several survivors located in your geographic area will be sent to you. You will be able to reach the survivor by phone or email, and the survivor’s preferred method of contact will be indicated. You can arrange the specifics of the speaking engagement directly with the survivor.

When can I contact the survivor by telephone?

Please be considerate and respectful. Survivors are volunteers and they quite elderly. Call only during the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

Will I need to provide transportation to my school?

Yes, it is very likely that the survivor will need to be provided with transportation to and from your location.

When are the survivors available to speak?

Survivors are available to speak during the week, between the hours of 10 am – 4pm, depending on their schedules. Survivors are not available in the early morning hours, in the evening or on the weekends.

What kind of experiences will the speakers talk about?

The survivors who speak will have a variety of Holocaust experiences that they will share. They are not historians; rather they are living witnesses who will testify regarding their individual experience. Some are concentration camp survivors, some were hidden children or on the Kindertransport, some were refugees, liberators or witnesses. Each has an important story to tell, and we request that you be sensitive to and appreciative of each of their special experiences.

How long should I expect the survivor to speak?

Please plan for at least an hour for the speaker. Remember that the speakers are describing complex and traumatic events, and should not be expected to abbreviate their stories.

If there is not an hour available, please be respectful and discuss this with the speaker before you invite them to speak at your school.