User:TOHRC

The Oregon Holocaust Resource Center
The Oregon Holocaust Resource Center(OHRC) exists to tell the story of the Holocaust from the crucial perspective of the survivors, refugees, and liberators, primarily to teach the many important lessons that come to us from this event. OHRC is especially supportive of efforts to enhance students’ awareness of the value of diversity and acceptance for all. This is done by offering teacher workshops, educational materials and special programs. The OHRC's Speakers’ Bureau is comprised mostly of Holocaust Survivors who travel to schools and workplaces to share their experiences.

The Oregon Holocaust Resource Center (OHRC), an educational organization, applies the lessons of the Holocaust to teach the importance of promoting a just and humane society, which values respect and acceptance. As a not-for-profit, nonsectarian organization, the OHRC is dedicated to communicating the lessons of the Holocaust to teachers, students, and the general public in Oregon and SW Washington. This is in fulfillment of the legacy left by victims to survivors: To Remember; to Record; to Understand; to Explain and to Enlighten Future Generations.

History of the Oregon Holocaust Resource Center
The OHRC began in 1983 after some preliminary discussions and planning among interested members of the ecumenical community, a group who had been recording oral histories, academics, and those interested in furthering diversity and tolerance education. The Center’s operation began in earnest the following year, with offices at Congregation Neveh Shalom Synagogue, under the direction of Dr. Sylvia Frankel.

The genesis of the Center was the survivors oral history project of the late Shirley Tanzer. Under the leadership of Shirley Tanzer and Rabbi Joshua Stampfer, the OHRC was chartered as an educational organization. Soon after its founding, the OHRC initiated programs of teacher training, a Speakers’ Bureau of survivors that visit middle and high school groups, an annual writing & art competition for students, and an oral history program. Later it added exhibits, lecture series’ and special programs and events, such as seminars for students, commemorations for Kristallnacht and Yom Ha’Shoah, and graduate classes in Holocaust education.

In 1987, OHRC helped sponsor an academic conference involving Christopher Browning, Lawrence Langer, and Deborah Lipstadt. Later, Elie Wiesel spoke to a large Portland audience under the auspices of OHRC.In 1989, OHRC began sponsoring teacher workshops on the statewide in-service day. Since then, hundreds of teachers from Oregon and Washington have taken OHRC workshops to enhance their classroom instruction of the Holocaust. In 2001, OHRC and the Oregon Committee for the Humanities cosponsored the first collaborative workshop for teachers, held at Willamette Univer.

In 1993, the OHRC Board voted to seek an academic affiliation with a university. In 1994, the OHRC affiliated with Pacific University, in Forest Grove, Oregon, and opened an office in Pacific’s Warner Hall. This office was expanded to become the Center’s headquarters in January 1996. This relationship grew and lasted until 2007, when it was decided OHRC needed to be closer to Portland, and the Oregon Holocaust Memorial. The OHRC moved to its current home on NW Kearney in January 2010. The Oregon Holocaust Resource Center is an independent organization, supported by donations, grants, and special funds.

Other Resources
OHRC provides Library Archives and links to related Web sites for further studies.