History of the Oregon Holocaust Resource Center
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 ecumenical 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 co-sponsored the first collaborative workshop for teachers, held at Willamette University.
In 1993, the OHRC Board voted to seek an academic affiliation with a university. In 1994, the OHRC affiliated with Pacific University and opened an office in Pacific's Warner Hall. This office was expanded to become the Center's headquarters in January 1996. Though housed at Pacific University, the Center is an independent organization, supported by membership dues, donations, grants, and special funds.