Holocaust center focuses on educator training, community partnerships
The mission at the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center (BHEC), according to Vice President of Community Programming Deborah Layman, “is to keep the history and the lessons of the Holocaust alive.”
The BHEC, tucked into a building at 2222 Arlington Ave., first opened in 2002 and operated as a volunteer group until it officially became a nonprofit three years ago. The BHEC contains educational and art exhibits, an extensive print and video library and a historical archive of testimonies, photos and donated historical artifacts.
“The reason for that is not just historical, but to teach upcoming generations — and also the community at large — the consequences of hate and how hate escalates to bias all the way to something as horrible as genocide,” Layman said.
Their focus is two-fold, Laymen said, with one part emphasizing workshop training for middle and high school teachers on teaching the history of the Holocaust. This has led to teachers lobbying for Holocaust electives in Birmingham and surround school systems.
The other focus is community programming and partnerships, especially ones affiliated with the arts, to reach more people in the community, Layman said. In 2019, BHEC will be partnering with the Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts (AEIVA) for an exhibit.
Layman said BHEC has also been integral in helping set up speaking series at churches and schools all over the state with Holocaust survivors and their families who live in Birmingham and Alabama. As of December, there were only two Holocaust survivors living in Birmingham who are still alive.
The BHEC has a permanent exhibit titled “Darkness into Life” that tells the stories of 20 Alabama Holocaust survivors through photographs, paintings and educational narratives. Layman said this exhibit can be transported and shown at venues in Alabama at no cost.
In addition, January starts the popular and free sixth annual “The Holocaust in Film” series, which plays documentaries and films about the Holocaust.
To learn more or schedule a time to visit, go to bhecinfo.org.