Holocaust Scholars & Diplomats

Word of Faith Christian School teachers have been blessed to be mentored by Diplomats, Holocaust scholars and educators who have influenced curriculum development for Holocaust studies at the WFCS. Beginning in 2004, WFCS teachers attended symposiums and conferences focusing on Holocaust history where we had the privilege to connect with some of the most influential Holocaust experts in the country, and even worldwide.  These connections helped to make possible the eventual creation of the WFCS Holocaust Museum. Without the knowledge and dedication to Holocaust history made by these mentors who invested time and energy into our efforts, the work of the WFCS Holocaust Museum may never have formulated.  We are grateful for the generous contributions these individuals made to help equip us to create what God had placed in hearts; a place to display our love for the Jewish people and to educate people of all ages the history of the Holocaust and its relevance to our lives today.

 

Dr. Yitschak Ben Gad
Dr. Yitschak Ben Gad formerly served as the Consul General of Israel to the Midwestern USA and since 2005 has been Consul General to Florida and Puerto Rico. Born to a Jewish rabbi in Tripoli, Libya, Ben Gad has returned to his spiritual homeland where he now resides in Netanya, Israel. An expert in the Palestine Arab national movement and the Mideast crisis, Dr. Ben Gad spoke to teachers at the ASU Conference in 2007 where WFCS teachers heard him speak with such passion about the statehood of Israel. He personally told us how much he appreciates evangelical Christians who are standing with his people during this time in history.

Dr. Rennie Brantz, Dr. Zohara Boyd and Dr. Miriam Klein Kassenoff

From 2006 to 2009, WFCS teachers attended the Martin and Doris Rosen Summer Symposium sponsored by Appalachian State University’s Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies. Dr. Miriam Kassenoff, the Chair of Education at the Holocaust Memorial in Miami Beach, Florida is also responsible for all staff development/teacher training in the Miami area on “Teaching the Holocaust: Elementary through High School.” WFCS teachers have been blessed to be mentored by Holocaust scholars and educators who have influenced curriculum development for Holocaust studies at the Word of Faith Christian School.

Dr. Michael Berenbaum

Dr. Michael Berenbaum, founding Project Director at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, is a writer, lecturer, and teacher consultant in the conceptual development of museums and historical films. Noted as one of the world’s leading Holocaust scholars, Dr. Berenbaum has been the keynote speaker at ASU’s annual Holocaust symposium where Connie Davies, WFCS Holocaust Museum director, first met him. Extremely impressed with our Holocaust exhibit, he wrote:

“When I was at the Teacher’s Seminar last year at Appalachian State University I reviewed the student projects and was profoundly impressed by their quality, their diversity, their integrity and their passion. I had never seen such work from students of their age. To put it mildly I was floored. It showed me what could be done educationally when teachers and students work together and endeavor together to give creative expression to what they study.”

Dr. Robert Jan van Pelt

The Word of Faith Christian School was honored to host a visit in September 2008 for Dr. Robert Jan van Pelt, Professor of Cultural History and Theory, and Architectural Historian at Waterloo University in Ontario, Canada. Dr. van Pelt is also a world-renowned expert on the Auschwitz death camp and is the author of The Case for Auschwitz: Evidence from the Irving Trial. It was his personal testimony in this historic case that led to the conviction of English historian, David Irving, who is a Holocaust denier.

Dr. van Pelt came to our school to receive a painting he had seen at a Holocaust exhibit at Appalachian State University in the summer of 2008. The painting was from The Auschwitz Album and had been done by Suzanne Doyle as part of a collection. Dr. van Pelt stayed with us for a full day, touring our school, observing our Holocaust Museum, and teaching our senior class a lesson on Solomon’s Temple and the Western Wall. His day with us was quite memorable.

John Loftus

John Loftus, former U.S. Justice Department prosecutor of Nazis who hid in the United States after World War II, once held some of the highest security clearances in the world and is now an intelligence analyst for the Fox News Channel. Mr. Loftus is President of the Intelligence Summit, an international non-profit non-partisan educational forum for the intelligence agencies of the free world, and Vice Chairman of the Florida Holocaust Museum. Museum director, Connie Davies, first met Mr. Loftus in June 2004 at the Appalachian Conference where he was speaking on the Middle East conflict and terrorism.

Dr. Harry Reicher

Born in Prague and raised in Australia, Dr. Harry Reicher holds graduate law degrees from the University of Melbourne in Australia and Harvard Law School. Presently he is adjunct professor, teaching international law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He is best known for his courses on the law and the Holocaust and is publishing a book entitled, Holocaust Law: Materials and Commentary. Member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, Dr. Reicher is considered a leading expert in Holocaust law and travels extensively around the world to share with educators the facts about the Nuremburg Laws responsible for the “legal” slaughter of the Jews in Europe. WFCS teachers have had the opportunity of meeting Dr. Reicher at Appalachian State University, and they have been inspired by his passionate, informative teaching. His articles have been used for teaching the implication of law during the Holocaust.

Lee Holder


Well known in North Carolina as a Holocaust Educator, Lee Holder is a member of the North Carolina Council on the Holocaust and has worked to facilitate programs and educational opportunities for teachers interested in teaching the Holocaust in the classroom. As a history teacher, his focus since 1992, after meeting Holocaust survivor Gizelle Abramson, was to challenge students to make the right choices. As recipient of the 2010 Irena Sendler Award for “Repairing the World,” Holder is regarded as one of the world’s leading Holocaust educators, inspiring students to stand up against intolerance and hatred. Becoming an “educator of educators,” Lee brought this same enthusiasm to teachers attending NCCAT annual conferences, Gathering of Holocaust Educators, where some of our teachers met Lee and received him as a valuable resource for Holocaust education.

Dr. Walter Ziffer


Dr. Ziffer is a Holocaust survivor who spent the later years of his life as Holocaust educator, sharing his horrific experiences as an adolescent living during the Holocaust. Taken from his home and family, Ziffer was chosen to work for the Nazis and spent his early years in seven Nazi concentration camps throughout the war. In his book Confronting the Silence: A Holocaust Survivor's Search for God, Ziffer tells many stories about his time in the camps. Teachers from the Word of Faith Christian School met Dr. Ziffer, and on numerous occasions hosted him to speak at local events. Dr. Ziffer became a dear friend and mentor in the early years of developing our Holocaust curriculum.

Dr. Karl A. Schleunes


Dr. Karl Schleunes was a professor of history at the University of North Carolina Greensboro for 45 years. He was became known throughout the world as a Holocaust educator/researcher when he conducted a study at the Berlin Document Center in the 1960s. This Center holds materials taken by the Germans which was found by Dr. Schleunes during extensive research and provided him with the evidence to produce an analysis of the policies which led to the murders of 6 million Jews. His research led to the writing of his book, The Twisted Road to Auschwitz, published in 1970. His annual lectures at the Gathering of Holocaust Educators at NCCAT in Cullowhee, NC brought vital understanding concerning the ageless hatred of the Jewish people since antiquity which led to their fate during the years of the Final Solution, 1942-1945.