Burbank Leader: Burbanker Honored for Holocaust Survivor Speaker Program
On May 10, U.S. Rep Laura Friedman honored Holocaust educator David Meyerhof in her Burbank office for his "unwavering commitment to Holocaust education and remembrance, and his contributions to the community as a speaker, poet and advocate," according to the proclamation.
Meyerhof has worked as the Holocaust survivor speaker coordinator for the Burbank, Glendale and Los Angeles Unified School Districts for the past 10 years. His Speakers have presented to over 70,000 students in grades 4-12 as well as college students.
"These living history presentations have created a lasting impact on the students," according to Friedman's office. "Some of them have written in their thank you letters — 'You changed my life.' Given the dramatic rise in racism, bigotry and anti-Semitism in the United States, this recognition is increasingly significant.
Meyerhof comes from a family of Holocaust survivors, and attributed his work to the legacies of his parents, grandparents and the millions of Jews who shared in their experience during the 1930's and 1940's.
The educator's parents and grandparents were rescued by an American Unitarian, Varian Fry, who rescued 2000 Jews from the Nazis, according to Meyerhof. His mother was on the Kindertransport, which saved 10,000 Jewish children in 1938, and his grandfather won the 1922 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology for discovering how sugar is converted into energy in the human body.
"I would like to thank Representative Laura Friedman for this wonderful Recognition. It is truly an honor and is one of the highlights of my life," Meyerhof said in a statement. "It doesn't matter what color your eyes are, what color your hair is or what color your skin is, we have to respect all people on this earth. I will do whatever I can to stop hate in this world."
The Holocaust Speakers Program was started over 30 years ago in the Burbank Unified School District by Sylvia Sutton. Over the past three decades, Every 8th and 10th grader in the district has engaged with a Holocaust Survivor Speaker.
"I learned from Sutton about how to set up the program and later took over after she became ill and passed away," Meyerhof said.
Meyerhof also worked as a teacher in the LA Unified for 35 years, teaching math and science to 6th grade Honors students at Florence Nightingale Middle School. His students have graduated from 39 universities across the United States, including Harvard, Princeton, Yale and Stanford.
"I believe that our Holocaust Survivor Speakers are among the most important people in the world and their words are the most important words for all people to be hear now," Meyerhoff told the Leader. "There is a parallel between Germany in 1933 when Hitler was elected and America today in 2025. During the Holocaust, Jews throughout Europe were rounded up and deported to concentration camps. The Nazis murdered 6 million Jews and 5 million other people. We can never normalize deportations and concentration camps."