Stephen D. Smith
Encyclopedia
Stephen D. Smith is a Holocaust specialist who has started, operated and consulted on many different Holocaust memorial centers.
Born 15 April 1967, in 1995 Smith founded the UK Holocaust Centre with his brother James M Smith, and together they also founded Aegis Trust
in 2000.
He graduated from the University of London
in 1991 with a degree in Theology
, and received his Doctorate
from the University of Birmingham
in 2000, having focussed his postgraduate study on the 'Trajectory of Memory', examining how Holocaust survivor testimony developed over time.
Stephen Smith has consulted on the development of a number of Holocaust memorial and education centers overseas, including Lithuania's 'House of Memory' and the Cape Town Holocaust Centre in South Africa, which was heavily inspired by a visit from the founder, Myra Osrin, to the UK Holocaust Centre.
In 2004, Stephen was project Director of the Kigali Memorial Centre
, the genocide memorial museum and education center in Kigali, Rwanda. Aegis was commissioned by Kigali City Council to establish the Kigali Memorial Centre, which it opened in 2004 and still operates today.
Stephen is a member of the United States delegation to the Inter-governmental Taskforce on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research (ITF), founded by Sweden, the US and the UK on the personal initiative of the then Swedish Prime Minister, Goran Persson. He was a member of the British delegation from 1998, when the ITF was founded, moving to the American delegation in 2009 following appointment to the USC Shoah Foundation Institute (see below). Over 20 countries are now part of the ITF. Stephen was an advisor to Goran Persson's series of intergovernmental conferences, The Stockholm International Forum. The four conference addressed, The Holocaust (2000); Combatting Intolerance (2001), Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation (2002), Preventing Genocide (2004).
One early outcome of the work of the ITF was the development of the UK's national Holocaust Memorial Day
, inaugurated in 2001. Stephen played a central role in this and served as an advisor to the Home Office on the Day's development over the years, and was appointed the inaugural Chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust in November 2004 when the decision was made that the running of the Day should be handed over to a charitable body outside Government.
A speaker and thinker who sits on numerous committees in the UK and abroad, Stephen has developed a reputation for his contribution to the field. Recognition for his work includes being made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (2000), the Interfaith Gold Medallion (2000), and Honorary Doctorate in Law from the University of Leicester (2007) and an Honorary Doctor of Letters from Nottingham Trent University (2010).
Stephen's publications include 'Making Memory: Creating Britain's First Holocaust Centre', 'Forgotten Places: The Holocaust and the Remnants of Destruction', and 'The Holocaust and the Christian World', which he co-edited with Carol Rittner and Irena Steinfeldt. Stephen also co-produced 'Death March: A Survivor's Story', which was broadcast on BBC2 and BBC4. He is currently working on a memoir of his interviews with Holocaust survivor Pinchas Gutter.
On 15 August 2009, Stephen took up the post of Executive Director of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute, the archive of Holocaust survivor testimonies initiated by Steven Spielberg in 1994.
Born 15 April 1967, in 1995 Smith founded the UK Holocaust Centre with his brother James M Smith, and together they also founded Aegis Trust
Aegis Trust
Aegis Trust, founded in 2000, is the leading British NGO which campaigns to prevent genocide worldwide. Based at the United Kingdom’s Holocaust Centre, which opened in 1995, the Aegis Trust coordinates the UK Genocide Prevention All-Party Parliamentary Group , funds the Genocide Prevention Group ...
in 2000.
He graduated from the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
in 1991 with a degree in Theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, and received his Doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
from the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
in 2000, having focussed his postgraduate study on the 'Trajectory of Memory', examining how Holocaust survivor testimony developed over time.
Stephen Smith has consulted on the development of a number of Holocaust memorial and education centers overseas, including Lithuania's 'House of Memory' and the Cape Town Holocaust Centre in South Africa, which was heavily inspired by a visit from the founder, Myra Osrin, to the UK Holocaust Centre.
In 2004, Stephen was project Director of the Kigali Memorial Centre
Kigali Memorial Centre
The Kigali Memorial Centre was opened on the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide, in April 2004. The Centre is built on a site where over 250,000 people are buried. These graves are a clear reminder of the cost of ignorance...
, the genocide memorial museum and education center in Kigali, Rwanda. Aegis was commissioned by Kigali City Council to establish the Kigali Memorial Centre, which it opened in 2004 and still operates today.
Stephen is a member of the United States delegation to the Inter-governmental Taskforce on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research (ITF), founded by Sweden, the US and the UK on the personal initiative of the then Swedish Prime Minister, Goran Persson. He was a member of the British delegation from 1998, when the ITF was founded, moving to the American delegation in 2009 following appointment to the USC Shoah Foundation Institute (see below). Over 20 countries are now part of the ITF. Stephen was an advisor to Goran Persson's series of intergovernmental conferences, The Stockholm International Forum. The four conference addressed, The Holocaust (2000); Combatting Intolerance (2001), Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation (2002), Preventing Genocide (2004).
One early outcome of the work of the ITF was the development of the UK's national Holocaust Memorial Day
Holocaust Memorial Day
Holocaust Memorial Day or Holocaust Remembrance Day may refer to one of several commemorations of the Holocaust.-See also:* United Nations Holocaust Memorial* List of Holocaust memorials and museums...
, inaugurated in 2001. Stephen played a central role in this and served as an advisor to the Home Office on the Day's development over the years, and was appointed the inaugural Chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust in November 2004 when the decision was made that the running of the Day should be handed over to a charitable body outside Government.
A speaker and thinker who sits on numerous committees in the UK and abroad, Stephen has developed a reputation for his contribution to the field. Recognition for his work includes being made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (2000), the Interfaith Gold Medallion (2000), and Honorary Doctorate in Law from the University of Leicester (2007) and an Honorary Doctor of Letters from Nottingham Trent University (2010).
Stephen's publications include 'Making Memory: Creating Britain's First Holocaust Centre', 'Forgotten Places: The Holocaust and the Remnants of Destruction', and 'The Holocaust and the Christian World', which he co-edited with Carol Rittner and Irena Steinfeldt. Stephen also co-produced 'Death March: A Survivor's Story', which was broadcast on BBC2 and BBC4. He is currently working on a memoir of his interviews with Holocaust survivor Pinchas Gutter.
On 15 August 2009, Stephen took up the post of Executive Director of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute, the archive of Holocaust survivor testimonies initiated by Steven Spielberg in 1994.