“They tried to explain to me they were Holocaust survivors,” Korenblit said. “The term Holocaust means death or sacrifice by fire … today, my parents are still alive and living in Ponca City because three people risked their lives to help, none of who survived World War II. They’re optimistic because they believe there are people willing to stand up and do the right thing.”

Today, Korenblit is the president and co-founder of the Respect Diversity Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational foundation that teaches tolerance for all people. He was the keynote speaker Thursday during the Oklahoma City Chapter of Public Relations Society of America’s monthly meeting held at Nonna’s Painted Door in Bricktown. Korenblit’s presentation was titled, “The Effects of Public Relations Efforts on Tolerance and Respect: Living and Working in a Diverse Society.” Throughout the presentation, he used examples of how people’s intolerance of diversity continues to plague today’s world.

“If you don’t stand up, evil can triumph,” Korenblit said. “The number 1,029 is the number of children who have died of starvation in Africa while I have talked today. We need to make sure these kinds of things never happen again.”

After telling the story of how his parents and one of their siblings survived the horrors of Nazi-occupied Poland, brutal ghettos and various concentration camps, Korenblit said violence and genocide have continued throughout the years long after the systematic persecution and murder of approximately 6 million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. He used the murders and violence in Nigeria, Cambodia, Iraq, Bosnia, Rwanda, Kosovo and other places across the world as examples.

“Some of you are going to have kids someday … and 70 years from now they are going to look you in the face and ask, ‘What did you do about it?’ ” he said.

Korenblit said it is public relations practitioners and the media’s responsibility to make people aware of intolerance issues. He also used examples of how Oklahoma has been affected by hate crimes, religious intolerance and bullying.

“There are numerous examples of middle school kids arrested for planning Columbines,” he said. “Many of these kids were bullied by classmates. The old saying ‘Sticks and stone may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,’ isn’t true. Words hurt, incite and they kill. The newest fad is bullying on the Internet. Two hundred young kids have committed suicide because of Internet bullying.”

Korenblit said when he was 10, his father took him to a local park and told him to drink from a water fountain and then read the sign above it. He took a drink and read the sign which said, “Whites Only.” His father then took him to another water fountain and had him repeat the process. The second sign said, “Colored Only.” They then went to a bus station and noticed how the station was also segregated by race.

“My father came to America, and today, he still can’t understand how that could take place,” he said.