A discussion on the Holocaust, and questions about a flier advertising the event, have led to accusations of anti-Semitism and triggered an inquiry into what actually took place last month at the Thousand Oaks senior center.

The Conejo Recreation and Park District, which operates the Goebel Senior Adult Center on Janss Road, has fielded phone calls, e-mails and letters since the June 19 lecture, officials said.

The flier, printed on the district's letterhead, listed several of the points that were to be discussed about the Holocaust, beginning with "Did it happen?"

That rhetorical question should not have been used, said Jim Friedl, general manager of the district.

What was supposed to be a thought-provoking discussion led by World War II veteran John Bravos went awry, Friedl added.

"We feel horrible," Friedl said. "Some people think he said inflammatory things, and other people said he lit a match and couldn't put it out."

Bravos, a volunteer who serves on the Senior Commission at the senior center, was not available for comment.

The district is conducting an investigation into what was said during the discussion, according to a letter Friedl wrote to Thousand Oaks resident Dina Adler, who complained about the flier and the event.

"That such a lecture is deeply offensive to the Jewish community goes without saying," Adler wrote in a July 10 letter to the district. "The fact that staff allowed it to be presented is an outrage."

Adler's mother and the mother of her husband, Sidney Adler, both lost their entire families in the Holocaust, the couple said.

Neither of the Adlers attended the discussion. Sidney Adler said he learned about it from others who had attended.

Loretta Cottman, who also serves on the Senior Commission, attended the June 19 discussion and said she never heard any statement disputing the existence of the Holocaust. The Thousand Oaks woman said that in her opinion there was nothing objectionable to anyone's religion.

Cottman said the discussion did not progress very far because of rancor in the room almost from the outset, including disagreement over the definition of the Holocaust.

"There was so much commotion and people getting up and leaving," she said. "It never got anywhere."

Dina Adler said at the heart of her complaint is the question, "Did it happen?" printed on the flier. Other questions listed on the flier include: "Who did it? How was it done? Was it anti-religion, ethnic cleansing or mass-murder? Does anyone know the real numbers? What were the moral dilemmas? How did the allies contribute?"

She said the flier is important because she didn't hear what was said. "This other stuff is second- and third-hand," she said. "We have the flier. My husband knows several people who did attend. A couple of people walked out of the discussion."

Though Bravos could not be contacted by a reporter, he offered an apology in a statement included in the letter Friedl sent to Adler.

Bravos said he apologized to anyone who had taken offense to the material and delivery of the discussion.

"I am not an anti-Semite, nor am I a Holocaust denier as some have suggested," Bravos said. "I have first-hand knowledge and am aware of the many atrocities of that period."

Bravos served with the Allied forces, and when the war ended he chose to participate in counterintelligence activities to track down escaping Nazis, according to his statement.

Despite the apology, the Adlers remain concerned. Sidney Adler served as humanities dean at Moorpark College for 21 years and helped start the school's Jewish Studies program, he said.

"I guess I'm a little puzzled how this topic comes under the aegis of comparative religion," he said, referring to the name of the course on the flier.

Dina Adler notified several local synagogues, the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, and the Anti-Defamation League about the issue.

Representatives of those organizations have been invited to a meeting hosted by the district on Tuesday about the situation. Those who attended the discussion have also been asked to attend.

"It's going to be an opportunity to listen," Friedl said. "We want to listen to folks that were there."

The meeting will be at 12:30 p.m. at the Senior Center, 1385 E. Janss Road.

Dina Adler said she wants Bravos to step down from the board, and she wants a "profuse" apology from the district, with a promise that this will never happen again.