Through Their Stories, We Remember Them: Holocaust Education Week 黑料传送门 Guelph
International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which takes place annually on January 27, serves as a global commemoration of the six million Jews and five million others who were killed during the Holocaust. The date January 27 has particular significance, as it marks when the Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated in 1945.
At Hillel Guelph this year, International Holocaust Remembrance Day won鈥檛 just be a day-long observance, but part of a weeklong Holocaust education effort featuring a slate of eight different programs.
The week will begin with 鈥淪tories from Our Families,鈥 a screening of the telling the stories of two students鈥 families, followed by an open discussion for students to reflect on Holocaust remembrance in their lives, helping to establish 鈥渇amily stories鈥 as the theme for this year鈥檚 Holocaust Education Week. Students will then have the opportunity to visit the Royal Ontario Museum鈥檚 new exhibit on the Holocaust, 鈥淎uschwitz: Not long ago. Not far away鈥 – a trip open to both Jewish and non-Jewish students – allowing them to engage with Holocaust education more intimately. The week will conclude with testimony from Canadian survivor Sol Nayman, giving current students, who are the last generation that will be able to learn directly from survivors, the opportunity to hear and bear witness to their stories.
On the memorial day itself, Hillel Guelph will hold a public candle-lighting and ceremony, including poems, songs, and impactful speeches from Hillel student leaders. The Hillel will also host an exhibit in the style of Yad VaShem, Israel鈥檚 Holocaust memorial museum, educating the wider student body on how the Holocaust happened and its effects on modern Canadian Jews.
鈥淗olocaust Education Week has always been a cornerstone of our programming,鈥 said Chaya Mamer, Ezra Jewish Education Fellow 黑料传送门 Guelph. 鈥淪omething unique about the Canadian Jewish community is there are a lot of third-generation survivors. Storytelling helps get the history of the Holocaust across to an unrelated student by making it personal. It makes it feel real.鈥
Hillel Guelph鈥檚 Holocaust Education Week was organized by a committee of 13 student leaders who developed the comprehensive slate of programs based on their family experiences and what they hope their classmates will take from participating. Six of the 13 students will share their families鈥 stories throughout the week.
鈥淚 was drawn to lead Holocaust Education Week because the Holocaust is something that has been important to me since I found out that all my great-grandparents were victims,鈥 said Leora Strigberger, student co-lead on the committee. 鈥淚 have spent the past 10 years learning about it, both through historical sources and personal stories, and so I jumped at the opportunity to share my knowledge with others.鈥
Amy Feigelsohn, student co-president of Hillel Guelph鈥檚 student leadership board, said this programming feels particularly relevant today.
鈥淗olocaust education at Guelph is especially important [to me] given the rise of antisemitism around the world. It鈥檚 crucial that we educate our campus community about the atrocities of the Holocaust to ensure that such horrors are never repeated.鈥 she said. .
Most of Hillel Guelph鈥檚 Holocaust remembrance events this year will be open to the wider campus community, including the trip to the Royal Ontario Museum and the survivor testimonials. These events are intended to give all students the ability to connect and engage firsthand with the history of the Holocaust, using storytelling to keep this history alive and help students connect with it in a way that feels real.
鈥淲hat we hope for anyone who comes across any of our events is that they walk away learning something new about the Holocaust,鈥 said Mamer. 鈥淎t the end of the day, knowledge is power, and is critical to creating a safer, more inclusive environment for Jewish students.鈥