Today, Tour for Humanity journeyed to the small farming community of South Woodslee, Ontario. Despite its relative distance to Windsor (30km east) the community is quite rural. We spent the day at a Catholic school with just over 100 Kindergarten to Grade 8 students. Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) Educator Daniella saw all students in Grades 3-8 during the day. The Grades 3-6 classes all participated in Simon’s Story and the Grades 7 and 8 classes took part in the Canadian Experience workshop. Daniella was very surprised by the level of knowledge one Grade 4/5 class had in regards to the Holocaust. Daniella displayed a picture of Hitler and asked the class if they knew who he was and what they knew about him. Immediately multiple hands shot up and answers included “he rounded up the Jewish people” and “he was the leader of the Nazis.” We discussed Nazi ideology in an age-appropriate way, and Simon Wiesenthal's life in a concentration camp. Daniella also took the time to explain the significance of Yom HaShoah to the groups, and asked the younger students why it was important that we remember the Holocaust. One young boy said it was important because “Jewish people were treated badly just because of who they are and that’s bad.” School administrators and even custodial staff sat it on workshops during the day. Many expressed their gratitude for the Tour for Humanity coming to such a small community.

The FSWC classroom was also busy today as we hosted another wonderful group of students for the Lessons and Legacies of the Holocaust workshop. Today’s workshop was special in part because of the date; on April 11th we recognize Yom HaShoah in commemoration of the Holocaust. We were also joined in the afternoon by survivor Susan Pasternak who shared her incredible story of survival during the Holocaust - she spent 3.5 years hidden beneath a table as a very young child with her mother in the home of a Polish neighbour. 

These students were very knowledgeable about World War II and the Holocaust, particularly for Grade 7s. They knew a ton about the lead into World War II so FSWC Educator Elena quizzed them on a lot of details about the rise of Nazism and other events like the Nuremberg rallies, the 1933 boycott on Jewish shops, the Berlin Olympics, Kristallnacht, etc. Elena also received some very thoughtful questions, including:

1.       Why was Spain neutral during World War II? 

2.       Were non-Jews ever sent to the death camps? 

Susan’s testimony in the afternoon was the perfect accompaniment to the first half. Elena concluded the first half by emphasizing how lucky they are to hear from a survivor directly, and the fact that the next generation of kids won’t have that opportunity. Susan herself raised the same subject later on and this stimulated some extremely important (but difficult) questions for Susan. A few of the best questions:

1.       Do you hate German people?

2.       Why did you decide to start speaking to students?

3.       Why didn’t you tell your own children about your experiences during the Holocaust?

4.       How do you feel about people who deny the Holocaust happened? 

At the end many students wanted to talk to Susan personally and get photos with her. Overall it was a very powerful day and a good way to commemorate Yom HaShoah with students who definitely make us hopeful for the future!