Today the Tour for Humanity was in Richmond Hill at a public school. Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) Educator Elena taught 6 workshops in total, four of Simon's Story to Grade 6 classes and two of the Canadian Experience for Grade 7s. Many of the students had read the Diary of Anne Frank or The Boy in the Striped Pajamas so they had a good understanding of the fundamentals about the Holocaust.  One student asked about the betrayal of the Frank family so Elena told them about the investigation into that question by retired FBI Agent Vince Pankoke. The students were very impressed!

FSWC also hosted Grade 10 students from a local high school for a Lessons and Legacies of the Holocaust workshop today. FSWC Educator Daniella began with Simon Wiesenthal’s history, including his time after the war as a Nazi hunter. When Daniella transitioned to antisemitism, she spoke in detail about the use of propaganda in German society at the time, particularly with reference to movies such as The Eternal Jew and The Poisonous Mushroom children’s book. The book really caught the students’ attention and it was clear they were horrified that children were read such stories. When Daniella asked the class what the impact would have been, one student immediately said: “the kids were brainwashed,” and another said: “kids were taught to be afraid of Jewish people.” Daniella agreed with both statements, and it allowed her to show them how Nazi ideology took over parts of daily life and influenced the interactions between people.

After discussing Hitler’s rise to power, Daniella focused on Jewish ghettos. She asked the class to describe common characteristics that come to mind when they hear the word “ghetto” today. Answers like “the slums” emerged. Daniella explained to the class that many of our modern interpretations originated in the Jewish ghettos – both during the Holocaust but also throughout history. 

After a lunch break, Holocaust survivor Vera Schiff came in to tell her story of losing her family and surviving life in the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp.