The first of November marks the beginning of the 12th Annual Holocaust Education Week.
The Atlantic Jewish Council (AJC) is hosting the commemorations in Halifax, which will run until November 8. Edna Levine, Director of Community Engagement at the AJC, says this week will give people a glimpse into what survivors experienced.
“We can learn a lot from the people who came here, in learning that the values we have here can be taken for granted,” says Levine.
“The Holocaust tells us about silence. It wasn’t an accident… it shows us that people and government made choices that allowed for prejudice and hate. Through this you learn about what happens when prejudice, stereotypes and racism go unchecked”.
Nate Leipciger, who is a survivor of the Sosnoweic Ghetto, Auschwitz-Birkenau and Dachau, spoke on Nov. 1 at Paul O’Regan Hall at the Halifax Central Library at 2:00pm.
Another speaker who will give attendees a glimpse of life in Nazi-occupied Europe is Marguerite Elias Oddus. For the time in the history of the Atlantic Jewish Council, this event will held be in French.
On Nov. 2, Quddus will speak at the Alliance Française about her life in France during the Second World War.
Quddus, who spent her youth hiding from the Nazis, lost her father when he was deported to Auschwitz. Her engagement will also include speaking on anti-Semitism in modern Europe and the torments of war.
This event will provide the audience with a complimentary copy of Quddus’s memoir, “Cachée”.
Nicky’s Family and Life? Or Theatre? are two new films that will be featured this week.
“Nicky’s Family” will be shown on Tuesday, Nov. 3 at Pier 21’s Bronfman Theatre. The film tells the story of the forgotten work of Nicholas Winton.
Winton’s was relatively unknown until a few years ago, when his wife made public the significance of his work in saving 600 Jewish children from deportation in Nazi Germany.
Winston managed to recruit families to sponsor these children to travel to England, until he was drafted into the war himself.
On Wednesday, Nov. 4, the updated version of Life? Or Theatre? will be shown in Paul O’Regan Hall at the Halifax Central Library.
The film is about the art of Charlotte Saloman, a woman who discovered she suffered from mental illness while living in Nazi-occupied Germany. Her body of art, which features 600 pieces, is the story of the high emotional impact of living with mental illness.
The full schedule of the 12th Holocaust Education Week can be found at The Atlantic Jewish Council website.
Recent Comments