BIC Holocaust Education

Posts related to Holocaust Education.

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Holocaust Education Planning Group – Event Notices

Trent U Max Eisen Lecture in Holocaust Studies – Jan. 20th.  

For more details and to register (free):  Trent U link 

BIC Field Trip to the Toronto Holocaust Museum Field – Sunday, January 25th

The Holocaust Education Planning Group is offering shared transport to the THM on January 25th to attend the “Proof of Life” event, a commemorative event for the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.  Click THM event.  Please contact Ralph if you have questions and/or are wishing to attend the THM event on January 25th.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day – Tuesday, Jan. 27

The International Holocaust Remembrance Day is a globally recognized day comemorating the Holocaust and the millions of victims that experienced the genocidal brutality of antsemitism.  January 27th, 1945 is the day the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp was liberated.  To learn more about IHRD and antisemitism, here are some links:  ENRS link; IHRA working definition of antisemitism; Gov’t of Canada’s Handbook on the IHRA definition.  In commemoration of IHRD, the Toronto Holocaust Museum has a number of events.  Click link.  

BIC Holocaust Education Planning Group – Events in the Planning

During the upcoming months in preparation for Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), April 13-14, we begin a journey of learning that is based on listening to voices of the past, present and future.  Screening of films and documentaries are going to be a part of that:  “The Listener“, the story of Dori Laub and his incredible work; “Remnants“, the moving solo play by Henry Greenspan; “White Bird: A Wonder Story“,  a gripping story for the young and old.  Each of these provide an opportunity for signficant discussion and learning about the Holocaust and its continued impact today.

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Trent University’s Max Eisen Lecture

in Holocaust Studies

The Max Eisen Lecture organizing committee warmly invites Beth Israel Congregation and friends to Flights of Spirit, the 2026 Max Eisen Lecture in Holocaust Studies, Tuesday, January 20th from 6 –7:30 pm at Trent University. The year organizers welcome Holocaust survivor and author Elly Gotz in conversation with Holocaust scholars Tomaz Jardim and Doris Bergen. This important talk continues the legacy of educating the public about the Holocaust and upholding human rights. Registration will open soon and is required to attend. Learn more at Trent University: Eisen Lectures.

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Holocaust Education Exhibits,

Friday, November 14th

In recognition of Holocaust Education Week there will be an assortment of exhibits on display at Beth Israel Synagogue from 4 -8 p.m. (before and after the Oneg Shabbat service) .  The theme of the exhibits is: “Resistance and resilience: artifacts, stories and memorials about the Holocaust”. Included will be a display in recognition of Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat who provided means of sanctuary and safety for many Jews, an exhibit from Yad Vashem: “Heroism and Resistance: Rescue by Jews During the Holocaust,” Holocaust survivor memoirs from the Azrieli Foundation, and more. Please join us!

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Holocaust Education Week in November 3-9

In support of Holocaust Education, and the anniversary of Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass), and pogroms that occurred throughout Germany in 1938, November 9th-10th, the Beth Israel Holocaust Education Committee invites and encourages each of us to attend these learning opportunities:

If you would like to attend any of these events with others from the Beth Israel community, please email Ralph, BIC Holocaust Education Chair and we will do our best to coordinate.

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Beth Israel Holocaust Education Field Trip to Margaret’s Legacy, Oct 20th

Join the Beth Israel Holocaust Education Committee for a trip to Margaret’s Legacy, the Holocaust Learning and Jewish Advocacy Centre based at the Hamilton Jewish Federation (which has been very supportive in our Holocaust Education efforts). This field trip will give us a chance to explore further those learning opportunities through a tour and discussion with members there. For more details or to sign up, email Ralph, BIC Holocaust Education Chair.

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Holocaust Education Committee Field Trip

May 7th to the Toronto Holocaust Museum to attend a presentation entitled:  “Reflecting Together:  Interfaith Families and the Holocaust”.   The presenter is Rabbi Denise Handlarski a Trent University education professor and long time friend of Beth Israel.  More details about this can be found at this link.   The presentation is from 7PM-9PM.   

For those interested in possibly car pooling and taking some extra time to visit the THM on May 7th, please contact Ralph.

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Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah)

On behalf of the Beth Israel Holocaust Education Committee:

Yom HaShoah V’Hagvura (Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day) occurs every year on the Hebrew date of 27 Nisan.  It is observed in Israel as its Holocaust memorial day.  This year marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camps.   The theme this year at Beth Israel is resistance and resilience as expressed through art. 

Please join us on Wednesday, April 23rd from 5 – 8:30 p.m. at Beth Israel Synagogue. 

At 5:00PM the doors open for attendees to peruse a Yad Vashem exhibit entitled “The Anguish of Liberation in Art”.   Other related resource materials will be presented as well.

At 5:30 PM, please join us for a commemorative candle lighting. 

At 6:15 PM, please join us for a screening of Hilary Helstein’s documentary, “As Seen Through These Eyes” (trailer link here) .  It threads together incredible stories of defiance and resistance to Nazi brutality through expressions of art.  A cautionary note that some graphic images are presented.

For more information email Ralph.   Click here to RSVP.

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Help Us Make a Minyan for Yom HaShoah

Please join the Holocaust Education Committee for a shared observance of Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) on Wednesday, April 23.  The program begins at 5:00PM with time to view an HE Exhibit and resource materials followed by a 5:30PM commemorative candle lighting (minyan+), and at 6:00PM-7:30PM a presentation.  Mark your calendars please. More details to follow.  If you have questions please contact Ralph B. at shoaheducation@jccpeterborough.com.
 
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Some Holocaust Education Learning Resources

Elie Wiesel’s ‘Night’ is available for free as an audiobook:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEKtHbS0YJ4 (the full version);  separated by chapters:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_4Q1RYoCEA (Chapter 1; others listed there)
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Max Eisen Lecture on Holocaust Studies

If you misserd Trent University’s inaugural Max Eisen Lecture in Holocaust Studies this past September (2024) entitled The Shattering of the Assumptive World: A Family Story presented by Dr. Peter Suedfeld, the full recording can be found here.   It is a deeply impactful narrative of Dr. Suedfeld’s family, their Holocaust experiences, and the lasting outcomes.

Lecture Abstract:

Two families, joined in marriage, lived as ordinary Hungarian citizens for several centuries. Their accustomed way of life changed drastically when in the 1940s the Holocaust focused on the Jews of Hungary. Over the next few years, they lost all rights, possessions, and protection from the state. Eventually, all younger men became slave labourers for the army; other family members were deported to concentration camps, mostly to Auschwitz, where many were murdered; and most of the rest were crammed into the ghetto. Peter, the sole child in both families, was hidden in an orphanage. The talk describes the diverse nature of their experiences and of how the survivors rebuilt their lives, with new homes, new work, and in some cases new families.