When you think about the Holocaust, the six million Jews who were systematically murdered by the Nazis during World War II probably come to mind.
But equally tragic is the figure of five million homosexuals, Gypsies, blacks, disabled people and others, who were wiped out by Hitler’s command.
The Holocaust took place approximately 70 years ago and is undeniably a very important part of history. However, it would be wrong to classify the horrific genocide as a mere historical event.
For some, it serves as an educational tool to teach today’s generation about the downfalls of a world filled with hatred. For others, it’s a collaboration of memories of innocent children, who were forced to grow up without their mothers, fathers and siblings.
But perhaps most importantly, the Holocaust represents a tiny, lingering hope that carried people through endless years of suffering — a hope that the world never comes to such a state ever again.
Holocaust Education Week (HEW), which takes place this year from Nov. 14 to Nov. 22, aims to educate students while taking a real-life approach to the issue.
Presented by Hillel Ottawa, events are planned for Carleton and the University of Ottawa. A number of Holocaust survivors will be speaking, and university students are encouraged to participate at events across both campuses.
One of the main cornerstones of HEW is the exhibit that will be put on display at both universities. According to Adam Moscoe, chair of HEW and a third-year student at the U of O, these exhibits are designed to explain the history of the Holocaust and the rise of anti-Semitism, through the stories of families and victims, as well as righteous gentiles who saved many Jewish lives throughout the war.
“The exhibit is a really great lesson for those who don’t know much about the Shoah (Hebrew for Holocaust),” Moscoe said.
Carleton’s exhibit, which will take place on Nov. 21-22 in the Unicentre atrium, will feature a collaboration with STAND — a club that promotes taking action to end genocide. Much of the content will be Rwanda, Darfur and Congo-related.
On top of the exhibits, students will have the chance to listen to the fascinating and emotional stories of Holocaust survivors.
“The idea of HEW is to give all students, not just Jewish students, a chance to interact with Holocaust survivors and to learn a bit about how lessons of the Holocaust relate to the global struggle today, especially on campus, to end genocide and racism and to promote a better world,” Moscoe said.
Even more survivors will be on hand for the biggest program that HEW entails, a Shabbat dinner to honour such individuals Nov. 18. Yasir Naqvi, Liberal MPP for Ottawa Centre, as well as ambassadors from European countries, will be in attendance.
“The dinner is always buzzing,” Moscoe said. “It’s always interesting because there is a wide variety of people of all backgrounds. We usually have over 200 students of all faiths, cultural backgrounds and political stripes come out. We honour a dozen or so survivors who love coming and sharing their stories. The emphasis is on small group conversations at the table so students can really ask questions that they’ve always wanted to ask. The overall theme is celebrating our commitment to fight for a better world.”
Moscoe said the dinner is meant to invoke casual conversation between survivors and the younger generation.
“You’ll often see everybody gathered around the table listening to a survivor and they won’t even get up to get dessert because they’re just so captured by what they’re talking about,” he said. “It’s very beautiful.”
And if all goes to plan, Moscoe said he hopes today’s generation of students will be motivated to take the next step, in ensuring that genocide never happens again.
“We’re hoping that people will listen to the stories of survivors and that they’ll be inspired to get involved in the grassroots aspects. Some people don’t know anything about the Holocaust and some only know statistics such as that six million were murdered. Our goal is to be able to put a human face on the story.”
