From Coast to Coast: Holocaust Museums and Education Centres in Canada
Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre
(www.vhec.org)
The Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre strives to eradicate racism and social injustice by promoting human rights and genocide awareness through education and remembrance of the Holocaust.
The VHEC is a teaching museum that reaches over 25,000 students and teachers annually with its innovative exhibits, interactive school programs, teaching materials and survivor outreach speakers. It is the leading provider of Holocaust education in British Columbia.
The Centre delivers the Annual High School Symposium on the Holocaust at the University of British Columbia initiated in 1974 and a series of satellite symposia on the Holocaust for senior high school students across the province. It offers professional development for teachers, including the Biennial Shafran Teachers’ Conference. A leader in online Holocaust education, many of its exhibits and teaching resources are accessible online (www.vhec.org).
The Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre produces acclaimed teaching exhibits, many of which travel widely. Its latest exhibit, More Than Just Games: Canada & the 1936 Olympics, will be on view from October 15, 2009 – June 18, 2010 and will engage visitors through artefacts and interactive touch screens.
More Than Just Games offers insight into the racist and exclusionary policies of Nazi Germany and the use of media and propaganda during the games. It examines Canada’s participation in the 1936 Olympics, the experiences of Canadian Olympic athletes and their struggle with the international boycott debate. It explores the representation of the body in sport and the relationship between sport and politics.
The Centre’s many public programs and commemorative events, including International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Yom Hashoah, Kristallnacht and Raoul Wallenberg Day, attract wide audiences from diverse communities.
The VHEC offers a range of services for Holocaust survivors. It publishes Holocaust-related books and memoirs, the quarterly newsletter Zachor (Remember) and conducts a video testimony project initiated in 1978. It maintains a public library and resource centre. Its museum collection preserves artefacts for future generations and for research purposes.
The Vancouver Holocaust Centre Society for Education and Remembrance was founded in 1983 by survivors of the Holocaust. The founders' goal, realized in 1994 was to leave a permanent legacy in the form of a Holocaust centre devoted to Holocaust based anti-racism education. The VHEC has been the recipient of numerous educational, museum and performance grants and awards in recognition of its work. The VHEC takes pride in its history of partnership with diverse cultural and community groups.
Contact the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre
phone: (604) 264-0499 e-mail: info@vhec.org
Freeman Family Foundation Holocaust Education Centre (Winnipeg)
(www.jhcwc.org/fffhec.php)
The Freeman Family Foundation Holocaust Education Centre thrives in its location at the Asper Jewish Community Campus. Visitors enter by walking through a replica of the boxcar doors which sealed the fate of so many of those transported to the death camps during the Holocaust. The Centre’s exhibits consist of artefacts donated by Manitoba Holocaust survivors. Equipped with the latest audio-visual equipment, it has a seating capacity of sixty.
Our main focus has been presentations by survivors and educators to school audiences, thereby enriching the curriculum and increasing the insight of students by offering opportunities and material for reflection, discussion and further research into a range of issues pertaining to the Holocaust and other acts of genocide. Our goal is to raise awareness and understanding of the events of the Holocaust as an issue for all humanity. The realization that such events could re-occur anywhere and at any time is paramount if we are to ensure that our society is vigilant in opposing racism, anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry. Our programs our also available as a community and province-wide outreach program to other interested groups.
The Holocaust Education Centre sponsors an annual Holocaust and Human Rights Symposium for high school students at the University of Winnipeg, featuring a keynote speaker in the morning. The afternoon’s program consists of breakout sessions with local survivors speaking to smaller groups.
The Centre also sponsors the annual Mina Rosner Holocaust and Human Rights Essay Contest. Interested high school students should contact the HEC for further details. A $400.00 will be awarded to the winning entry.
The Centre has produced an Out of the attic discovery trunk suitcase, containing articles on Anne Frank and others during their hiding in Holland during WW ll. This suitcase is lent to educators for a limited period. Currently being developed is the Holocaust Resource Trunk, which will be filled with educational materials that will be lent to schools in the near future. The emphasis on the materials in the trunk will be books by local authors, such as our own Carol Matas and Eva Wiseman, maps and videos, as well as Night by Elie Wiesel.
Finally, the Minister of Education has announced that he will be placing our soon-to-be published book, Voices of Winnipeg Holocaust Survivors in every senior high school in Manitoba. The book documents the experiences of some seventy local survivors’ experiences during the Holocaust.
Contact the Freeman Family Foundation Holocaust Education Centre
Carla Divinsky, Holocaust Education Co-ordinator
phone: (204) 477-7458
Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre
(www.mhmc.ca)
At a Glance: 30 years of Holocaust education and commemoration
After the Second World War, about 9000 survivors who escaped death by the Nazis immigrated to Montreal. Montreal welcomed the 3rd-largest population of Holocaust survivors in the world, after those of Israel and New York City . Today, about 5000 survivors still live in Montreal. They were active in founding the Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre and they continue to contribute to the cause of Holocaust education and remebrance. From the will of survivors emerged the first Holocaust centre in Canada.
The Museum welcomes almost 12,000 visitors each year, including about 6000 students who visit with their schools. The Centre educates people of all ages and backgrounds about the Holocaust ,while sensitizing them to the dangers of antisemitism, racism, hatred and indifference.
Educational Programs and Activities: To learn, to feel, to remember...
The museum presents not only the history of the Holocaust, but also the richness and diversity of Jewish life before the Holocaust. The stories are told through the voices and objects of Montreal survivors.
Witnesses to History
Survivors speak to groups and classes about their personal stories. They speak of the horrors of the Holocaust, as well as about the courage and dignity of those victimized. These oral histories are recorded and are available to researchers and educators. At this time, more than 500 testimonies were recorded, so, the transmission of the memory is assured from generation to generation.
Transmission of Memory
Services and events are organized to remember, to commemorate and to honour the memory of those killed and survivors. The transmission of memory from generation to generation is an essential component of the Centre’s mission.
Understanding the past to change the future
Educational programs and initiatives, such as the Holocaust Education Series, offer panels, presentations, films and exhibitions about the Holocaust and human rights issues. Pedagogical programs, such as Hana’s Suitcase were offered to more than 3,000 students in their schools this year. The programs offer tools to help young people fight against discrimination and racism.
Pedagogical activities and tools developed by The Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre aim to help students think about respect for diversity and social harmony. They were created under the curriculum guidelines of the Ministère de l’Éducation, des Loisirs et des Sports du Québec and are offered to teachers throughout Québec and beyond.
The Heart from Auschwitz
Elementary 3rd Cycle (Grade 6)
Students review their Museum visit and the Heart from Auschwitz, made for a young woman on her birthday at enormous risk to those involved. They learn about the Heart and how it was made. In turn, they construct a heart in which they write their resolutions for living in harmony in the future. This successful activity features a pedagogical guide and in-class activities and discussion.
A Century of Genocides, a temporary exhibition for life
Secondary 2nd cycle (Grades 9, 10, 11)
Students are invited to make links between the Holocaust and other genocides of the 20th Century. The objective is for students to create an exhibition that highlights the universal dimension of the Holocaust. To this day, about 40 students tested this activity. It remains a pilot project for the 2009-10 school year.
From Prejudice to Genocide
Secondary 1st cycle (Grades 7, 8,9)
After a tour of the Holocaust Museum, students take part in a workshop animated by the Tolerance Foundation. The objective is to transform what has been felt and learnt during the visit into a commitment to promote tolerance and to respect diversity. Initiated in 2008, this activity has been favourably evaluated and will be offered to a maximum of 15 class groups in 2009-10.
The Hana’s Suitcase Project
For elementary 3rd cycle teachers, the Hana’s Suitcase Education Project is a pedagogical tool that prepares students for a visit to the Museum. It was created to meet the requirements of the Quebec educational curriculum and offers books for the class, a historical guide, a teachers’ guide, maps and drawings all in a replica of Hana Brady’s suitcase. The proposed activities encourage the participation of students by giving them the chance to make the links between history and their daily lives.
Visits to the Holocaust Museum: Bring the human experience back to the centre of History
Museum visits can be self-guided or can be guided by a trained volunteer. By reservation, groups can also have the unique opportunity to hear the testimony of a survivor who came to Montreal after the war.
Guided Tours
Guided tours are available by reservation. Groups can benefit from the knowledge of a volunteer guide. The Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre’s volunteer guides know the history of the Holocaust, Montreal survivors’ stories, are linked to a particular object in the Collection or are simply dedicated to the promotion of human rights. In addition to the numerous testimonies and artifacts, guides help visitors understand beyond the statistics, the human stories and suffering . Guided visits are adapted based on the age and school level of the visitors. They take between 1.5 and 2 hours depending on the number of participants.
Survivor Testimony
Also by reservation, Holocaust survivors give testimony about their experience. It is a unique opportunity to be able to ask questions to a direct witness of history. As well as a lesson on humanity and resilience, meeting with a Holocaust survivor is an unforgettable experience.
Contact the Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre
phone: (514) 345-2605 e-mail: info@mhmc.ca
Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre, UJA Federation of Toronto
(www.holocausteducationweek.com)
The Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre is a leader in Holocaust education programs for teachers and students from across Ontario. Each year, the Centre reaches over 50,000 students, educators and community members through a broad array of dynamic educational programs and services, anchored by our teaching museum. Visit us online at www.holocausteducationweek.com
OUR MISSION
The Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre is dedicated to preserving the memories of the victims, honouring the legacies of those who survived and educating the community so that the Holocaust will serve as a warning to future generations about the dangers of antisemitism, racism, intolerance and apathy. Through education and remembrance, we safeguard the lessons of the Holocaust in order to nurture an inclusive society.
Contact the Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre by filling out the form located here.
St. Thomas University Holocaust Centre
(http://w3.stu.ca/stu/sites/holocaust_centre/index.aspx)
St. Thomas University, located in Fredericton, the capital of New Brunswick, is Canada's only exclusively liberal arts university. Its cornerstone Bachelor of Arts programme encompasses 25 fields of study with numerous interdisciplinary options including an innovative Human Rights programme.
St. Thomas is home to many research centres including the Atlantic Human Rights Centre. Both the Human Rights programme and the Atlantic Human Rights Centre seek to educate and train young leaders to bring respect and tranquility to areas where peace, freedom, and justice are lacking.
To complement its educational programmes, the Atlantic Human Rights Centre is establishing the St. Thomas University Holocaust Centre. In addition to education and research programmes, the new centre will support the Ripples Internment Camp Museum.
The mission of the St. Thomas University Holocaust Centre gives recognition to the significance of the Shoah, the study of which concerns the whole of humanity in the hope of developing leadership in preventing similar atrocities.
The Centre aims to:
- Educate students about the tragedies that transpire whenprejudice, stereotyping, racism, discrimination, and hate are used to target groups in society. Emphasis will be placed on Jewish internees housed in Ripples, New Brunswick during the Second World War.
- Raise awareness of the plight of Holocaust victims during the Second World War, as well as other genocides throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century.
- Conduct research and publish educational materials on human rights issues.
Contact the St. Thomas University Holocaust Centre
Dr. Michael McGowan,
phone: (506) 452-0486 e-mail: mmcgowan@stu.ca |