By Mina Cohn

 

Marking 10 years since its establishment, the Centre for Holocaust Education and Scholarship (CHES) will proudly host the opening event for Holocaust Education Month 2025 on November 10 at 7pm with a special presentation by distinguished Professor Michael Berenbaum (pictured at left). 

 

This event coincides with the annual commemoration of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, the violent turning point in state-sponsored attacks on the Jews of Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. The launch reflects CHES’s work and contribution to the community during the past 10 years and examines its future vision.

 

Berenbaum will explore the challenges that the Holocaust presents at a critical juncture with antisemitism and will address the future of Holocaust education and remembrance in a world in turmoil. A time when the educational and memorial environment is shifting, moving from lived memory to learned memory. 

 

Berenbaum is a curator for the award-winning exhibit Auschwitz: Not Long Ago, Not Far Away, displayed recently at Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum. He oversaw the creation of the U.S. Holocaust Museum and served as museum’s Research Institute first Director. 

 

His career has shaped Holocaust research, education and memory and museums around the world. This evening of remembrance, reflection, and critical learning is not to be missed. Registration for the launch is required. Register here by November 6.

 

At his request, Professor Berenbaum will also meet on November 11 with participants of CHES’s Through Their Eyes program—descendants of survivors who share their families’ stories with schools and community groups. Holocaust survivors provided the moral and political will to establish museums and educational programs. This meeting offers an invaluable exchange between an eminent scholar and the next generation committed to preserving their legacy.

 

Other events marking Holocaust Education Month will begin on October 29 at 4 p.m. with CHES’s annual teachers’ workshop. The challenge for educators is that most people alive now were not yet born when the Holocaust ended 80 years ago and have no direct memory of the Second World War or the Holocaust. The Holocaust, while seeming distant to many students today, has much to teach us. 

 

This workshop focuses on adapting Holocaust education for today’s classroom and on bringing history to life with CHES’s iWalk app developed to enhance understanding of the National Holocaust Monument. We are pleased to welcome dynamic Senior Educator, Kelly Rives, from ConnectED to facilitate the first half of the workshop. 

 

CHES encourages teachers to register for this three-hour workshop, which will give educators tools and inspiration to teach the Holocaust. It also looks at the challenges of teaching Holocaust history after October 7and will show teachers how to use iWalk with their students when visiting the National Holocaust Monument. The event is only open to teachers and school administrators. Register here.

 

On November 12 at 7pm, CHES and the Historical Society of Ottawa present a lecture entitled A Holocaust Testimonial: My Father’s Story. Phil Emberley will speak about his father’s escape from Nazi Europe and how he survived Kristallnacht and later boarded Kindertransport, the British government’s program that evacuated 10-thousand Jewish children to safety. Register here. 

 

On November 16 at 2pm, descendants of Holocaust survivors are invited to hear Timothy Taylor, a professor at the University of British Columbia. Taylor will present The Hidden Holocaust Papers: How a Forgotten Archive Led to a Discovered Jewish Family History. His fascinating journey to uncover his German-Jewish family roots and explore his family’s persecution and survival under the Nazis is a valuable educational opportunity for descendants. 

 

Since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the resulting war in Gaza, incidents of Jew-hatred have increased exponentially. Holocaust minimization is on the rise, particularly on social media. Unfortunately, we have fewer survivors and witnesses to share their firsthand Holocaust survival experiences.

 

With antisemitism now seriously affecting our Ottawa community, it is the descendants’ responsibility to make sure their families’ stories continue to be told, and the lessons are learned. CHES continues to work with the next generation to provide ample opportunities for them to share their stories.

 

To learn more about CHES and its work, click here.

 

-- Mina Cohn is Chair of the Centre for Holocaust Education and Scholarship