Inheritance: Perpetrator, Rescuer, Survivor 

SUNDAY NOV 3 / 7:00 PM

Opening Night of Holocaust Education Week features three remarkable speakers who will explore their diverse connections to the Holocaust and consider how this familial legacy has shaped their identities and inspired their work today. Moderated by prizewinning journalist, author, and Vanity Fair Contributing Editor Nina Munk, the evening explores how descendants – whether of a perpetrator, rescuer or survivor – grapple with their inherited legacy and how they have been compelled to help build a more compassionate and caring world. Rainer Hoess, grandson of Rudolf Hoess, commandant of Auschwitz, now educates people around the world about the dangers of hate and combats his grandfather’s infamous legacy. Nobuki Sugihara, son of Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat posted to Lithuania who rescued thousands of Jewish refugees by securing them visas, honours his father’s legacy and works to correct the inaccuracies of his father’s narrative. Allison Nazarian, granddaughter of Holocaust survivors and author of Aftermath: A Granddaughter’s Story of Legacy, Healing & Hope, shares the impact of growing up in a Holocaust survivor family, and how she came to focus on healing and the future. Together, they will offer us new avenues to consider the relevance and significance of Holocaust remembrance and education today, by creating a better tomorrow.

This program will feature open captioning for accessibility. Limited wheelchair access; no elevator. Please call the box office for accessible seating.

For You Were Strangers...: Reflections on the Legacy of the Holocaust Today

SUNDAY NOV 10 / 2:00 PM

In a time of surging antisemitism and intolerance, have we learned the lessons of the Shoah? To close Holocaust Education Week, we explore tangible ways in which the memory of the Shoah motivates contemporary activism. Elizabeth Bromstein grew up visiting her survivor relatives in Kensington Market, and often wondered about the people pictured in old family photographs. It wasn’t until later that, in the context of the global refugee crisis, she considered her family’s fate during the Holocaust. Elizabeth’s family history, and the memory of Canada’s failure to accept Jewish refugees during the Holocaust, moved her to act to help refugees today. Together with her family, Elizabeth runs Walk Like A Refugee, an organization that raises funds and spreads awareness in support of refugees entering Canada. Join us for this special conversation moderated by Elise Herzig, Executive Director at JIAS Toronto, and discover how the memory of the Shoah motivated Elizabeth to leave the world a better place than she found it, and how we can all engage with this pressing issue. The program culminates in a commemoration of the 81st anniversary of Kristallnacht.

This program will feature open captioning for accessibility.