Today marked Tour for Humanity’s last day of workshops in schools for the 2016-2017 school year. Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) Educator Daniella spent the day delivering 6 workshops to Grades 4-6 students at an elementary school in the Toronto District School Board. The Grade 6 students participated in the Canadian Experience workshop and the Grades 4 and 5 classes participated in Simon’s Story. There were some very animated students, many of whom impressed Daniella with their knowledge on Hitler and the Holocaust. 

When teaching Simon’s Story to younger students, their child-like innocence mixed with intellectual curiosity is always an interesting mix. A good example would be one of the Grade 5 classes, where a student announced that “Hitler was a big bully” – Daniella agreed that yes this was true, but also explained to the class that Hitler blamed the Jewish people for German people not having food or money; at which point another student raised his hand and asked how the Nazis knew who was Jewish because “they look just like everyone else”. Daniella again agreed with the class, but went on to explain about identification cards, using today's passports as an example to help the students make a connection. Daniella had the class tell her what kind of information was typically found on a passport, which does not include religion – but in parts of Europe at that time it did. 

One Grade 4 student stood out among the entire group that day with her knowledge. Her father had been telling her about the Holocaust since she was young, so she was able to describe conditions on the trains and life in a concentration camp with amazing accuracy and detail. She was also very willing to answer questions and give additional information. At the end of the workshop Daniella thanked her specifically for her comments.