On Friday, Tour for Humanity wrapped up the week at a public school in Keswick, Ontario. There were 6 workshops on the bus, comprised of the school’s Grades 5-8 classes. The Grades 5 and 6 classes participated in Simon’s Story and the Grades 7 and 8 classes took part in the Canadian Experience program.

The Simon’s Story groups wanted to know more about Simon’s life after the war, including one young girl who wanted to know everything Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) Educator Daniella could tell her about Simon’s daughter, which Daniella found to be an interesting connection. The questions continued with whether or not the Jewish people were able to “escape” from the concentration camps. We very often get questions like these from such young students. Daniella explained to them that it was sort of like being a slave and in prison and that escaping was generally not possible, and even if people were able to escape, there often was nowhere to go. 

The intermediate classes participating in the Canadian Experience workshop also had multiple questions, particularly about the SS St. Louis – with many students not understanding that Canada would turn anyone away. Daniella explained to them that yes, it was hard to understand because it wasn’t the Canada they know today, but that this was a very different time.

This morning FSWC also hosted a special workshop organized through the efforts of MP Ali Ehsassi and MPP David Zimmer for the Willowdale Youth Council and other ESL students from high schools from the Vaughan region. FSWC Educator Elena spent the morning discussing the progression of discrimination in German law leading into the mass violence and murder of European Jewry. Elena talked about antisemitism in European history and the post-WWI context that shaped the popularity of the National Socialist party in 1930s Germany. One of the stand-out moments from the day was when MP Ali Ehsassi made the connection between antisemitism in history and present-day antisemitism that has become increasingly common in the current socio-political climate. The students, most of whom have not had a lot of experience with European history or the Holocaust, got a lot out of this discussion and seemed surprised to learn more about the existence of racism, antisemitism, and other forms intolerance in the Canadian context.

FSWC Director of Education, Melissa, finished up the week in Regina today. More than 50 principals, vice principals and school board members took part in today's training. The three-hour program this morning was similar to the other two programs yesterday in that Melissa introduced Simon Wiesenthal and discussed the role of the Holocaust in our understanding of human rights today.  Melissa led the group through a series of activities that looked at attitudes in Canada – including a look at the Hate Crime stats from Statistics Canada.  There seemed to be a great deal of interest in the availability of this information and a real surprise that it’s so readily available.  Melissa also led the group through a series of exercises that shifted and built their mindset into an equity base – including an introduction to cultural proficiency.  The important piece that Melissa expressed with the group, however, was the paradox of tolerance – that paradox is that we need to be intolerant of intolerant attitudes.  Melissa also discussed ‘next steps’ - "Where do we go from here?"  Many participants commented on the importance of story - and introducing these stories in the classroom setting - as an immediate means of building empathy and understanding of the consequences of hateful acts.