The Tour for Humanity spent the day at a high school on the outskirts of Toronto. The visit was coordinated by the school's guidance counsellor, who has been involved with Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center’s (FSWC) Education Department for a number of years. Yesterday marked the fourth time that Tour for Humanity has been at the school, and we will be returning again in May 2018. The school ensures that as many Grade 10 History classes as possible participate in FSWC workshops, especially when they are studying World War II in the curriculum. There were 5 groups on the bus yesterday, all of whom participated in the Global Perspectives workshop with FSWC Educator Daniella. 

In the third class of the day there was a student who really impressed Daniella with his knowledge of the material being presented. It was clear he had a keen interest in both World War II and the Holocaust and had done his own research. Aside from volunteering to answer every question Daniella asked, he also brought up other facts to share with his class. One fellow classmate asked the common question about Hitler’s Jewish ancestry. Daniella said it was a very good question and then took the time to explain that this narrative was entirely false. She asked the class to raise their hands if they had ever heard “Hitler was part Jewish” before – and more than half the students said they had. Daniella explained to them that this was why it was so important to ask questions and not believe everything you see on the History channel or read online. Daniella linked this story back to Nazi propaganda targeting the Jewish people, and how it was easy for a lot of the public to believe what they were told. Daniella told the class that the main difference was that today they had the freedom to question the validity of information and look at things with a critical eye.