Today marked the first day of our London-Sarnia trip! Tour for Humanity spent the day at a high school in London. There were 4 Global Perspectives workshops on the bus, with students from a combination of Grades 9-12 participating in the program. As is often the case with high school students, the first group was very quiet, but as the buzz travelled through the school the remaining 3 classes were very eager to come on the bus. Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC) Educator Daniella even reported that there were a few Grade 12 students who gave up their "spares" to sit in on the workshops.  

Two of the groups who were on the Tour for Humanity in the afternoon were fantastic to work with, giving insightful comments and asking thoughtful questions. After explaining Nazi propaganda to one class, Daniella mentioned how antisemitism was at the base of Nazi ideology and how it began to take over daily life.  Daniella heard one student in the back say "Ohh I get it now" - she asked the student what she meant. Evidently the student had learned about the Holocaust in Grade 10 (last year) but it had never quite made sense to her how the Nazis were able to manipulate people into targeting the Jewish people. The student said after our workshop that it was really  obvious to her now and that she wished her teacher had explained it better.

In two different workshops the comparison between the initial stages of genocide and the current climate in the US were brought up. Daniella told both classes that any direct comparison to Hitler was very dangerous and therefore not useful. At the same time, Daniella mentioned how things like white supremacy are more wide-spread now than they have been in many years.  Daniella tied this back to the idea of standing up and being aware of our own opinions and behaviours. She told the class that what is happening now is a prime example of why people should stand up for others and understand that when someone is targeted for who they are, it can lead to very serious issues.