Tour for Humanity started the school year off on a high-note at a high school in Barrie. Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) Educator Daniella presented 5 Canadian Experience workshops to Grade 11 students.  It was evident through the student reactions and expressions that the material was meaningful. During one of the workshops, the class had been studying the Holocaust, but the students were very surprised by the story of the SS St. Louis and Canada's role in turning away Jewish refugees. This workshop also stood out in part due to one student. At the end of the workshop she stayed behind, evidently inspired by the material, and was very curious about Canada's relationship to its past. She questioned whether Canada was multicultural and diverse today to compensate for past instances of racism and antisemitism. Daniella explained that she didn't think it was a matter of compensating, but rather that Canada has tried to learn from its past and apply those lessons to the present and future. This same student also wanted to know more ways that teenagers could get involved and make a difference. Daniella spent some time with her discussing ways she could become involved in her own community, but also discussed small positive changes she could implement in her daily life. Today's visit was sponsored by the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board, which specifically allocated funds in order for multiple schools to host Tour for Humanity. Tomorrow's visit in Bracebridge is also part of the same school board initiative. 

In addition the Tour for Humanity's stop in Barrie today, FSWC Educator Elena also made a huge impact at a local public school in the Jane and Finch area of Toronto. Elena presented the Simon's Story workshop to a very enthusiastic group of Grade 5 students, many of whom were in either the special education or English as a Second Language program at the school. This enriched the workshop a great deal because there were many interesting comments and perspectives shared. A large percentage of the group were of Jamaican and Trinidadian heritage which also shaped some of our discussion around the concept of racism. In spite of the heat (and lack of air conditioning), the students were very well-behaved and curious about the workshop material. They really enjoyed hearing about Simon Wiesenthal's childhood which made it all the more shocking for them when they realized he was a victim of the Nazis. 

Elena spent time defining key concepts including antisemitism, the Nazi party, prejudice, racism, and bystander. Given the age of the group, she stuck to the fundamentals and felt many students grasped the significance of systematic genocide. For example, one student couldn't understand the scale of the Nazi persecution, asking if the police helped protect Jewish people during the Holocaust. Another student answered the question, pointing out that if the Nazis were in control of the government, that meant they controlled the police as well. Elena was pleased to see this student make that connection on her own! 

The students were also very impressed with Simon Wiesenthal's post-war life as a Nazi hunter (although one little girl was quite sad he didn't want to be an architect anymore). The discussion of the post-war hunt for Nazis also brought up a memory for their teacher, who shared a fascinating anecdote with Elena during recess. The teacher grew up in Paraguay and as a child knew an old German man in the small town where she lived. He was eventually discovered to have been a prominent Nazi during the war and was arrested, dying under mysterious circumstances while in custody. The teacher remembered being very shocked when she found out because he had always been kind to her and her family even though they were Asian.