By Maxine Fischbein
(AJNews) – Thanks to a partnership originally established by the Holocaust and Human Rights: Remembrance and Education department of Calgary Jewish Federation and the Calgary Public Library (CPL), an agreement has recently been entered into that will see the Balaban family and Viewpoint Foundation Fund; the Krell family; and donors to the Human Rights and Holocaust Education Fund at the Calgary Public Library Foundation support the popular winter/spring Holocaust education series over the next five years.
The 2025 series, organized for the CPL by Marnie Bondar and Dahlia Libin, begins on January 27 with a virtual talk by former radicalized Muslim Kasim Hafeez—now a proud Christian Zionist who serves as deputy communications director for messaging for Christians United for Israel (CUFI).
Hafeez’s talk, which will take place online beginning at 7 pm, is titled Overcoming Hate: An Intimate look at Indoctrination and the Holocaust. The evening will be moderated by CPL Events and Program Partnerships Lead Steven Dohlman and will include a pre-recorded address by Deborah Lyons, Canada’s envoy on antisemitism.
Hafeez will speak about how the Nazis used indoctrination to carry out the Holocaust. Himself indoctrinated to hate Israel and the Jewish people, Hafeez very nearly became a violent jihadist and brings his own experiences to the conversation when discussing the dangers of indoctrination (see feature article in this issue of AJNews).
To sign up for the virtual talk by Kasim Hafeez, go to International Holocaust Remembrance Day: Overcoming Hate Tickets, Mon, Jan 27, 2025 at 7:00 PM | Eventbrite
On January 27, the lights on Calgary tower and the High Level Bridge of Edmonton will be changed in honour of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which this year marks the eightieth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
Throughout January, visitors to the Central Library in downtown Calgary will have the opportunity to explore an art installation composed of Holocaust-themed pieces by high school students at École Secondaire in High River. Their teacher, Lindsay Anderson—who previously taught at The Calgary Jewish Academy—is a skilled Holocaust educator and community volunteer.
Each École Secondaire art piece includes a written statement by the student who created it, explaining what the art represents and, in some cases, specifically referring to Jewish artists who inspired their creation. QR codes link viewers to more information about the Jewish artists referenced in the exhibit.
Albertans who have not yet had the opportunity to see the compelling photographic exhibit Here to Tell: Faces of Holocaust Survivors should head to the Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton where the exhibit can be viewed through February 9, 2025. Here to Tell features stunning black and white photos of Alberta-connected Holocaust survivors—including some who made Edmonton their home. The evocative photos are accompanied by brief bios of each survivor. For those who prefer to listen rather than read, QR codes take visitors equipped with smart phones to audio recordings of survivors or their descendants. Make sure to bring your earbuds!
Save the dates for these additional Holocaust Education winter and spring programs:
Intergenerational Trauma: The Holocaust and Beyond
February 13, 2025:
7:00 – 8:30 pm
Patricia A. Whelan Performance Hall – Central Library, 800 – 3 Street SE, Calgary
Israeli clinical psychologist David Senesh will speak about the mental health consequences of intergenerational trauma at the second in a series of 2025 Holocaust-related talks presented by the Calgary Public Library.
David Senesh’s aunt, Hannah Senesh, was a heroic young Hungarian-Jewish Zionist and resistance fighter who was captured at the Hungarian border after parachuting into Yugoslavia in a daring mission intended to thwart the Nazis and save Hungarian Jews destined for Auschwitz. She was executed in 1944.
Like his aunt, David Senesh was a Prisoner of War during the 1973 Yom Kippur War and speaks to the topic of intergenerational trauma both as a specialist in the field and from his personal and family perspectives.
Senesh earned his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology at the University of Calgary, which makes his in-person talk at the Calgary Public Library a homecoming of sorts.
During his talk, Senesh is expected to compare and contrast his iconic late aunt’s captivity during the Shoah with his own and will explore the trauma carried by descendants of Holocaust survivors.
On Sunday, February 23, Senesh will speak with third-generation descendants of Holocaust survivors in a session geared toward their circumstances and experiences. If you are a 3G descendant and would like to participate in the session, contact Holocaust and Human Rights: Remembrance and Education Co-Chairs Marnie Bondar and Dahlia Libin at holocaustedu@jewishcalgary.org for more information and to register.
To sign up for the talk by David Senesh at the Central Library, go to Intergenerational Trauma: The Holocaust and Beyond | Calgary Public Library and follow the links.
Laughter and Darkness: Humor and the Holocaust
Tuesday, March 6, 2025
7:00 – 8:30 pm
Virtual (online) presentation
Registration details TBA
In this lecture, Jeremy Dauber, one of the world’s leading experts on Jewish humour, will provide fascinating glimpses into the role of Jewish humour during and after the Shoah, emphasizing what humour meant to those who experienced and survived the Holocaust; what role Jewish comedy can appropriately play in addressing the Holocaust in the years to come; and the ways in which we process trauma, grief, memory, and history.
A Columbia University professor of Jewish Studies who has also served as the director of the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, Dauber is a prolific author, whose books include The Worlds of Sholem Aleichem and Jewish Comedy: A Serious History—both of which were finalists for National Jewish Book Awards. His most recent books include American Comics: A History and Mel Brooks: Disobedient Jew.
Registration has not yet opened for this online presentation. Watch for details at www.jewishcalgary.org, www.cpl.ca, and in future AJNews issues.
Second Voices Presentation
Early April, 2025
Speaker and Date TBA:
Calgary Public Library will host a Second Voices presentation during which a descendant will share the story of a local Holocaust survivor in a multimedia presentation that combines the personal testimony of a survivor and the lived experience of his or her descendant.
Annual Holocaust Education Symposium
May 2025
Central Public Library
The Calgary Public Library will host some 3,000 Calgary and area high school students and their teachers at the Annual Holocaust Education Symposium during the first two weeks of May. Highlights will include the testimony of Holocaust survivors and their descendants, the documentary film Path to Nazi Genocide, and guest speaker Adam Musial, a Polish educator and Krakow tour director who trained at Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center.
Musial will provide an historical overview of antisemitism through the ages; speak about the events that culminated in the Nazi rise to power; and empower students to make a positive difference in the world through responsible citizenship.
The Holocaust Education Symposium is a program for students and teachers whose schools have pre-registered and it is not open to the public. For more information about the Holocaust Education Symposium, contact Marnie Bondar and Dahlia Libin at holocaustedu@jewishcalgary.org.
Maxine Fischbein is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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