Upgraded Calgary Holocaust Memorial Site enhances reflection and education

by Maxine Fischbein

(AJNews) – The Calgary Holocaust Memorial site at the Paperny Family JCC has been upgraded and rededicated with beautiful enhancements that have boosted the comfort, safety, and educational potential of the site.

At its centre remains the iconic Ashes to Life sculpture by renowned artist Roy Leadbeater. The original memorial and statue – which attest to the inextinguishable spirit of the Jewish people – were donated to the Calgary Jewish community in 1986 by William (Bill) Schwartz and Alyse Schwartz, each of blessed memory, in memory of their parents Louis and Regina Schwartz and Isaac and Celia Schwartzpelz.

Close to four decades later, the site – which had fallen into disrepair – has become more accessible and welcoming than ever due to a remarkable facelift that includes beautiful landscaping, formal pathways, improved lighting and well-thought-out spaces that will help to enhance reflection and education, including planned visits by Calgary and area junior high and high school students and their teachers.

All this was made possible due to a forward-thinking vision that Ron and Barb Krell shared with then newly appointed Calgary Jewish Federation Holocaust and Human Rights Remembrance and Education Co-Chairs Marnie Bondar and Dahlia Libin some five years ago.

Work at the site began in earnest immediately following the annual Yom Hashoah commemoration this past spring.

Professionals who helped bring the Calgary Holocaust Memorial Upgrade Project to fruition include award-winning designer and Certified Landscape Designer Katherine Kinch, founder of Your Space by Design; project manager Tony Sunderland; Contractor Ryan Menzies, of Alpine Construction and Design Ltd; and Lorne Tucker, of Somerville Memorials.

Fittingly, the rededication was held on the day when community members visited local Jewish cemetery sites to pay respect to loved ones during Kever Avot ceremonies between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

“This is an important and momentous occasion for our community, said Calgary Jewish Federation CEO Rob Nagus prior to the unveiling of a new dedication at the entrance to the memorial site.

“At a time when Holocaust remembrance and education are more vital than ever, we face both the challenge and the opportunity of ensuring that the lessons and the legacy of the Holocaust remain alive and relevant,” Nagus said.

“This rededication is more than a renovation. It’s a communal achievement that is made possible through the vision and generosity and leadership of so many,” Nagus added, lauding the leadership of Stuart and Elaine Myron and family, Dr. Frances Cyngiser and David Weisfeld and family, Harvey Cyngiser and family, Barb and Ron Krell and family, and the Legacy Fund.

“During the Yamim Noraim, the Days of Awe, we stand together in solidarity within this renewed site honouring the memory of our people who perished in the Shoah and linking them together with those who survived,” said Barb Krell.

“Today we rededicate this space, not only as a monument to the Shoah but as a call to conscience. Rededication means…renewing our vow that Never Again is not a phrase of the past, but a command for the future. It means refusing to allow the silence of indifference to take root,” Ron Krell said.

That commitment is strongly reflected in the establishment of a Holocaust Memorial Endowment Fund that will provide for perpetual care of the revitalized site “…to ensure the legacy of the park endures as a welcoming space for remembrance and the sharing of the lessons of the Holocaust for years to come,” said Ron Krell.

The endowment fund will help to ensure landscape maintenance, lighting, cleaning, repairs, and additions to the site. Community members are encouraged to support the endowment fund, which is managed by the Jewish Community Foundation of Calgary.

“With the completion of this phase, we build on the legacy of survivors who created this meaningful memorial in tribute to their loved ones who were murdered in the Shoah, now honouring their memory, their strength in survival, and courage in sharing their testimony,” Barb Krell said.

Marnie Bondar and Dahlia Libin were tasked with ensuring that the new and improved site will serve not only as an inviting gathering space but an optimal location for onsite education about the Holocaust.

“Aharon Appelfeld once said, ‘After the death of the last witnesses, the memory of the Holocaust must not be left to historians alone. Now is the time for works of art’,” recounted Bondar. “This powerful sentiment reminds us that memory must be active, creative and living, especially for future generations who will never meet a survivor in person.”

“The Ashes to Life sculpture itself will remain the heart of site, its rough edges representing the scars of the Holocaust, its bronze figures a testament to the enduring strength and creativity of the Jewish people, and the tallest figure’s protective arm symbolizing both family and solidarity,” Libin said.

An affecting feature of the revitalized memorial site are 18 stone pillars of memory that will eventually be etched with the names of cities, towns, villages, and shtetls where Calgary-connected survivors lived prior to the Holocaust.

“These will serve as individual stations for student exploration and remembrance,” Libin said, adding that this will make the history of the Holocaust “both personal and tangible.”

In addition to being a place of solemn remembrance and contemplation, the memorial site, said Libin, will now be “a living classroom.”

To help accommodate student groups for on-site study, the Holocaust Memorial Park now includes flat-topped boulders that can seat up to 75 students.

A second phase of the memorial park project will provide local individuals and families the opportunity to honour loved ones murdered in the Shoah, and plans are also in the works to honour the survivors who settled in Calgary, Bondar said.

“These additions will ensure that the memorial continues to evolve, representing not only the history of the Jewish people in Europe, but also the stories of those survivors who rebuilt their lives here in Calgary,” Bondar said.

“We believe that this site, revitalized and reimagined, will not only educate, it will inspire. It will remind us that history is not something that we only read about in textbooks. It is something we feel, we question, we remember, and, most importantly, something we carry forward,” said Libin.

Prior to the traditional laying of stones, the moving ceremony concluded with the soulful chanting of El Maleh Rachamim and the Mourners Kaddish by Beth Tzedec Congregation Rabbi and Cantor Russell G. Jayne, who then led the crowd in the singing of Hatikvah.

Those wishing to support perpetual care of the Calgary Holocaust Memorial Park may direct donations to the Calgary Holocaust Memorial Maintenance Endowment Fund and are asked to contact Jewish Community Foundation of Calgary Manager Brenda Sapoznikow at 403-640-2273 or mail@jcfc.ca.

For more information about additional philanthropic opportunities in support of Holocaust remembrance and education, contact Ron Krell at krells@shaw.ca.

Maxine Fischbein is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter.