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(Redirected from Liberation 75) Non-for-profit Canadian Holocaust Education Organization
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Liberation75 is a non-for-profit Holocaust education organization based in Toronto, Canada. It was originally founded to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Allied liberation of concentration camps. The organization first gained recognition for organizing the largest virtual Global Gathering of Holocaust survivors, Descendants, Family, and Friends in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. This gathering marked the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Holocaust. Originally slated for 2020, the event took place online in 2021. The organization is also known for its involvement in collecting testimonies of survivors who immigrated to Canada after WWII.

Liberation75 is also known for co-conducting a notable survey that accessed North American teenagers' Holocaust knowledge, thoughts, and related beliefs about antisemitism. The results of this survey prompted the organization to play a significant role in the Canadian school system, leading to Ontario being the first to have a mandated Holocaust education curriculum for grade 6 students.

Liberation75 was founded in 2018 by Marilyn Sinclair, who aimed to fulfill a promise made to her late father, Ernie Weiss (1928-2010), to organize an event to bring together witnesses and survivors.

Background

Further information: Transgenerational trauma § History, and Historical trauma § History of research

Liberation75, founded by Marilyn Sinclair, whose late father was a Holocaust survivor, was often awakened by her father's night terrors. When she grew older, her father, Ernie Weiss, revealed to her the source of his nightmares. Weiss had witnessed horrific atrocities committed by the Nazi regime, including being forced to watch the murder of many Jews while imprisoned in Auschwitz. Sinclair recalls, "When I was younger, it was hard to make sense of all of it; I would dream that I was in the camps." She explains that she experienced vicarious or inherited memories, absorbing her father's stories and effectively becoming a witness herself as part of the next generation of Holocaust survivors. "What happens when you're a child of someone who has endured such tremendous trauma is that those memories become yours," she explains. Sinclair's commitment to Holocaust education began in her childhood.

Holocaust survivor gatherings and conferences

Further information: Holocaust survivors § Organizations and conferences

Since the liberation of he Holocaust and the end of WWII, hundreds of museums have Holocaust exhibitions. In the 1980s, three conferences were organized. The first was the International Conference on the Holocaust and Genocide in Tel Aviv, Israel during the summer of 1982. The second was the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors in Washington, DC in 1983. In 1985, Sinclair and her father attended the Canadian Holocaust Gathering in Ottawa, Canada, with about 5,000 other survivors and their families. During this event, Sinclair engaged in conversations with her father and listened to his experiences of the Holocaust. Her observations were particularly influential as she witnessed other survivors and their children unite, interact, and share their testimonies.

This Ottawa gathering was significant because it was where Sinclair's father recounted his Holocaust experiences. Only a few such gatherings occurred, all during the 1980s (see Further information tab). It was at this event that Sinclair promised her father she would organize a gathering to bring Holocaust survivors together, planting the initial seed for Liberation75.

Liberation75: A global gathering

Poster for Liberation75: "A Global Gathering of Holocaust Survivors, Descendants, Educators and Friends." May 4-9, 2021 (virtual event registration poster)

Liberation75, a global gathering, was initially scheduled for May 2020 to commemorate 75 years since the liberation of concentration camps. In March 2020, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, registration had already exceeded 10,000 attendees. However, as the coronavirus pandemic escalated worldwide, the event had to be postponed.

In 2021, Liberation75 hosted what it described as "the world's largest virtual gathering of Holocaust survivors, descendants, educators, and friends." This conference, held from May 4 to May 9, was free for attendees and celebrated 75 years since the liberation of Holocaust survivors. Sinclair emphasized that antisemitism has not disappeared; in fact, it has increased. She posed a crucial question for the global community: "How are we going to keep the memory and lessons of the Holocaust relevant for the future, particularly in the absence of survivors, who have done the vital work of sharing their stories, visiting schools, and establishing monuments and memorial centers?" Sinclair stated, "The five-day event focuses on what happens when hate goes unchecked," Sinclair told Canadian Jewish News.

The curriculum

The virtual conference took place May 4-9, 2021, with available data from the Survey of North American Teens on the Holocaust and Antisemitism, 20,000 attendees essentially had conversations on inclusion, Holocaust denial, and discussions with LGBTQ+ descendants of survivors. There were 124 speakers & survivors sharing their stories, films were featured, and some guest speakers included Nobel laureate, author, and Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel and his son, Elisha, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Dr. Deborah Lipstadt, and Rosalie Abella. The conference included programming for descendants of Holocaust survivors, and virtual exhibits from the USC Shoah Foundation and Anne Frank House. With breakthroughs in technology, attendees were able to ask questions, while real time answers came from Max Eisen in the form of his recorded testimony, from USC Shoah Foundation's Dimensions in Testimony.

Reception

Holocaust education to Canadian elementary schools

In 2022, during Holocaust Education Week, the minister of education announced that Holocaust education will be mandatory in elementary schools across the province of Ontario, starting in grade 6, as a response to rising antisemitism in schools. A survey that was conducted by Western University and Liberation75 in 2021 found that 1 in 3 students thought that the Holocaust was either fabricated, exaggerated, or did not happen at all. In a newer survey with 9000 grade-6 students conducted in 2024, over 40% responded that they had unquestionably witnessed an antisemitic event. In an interview with founder Marilyn Sinclair, it was discussed that Jews represent only 2% of the population in Canada, however 360 out of 900 students had witnessed this. Sinclair mentioned in that same survey, students were asked, "how big of a problem is it?" 50% said that when they witness an antisemitic event, "it's a huge problem that needs to be dealt with urgently."

Educational books

Collaborative work

Last Chance Collection

Liberation75 was requested to search and find 150 Holocaust survivors who had immigrated to Canada after the war. by the USC Shoah Foundation in 2021. The USC Shoah Foundation has recorded testimony since 1994, and in 2018, in a renewed effort to record testimony from survivors of all types of atrocities from across the world, and is titled The Last Change Testimony Collection. With help from people and organizations across Canada, Liberation75 met their mandate.

Stories are Stronger than Hate: A Call to Action

Further information: USC Shoah Foundation § Global Access

With the goal of expanding on what students had been learning about the Holocaust in their classes in 2020, and help students "to connect those dots between what they’ve been learning all year to what’s happening in their communities right now,” Liberation75 partnered with nonprofit, USC Shoah Foundation, to host an educational virtual broadcast to approximately 1,500 students in 22 countries, titled, "Stories are Stronger than Hate: A Call to Action" during the Covid-19 Pandemic. The broadcast was hosted by Dr. Stephen Smith, Canadian director/actor, Mike Myers, with former NHL Hockey player Akim Aliu, and Toronto Holocaust educator and survivor, Pinchas Gutter, sharing his personal story and experiences witnessing the Holocaust (Madjanek, Buchenwald, and Theresienstadt).

“I have an obligation to speak out against racism and institutionalized hatred and that’s why I’m here...Now more than ever, it’s important to hear from survivors and witnesses of genocide, who know firsthand what can happen when hate goes unchecked. We all must remember and learn from history and do better for future generations,” remarked Mike Myers. Founder of Liberation75, Marilyn Sinclair stated that when these personal accounts of Holocaust are shared, students can draw parallels from their own lives, creating fellowship and awareness.

Stronger Than Hate: A Call to Action 2.0

In May, 2021, during Black Heritage Month, another broadcast was initiated and presented by the Toronto District School Board’s African Heritage Committee, Liberation75, USC Shoah Foundation, Jewish Heritage Committee, and Peel District School Board. participants included, Holocaust survivor./author Max Eisen, author, Joe Wilson Jr. (son of Joe Wilson Sr. of the United States 761st Black Panthers Tank Battalion, which took part in the liberation Nazi concentration camps), DeSean William Jackson, John L. Withers II(son of Lieutenant John L. Withers of an all-Black U.S. Army Truck Company), and was hosted by Executive Director Chair, USC Shoah Foundation, Dr. Stephen D. Smith. This webinar was put together to commemorate the historical 761st Tank Battalion, the first all African American Tank Battalion to see battle in WWII. Student co-hosts shared they had been watching the rise of anti-black racism and antisemitism happening worldwide, and being home during the Covid-19 pandemic, had been spending their time enhancing their knowledge of black history, specifically the 761st Battalion and its impact on future generations.

See also

External links

References

  1. "Testimony and Trauma". USC Shoah Foundation. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
  2. ^ "Our Story". Liberation75. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  3. Csillag, Ron (2021-05-03). "Liberation75 promises to keep Holocaust relevant". The Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
  4. Mendel, Jack (2019-05-08). "Global gathering to mark 75 years since liberation from Holocaust". Jewish News. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  5. Plowman, Sarah (2022-01-28). "Survey reveals about one-third of North American students feel the Holocaust was fabricated or exaggerated". CTVNews. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
  6. "Liberation75 | Innovation & Collaboration in Holocaust Education". Liberation75. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  7. Lerner, Alexis M. (2021). “2021 Survey of North American Teens on the Holocaust and Antisemitism.” Liberation75. https://www.liberation75.org/2021survey.
  8. ^ "Ontario Newsroom". news.ontario.ca. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  9. Stroh, Perlita (January 27, 2023). "How trauma suffered by Holocaust survivors has affected the next generation". CBC. Retrieved January 17, 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. "Traveling Exhibitions - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum". www.ushmm.org. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
  11. ^ Fax, Julie Gruenbaum. "20,000 To Gather at Virtual Conference for Survivors, Family and Community". USC Shoah Foundation. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
  12. Csillag, Ron (2021-05-03). "Liberation75 promises to keep Holocaust relevant". The Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
  13. Liberation75. "Today: Global Event to Fight Hate Featuring Renowned Speakers goes live". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved 2025-01-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. "Dimensions in Testimony". USC Shoah Foundation. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
  15. "NCSG050524_HOLOCAUST". CTVNews. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  16. "Steven Spielberg's Holocaust project is back, and looking for more Canadian survivors". The Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
  17. "We're recording new testimonies". USC Shoah Foundation. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
  18. ^ "USC Shoah Foundation and Liberation75 partner with Mike Myers on "Stories are Stronger than Hate: A Call to Action" Student Program". USC Shoah Foundation. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  19. ^ "Mike Myers speaks to students about hate: 'Call it and say it's wrong'". The Forward. 2020-06-26. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  20. deseanjacksonsfoundation (2021-03-11). "Stronger Than Hate: A Call to Action". DeSean Jackson Foundation. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
  21. USC Shoah Foundation (2021-02-25). Stories are Stronger Than Hate 2.0: A Call to Action. Retrieved 2025-01-12 – via YouTube.
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