Toronto Holocaust Museum opens, shares stories of dozens of survivors
A new museum that features stories from more than 70 Holocaust survivors has opened in Toronto, with the aim of sharing their experiences and combating antisemitism.
The Toronto Holocaust Museum, which received funding from the federal and provincial governments as well as donors, features themed galleries, a theatre and educational programming.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford encouraged people both within and outside the Jewish faith to visit the museum, saying it will help educate many about the Holocaust.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says the government has a "sacred obligation" to fight hate against Jewish communities.
Dara Solomon, the executive director of the museum, says Holocaust survivors in Toronto have wanted to see such a space become a reality for the last 40 years.
Nate Leipciger, a 95-year-old Holocaust survivor whose story is featured in the museum, says he and many other survivors were too traumatized to initially talk about their experiences and the museum helps that history to be shared with others.
"For forty years, no one was ready to hear. No one was ready to hear the horrors that we endured, nor were they interested in the traumas that we experienced and the difficulties we faced coming to this new country," he said on Friday.
"But we persevered with the help of the Jewish and Canadian community, which gave us an opportunity to get an education, to move on, to create families."
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is guided through a tour at the Toronto Holocaust Museum on Friday, June 9, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin
Leipciger said "the story of the Holocaust survivor" was nonetheless not yet complete, and encouraged the next generation to share their own experiences.
"I take this opportunity to ask the second generation to write their story," he said.
"Write the story of their parents, their interactions with them, and how they struggled and prevailed in creating a new world in this beautiful, wonderful country."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trudeau calls violence in Montreal 'appalling' as NATO protest continues
Anti-NATO protesters gathered again in Montreal on Saturday to demand Canada withdraw from the alliance, a day after a demonstration organized by different groups resulted in arrests, burned cars and shattered windows.
7 suspects, including 13-year-old, charged following 'violent' home invasion north of Toronto
Seven teenage suspects, including a 13-year-old, have been arrested following a targeted and “violent” home invasion in Vaughan on Friday, police say.
These vascular risks are strongly associated with severe stroke, researchers say
Many risk factors can lead to a stroke, but the magnitude of risk from some of these conditions or behaviours may have a stronger association with severe stroke compared with mild stroke, according to a new study.
Widow of Chinese businessman who was executed for murder can sell her Vancouver house, court rules
A murder in China and a civil lawsuit in B.C. have been preventing the sale of multiple Vancouver homes, but one of them could soon hit the market after a court ruling.
Cher 'shocked' to discover her legal name when she applied to change it
Cher recalls a curious interlude from her rich and many-chaptered history in her new book 'Cher: The Memoir, Part One.'
Black bear killed in self-defence after attack on dog-walker in Maple Ridge, B.C.
A black bear has died following a brawl with a man on a trail in Maple Ridge, B.C.
Retiring? Here's how to switch from saving for your golden years to spending
The last paycheque from a decades-long career arrives next Friday and the nest egg you built during those working years will now turn into a main source of income. It can be a jarring switch from saving for retirement to spending in retirement.
Canadian neurosurgeons seek six patients for Musk's Neuralink brain study
Canadian neurosurgeons in partnership with Elon Musk's Neuralink have regulatory approval to recruit six patients with paralysis willing to have a thousand electrode contacts in their brains.
Police thought this gnome looked out of place. Then they tested it for drugs
During a recent narcotics investigation, Dutch police said they found a garden gnome made of approximately two kilograms of MDMA.