Holocaust Genocide Symposium

18 March 2016Gina B, Mackenzie ‘17

On Thursday April 14th Grade 11 students from Brentwood traveled to Shawnigan Lake School for the 4th annual Shawnigan Holocaust Genocide Symposium. The sombre yet educational presentation is to educate young students about the reality of the Holocaust told by historians and real life survivors. It was also to illuminate Canadian students on a dark part of Canadian and world history, the cultural genocide that occurred through the residential school system. The symposium started off with a presentation by UBC History professor Dr. Jay Eidelman. He delivered an illuminating lecture on the history of the Holocaust from the rise of the Nazi Party to the end of the Second World War. Much was learned and he brought a new academic perspective to the tragedy of the Holocaust. After that a video presentation was shown on the history of the cultural genocide of the Residential School System in Canada. After a brief break with refreshments, all returned back to the auditorium for the keynote speaker, Alex Buckman. Alex Buckman is a Holocaust survivor who was born in 1939 in a Jewish family in Belgium. In order to survive, he had to be smuggled to an orphanage and hidden for the duration of the war. He expressed his emotional story about his family members and their experiences during the Holocaust in Europe and their time in concentration camps. The Symposium finished with a candlelighting ceremony to honour all who passed away in the holocaust. Deborah C, Mackenzie ‘17, was given the honour to light a candle with Alex Buckman. The presentation was extremely impactful for all and really made a mark on all the students who attended. Gina B, Mackenzie ‘17

Where Students Choose To Be