Writer, humanitarian, Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel was born on this day in 1928 in Romania. Check out some of his books and learn more about this amazing person.
Tag: Holocaust
Raoul Wallenberg Day
From the Government of Canada: “During World War II, millions of Jews perished in the Holocaust. Some, however, were saved by the efforts of courageous groups and individuals, such as Raoul Wallenberg who is credited with saving more than 100,000 Hungarian Jews.” (Read more.) Raoul Wallenberg disappeared on January 17, 1945. In 2001 the Canadian Government designated January 17 to be Raoul Wallenberg Day in Canada.
For more on Wallenberg:
Nuremberg Trials
On this day in 1945 the Nuremberg Trials began in post-war Germany. An American led “International Military Tribunal” began a series of trials for Germans accused of crimes against humanity, primarily in connection to the Nazi Holocaust of the Jews, Roma, homosexuals and other groups. The various trials stretched out over nearly a year. While public sympathy was very much in favour of both the rationale for and the outcome of the trials, there have been major criticisms against the legal jurisdiction of the tribunal. While we are right in wanting justice for the crimes of the Nazis, how legitimate were the Nuremberg Trials? Moreover, were the Allies themselves guilty of some of the same crimes for which the Germans were tried?
For more on these questions, check out some of the following:
As an interesting side note, today student from our school are joining other students from around the province for a Symposium on the Holocaust at UBC, presented by the Holocaust Education Centre.
Kristallnacht
For all the amazing accomplishments and advances of humanity, we are still capable of terrible barbarism and unspeakable evil. One of the most terrible and shameful chapters of our history is marked by the remembrance of Kristallnacht, the “Night of Broken Glass.” These events of November 9 and 10, 1938, in Germany, are seen to be the symbolic start of the Holocaust, the systematic persecution and genocide of the Jews (and other groups) by the Nazis.
From Yad Veshem :
On November 9, 1938, the Nazis unleashed a series of riots against the Jews in Germany and Austria. In the space of a few hours, thousands of synagogues and Jewish businesses and homes were damaged or destroyed. For the first time, tens of thousands of Jews were sent to concentration camps simply because they were Jewish. This event came to be called Kristallnacht (“Night of the Broken Glass”) for the shattered store windowpanes that carpeted German streets. Kristallnacht was an essential turning point in Nazi Germany’s persecution of Jews, and a significant event in Holocaust history.
For more about Kristallnacht, click here. For educational resources click here.
Visit the full site of Yad Veshem for more information on the Holocaust. Other online sources include:
Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School Library 