500 children march to honour Holocaust survivors in Saskatoon

Hundreds of children from schools across the province packed into a Saskatoon synagogue on Wednesday morning.

The students came toCongregation Agudas Israel to learn more about people who survived the Holocaust.

Nicholas Allen attended with his class from Montgomery School in Saskatoon. He has spent months learning about the Holocaust.

"I didn't really know about the medical experiments they had done to Jews," Allen said. "And about some of the things they told us, about how they took them away from schools, I thought it was just from homes."

Allen and the hundreds of other students spent time at the synagogue touring through a historical display about the World War II genocide that saw an estimated six million Jewish people murdered by the Naziregime.

The students also listened to the stories of three people who survived the Holocaust as children.

Rachel and Adam Shtibel both survived the genocide as children in Poland. Rachel, who was an avid musician and lover of the violin, hid silently underground in a bunker for two years. Adam managed to live above ground and "pass" for a non-Jewish person.

Holocaust survivor speaks to students

9 years ago

Duration 0:39

Sally Wasserman, a Holocaust survivor, spoke to and met with Saskatchewan high school students today.

The importance of kindness

Sally Wassermanalso survived, although her family did not. She said her father was killed in a gas chamber and her mother and brother perished in a ghetto where the family was forced to live as refugees.

"The ghetto was truly a horrific place to be in, especially for children, we suffered greatly. We were always hungry, the lack of sanitation," Wasserman recalled.

She has spent the past 18 years speaking to high school and university students about her tale of survival. Her visit to Saskatoon marked her first visit to Saskatchewan.

Wasserman said the reason she keeps speaking, is because she wants children to understand the importance of kindness and empathy.

"I hope they learn that it is very important to give. To give of yourself. To give to others. To help others. Those things are very important, no matter how old you are. No matter how young you are," she explained.

Wasserman and the Shtibels were among 30,000 Jewish people who immigrated to Canada following their liberation 70 years ago.

Following the presentation, students filed out of the synagogue and met each of the survivors, thanking them for their time.Then the childrenmarched in their honour.