1 CANADA RESPONDS TO THE HOLOCAUST,
1944-1945
Docent Script
October 2016 - March 31, 2017
2 1. Welcome & Introduction
Plinth with Yellow Star
(under panel The Rise of Nazi Anti-Jewish Policies)
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Due to the high volume of the exhibition, the teachers are asked to inform
the students before their visit to the VHEC about the role of the VHEC, the
founder’s goal etc. The teachers are also instructed to prepare students
with the basic outlines of pre-war Jewish life in Europe and the concept of
antisemitism. The Teacher’s Guide for this exhibit includes a specific previsit activity about pre-war Jewish life in Belgium and is meant to
complement the class tour and workshop.
Time: 5 minutes
Goal: 1) Brief introduction docent, gallery etiquette
2) Introduction of exhibition
3) Yellow Star in Plinth: Start the tour with engaging the students by
looking at the Yellow Star (VHEC collection) in plinth and asking the
questions below. The aim is to cover the basics about the Holocaust
and the Nazi anti-Jewish policies by starting with the Star of David badge
as an example of the many discriminating policies against Jews. It is
important that student gain an understanding of the Star of David, as they
encounter another one later in their tour, the original Joodstar that was
given to Canadian Lieutenant E.J. Sheppard by a survivor.
Today I would like to welcome you to the exhibit:
“Canada Responds to the Holocaust, 1944-1945”
Before I tell you more about the exhibition, I would like to introduce myself.
Introduction Docent and VHEC:
Welcome, my name is _________and I am a docent at the Vancouver Holocaust
Education Centre.
3 Introduction Exhibition: Canada Responds to the Holocaust, 1944-45
In the next 45 minutes we will hear the voices of the Canadians who participated
in the Allied campaigns in Europe. This exhibit’s focus is on the close of the
Second World War and on the immediate postwar era, with particular emphasis
on the liberation of the concentration camps and the interactions between the
liberators and the survivors of Hitler’s genocide. Complex emotions and
circumstances arose that characterized the immediate post-war period, as
survivors had to come to terms with their loss and with the need to plan for their
futures.
We will meet the men and women of the Canadian military who participated in the
Allied campaigns in Europe, as well as Canadian chaplains, journalists,
photographers, war artists, medical professionals and relief workers. We will
witness how their encounters, often with concentration camp survivors, changed
who they were.
Optional:
Today as you are entering this exhibit, take a minute to ponder how you feel.
When you leave the exhibit space reflect upon how you have been affected by
the stories of the Canadians you have encountered. Will their experiences have
an impact on you?
Before we enter the gallery, let me introduce some guidelines for the gallery:
Before entering the gallery space: Gallery Etiquette
No food or drink in the gallery space
No running in the VHEC: there are artefacts and panels throughout the
space, and we must protect these pieces
Never touch the art or panels: use your notes
Do not lean on walls or panels
Only use tablets for assignment when handed to you
Note: Phrase instructions/rules/reminders in the positive rather than the negative.
i.e. “Please remember to keep a few steps back from the art work, sit away from
the walls etc.” rather than “Don’t touch the art, don’t lean on the walls.”
4 Plinth with Yellow Star:
Direct the student’s attention to the Yellow Star in Plinth
Possible Questions:
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Q: What do you see and what does it mean?
Q: Why do you think this artefact is here?
Q: How do you think the Jews felt being forced wearing the star?
Q: Which other discriminatory anti-Jewish rules did the Nazis introduce
prior to the Second World War?
Q: Why do you think that the Nazis policies against the Jews became so
radicalized?
Q: Sometimes the Star of David badges were also called the Holocaust
badges. Can you describe what the Holocaust was? When was it?
Who were the victims of the Holocaust?
Yellow Star: After the invasion of Poland in 1939, the Nazis began the policy of
publicly identifying Jews. As a means of identification, Jews were forced to wear
the Star of David. This stigmatizing label became a standard feature of Nazi
policy throughout Occupied Europe. Branding Jews with the Star of David turned
the symbol of Judaism into a symbol of dehumanization. To merely go into the
street meant being immediately recognized, and being a target for public
humiliation. Jewish children, especially, were easy targets of verbal and physical
attacks. The placement, design, and colors of the badges varied.
Discriminatory anti-Jewish rules: From 1933 until the outbreak of the war in 1939,
the Nazis implemented more than 400 decrees and regulations that restricted all
aspects of Jewish life.
- The first wave of legislation excluded Jews from professions, public
organizations and educational institutions.
- The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 classified Germans with three or four Jewish
grandparents as Jews, regardless of their religion, and deprived them of German
Citizenship. On Kristallnacht, the “Night of Broken Glass”, of November 9-10
1938, Jewish homes, synagogues and institutions throughout Germany and
Austria were attacked, approximately 90 Jews were murdered and 30,0000 male
Jews were arrested. Most were imprisoned in Dachau, Buchenwald,
5 Sachsenhausen and other concentration camps. Hundreds of thousands were
desperate for refuge.
- When the Nazis occupied other European countries, Jews in those places
began to experience the same treatment as those in Germany.
- In many cities across Europe, the Nazis transferred Jews into hundreds of
ghettos. These ghettos were located in the poorest areas of the city and often
enclosed by walls or barbed wire fences. The inhabitants were forced to live in
unsanitary and overcrowded conditions, and were subjected to violence and
starvation. German-appointed Jewish Councils organized daily life in the ghettos
- including labour, distribution of food rations and eventually deportations to
concentration and death camps.
Basics about the Holocaust:
- What is the Holocaust? The systematic (step-by-step) and state-sponsored
persecution and annihilation (wiping out entirely) of European Jews by Nazi
Germany and its collaborators.
- When did it happen? Start point: 1933, when Adolf Hitler came to power; end
point: 1945, when Allies (including Canada) liberated concentration camps and
the German and Axis occupation of Europe collapsed.
- How many victims were there? Six millions Jews, 2/3 of European Jews,
including 1.5 million Jewish children.
- What about non-Jewish victims? Some 5 million, including the Sinti & Roma,
Jehovah’s witnesses, homosexuals, political opponents, the disabled, Soviet
POWs and other “undesirables”.
Optional (if time allows):
Panel The Camp System and Death Tolls
Panel Canadian Military in Europe 1939-1945
Docent looks at map camp system and death tolls
The Nazis established a complex network of concentration camps, first in
Germany after they achieved power in 1933, and then across Europe. They used
the camps to imprison, and later to murder, those whom they called political and
racial enemies. There were different camps: labour camps, transit camps and
death camps. Jewish communities across Nazi-occupied Europe were
decimated. Worldwide, the Jewish community lost one-third of its members.
6 2) ENCOUNTERING NAZI CAMPS
Optional: Panel Encountering Nazi Camps
Panel Communal Need and Canadian Aid: Belgium
Time: 5 minutes
Goal: Students learn about Canadian encounters with Nazi Camps in Belgium
and the Netherlands by looking at a photograph of the camp Vught (optional) and
by getting introduced to the voice of Chaplain, Rabbi Samuel Cass; examine with
students the mandate of the Chaplains, their encounters and the struggles they
were facing.
Optional:
Docent points to Panel Encountering Nazi Camps with photo of two
Canadian soldiers looking at a crematorium in Vught.
In late October 1944, Scottish and Canadian troops discovered the camp in
Vught in the Netherlands. It was one of the first encounters in Western Europe
that Allied soldiers had with a Nazi site of terror.
Vught: An internment and labour camp in the Netherlands for Dutch Jews, built
by the Nazis in 1942. In Early 1943 it was re-designated as a transit-camp. In
January 1943, the first inmates – political prisoners and Jews – arrived in the
camp. During its operation there were, in total, 18,000 Jewish prisoners. Most of
them were deported to the transit camp Westerbork and then to the extermination
camps in the east. The last transport was in June 1944.
Engage students with the following questions:
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Q: Can you describe the photo?
Q: What can you conclude from this picture?
Q: What does it tell you about the soldier having this sort of encounter at
the camp?
7 Voice of Rabbi Samuel Cass (VANCOUVER), Army Chaplain:
Panel Communal Need and Canadian Aid: Belgium
Context Chaplains: Among the Canadians who encountered the camps were also
military Chaplains. Approximately 1400 Canadian chaplains served during World
War II. Canadian Chaplains included Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish
clergymen. Some Chaplains assisted both the military and the survivors, while
others travelled to the camp to bear witness, pay their respects, or offer prayer.
Military Chaplains struggled to make sense of the tragedy. Several Chaplains
acknowledged feelings of inadequacy when confronted with the tremendous
physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of the inmates.
Context Samuel Cass / Connection Vancouver: One of the chaplains was Rabbi
Samuel Cass. Toronto-born Samuel Cass (1908-1975) was ordained a rabbi in
1933. Prior to joining the army he was a Rabbi at the Beth Israel Synagogue in
Vancouver located on Oak/29th from 1933 until 1941. He joined the Canadian
army in 1942, and in 1944 was a Jewish chaplain with the First Canadian Army in
northwestern Europe. In addition to ministering to Jewish soldiers, Samuel Cass
took it upon himself to organize events for Jewish survivors.
Rabbi: A person appointed as a Jewish religious leader.
Synagogue: Jewish house of prayer.
Chanukah: Jewish holiday.
Sabbath: A day in Jewish religion set aside for resting, from Friday evening to
Saturday evening.
Targeting Jewish Culture: In addition to removing Jews from non-Jewish society,
the Nazis also sought to erase evidence of Jewish religious and cultural life. The
Nazis consistently seized synagogues, defaced them and/or used them for
mundane purposes.
Jewish population in Belgium: pre-war 85,000, post-war: 24,000
(from map: Death Tolls 1939-1945, Eli Barnavi, Ed. A Historical Atlas Of The
Jewish People, 1992, panel: The Camp System and Death Tolls)
Look with students at the photograph of the Chanukah celebration
organized by Chaplain Samuel Cass
Explain to them that this is a photograph of a Chanukah celebration organized by
Chaplain Samuel Cass showing Jewish soldiers and children who came out of
hiding.
8 On panel Communal Need and Canadian Aid: Belgium
Caption: Belgian Jews celebrate at a Chanukah party in Antwerp, Belgium, 17
December 1944.
Let us hear Samuel Cass’ voice:
Docent may ask a student to read quotes out loud / or docent can read
them:
Belgium, Antwerp, Chanukah, 17 December 1944
This evening here we had the largest of our parties and I don’t know where to
begin to record my impressions. … The impressions are indelible...[such as the
question] from the lips of a little girl of six who asked in amazement whether all
the hundreds of people she had seen in the hall—children, adults and soldiers—
were Jews. The little girl had just come out of hiding. In fact, all our children
today, many of them without parents, for the first time experienced a real free
party.
LETTER, CHAPLAIN SAMUEL CASS TO WIFE ANNABEL CASS
Belgium, Ghent, Sabbath Service, 17 November 1944
A Sabbath eve service was held in GHENT…at which...we were joined by
civilians. It is worthy of note that this ministry to civilians on the part of the
Chaplain provides the only authoritative Spiritual leadership that the Jewish
community in Belgium and Holland who have escaped the clutches and
oppression of Nazi tyranny has at the moment. In all of Belgium there is only one
Rabbi left.
Chaplain Samuel Cass, Monthly Report,
November 1944
9 Engage the students with the following questions:
• Q: What does the quote by Rabbi Cass tell you about Jewish children
coming out of hiding?
• Q: What does Rabbi Cass’ excerpt tell us about what happened to the
Dutch and Belgian Jewish communities?
• Q: He mentions that there is only one Rabbi left in Belgium. What does
this tell us about the Nazi policies? Were Jewish cultural and religious
institutions also targets for destruction?
• Q: Prior to becoming a military chaplain, Rabbi Cass was the Rabbi of
Beth Israel synagogue on 29th & Oak Street in Vancouver. Do you think
that his training and role as a Rabbi prepared him for his interactions with
survivors or his work with soldiers encountering survivors?
3) WESTERBORK
Optional: Animated projection of stats about camp Westerbork
Plinths with Sheppard’s artifacts
Time: 10 minutes
Goal: Students learn about transit camp Westerbork and engage with the
perspective of liberator Lieutenant E.J. Sheppard by looking at his diary and other
artefacts such as his uniform and given Joodstar. Students gain a broader
understanding about the Canadian soldier’s participation in the war.
Optional: Look at the animated projection of stats about camp Westerbork
with students. Either docent or a student reads facts out loud:
NOTE: If the group attended the workshop prior to the tour, you can skip
this as students already learned about the facts of Westerbork during the
worksho
FACTS ABOUT WESTERBORK
* 1933-1940 – Approximately 30,000 German and Austrian Jews flee
to the Netherlands to escape the Nazi regime;
*1939 – By order of Dutch authorities, the Jewish community
establishes the camp at Westerbork to house German and Austrian
Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria;
10 *May 1940 – Nazis invade the Netherlands;
*Jan. 1942 – Nazi officials at Wannsee meet to decide how to
implement the extermination of European Jewry;
* July 1942 – The Germans categorize Westerbork as a transit camp
for Jews, a collecting spot for Dutch Jewry before being shipped to
the east;
*July 1942-September 1944 – Ninety-seven transports leave
Westerbork. About 107,000 Jews are on those trains. Only 5,000
return after the war;
*May 1944 – Orders are given to round up the Roma and Sinti in the
Netherlands, and 578 are sent to Westerbork;
*Very soon after arrival, the Roma and Sinti are deported to
Auschwitz. Only 30 survive the war.
Voice of Soldier-Lieutenant E.J. (Ted) Sheppard
Plinths with Sheppard’s artifacts
Direct the group’s attention to the mannequin with uniform, combat helmet,
diary etc. and Joodstar mounted on wall.
We will now learn more about Soldier-Lieutenant E.J. (Ted) Sheppard, one of the
hundreds of Canadians who liberated Westerbork.
Context Canada and WWII: This exhibit examines Canada’s involvement in one
of the twentieth century’s most pivotal armed conflicts. Remembering all that
Canadians have encountered during times of war, military conflict and peace,
helps us to better understand our nation's history and its future. The Second
World War was a defining moment, propelling this country on the fringe of global
affairs into a critical player in the twentieth century’s most significant struggle. Out
of a total population of 11 million, more than one million Canadian men and
women served full-time in the military, in combat roles, in helping-agencies and
as non-combat military personnel — more than 45,000 gave their lives and
another 55,000 were wounded. One of the thousands of people who fought in
Europe was Lieutenant Sheppard from Victoria, B.C.
Lieutenant Sheppard: Dr. Edward (Ted) J. Sheppard of Victoria, B.C. was the
Lieutenant and Troop commander in charge of the Reconnaissance Regiment
that was present on the day of the liberation of camp Westerbork. He was the
Lieutenant and Troop Commander of the 8th Canadian Recce Regiment (# 7
troop).
11 Give students the prepared beanbag simulating the weight of his combat
helmet in order for them to physically experience the heavy weight the
soldier’s combat helmets had.
Context Uniform: General use: work, dress, walking out, combat. Designed for
extreme situations. The uniform, said to be inspired by ski-clothing of the time,
consisted of two garments:
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Battle Dress Blouse - a waist length, fly fronted garment of heavy wool
with two breast pockets and a collar done up at the neck.
Battle Dress Trousers - loose fitting wool trousers of material matching the
blouse, with buttons for braces as well as belt loops, two hip pockets, a
rear pocket, and two external pockets; one on the (wearer's) upper right
thigh, designed to hold a First Field Dressing, and a larger pocket on the
upper left thigh, commonly called a "map pocket.
Diary: The plinth shows an open page from Mr. Sheppard's diary that he
carried with him during the war. A diary such as this one was a wartime
scarcity, and his niece had given him this pocket diary that she had had from
1937. Note that the dates are changed on each page to reflect the year 1945.
Engage the students by asking the following questions:
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Q: Uniform: What do you see? What can you conclude by looking at the
uniform?
The uniform was designed for extreme situations. For example, the gators
cuffs were meant to keep the dirt and wet away. What does this tell us
about E.J. Sheppard and Canadian soldiers and their kind of participation
in the war?
12 Joodstar
When you look at the Joodstar, read out loud Sheppard’s testimony about
the encounter with the Jewish man who gave him the star.
This Joodstar (Dutch for “Judenstern”, yellow star) was given to Sheppard by an
elderly Jewish man on the day Sheppard’s troop came across Westerbork
concentration camp on April 12, 1945, the day after the Germans had abandoned
it. Let us listen to Sheppard’s testimony (can be read from caption of artefact)
“The incident I remember best there was an elderly Jewish man climbed up onto
my armoured car all he wanted to do was just touch my hand it seemed. Then he
unpinned from his vest the “Jood” Star, the leather star which said Jew on it and
they were forced to wear. He took it off his jacket and he insisted I have it”.
Engage the students with the following questions:
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Q: Joodstar: Why did the Jewish man give Sheppard his Joodstar? What
does it mean?
Q: Why do you think Sheppard kept it?
4) BERGEN-BELSEN
Panel The Liberation of Bergen-Belsen: 15. April 1945
Time: 20 minutes WITH class activity, spend at least 1/3 of the tour here. If
necessary, borrow time from elsewhere.
Goal: Students gain insight into interactions between Canadian and survivors at
Bergen-Belsen by examining first-hand experiences of a war photographer, CBC
reporter, medical doctor, survivor, and war artist.
Point to panel The Liberation of Bergen-Belsen: 15. April 1945
13 Ask students to take a few minutes to read this panel.
NOTE: If the group attended the workshop prior to the tour, you can skip
this as students already learned about the facts of Bergen-Belsen during
the workshop.
CLASS ACTIVITY
OPTION ONE
Time: 10 minutes
Goal: This is an opportunity for students to examine up-close the
perspectives/encounters of the Canadian liberators and survivors.
Lesson:
Have students form 5 groups. There will be max. 6 students per group,
depending on size of class. Instruct them to choose one speaker of each group
who will speak in the class discussion that follows the group activity.
Each group will be assigned one of the following voices:
- 1) Al Calder: War Photographer
- 2) Dr. John F. McCreary of the RCAF Nutrition Group
- 3) CBC reporter Matthew Halton
- 4) Dutch child survivor Tillie Sugarman
- 5) War artist Alex Colville.
They will enter the gallery space to explore the material related to their theme.
The docents will give each group laminated documents and, if applicable, tablets
in order to listen to audio or watch the video clips. The documents will instruct
specific questions/prompts for students to answer.
Tell the students that they will have specific questions on their assignment sheets
that will help them to answer the following questions that will be asked when the
whole class gathers after 10 minutes. Read these questions out loud:
1 Describe the person and his/her role you looked at
2 Describe the document/image or testimony you looked at/listened to
3 What did you learn? What touched you most?
Reconvene after 10 minutes. Have students share their responses in front of
class for 10 minutes. Remind them that there are no right or wrong answers, just
different perspectives and analyses.
14 OPTION TWO
Time: 10 minutes
Goal: This is an opportunity for students to examine up-close the
perspectives/encounters of the Canadian liberators and survivors.
Part 1
Look with students at the following panels and photographs:
- Bergen-Belsen: Documenting the crimes
- Bergen-Belsen: Medical Teams arrive
Explain the roles of War Photographer Al Clader and Dr. John F. McCreary of the
RCAF Nutrition Group. You might want to read the quotes out loud.
Part 2
Instruct students to sit on the floor in the gallery space around the book table,
facing the panels about the war artists.
Play to them the following audio/visuals by using the tablet and the speakers:
- Dutch child survivor Tillie Sugarman, #8 clip on tablet, duration: 4min 22sec.
Engage them with the questions below
- War artist Alex Colville, #10 clip on tablet, duration: 1min 24 sec.
Engage them with the questions below
- CBC reporter Matthew Halton, #7 clip on tablet, duration: 3min 25sec.
Engage them with the questions below
You may use the assignment sheets (group 1-5 ) from the class activity (Option
One) for more information and discussion questions.
Questions:
1 Describe the person and his/her role you looked at
2 Describe the document/image or testimony you looked at/listened to
3 What did you learn? What touched you most?
15 5) CONCLUSIONS/REFLECTIONS
In front of panel Homefront: After the War
Time: 5 minutes
Goal: students will reflect on what they learned, let them summarize in their own
words
Note: the content of the panel Homefront: After the War will be covered in the
workshop following the tour or was covered in the workshop prior to the tour.
Some guiding questions:
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Q: What did you learn that you did not know before?
Q: What touched/affected you most? Why?
Q: What will you remember or share with others?
Q: What sections were you most focused on or repelled on? Why?
Q: What single thing did you learn today about the Holocaust and the
Canadians that you could go home and tell your family about?
NOTE: If the class visit only exists of the tour and not the workshop, look
with students at the panel Homefront: After the War.
Look with them at the numbers of Jewish refugees who came to Canada.
Read the Gallup poll out loud and reflect with them on what this meant in
terms of attitudes toward jews.
- A Gallup poll on immigration was released in October 1946. The results were:
• 60% of Canadians ranked the Japanese as the least desirable immigrants;
• 49% then indicated that they did not want Jewish immigration;
• At that time, Canadians much preferred Germans over Jews as
immigrants.
Gallup poll: an assessment of public opinion by the questioning of a statistically
representative sample