High School Students Convinced of Holocaust After Trip to Germany

Two high school students from Eckville, Alberta, say that after a two-week trip to Germany for a first-hand look at the remnants of the Holocaust, they are convinced of the horrors Jews endured during World War II, despite efforts by a teacher in Eckville to convince one of the students that the Holocaust had never occurred.

Katrina Milaney and Garry Tink, both 16 years old, returned to Calgary, Alberta, from the trip sponsored by Calgary businessman Jack Downey. He said he became alarmed when he learned that Eckville teacher James Keegstra was instructing students that the mass extermination of Jews during the war was a highly exaggerated story — part of an international Jewish conspiracy. Keegstra is also the mayor of Eckville.

Tink admitted that he felt doubtful before his departure that millions of people had died at the hands of the Nazis. Now he says he feels these numbers are credible. He said that a tour of Dachau was a powerful experience. “It upset me. I had the shivers and shakes,” Tink said. Nevertheless, he said that Keegstra is a good teacher. “I think he has his beliefs and everybody has theirs and that’s the way it should be left, ” Tink observed.

Ms. Milaney was not one of Keegstra’s students and she felt all along that the Holcaust had happened. She said she broke down during a tour of Dachau. “I think I know the truth now. It was devastating, ” she said.

The two students won the trip to Germany on the basis of essays they wrote on Canadian culture. Tink said he would like to tell his classmates, but acknowledged that some of them might not listen. He said he had a new perspective and will not be as receptive to racist remarks about Jews as he once was.