More than 6500 Canadian Jews attended observances in six major Canadian cities this week commemorating the 32nd anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising and the 30th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camps. The observances, sponsored by the Canadian Jewish Congress, were held in synagogues, community centers, libraries and schools in Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Ottawa and Halifax.
Prof. Emile Fackenheim of the University of Toronto delivered the memorial address to more than 900 people attending special services here at the Chevra Kedisha B’nai Jacob Synagogue last Sunday. A teach-in of the Holocaust was held at the Jewish public library where 250 people viewed a film on the Warsaw Ghetto, followed by a panel discussion.
On Monday, the McGill University Jewish Teachers Training Program presented “Night Words,” a midrash of the Holocaust. Programs continued for the entire week at Jewish elementary and high schools. About 250 French Canadian Jews are expected to attend commemorative services during the latter part of the week.
In Winnipeg, 700 people attended services Sunday at the B’nai Abram Synagogue. Genia Silkes, who was a teacher in the underground Jewish schools in Poland, spoke on the defense and up-rising in the ghetto. She also spoke to students at Jewish schools and at the University of Manitoba. Some 250 people participated in the ceremony of renaming one of the city’s main streets, “Avenue of the Warsaw Ghetto Heroes,” for the week.
Twelve Christian clergymen joined 400 people in the Jewish Community Center in Vancouver in special services. A year of Holocaust activities in Ottawa was culminated with services last Sunday at Congregation Mathzikel Hadas with a program prepared by the youngsters of the community. More than 300 people attended the services wearing black arm bands. Some 500 people visited the Yad Vashem display held at the Jewish Community Center.
About 150 people attended special services in the Shaar Shalom Synagogue in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation featured some four hours of special programming, including music, dramas, and readings dealing with the Holocaust period.
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