Holocaust Education Week at the Canadian Museum of Immigration

By a Staff Reporter

The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 will host its annual Holocaust Education Week in Halifax to commemorate the tragedy of the Holocaust.  It will present two special free events: Were the House Still Standing on October 29 at 7:00 p.m. and Chaos to Canvas on November 1 at the same time.

Co-created by Dr. Robert Katz, Professor of Art at the University of Maine, Augusta, Were the House Still Standing (WTHSS) is a permanent installation at the Holocaust and Human Rights Center in Maine. The film is an innovative, audio-visual project that was commissioned to remember the testimonies of 16 Holocaust survivors and liberators. Beginning with music and tranquil imagery taken from the natural world, the film gradually introduces its darker subject matter. As it subtly moves from depictions of bucolic tranquillity to contemplation of human suffering, WTHSS allows for unexpected reflection and stillness. A reception will follow the event.

Chaos to Canvas will be presented by Maxwell Smart, author and Holocaust Survivor. Smart immigrated to Canada in 1948 through the War Orphans Project and his story, Chaos to Canvas is published by the Azrieli Foundation as part of their Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Program.  ““My past can never be part of my future because hatred does not blend with happiness. Hatred kills, it incites racism, creates anti-Semitism, genocides and wars – it created my past, and this should never happen again, says Smart.” A limited number of copies of Chaos to Canvas will be available free for attendees.