Toronto’s Leah Posluns Theatre was packed to capacity on Monday, with close to 300 gathering to mark the opening night of the Toronto Holocaust Museum's Neuberger Holocaust Education Week (HEW), with this year’s instalment cementing 43 years of knowledge and remembrance towards the Shoah.

The venue was the site of a discussion-based program between acclaimed author and literary critic Ruth Franklin and Heather Reisman, the founder of Indigo Books & Music. The two explored Franklin’s new book, The Many Lives of Anne Frank, which explores the life of a familiar Holocaust figure in a light many are unfamiliar with.

“ Franklin brought these new insights to the person of Anne Frank and who she was at the time of writing her diary. She did extensive research into the Jewish community of the Netherlands and the Nazi persecution of Anne Frank and those people. It’s a topic that has been explored so many times through theatre, film and literature, but (Franklin) definitely brought a new understanding, and I found it to be fantastic,” said Dara Solomon, the executive director of the Toronto Holocaust Museum.

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From Nov. 3 to 9, the museum will feature additional programming and commemorations specifically tailored to those seeking compelling ways to engage with the history of the Holocaust and its enduring legacy.

Today, a full house is expected for the Toronto Jewish Film Foundation's Toronto premiere of Elie Wiesel: Soul on Fire, a new biopic documentary exploring Wiesel’s life and legacy as a Holocaust survivor. Featuring rare archival footage and previous interviews, Soul on Fire offers viewers a message of courage and compassion through Wiesel’s impact on the field of Holocaust education.

Rounding out Holocaust Education week is Sunday’s Kristallnacht commemoration entitled The Songs Remain. As explained by Solomon, the event will take place at the Kiever Shul, one of the oldest operating synagogues in Toronto, where musical performances of songs lost during the Holocaust will be performed amidst a candlelit ceremony led by a Holocaust survivor Pinchas Gutter.

The event marks the 87th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the anti-Semitic riot carried out by the Nazi regime in 1938 that targeted German Jews and their businesses. Holocaust Education Week as a whole is also designed to take place throughout the month of November to coincide with the month of the pogrom.

Originally founded in 1982 by the Toronto Jewish Congress Holocaust Remembrance Committee, the week’s original goal was one of providing a unifying community focus on Holocaust education and remembrance via diverse formats. Now, 43 years later, even as Holocaust education became mandated in Ontario public schools, HEW remains a best- practice model for its programming across the GTA to students, intercultural groups and the general public.

For Solomon, the continued importance of Holocaust education and remembrance remains increasingly relevant in a post-Oct. 7 world. 

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“ We absolutely feel that the foundational learning that takes place in our museum and with our programs is such an important way to combat rising anti-Semitism and also just to provide people with an understanding of who Jews are, the history that we carry with us and how that informs our present lives,” she said.

Further, as the world continues towards an era with fewer living Holocaust survivors, she said the legacy of voices like Frank and Wiesel must remain both accessible and relevant for younger generations.

“ We built the museum for when that era comes, and so carrying on the voice of the survivors has long been an important focus of our Holocaust learning model. We are technologically focused, always able to update (programming) with additional survivor testimonies, so we are continuing to make sure that we're giving voice to the survivors long after they're gone,” she said.

One forward-looking program debuting later this month  is developed specifically for descendants of Holocaust survivors. Set around the topic of tattooing, it explores why descendants have chosen to get tattoos in connection to their grandparents' Holocaust experience.

That mission is seen strongly through this year’s HEW programming and is commended by the Archdiocese of Toronto’s Office of Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations.

“The Toronto Holocaust Museum fulfills its mission with a very impressive education week of programming through music, film and literature. These focused initiatives give great visibility in the public square, which we never have enough, especially today,” said Fr. Luis Melo, the office director. “Complementing such programming, the Archdiocese of Toronto populates the year with various opportunities for formation and education around the Shoah.”

As the educational week continues, Solomon hopes participants, no matter their background, leave with a renewed sense of insight and empathy into a world still grappling with hate and division.

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“For Jews, I hope that they come away having learned something new about Holocaust history, perhaps it sheds light on some of the challenges that we're facing currently. In terms of the non-Jewish community, I hope that these programs continue to help build bridges and connections between who they are and the Jewish community, because the more we connect with one another, I think the less hate there is in the world,” she said.

For further details on this week’s events, visit the Toronto Holocaust Museum’s website.