Descendants of Holocaust Survivors Reflect on the Rise in Antisemitism

How can Canadian policy leaders ensure future generations are educated on the Holocaust?

Photo Credit: Reuters

By Elisa Alloul

I AM THE GREAT-GRANDDAUGHTER OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS. My grandfather's parents grew up in Germany and after Hitler rose to power, they were among the few people that were lucky enough to flee to England. They left their entire families behind never to see them again. Conversely, when the Nazis occupied Hungary in 1944, my grandmother’s parents and older brother were rounded up and sent to Auschwitz, where my grandmother’s six-year-old brother was immediately sent to the gas chambers. My great-grandparents endured harsh labour, starvation, death marches, and other severe torture. Despite the low survival rate, they somehow managed to survive and reunite after being liberated.

As a descendent of Holocaust survivors and a future policy leader, I believe that International Holocaust Remembrance Day is more than just a day of remembrance. It also serves as an annual time for reflection on what factors made the Holocaust possible, how we can prevent it from happening again in the future, and what tangible steps we can take to stop bigotry in its tracks.

Unfortunately my great-grandparents are no longer with us. However, luckily I was able to sit down with my grandparents, Frank and Eva, to remember and reflect on the Holocaust, antisemitism, and what policy leaders can do to combat antisemitism today.

What has been the biggest impact of the Holocaust on your family and community? 

Eva: For us, the Holocaust is personal because of our own family and community histories. My parents were survivors, they lost their little boy, their entire families. They lost their whole lives. I see everything in terms of what happened to my family.

First they were persecuted, boycotted, isolated, and arrested. Then, they were put into labour camps. The Nazis would go around in armoured trucks, forcing Jews to dig their own graves and began shooting them. They starved people, experimented on them, tortured them and at least six million were put in the gas chambers and murdered.

Growing up we always thought that this could never ever happen again but antisemitism is rising at an alarming rate yet again. So here we are.

What lessons can policy leaders and society learn from the Holocaust and antisemitism at large?

Eva: The rise in antisemitism we are seeing now is very frightening to us and should be frightening to most people. It has always been there under the surface. It was never talked about openly because in the aftermath of the Holocaust it was seen as less acceptable. Now it is out in the open again and it is our hope that this time it will be addressed so that past mistakes are not repeated.

Frank: Antisemitism is deeply embedded in society capitalizing on internalized conspiracy theories and tropes of Jewish privilege, power, and greed to name a few. These tropes make Jews the natural scapegoat, often blamed for the social ills of society through the use of manufactured distortions of reality. We saw this in the middle ages, in Nazi Germany, and we see it today levelled at representations of the Jewish collective. While antisemitism is uniquely a Jewish experience, what lies underneath is all that's bad about the nasty streak in others aimed at vilifying people. The Holocaust is not a uniquely Jewish experience. The Nazis also targeted members of the LGTBQ+ community, people with disabilities, Romani, the Black community. They targeted a lot of people. It is in everyone's self interest to recognize that the Holocaust is about people's inhumanity to people and it is in everyone's best interest to eradicate antisemitism.

As current and future policy makers, what do we need to consider when addressing antisemitism?

Frank: The steps taken by the Government in Canada are important initial steps to recognize, condemn, and address antisemitism. However, the effectiveness of these steps rely on individual politicians and leaders, political parties, and other institutions at large following suit. None of us can shy away from dealing with it forthrightly and aggressively. Once we fail to do that, it is a slippery slope and antisemites will become more and more aggressive.

We recognize that sometimes these decisions can be politically founded because addressing antisemitism can face backlash. So, can leaders have the courage to face negative attitudes for addressing antisemitism?

How can policy leaders combat antisemitism?

My grandparent’s stories and insights should serve as a lesson that we have not left antisemitism in the past. It remains a serious concern of the present and future. They are also a reminder of the kinds of atrocities that have been and can inflicted on Jewish people. Fortunately, as policy makers, we can take courageous but necessary steps to combat this hate and make antisemitism a concern of the past alone.

We are lucky to live in a society where human rights, diversity, and inclusion are priorities for many Canadians. Unfortunately, there seems to be a lack of awareness among young Canadians about the Holocaust, antisemitism, and the need to combat it. One in five Canadians under the age of 34 do not know what happened during the Holocaust or are not sure if they have heard of it. Myself, my peers, and fellow community members at large have yet to meet another Jew who has not experienced antisemitic rhetoric, ideas, or aggression levelled against them on numerous occasions.

Additionally, we continue to see an increase in antisemitic incidents around the world. Yet, most EDI efforts, anti-bias trainings, and campaigns against hate that we have seen do not include antisemitism*. If leaders and institutions do not follow in the government's footsteps by including antisemitism in educational policies, programs, and frameworks aimed at combatting hate and discrimination, this problem will only grow. Antisemitism is again at an all time high, but it is not too late to prevent past mistakes from re-occurring and ensure a better future.

*some institutions have implemented antisemitism task-forces, however these task forces do not seem to be focused on educational programs and campaigns. Additionally, there does not seem to be an inclusion of antisemitism within broader frameworks and programming aimed at addressing hate and discrimination through public education.

Elisa Alloul is an MPP Candidate at the Max Bell School of Public Policy and an Editor at The Bell, with prior experience in the non-profit field, the Ontario public service, and the Parliament of Canada. Elisa is especially interested in global and educational policy.