Virtual Programs for School Groups

A virtual history class is an interactive presentation that explores the history of the Holocaust by showcasing key artefacts and survivor testimony videoclips from our permanent exhibition. A class can be easily integrated into history, ethics, and culture/citizenship courses. It is also highly relevant for second language and literature courses.

Learn more about our permanent exhibition.

Topics covered during a virtual history class:

• First section (early 20^th century): Jewish communities in Europe and North Africa at the beginning of the 20^th century, Jewish holidays
• Second section (1919-1939): The Treaty of Versailles and the Weimar Republic, Hitler’s rise to power, the persecution of the Jews, propaganda, the response of German Jews, the pogrom of November 9-10, 1938, the response of Canada and other countries
• Third section (1939-1945): Invasion of Poland, non-Jewish victims, ghettos, deportation, killing centres, different forms of resistance, the Righteous Among the Nations, collaborators
• Fourth section (1945-1955): Liberation, displaced persons camps, immigration of survivors to Canada

Educational Workshops

• Life in Hiding: Eva Kuper’s story
• Resistance during the Holocaust: the Feigenbaum family’s story

Opening of the Children’s Literature touring exhibition, 2020

Our virtual educational workshops enable participants to explore the experiences of Holocaust survivors by analyzing primary sources (video testimonies and artifacts).

Life in Hiding workshop: Eva Kuper’s story | gr. 6 – Sec. 1 | 60 min.

10-35 participants (1 group/class)

KEY TOPICS: HIDDEN CHILD – CHERISHED BELONGINGS

In this workshop, participants will discover Eva Kuper’s story. Eva was born in Warsaw in 1940, shortly after the Nazi invasion of Poland. A few months after her birth, her family was confined to the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw. After her mother was deported, Eva and her father managed to escape from the ghetto. They survived the war in hiding.
Through watching a video excerpt of Eva’s testimony and analyzing reproductions of artefacts that belonged to children and teenagers who survived the Holocaust in hiding, students will discover what life was like for them under the Nazi occupation and reflect on the difficult choices they had to make.

Resistance during the Holocaust workshop: the Feigenbaum family story | Sec. 3 and up | 60 min.

10-35 participants (1 group/class)

KEY TOPICS: STAGES OF GENOCIDE – RESISTANCE

In this workshop, participants will discover the story of Avrum Feigenbaum and his family during the Holocaust. The Feigenbaum family lived in Lodz, Poland, before the war. After the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, the family was imprisoned in the ghetto where Avrum’s father died from starvation. The rest of the family was successively deported to Auschwitz. Out of seven family members, only Avrum and his brother, Hersh, survived.
Through analyzing primary sources (documents and testimonies), participants will better understand the different stages of genocide, as well as how Avrum and his family resisted at every stage.
This workshop was designed to complement the teacher’s guide Studying Genocide.

Testimony with a Holocaust Survivor

Survivor testimony | Gr. 6 and up | 60 min.

As part of the 80^th anniversary of the commemoration of the end of the Holocaust, your groups can listen to the poignant testimony of a Holocaust survivor on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, at 10:30am and Monday, April 28, 2025, at 1:45pm.

To see here for virtual testimonies in French, click here.

Prepare your group by consulting our resources:

Brief History the Holocaust

Brief History of Antisemitism in Canada

Holocaust Maps and Timelines

Studying Genocide