Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre

Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre The VHEC is an acclaimed teaching museum devoted to Holocaust education. Learn more at https://collections.vhec.org or send an email to [email protected]

Information about our upcoming events is available on our website:
https://www.vhec.org/upcomingevents

Teachers can find information about our school programs at: https://www.vhec.org/school-programs. Free teaching resources are available here: https://www.vhec.org/educational-resources

Researchers are welcome to visit our library and archives.

Last night's screening of A People Uncounted: The Untold Story of the Roma, along with the discussion and Q&A that follo...
08/28/2026

Last night's screening of A People Uncounted: The Untold Story of the Roma, along with the discussion and Q&A that followed, was deeply moving and meaningful. It was an important opportunity to learn, remember, and honour the Roma victims and survivors of the genocide during the N**i era.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped make this evening possible and to everyone who joined us. It was a beautiful night of remembrance, learning, and connection.

Yesterday's Lunch & Learn program, Football, History and Society, brought together Simon Kuper and moderator Dr. Sebasti...
08/26/2026

Yesterday's Lunch & Learn program, Football, History and Society, brought together Simon Kuper and moderator Dr. Sebastian Huebel for an engaging discussion on the role of football and sport in both historical and contemporary society.

The conversation explored Simon's seminal works, including Ajax, the Dutch, the War and World Cup Fever. Simon wove together valuable historical context of football in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s, survivor stories, and personal experiences from his life and adventures at the World Cup.

Due to technical difficulties, only a portion of the program was recorded. We are circulating a recording of the question and answer period for those wo where unable to join us, https://buff.ly/v6yYUtl. Our team is also available to discuss the content and happy to meet further for any community members who would like to continue their learning.

Thank you to Simon and Sebastian for their time! We are looking forward to our in-person event, "Holocaust Education in the Modern Stadium," on October 27, 2026.

Week 4: Pre-War Life - The Longest HatredArtefact: Antisemitic Postcard Antisemitism, hatred, discrimination, or hostili...
08/26/2026

Week 4: Pre-War Life - The Longest Hatred

Artefact: Antisemitic Postcard
Antisemitism, hatred, discrimination, or hostility towards Jews, has existed for over 2,000 years, taking on different forms over the ages. Long before it became official policy, it circulated casually, even in the mail.

This postcard was created ca. 1900 in Leipzig, Germany. Postcards were a popular and easy form of communication, and some publishers created postcards featuring antisemitic caricatures. This one depicts two Jewish men being tripped by children sledding. The caption reads “Wölfe Schlitten überfallend” (Wolves attacking sleds), a pun mocking the Jewish last name Wolf.

Sent and received as everyday correspondence, objects like this show how antisemitism was ambient and ordinary decades before the N**is rose to power, and how they would later revive centuries of existing attitudes rather than invent new ones.

Donated to the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre by Kit Krieger. 2020.045.006
View this artefact in Fragments in Focus: https://buff.ly/zn2wbOm

Join us next week for a screening of A People Uncounted: The Untold Story of the Roma. The film traces the N**i genocide...
08/20/2026

Join us next week for a screening of A People Uncounted: The Untold Story of the Roma. The film traces the N**i genocide of the Roma, a history still too rarely taught, and its living legacy in the discrimination and violence Roma communities continue to face today. A discussion and Q&A will follow the screening. We are honoured to present this evening with Canadian Romani Alliance.

📆 Thursday, August 27, 2026
🕗️ 6 PM
📍 Vancouver, location shared closer to the event date
🎫 Register here: https://buff.ly/w67zjyk

Week 3: Pre-War Life - Jewish Life in Europe Before the HolocaustArtefact: Jump Rope A child’s jump rope with worn woode...
08/19/2026

Week 3: Pre-War Life - Jewish Life in Europe Before the Holocaust

Artefact: Jump Rope
A child’s jump rope with worn wooden handles, painted with a red and blue geometric design. It belonged to Leonore Freiman (née Ehrlich), a teenage student at the Michelbeuern Fashion School in Vienna in the 1930s. A month after N**i Germany took control of Austria (the Anschluss), Leonore was dismissed from the school because she was Jewish. In March 1939, she escaped the N**i regime by serving as a chaperone for Jewish children in the first Kindertransport rescue mission. Between 1938 and 1940, Kindertransport brought approximately 10,000 Jewish children from N**i Europe to safety in Britain. Parents were not allowed to accompany their children.

Donated to the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre by Debbie Freiman. 2007.005.001
View this artefact in Fragments in Focus: https://buff.ly/k0qmMAk

Survivor testimony: High Holidays, Rachel Fox
Rachel Fox, a survivor from Skarzysko, Poland, was one of six children with a large and very close extended family. “The house was always full of relatives,” she recalls, cousins, aunts and uncles from both sides of the family. She remembers the High Holidays especially, when her aunts would arrive to bake for the children and the family would gather for meals, or afterwards for dessert, simply to be together. Testimony recorded in Vancouver, 1984.
Watch Rachel's testimony: https://buff.ly/4ACFjU5

Join us online for Football, History and Society, a conversation with journalist Simon Kuper and moderator Dr. Sebastian...
08/17/2026

Join us online for Football, History and Society, a conversation with journalist Simon Kuper and moderator Dr. Sebastian Huebel. The discussion considers football not just as a game, but as a window into history and identity. Kuper willd raw on his seminal works Ajax, The Dutch, The War: The Strange Tale of Soccer During Europe's Darkest Hour and World Cup Fever: A Footballing Journey in Nine Tournaments.

Simon Kuper, leading Financial Times columnist and prolific writer, is the author of numerous award-winning books. In Ajax, The Dutch, The War, he traces the links between football, politics, and culture, piecing together an alternative account of the war as ween through the story of the Dutch football club.

Dr. Sebastian Huebel, Assistant Professor in Modern European History at the University of the Fraser Valley, specializes in the history of N**i Germany and the Holocaust.

Presented by VHEC in partnership with Musée de l'Holocauste Montréal. Don't miss your chance to join the conversation.

📆 Tuesday, August 25, 2026
🕛️ 12 PM PT
💻️ Online
🎫 RSVP required: https://buff.ly/0r0RGEG

08/14/2026

David Halton, CBC Journalist, shares his father Matthew Halton's experience as the European Correspondent for the Toronto Star in the 1930s. Matthew arrived in Berlin in March of 1933 and began warning readers about what he witnessed almost immediately. On the eve of the election that sealed Hi**er's grip on power, he watched a torchlight parade of N**i stormtroopers, cheered on by tens of thousands Berliners who raised their arms in the Heil Hi**er salute as aggressive songs about smashing Germany's enemies, at home and abroad, ran through the streets.

It is vital to remember that sporting events like the Olympics and the World Cup are just as politicized and affected by society today, in 2026, as they were in the 1930s.

To delve further into this discussion, join us August 25 for an online discussion of Football, History & Society, where Simon Kuper and moderator Dr. Sebastian Huebel will further unpack how sporting events like football are not just a game, but a window into history and identity.

Presented by VHEC in partnership with Musée de l'Holocauste Montréal. Don't miss your change to join the conversation.

📆 Tuesday, August 25, 2026
🕛️ 12 PM PT
💻️ Online
🎫 RSVP required: https://buff.ly/8eGsYvf

Thank you for everyone who joined us yesterday for the Manila Poker Club event, presented with CIJA. We are grateful to ...
08/13/2026

Thank you for everyone who joined us yesterday for the Manila Poker Club event, presented with CIJA.

We are grateful to author Mark Sy for sharing his story with such honesty and courage, and to David Decolongon for moderating a thoughtful and engaging conversation. One attendee spoke about their own personal connection to the Jewish refugees who found safety in the Philippines, a reminder of how far these stories still reach. Events like this highlight the global impact the Holocaust continues to have on our lives today.

Thank you to everyone who came out to listen, ask questions, and connect afterward, including Mr. Paul Vincent Uy, Philippines Consul, Mr. Antonio R. Arreaga-Valdes, Honourary Consul for Costa Rica, and Lailani Tumaneng, school trustee with the City of North Vancouver, for joining us.

If you missed it or want to revisit the book, copies are available on Amazon: https://buff.ly/zNeovBG

Le 3 août à midi (heure de l’est), nous commémorerons le génocide des Roms lors d’une discussion virtuelle.Cette discuss...
08/13/2026

Le 3 août à midi (heure de l’est), nous commémorerons le génocide des Roms lors d’une discussion virtuelle.

Cette discussion mettra à l’honneur Ion Zanca 🎻, fondateur du Dallas String Quartet et compositeur de « ROMANI : The Untold Story », aux côtés de la musicienne, éducatrice et ethnomusicologue Petra Gelbart, Ph. D.

Lui-même issu de l’héritage rom, Zanca a créé ce projet de cinq titres en hommage au peuple rom, mettant en lumière les souffrances souvent ignorées de ce dernier durant le génocide des Roms. Enregistré aux studios Abbey Road avec l’Orchestre symphonique de Londres, l’album combine sensibilité classique et moderne, produit par Lonnie Park et Vahagn Stepanyan, récipient plusieurs fois lauréats des Grammy Awards

Joignez-vous à nous le 3 août à midi (heure de l’Est) 🔗https://museeholocauste.ca/fr/actualites-et-evenements/discussion-virtuelle-romani-lhistoire-oubliee/

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On August 3rd at noon EST, we’ll be commemorating the Roma Genocide with a virtual discussion.

The conversation will feature Ion Zanca 🎻 founder of the Dallas String Quartet and composer of "ROMANI: The Untold Story," alongside musician, educator, and ethnomusicologist Dr. Petra Gelbart.

Of Romani heritage himself, Zanca created the five-track project as a tribute to the Roma people, spotlighting their often-ignored suffering during the Roma Genocide. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios with the London Symphony Orchestra, the album blends classical and modern sensibilities, produced with multi-Grammy winners Lonnie Park and Vahagn Stepanyan.

Join us August 3rd at noon EST 🔗 https://museeholocauste.ca/en/news-and-events/virtual-discussion-romani-the-untold-story/

Week 2: Pre-War Life - Religion and Faith Artefact: Balla Family TorahThis Torah scroll belonged to the Balla family of ...
08/12/2026

Week 2: Pre-War Life - Religion and Faith

Artefact: Balla Family Torah
This Torah scroll belonged to the Balla family of Hungary. In the winter of 1944-45, Adelle Balla went into hiding with her infant son to avoid capture by the N**is and their Hungarian collaborators. The only item she took with her was this Torah scroll. Adelle came from a family of rabbis, and the Torah was a link to her family’s history and religious traditions. Her son died within days of liberation, but Adelle and the Torah scroll survived.

Donated to the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre by Rabbi Imre Balla. 2002.015.001
View this artefact in Fragments in Focus: https://buff.ly/3gRk6l4

Survivor testimony: Our Family Torah, Mancy Koenigsberg
Mancy Koenigsberg was born in Satmar, Hungary, where a small family synagogue (shul) stood on her grandfather’s property. “And when the Germans came in and destroyed the Torah, my mother was heartbroken.” Mancy promised her mother, “Don’t cry, when I earn the money, I will buy you a Torah.” Decades later in Vancouver, she honoured that promise, donating a Torah mantle to Congregation Beth Israel in her family’s memory.
Watch Mancy's testimony: https://buff.ly/8Rve5MI

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