According to Statistics Canada, around 11 per cent of youth aged 15-24 are unemployed. Among young Black Canadians that number is around 17.5 per cent.

Black people in Canada continue experiencing oppression and dehumanization because of how their skin colour is viewed and represented.

Impoverished Black male youth in particular encounter racism, ageism, classism and gender biases when looking for work. These are stereotypes which encourage many Canadian employers to view them as not good for business and unemployable.

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In some cases, there is widespread agreement on what racism is. For example, most people would agree that restricting a racial group’s right to vote in a federal election is racist. (Indigenous people were the last to gain full voting rights in Canada in 1960.)

But in other cases, the agreement is scant — the quotes at the top of this page represent some of those cases. They are examples of racial microaggressions. Racial microaggressions are often considered “minor.”

What are racial microaggressions?

Racial microaggressions are incessant, subtle forms of racism that can be verbal, behavioural or environmental. Racial microaggressions have been described as “racial indignities.”

As a mixed-race Haida woman, I’ve been routinely told I “don’t look Indigenous” or I’m “not like other Indigenous people” because I was born with my mother’s skin tone instead of my father’s. This is an example of a racial microaggression.

Microaggressions may seem small or “micro,” but as incessant forms of racism, they can have big impacts on mental health, physical health and social life.

One study of university students found that non-Indigenous university students regularly asked Indigenous university students if they lived in teepees. Another study found that Indigenous students were stereotyped by others as drunks, addicts or on welfare.

One last thing: whether it be major displays of discrimination, or several instances of microaggressions that people are facing, the pain & trauma from those experiences are real & valid. Don’t make the mistake of dehumanizing anyone & thinking their suffering isn’t valid.

— fatima (@fatimafarha_) March 30, 2021

Daily hassles

One way of looking at the impact of racial microaggressions could be to look at daily hassles. Daily hassles are defined as “relatively minor, everyday problems such as commuting problems, family arguments or household repairs.”

The cumulative impact of daily hassles is linked to chronic health conditions like digestive problems, mental health conditions like depression and anxiety and even death. Some researchers have even found that daily hassles have a larger impact on health than major life events given their relentless nature.

The concept of daily hassles show that small things can have big impacts.

Racial microagressions and health

Researchers have shown that racial microaggressions are associated with depression in Latino community members, in university students of Asian descent and create PTSD symptoms in Black participants. Microaggressions are also related to physical health outcomes. Experiencing racial microaggressions during the COVID-19 pandemic was related to physical health issues and sleep troubles for Asians and Asian Americans.

They’re also associated with a whole host of other negative outcomes like substance use, anxiety, stress and even suicidal thoughts in many racialized groups.

Although there is little quantitative research on the impacts of microaggressions on Indigenous people, qualitative research has indicated that Indigenous people feel disrespected, degraded, uncomfortable or like they have to hide their Indigenous identity after experiencing microaggressions.

Microaggressions aren’t just based on race

Microaggressions can be based on many factors. Researchers have identified microaggressions based on gender, LGBTQ identity and ability.

Experiencing microaggressions based on these other factors can have similar effects as racial microaggressions: for example, experiences of disability-related microaggressions were related to higher levels of anxiety in Canadian university students.

A person can experience multiple types of microaggressions, due to the intersectionality of their identities.

For example, an Indigenous woman who identifies as bisexual might experience race, gender and sexual orientation-related microaggressions all in one day. Based on research on the impact of microaggressions and daily hassles, it is likely these combined experiences have negative impacts.

What to do about them?

What can people do about microaggressions? Freelance writer Hahna Yoon wrote a piece in the New York Times on how the targets of microaggressions might respond. These discussions are important because microaggressions exist and targets of them must have coping mechanisms. For example, people who experience microaggressions might share their experiences with others who have common experiences as a way to cope.

However, focusing on the target’s response misplaces the burden. A more equitable approach would be to put the onus of addressing microaggressions onto the perpetrators of the microaggressions. But there is relatively little research on this.

One study found that white participants said they were less likely to engage in microaggressions after a day-long workshop on race, racism and racial microaggressions. The study provides hope to those who do this work, but more information is needed.

Microaggressions cause harm. More research needs to be done to understand how best to prevent them. Thinking about how words matter might be a good place to start.

This article authored by Iloradanon Efimoff (PhD Candidate, Social and Personality Psychology, UM) was originally published on The Conversation. It appears here under a Creative Commons licence.

The series includes human rights research & policy symposiums marking the International Decade for People of African Descent and will be framed in post-modernism paradigm which supports dialectical analysis and respects of diversity, and in critical social theory. The series are informed by the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and specifically, the UNESCO Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice.

Presenters and participants will engage in on-going critical self-reflection and reflexivity and, promote best practices anchored in multiple disciplines towards dismantling and overcoming the hegemony of inequality and systemic violation of human rights.

Sessions include:

Framing African-Descent Identities Through a Human Rights Lens
December 2, 2020 – 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. CST

The historical and contemporary identities of people of African descent in Canada affect their health, social and economic well-being, and development. This first event in this three-part series will explore the effect of oppression based on “race” as it relates to identity, power, language, and well-being. Presenters will expose and discuss research findings on mental health, social, and economic costs of “race-based” oppression. Human rights advocates, policy, and community leaders are well-placed to learn and give voice to current challenges.

Addressing Intergenerational Trauma from Systemic Oppression
January 14, 2021 – 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. CST

The experience of slavery, discrimination, residential schools, hate crimes, disenfranchisement, and aggression impact not only the individual or community, but future generations as well. Human rights advocates, researchers, policy makers and community leaders will share and discuss strategies to: support healing from internalized oppression and/or superiority; promote human rights values, equitable inclusion and respect of diversity in the human family; and initiate processes that can effectively dismantle institutional and systemic oppression.

Recognizing and Overcoming Systemic Oppression: Advancing Health, Social and Economic Justice Together
February 4, 2021 – 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. CST

Research and news reports have exposed some similarities in the experiences of Indigenous People and African-descent Canadians with respect to oppression from policing and other institutions in the justice system. This session will expose the underlying root causes of institutional and systemic oppression due to perceived “race,” ethnic and cultural differences, etc. and, how they intersect with internalized domination/ oppression. It will explore human rights based policies, practice models and strategies that can support healing and, promote sustained health, social, and economic justice for all Canadians, at a practical level.

To register for this free series, please visit: http://umanitoba.ca/social-work/human-rights-symposium

For generations, these fears have persisted throughout BIPOC communities. Now they’ve resurfaced with the Black Lives Matter movement, gaining attention worldwide. Fears have turned to outrage over a growing list of tragedies—from the police-shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., to George Floyd in Minneapolis. From Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis., to Daniel Blake in Rochester, N.Y. This week, protesters again took to the streets over a court’s decision in the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor. Closer to home, Canadians are also taking to the streets over racial violence and injustice.

Political divisions

Historically, racial tensions rise in concert with times of social and economic unrest. This time, however, Cranston says conflict has been exacerbated by political divisions.

“In tough economic times, people try to protect who they think are their own,” Cranston says. “Now, the politics that surround us—to the south but also worldwide—has us more polarized along the lines of who belongs in a community and who doesn’t.” 

Amid these escalating divisions, U of M’s Education Alumni Association is hosting Cranston’s talk with educators on Sept. 30 to discuss racial inequality in education.

When academics can take all this privilege that we’ve got and put it in service of humanity, a particular segment of humanity who can’t access the resources we do, we’re going to leave the world a better place.

Titled, “Institutional Racism and the Implications for Faculties of Education,” the lecture is first in the Faculty of Education’s Distinguished Lecturer series for the 2020-21 season. This year’s series will focus broadly on the theme of reconciliation.

Cranston acknowledges Canada is rooted in a deeply segregated, and racist history. And, like the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, recognizes that education has a fundamental role to play in addressing those issues.

To that end, Cranston plans to speak about the systemic elements in the way that schools are organized and how people conduct themselves in schools. While progress has been made to address issues in K-12 education, there is room for improvement, he says. 

Cranston calls attention to the lack of racial diversity in the teaching force, people in leadership positions in schools and school systems—from school divisions to the post-secondary level. On a related note, Cranston points out he is one of only two non-white deans of education nationwide in a field of over 50.

Systemic issue

“In a country as racially and ethnically diverse as Canada, there is a systemic issue— and it’s not just simply representation, but on the visible side that’s how we see it,” Cranston says.

In addition to diversifying representation in the workforce, Cranston suggests developing cohorts of students, to create welcoming and supportive environments.

Turning to faculties of education, Cranston suggests reviewing how courses are structured and what kinds of materials are used in those courses. For example, ensuring sources extend beyond dead, white males to include authors from diverse backgrounds.

Cranston also considers his approach when working with diverse communities, expressing interest in the topics they need researched or supported in order to build and develop capacity in those communities.

“I spend as much time as I can in communities asking them, as a person who has a fair amount of privilege as an academic: ‘What do you need from me?’ I try, whenever possible, to put myself their service,” Cranston says. “When academics can take all this privilege that we’ve got and put it in service of humanity, a particular segment of humanity who can’t access the resources we do, we’re going to leave the world a better place.”

What: Institutional racism and the implications for faculties of education

When: Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020

Time: 7:00 p.m.

Where: Zoom video conference.

Register now.

For more information, contact:

Charlie McDougall, communications coordinator, Faculty of Education, Charlie [dot] McDougall [at] umanitoba [dot] ca

The following article from Lori Wilkinson, professor of sociology at the University of Manitoba, was published on The Conversation:

As the city of Winnipeg was preparing to host a large celebration to mark the beginning of the National Hockey League playoffs for its team, the Jets, a storm broke out over social media over a headline about the hockey street party.

A story that described the preparations for the outdoor public celebration during the playoff game in the Winnipeg Free Press included this headline: “Jets parties will turn downtown white again.” The original story ran with a photo of four men wearing all-white, hooded costumes. Both the headline and photo were later changed.

“Have a look at these photos from past Jets pandemonium/fan appreciation. The four men wearing all white Jets outfits with pointed hoodies … remind you of anything?”

On Twitter the group wrote:

“This headline can carry a very different meaning depending on who’s reading it …”

Many people reading the tweet from Black Space Winnipeg did not take the time to think about the original headline of the article before they hurled back angry, misinformed or racist replies.

Some examples: “Go back to playing basketball and leave hockey alone” and “its (sic) ok to be white,” a slogan made popular by white supremacist groups.

A Winnipeg White Out street party. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

Words and traditions change because our world is not static. We shouldn’t be afraid to institute change as we become aware of errors made in the past. Decisions made 30 or even 100 years ago have been challenged and changed. Sports have also changed. McGill University recently dropped the name of its sports teams, the Redmen, because as McGill University’s principal said, it is “widely acknowledged as an offensive term for Indigenous peoples, as evidenced by major English dictionaries…we cannot ignore this contemporary understanding.”

She said the name “is not one the university would choose today, and it is not one that McGill should carry forward.”

Winnipeg pride

Last year, the Jets won their first playoff series since the team returned to Winnipeg in 2011, making it all the way to the conference finals. This was a big event for the city. The parties attracted thousands of people to downtown Winnipeg. The crowds were loud and boisterous, but according to media reports, the atmosphere was friendly and a good example of the city’s community spirit in action.

For many Winnipegers, it was a positive image that helped to negate the often stereotypical images many Canadians have about their city as boring, cold as Mars (or hot and full of mosquitoes in summer), or one of Canada’s most violent communities.

“The whiteout” is a nickname for Jets street parties originated three decades ago. According to the CBC, the parties started as a response to the Calgary Flames’ “Sea of Red” during the 1987 playoffs. That was at a time when the Jets home colours were white, not blue as they now are, but the tradition has stuck. Although the Jets left Winnipeg in 1996, the “whiteout” resumed after the team’s return to the city in 2011.

Winnipeg is one of many NHL cities where fans uniformly dress in their team colours during the playoffs. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

On the surface, the term “whiteout” seems fairly benign and aptly describes the scene. Photos of the event confirm that it is indeed a sea of white. It looks like a blizzard, a phenomenon that naturally occurs in Manitoba winters.

It’s the second explanation — political correctness run amok — that is the most worrisome.

Concerns dismissed

Many fans dismissed the concerns of Black Space Winnipeg and others, rather than considering why the headline might have been offensive.

I read some of the over 450 replies on Facebook and over 400 replies on Twitter. Many of the responses gave nonsensical responses that showed how little the reader understood the issue and how little they valued the conversation on racism in their city centre.

To demonstrate how ridiculous they thought the issue was, a few posters submitted ideas like having a white refrigerator makes them a racist.

But the headline, along with the photo of men in white hoods, can be interpreted as “only whites are welcome” message. The intention of the message may be innocent, but the way it is understood by the people will depend on their social location.

In a city where racism often rears its ugly head, it is understandable that the seemingly innocuous headline can be understood to be threatening — especially by people who experience discrimination.

Black Space Winnipeg and other social activist organizations are asking Canadians to have conversations about race and to think about how we use language and how the way we label things and visualize them can unintentionally include and exclude groups of people.

Our current social climate in Canada, and in Winnipeg, has given space to more explicit expressions of racism, and therefore we — and our media outlets — need to think about the ways we use language and how that language may perpetuate bias.

For decades, the Holocaust educator has made it her life’s work to bolster curriculums and contribute to international resources so that the genocide of the Second World War is never forgotten or repeated.

January 27 marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1945 – a day set aside by the United Nations to commemorate the Holocaust.

UM Today spoke to Jarniewski [BEd/93, CertTrad/02] from her office in Winnipeg about the importance of honouring this day in the face of growing acts of intolerance around the world.

UM TODAY: YOUR PARENTS WERE BOTH HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS, WHICH CLEARLY GAVE YOU AN INTIMATE PERSPECTIVE ON THIS HISTORICAL EVENT. WHEN DID YOU DECIDE TO MAKE IT YOUR MISSION TO HELP EDUCATE OTHERS?

JARNIEWSKI: My undergraduate degree at the U of M was in Education with a minor in Judaic Studies. As I began to work with students, it became very apparent to me that many of them knew very little, if anything, about the Holocaust. In fact, some had never met a Jewish person before encountering me as their teacher. I quickly realized how important it was to promote and engage in Holocaust education.

IS THERE A PARTICULAR LESSON THAT YOU THINK IS CRITICAL FOR PEOPLE TO LEARN?

The most important thing in my opinion is that indifference or silence is equivalent to complicity. Unless we speak out, especially given the rise of extremism and hate today, we risk having history repeat itself. Sadly, “never again” rings hollow.           

THERE’S BEEN A MARKED RISE IN ANTI-IMMIGRANT, ANTISEMITIC, AND NATIONALIST SENTIMENTS AROUND THE WORLD. IT MUST BE PARTICULARLY DISTRESSING FOR HISTORIANS LIKE YOU TO WATCH, KNOWING WHAT SUCH MOVEMENTS HAVE LED TO IN THE PAST.

The rise of populism, nationalism, and hate are very worrisome. Scholars (and even graduate students) in some countries are being harassed and/or threatened for writing or speaking about the complicity of their countries during the Holocaust. Holocaust distortion is becoming as much or more of a problem than Holocaust denial. The intense anti-immigrant sentiment in some countries and the hatred for and false characterisations of certain groups bear chilling parallels to the situation in the 1930s and 1940s. Therefore, it is more important than ever to remind people of what happened in the not-so-distant past and of the importance of speaking out on these issues.

YOU ARE DOING THAT NOW, AS PART OF THE CANADIAN DELEGATION TO THE INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE ALLIANCE. CAN YOU TALK A BIT ABOUT WHAT YOU DO?

I serve on the Academic Working Group (AWG) and the Committee on anti-Semitism and Holocaust Denial. Both groups are working very hard to preserve the historical narrative and to fight against attempts to distort it. The Committee on anti-Semitism and Holocaust Denial elaborated and adopted the first intergovernmental definition of anti-Semitism, which has now been adopted by several countries and institutions within those countries. Recently, Western University became the first Canadian campus to adopt the definition. The definition is very important as it provides examples of what anti-Semitism is, and what it isn’t. 

IS THERE A PROJECT THAT YOU’RE ESPECIALLY PROUD TO HAVE BEEN A PART OF?

The adoption by the Plenary in Bucharest in 2016 was a particularly important moment for me – I felt history was being made. This year, the AWG asked its members to participate in a project which outlines anti-Semitic measures and legislation in our 31-member countries since the beginning of the 20th century.  I completed and submitted the research on behalf of Canada, which included the quota system for Jewish students at the School of Medicine in the 1930s and 40s.

SOME HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS ATTENDED THE U OF M, AS STUDENTS AND PROFESSORS, WHICH YOU CAPTURE IN YOUR BOOK VOICES OF WINNIPEG HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS. WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO TELL THEIR STORIES?

A local survivor felt strongly that their stories should be preserved in a format that would be widely accessible, especially to local students. We felt that reading about men and women who live or had lived in Winnipeg would make history more “real” to them.

As I was writing the book, it made me so sad to think about the suffering these wonderful people had endured. In many cases I had known them for years. Some provided me with old family photographs and seeing these photos which portrayed what they had lost were in many ways as upsetting as the horrific photos we see of the suffering and destruction.

IN YOUR OPINION, WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE AN INTERNATIONAL DAY OF REMEMBRANCE FOR THE HOLOCAUST?

In the Jewish community, we have Yom Hashoah (in the spring) which commemorates the Holocaust. However, an internationally acknowledged day encourages more than just commemoration and reaches a broader audience. Resolution 60/7 of the United Nations, which established International Holocaust Remembrance Day, encourages the development of educational programs to help prevent future acts of genocide. The resolution also condemns “without reserve” all manifestations of religious intolerance, incitement, harassment or violence against persons or communities based on ethnic origin or religious belief, whenever they occur.

While many of the UN member countries continue to engage in Holocaust denial and distortion as well as promoting anti-Semitic rhetoric, the day is observed solemnly and respectfully in many countries. I see this as an important weapon in the fight against Holocaust denial and distortion and a means of preserving the historical record. 

WHAT ARE SOME PRACTICAL WAYS PEOPLE CAN HONOUR THIS DAY?

The Freeman Family Foundation Holocaust Education Centre partners with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and this year’s theme is “the music of remembrance”. There are free events on January 27 and 28 (visit FFFHEC’s website for more information).  If you can’t get out to an event, I would suggest going online to the Visual History Archive and viewing one of the more than 52,000 testimonies.

At war’s end, six million Jewish people were dead along with millions of other victims of Nazism. Among the survivors were children – many war orphans – who became graduates of the U of M.

This week, we reflect on the stories and accomplishments of these alumni in the face of tremendous adversity and tragedy.

GEORGE RUBENFELD [BPed/60]

Born in Belfort, France, Rubenfeld was 17 when Germany invaded the country in 1940. Although the roads were bombed as civilians fled the northern cities, Rubenfeld was able to escape south with his family. They relied on the kindness and bravery of many strangers who hid, housed and fed them as France surrendered and anti-Jewish legislation was enforced.

His family was forced to register as Jewish and assigned a residence to live so they could be tracked and – when the time came – round up easily for deportation. That time did come, but the Rubenfelds were warned by a friend and were able to escape.

While his sisters and parents fled to separate farms to hide, Rubenfeld joined the underground Resistance. Based out of a cabin in the woods, he helped plan and sabotage German military operations. More skilled with a violin than guns, Rubenfeld once participated in a benefit concert to help French prisoners of war. Like the Von Trapp family from The Sound of Music, he and his sisters performed in front of 25 Nazi officers, and were then immediately whisked away to safety.

The entire family survived the war, immigrating to Canada in 1953. Rubenfeld obtained his bachelor’s degree at the U of M and later served as an assistant professor in the Faculty of Education for 17 years. He died on Jan. 23, 1991, aged 67.

Stefan Carter's immigration visa, circa 1948. // Photo courtesy Belle Jarniewski, Voices of Winnipeg Holocaust Survivors

STEFAN CARTER [MD/54, MSc/56]

Carter was imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1940, aged 12. After his mother was sent to the Treblinka death camp, two cousins smuggled him out; his father is suspected to have died in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. 

For two years, Carter hid in several Polish Christian homes. He was once betrayed by a neighbour to police, but escaped arrest when the officers asked him to drop his pants and saw that he was uncircumcised – an anomaly for Jewish boys. He proceeded to further hide his identity by undergoing surgery at a local clinic to alter his nose. By obtaining false Aryan papers and learning Catholic prayers Carter was able to live freely in Warsaw and its countryside until war’s end.

At 20, Carter immigrated to Canada where he became a renowned vascular specialist and participated in Manitoba’s first open-heart surgery in 1959. He was a professor in the Max Rady Faculty of Medicine for over 40 years.

Now in his 90s, Carter regularly speaks about his experience at high schools, universities and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. He is the author of From Warsaw to Winnipeg.

Arnold Frieman at the grand opening of Advance Electronics in Winnipeg, 1967. // Photo from Advance Electronics

ARNOLD FRIEMAN [BA/60, LLD/18]

Frieman was a teenager studying in Budapest when Germany occupied Hungary in 1944. He rushed home to find his parents, grandfather, and five siblings had been sent to Auschwitz. Only two sisters, Elizabeth and Edith, survived.

He spent months on the run, then in a forced-labour camp before making a miraculous escape. After the war, Frieman received medical treatment in Norway and studied electronics – skills he put to immediate use with the Israeli Air Force.

In 1951, he immigrated to Winnipeg and pursued a university education thanks to a $1,000 gift from a friend, supplemented with money he earned fixing and reselling car radios. This talent eventually inspired Advance Electronics. Initially a two-person operation, it burgeoned into the largest independently owned electronics store in Western Canada.

Frieman was a prolific philanthropist; his generosity made possible the premiere of I Believe, a Holocaust oratorio that encourages awareness, understanding and peace. He received the Order of Manitoba in 2006 and was conferred an honorary degree from the U of M in 2018. Frieman died on Apr. 5, 2019, aged 90.

Susan Garfield (centre) with her parents before the war. // Photo courtesy Belle Jarniewski, Voices of Winnipeg Holocaust Survivors

SUSAN GARFIELD [BRS/86]

Garfield (née Loffler) was eleven years old when Hungary was taken by German forces. Her father was sent to a slave labour camp and disappeared on the Russian front while her mother was taken away by Hungarian fascist collaborators.

With the help of an aunt, Garfield was able to obtain Red Cross papers and flee the Ghetto before Jews were imprisoned there. She was shuffled from town to town, hiding with aunts and uncles, narrowly avoiding capture many times.

Garfield immigrated to Canada through the Canadian Jewish Congress’ War Orphans Project. She had hoped to complete high school and attend university, but her foster parents thought secretarial school a more suitable option. In 1954, she married Harry Garfield [BA/49, MD/55]. After raising a family together, she was able to earn her much desired degree at the U of M at age 53. She is the author of Too Many Goodbyes: The Diaries of Susan Garfield.

John Hirsch at the opening of Three Men on a Horse at Toronto's Royal Alexandra Theatre in 1987. // Reg Innell, Toronto Star Archives

JOHN HIRSCH [BA/52]

When Hirsch left his hometown of Siófok, at 14, to study in Budapest, it was the last time he ever saw his family. Germany invaded Hungary in 1944 and his parents and brother were deported to concentration camps. A maid hid Hirsch, then took him to the Budapest Ghetto.

After the war, Hirsch lived in a UN refugee camp where he and a friend staged a production of The Snow Queen for the children there. This theatrical talent was encouraged by his adoptive family when he arrived in Winnipeg at age 17.

Only a few years after learning English, Hirsch earned his degree in English literature from U of M and formed a children’s theatre company. In 1957, with Tom Hendry, he developed Canada’s first regional theatre: the Manitoba Theatre Centre.

He would go on to serve as head of CBC television drama and artistic director of Stratford Festival. He received an honorary doctorate from the U of M in 1966 and was named to the Order of Canada. In the U.S., he won an Obie Award, among others, for his theatre productions. Hirsch died on August 1, 1989, aged 59.

Walter Saltzberg, centre on stretcher, at a Russian military hospital post-leg surgery. // Photo courtesy Belle Jarniewski, Voices of Winnipeg Holocaust Survivors

WALTER SALTZBERG [BSc(CE)/57]

Saltzberg was eight when he escaped from the Warsaw Ghetto in 1940, never to see his family again. The building he hid in was bombed; Saltzberg was the lone survivor. Buried up to his neck, his leg broken, he was rescued by a friend who carried him into a 40-square-foot hiding space behind a public toilet.

They lived there with three other Jewish men until the end of the war, surviving on snow, rain and rotten onions. His broken leg went untreated for nine months. At war’s end, he received surgery in a Russian military hospital, then reconstruction in Sweden, but was left permanently disabled. 

Saltzberg arrived in Canada at age 16 with a grade two education, a book titled 300 English Words, and no money. Ten years later, he graduated from the U of M and eventually became Director of Bridges and Structures for the Province of Manitoba. He was president of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists and also served as engineer-in-residence at U of M. He often spoke publicly about his war experience to instill tolerance and was awarded a Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers. Saltzberg died March 8, 2018, aged 88.

Do you have a story about an alumnus who survived the Holocaust? Let us know in the story comments below.

The year 2018 marks 80 years since the events of November of 1938, Kristallnacht, in which well over 1,000 German and Austrian synagogues were destroyed, along with their Torah scrolls, prayer books, and everything else set aflame without protest by the local population.

In Winnipeg, a ceremony of commemoration was held on Sunday, April 8^th, at the Congregation Shaarey Zedek Synagogue, during which time impassioned remembrances were presented by members of the Winnipeg interfaith community and survivors of the Holocaust.

Belle Jarniewski.

The organizer of the Yom HaShoah memorial is Belle Jarniewski (BEd/93, Cert.Trans/02), herself a child of two survivors of the Holocaust.

“My father was a survivor of six camps,” she says, “and the sole survivor of his entire family. My mother was an Auschwitz survivor and also the Lodz Ghetto.”

Jarniewski is the director of the Freeman Family Foundation Holocaust Education Centre and served as its chair from 2008 to 2018.

Since 2013, she has served on the federally appointed delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) as a member of the Academic Working Group and the Committee on anti-Semitism and Holocaust Denial. She is also the current president of the board of directors of the Manitoba Multifaith Council.

Growing up in the Winnipeg suburb of River Heights, Jarniewski says she stood out from other children who were second- and third-generation Canadians. Her mother had a strong accent and her father was viewed as so much older than her friends’ parents.

“Back then, no one talked about the Holocaust,” she explains. “It was one of those things that didn’t become part of public discourse until the 1980s.”

In about 2002, Jarniewski was asked to become involved with the transcription of answers to questionnaires given to a series of survivors of the Holocaust who lived in Winnipeg. These had been filled out by hand and required close reading to obtain the data for researchers, but little was done with the data for several years.

One day, a Holocaust Survivor suggested that I turn the information into a book so that the stories of survivors would not be forgotten,” she recalls. “I went back to some of the survivors and was able to get additional information about their experiences, allowing me to document them in detail.”

“I believe that we who live in a free country must do all we can to fight anti-Semitism, racism, and bigotry of all kinds, in order to protect that precious freedom”

The result of this research, her 2010 book Voices of Winnipeg Holocaust Survivors, serves as an important document in the history of 73 local survivors before, during, and after the Shoah.

Because of her awareness of her own family’s experiences and her knowledge of other survivors, Jarniewski has felt compelled to educate students of all ages about the Shoah and other genocides. Among the numerous initiatives she has helped organize and coordinate is an annual symposium for Manitoba high school students at the University of Winnipeg attracting up to 2000 students.

“Today perhaps more than ever, as our world community of first person witnesses to the Shoah grows ever smaller, it is our sacred duty to uphold the memory of those whose voices were murderously stilled,” she explains.

“From the individual Shoah denier to those who seek to revise history in many different ways, there are clear attempts to rewrite the history of our people. We cannot allow that to happen.”

Jarniewski’s deep concern for human rights is not confined to the experiences of those who suffered during the Second World War. She is also one of the original founders of Operation Ezra, an initiative to sponsor and resettle Yazidi refugees, and to focus awareness on this genocide occurring as she notes, “in broad daylight.”

She states passionately: “I believe that we who live in a free country must do all we can to fight anti-Semitism, racism, and bigotry of all kinds, in order to protect that precious freedom. The Shoah – the Holocaust – was an unprecedented tragedy, but not unique. For if we are to use the word unique, that means it could never be repeated. In a world where half a million Syrians have been slaughtered during the past few years, and as the world has done precious little to prevent men, women, and children from being murdered by chemical weapons, we dare not say, ‘Never again.’”

Jarniewski’s passion for tikkun olam (mending the world) led her to pursue postgraduate studies in theology at the University of Winnipeg. Her training helps her put into perspective and answer a perennial question about the Holocaust, namely: “How could God let something like that happen?”

Her answer is more a reflection on the nature of humanity than the nature of God.

“God didn’t have anything to do with it,” she says. “Human beings allowed this horror to happen. God is saying to us: ‘Do something!’ He intends for us to fight oppression, poverty, and inequality wherever it exists in this world.”

“We can’t expect miracles from God,” she adds. “He expects us to do these things. For if God controlled us like puppets, there would be no free will.”