" We ourselves became witnesses "
After having been selected to receive competitive grants, two MUN History students, Hailey Burden and Rebecca Howie, took part in the March of Remembrance and Hope Canada, an event organized to promote tolerance and understanding between people of diverse backgrounds. The grants allowed them to travel to Germany and Poland to visit locations connected with the Holocaust and other genocides, accompanied by a Holocaust survivor. The project is sponsored by the Jewish Federations of Canada.
Rebecca Howie reflects on her experience:
“The March of Remembrance and Hope was one of the most profound and humbling experiences I have ever had the opportunity to be part of. Every expectation I had going on the trip was exceeded by the time it was over. One of the first things a coordinator said to us on the trip was that because we were there learning the stories of witnesses to the Holocaust, we ourselves became witnesses too. What she meant was that the stories were passed to us, and we now had the responsibility to pass them on. The March of Remembrance and Hope program strives to ensure that the Holocaust is never forgotten. Being able to go to Germany and Poland and be in the spaces where the history took place was unlike any other experience I have had, I found that I understood it in a more personal way. On the trip, we visited three camps and several memorials. It was interesting to see how the Holocaust is memorialized in these countries. The camps we went to were Treblinka, Majdanek, and Auschwitz. When we were at Treblinka one of the coordinators told me that what was most upsetting for her was that we had the privilege to walk and exist freely in a place where so many others did not. At that moment I became very much aware of the space I hold in this world, and the privileges that I carry. When we were at Auschwitz, Elly Gotz, the Holocaust survivor that was with us, said, ‘This history is not just mine. It is yours too, it’s humanity’s history.’ He emphasized why learning history is so important, in this case, it allows us to fight intolerance when we see it because we know what it can become. I strongly recommend that students apply to take part in The March of Remembrance and Hope. I learned more than I imagined I could, and I made wonderful friendships with people across Canada.”
Rebecca Howie, BA History student