Montreal, November 9, 2022– The English Montreal School Board Holocaust Education Program, supported by a Nova grant from the Jewish Community Foundation of Montreal, organized a virtual lecture with the students of Beverlee Friedman at James Lyng Adult Education Centre in St. Henri.
Thanks to the Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Program of the Azrieli Foundation (https://memoirs.azrielifoundation.org), survivor Fishel Philip Goldig told his harrowing story. Boen born in Mielnica, Poland (now Melnytsia-Podilska, Ukraine), in 1933, he immigrated to Montreal in 1948, where he established various businesses while also becoming a professional singer, cantor and theatre performer. Even today he remains dedicated to Holocaust education. Most of the students are from different countries around the world. They will each get copies of the book for Ms. Friedman Perlin to discuss.
During the Holocaust, Fishel’s family was forced into a ghetto in the town of Borszczów (now Borshchiv), where they lived in inhumane conditions. In 1943, they narrowly escaped the destruction of the ghetto and fled into the woods. Through some local contacts, they found a hiding place on the farm of a Ukrainian family named Kravchuk. Fishel, his parents and three relatives lived there, in a tiny cave, wholly dependent on the farmer for their survival. They stayed there until the spring of 1944 as the Germans were retreating from the area. After the war, Fishel’s hometown became part of Soviet Ukraine, and the family faced continued threats from the Soviet regime. They escaped from the country and spent time in a displaced persons camp in Germany before arriving in Canada.
Michelle Sadowski, an educator with the Memoirs Program, facilitated the discussion.
About the Project
The objective of the EMSB Holocaust Education Program is to sensitize students and staff to the history of the Holocaust and acts of Antisemitism via special guests, lectures and visits to the Montreal Holocaust Museum and different exhibits and programming in the community.
