Celebrating 80 years ... 1978

The Oct. 12, 1978, issue of the Jewish Western Bulletin featured in its community section an article on the first Holocaust symposium, co-hosted by the joint sisterhoods of Vancouver and the Vancouver Jewish Community Centre.

Vera Slyomovics was the moderator: “Her message of trust that this generation will preserve the memory of the Six Million set the tone of the symposium.”

Other speakers were Vicki Frimer – who spoke about how “each of us has the plague within him” – and Dr. William Nicholls, then head of the religious studies department of the University of British Columbia, who “referred to the Holocaust as the ‘white point of a festering sore’ about to burst.” Jackie Boxer’s historical analysis of the events leading up to the Holocaust was followed by the screening of the film Night and Fog, described as a “pictorial look at the years 1933-1945 – the storm troopers, the trains, the camps and the corpses.” Survivors then spoke about “their experiences – experiences that are today being negated and repudiated.” The article concluded that the Jewish community must “be vigilant both for the rights of not only fellow Jews but also of all who suffer persecution.”