On November 15th, Danish Ambassador Hanne Fugl Eskjaer, Swedish Ambassador Signe Burgstaller, and CHES hosted the 80th Commemoration of the Rescue of the Danish Jews. Ambassador Eskjær shared an inspiring story of a family member who was a carpenter and who made coffins that provided unorthodox hiding places, thereby helping to save Danish Jewish lives.
The ambassadors, along with their teams, showed inspiring dedication in advancing Holocaust education. Professor Irwin Cotler addressed the gathering remotely. The audience was invited to view the screening of the short animated film, Voices in the Void, which documents the rescue of the Danish Jews. The video features the testimonial of Rabbi Bent Melchior.
CHES Secretary Marion Silver spoke about her mother’s experience and her own work with CHES. She was part of a distinguished panel emceed by Evan Solomon, formerly of CTV’s Power Play and now with the Eurasia Group as publisher of GZERO Media. The panel also featured Brian Herman, former Director of Government Relations for B’nai Brith Canada, and Janus Møller Jensen from the Danish Jewish Museum, who shared their expertise in Holocaust education.
The panel discussion included an exploration of how Danish Jews were able to keep many of their rights as citizens far longer than their other occupied European neighbours. The Canadian policy at the time of “None is too many” stands in stark contrast to the Danish Jewish experience.
CHES was pleased that students joined the event. Reflecting on the lesson of standing up to racism provided the groundwork for good citizenship. We hope the messages shared this day will resonate today and far into the future.
