Trent University History professor, Dr. Carolyn Kay returns to Trent this fall having attended a pedagogical seminar at the International School for Holocaust Studies, at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.The only school of its kind in the world, Yad Vashem promotes Holocaust education and remembrance. Participants engage in interdisciplinary approaches to Holocaust Studies in arts, music, literature, theology and drama.

“Yad Vashem strengthened my resolve to teach on the Holocaust at Trent - to help future teachers become effective educators on this important subject,” said Professor Kay. “It is crucial that Holocaust education be included in the history classes of any university or high school in Canada. Although the subject is tough and upsetting, students gain so much from learning about what happened because any study of the Holocaust encourages one to consider the dangers of stereotyping minorities and the need to respect human rights.”

Prof. Kay joined 17 Canadians for three weeks in July, 2012 as a variety of selected teachers from around the globe gathered for the International Seminar for Educators. She describes the program as a powerful experience that will continue to enrich her teaching.

The purpose of the seminar which brought together a range of educators from high school teachers and university professors to museum directors, was to introduce new ideas in Holocaust historiography and to allow participants to hear the personal stories of Holocaust survivors living in Israel. All instructors were encouraged to discuss the difficulties and triumphs of instructing students in such a tough and challenging yet essential subject.

Activities included attending unique lectures by acclaimed scholars from the Hebrew University on such topics as Yiddish literature and culture, the lives of Jews in Poland in the 1920s and 1930s, and the influence of music and theatre in the Nazi ghettos. Participants also met eight Holocaust survivors. Dr. Kay was particularly moved by the story of Hannah Pick, who was a close childhood friend of Anne Frank.

“Hannah told us her personal story of great struggle and loss,” said Prof. Kay, “culminating in her family being sent to Westerbork transit camp and then to Bergen-Belsen (where most of her family was murdered, except for her sister). In Bergen-Belsen she met Anne Frank again and learned of her terrible condition in the camp. Yet they were able to share some words of greeting, and Hannah gave Anne food. This was the last time she saw her alive. Hannah's testimony affected me deeply. I was struck by the fact that I was hearing this remarkable story…of survival…and that I was…sitting in the same room with someone who had known Anne Frank. My experience of meeting Hannah Pick brought home to me the reality of Anne Frank and of the Holocaust. There is truly nothing like meeting a survivor and hearing his or her story. Survivor testimony makes the history of the Holocaust real and so incredibly poignant.”

Another activity Prof. Kay participated in was a day-long visit to Yad Vashem’s Holocaust Museum. She described this museum as “deeply moving” because of the museum’s superb organization of historical information and its unique collection of artifacts – including the diaries of Jewish children and children’s art from the Theresienstadt Ghetto.

Dr. Carolyn Kay’s classes are described by students as engaging and “a joy to attend” and one student nominator wrote of being “blown away by her passion for German history and her down to earth presence while lecturing.” As part of Trent’s history department since 1990, she has received the Symons Award for Excellence in Teaching (04-05) and the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations Provincial Teaching Award (2007).  She has also been nominated twice for TVO’s Best Lecturer Competition. Her courses include Modern German History, The Third Reich and the History of the Holocaust. This year, she is teaching again on the Holocaust and will introduce students to several Canadian Holocaust survivors. These talks will also be open to the public.