7 minute read
REMEMBERING
Helen Epstein on the Holocaust and intergenerational trauma
By Benita Siemiatycki
Building upon previous programs offered for descendants of survivors, the Centre for Holocaust Education and Scholarship (CHES) is proud to welcome writer Helen Epstein. On November 14, as part of Holocaust Education Month, she will deliver a presentation entitled, “The Shadow of the Holocaust on the Lives of Descendants of Survivors – Is it Possible to Move Beyond Its Grip?”
As there are declining numbers of survivors to share their stories, we are slowly transitioning from the age of witness to the age of memory.
Epstein is the author, co-author, translator or editor of 10 books of narrative non-fiction and was the first tenured female journalism professor at New York University (1981). As a journalist, she has published many articles in prominent publications.
Epstein first explored the world of children of survivors more than 40 years ago when she travelled throughout Israel, Europe and the United States searching for young people like herself. What did these children of survivors have in common? Could she relate to their experiences growing up? This inter-continental research resulted in her book, Children of the Holocaust (1979). “I set out to find a group of people who, like me, were possessed by a history they had never lived,” she says.
Children of the Holocaust became the seminal piece of research and analysis that started the conversation about generational trauma and how survivors’ experiences came to be transmitted to their children. “The transmission of trauma is part of a larger question: the inter-generational transmission of culture and history,” Epstein says. “Each person deals with it in their own way, and there are many variations.”
Following the death of her mother in 1989, Epstein started to research her family’s pre-Holocaust history. That resulted in Where She Came From: A Daughter’s Search for Her Mother’s History (1997). The late Elie Wiesel praised the book: “Helen Epstein’s literary pilgrimage to her past will move and enrich our quest for memory and understanding.” Earlier this year, Epstein published a memoir of her late mother, Franci Rabinek Epstein, called Franci’s War.
Asked if hard work or luck was most important in researching her mother’s history in the Czech Republic, Epstein says, “I was lucky to have a very special set of variables in my life that allowed me to explore this topic early on. In no particular order: I had two parents who had returned to their country and pre-war lives after 1945; they were not estranged from their history; they reintegrated into the Czech society of Prague which they loved and fled only because of the Communist takeover in 1948.”
Her presentation will shine a light on her family history and intergenerational trauma. For children of Holocaust survivors, understanding the transmission of trauma from their heroic parents can perhaps answer questions which have dogged them their entire lives.
While her presentation is aimed at second and third generations of Holocaust survivors, it will be of interest to all. We are currently discovering gruesome facts about Canada’s role in the cultural decimation of First Nations and the subsequent impact on their descendants. Around the world, genocides continue to take place. Antisemitic incidents in Canada continue to rise, and Jewish students in public schools are facing so much bullying that many are switching to schools with higher Jewish populations.
The evening will open with a short presentation by Chaim Katz, a PhD student at the University of Toronto and a grandson of survivors. He has been involved in many aspects of student life on campus and shared his story and message at the Emergency Summit on Antisemitism. This advocacy has led Katz to roles in Jewish student life and to collaborating with various Jewish groups on and off campus. He knows what antisemitism can lead to if ignored. Katz will share his personal story and impressions of Jewish
Holocaust Education Month virtual event
Helen Epstein on “The Shadow of the Holocaust on the Lives of Descendants of Survivors – Is it possible to move beyond its grip?”
Introduction by Chaim Katz, PhD student and child of survivors, on “Antisemitism in universities, a hidden social pandemic.”
November 14, 2021 7 p.m. online
Centre for Holocaust Education and Scholarship
For more information and to register: events.chesatottawa.ca/ holocaust-education-month-nov-14/
students and antisemitism on university campuses today.
For information and registration visit events.chesatottawa.ca/ holocaust-education-month-nov-14.
Benita Siemiatycki is a member of the Centre for Holocaust Education and Scholarship committee which organized the Helen Epstein event. Her parents are survivors of the Holocaust from Poland, and they arrived at Pier 21 in Halifax in 1948 as refugees. They settled in Montreal where they raised four children. Ottawa has been home to Benita Siemiatycki since 1982.
WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT?
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Yasir Naqvi
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Cozy Up!
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My priorities as your Member of Parliament
I am thrilled to be submitting my first column as your new MP for Ottawa Centre. First and foremost, I’d like to thank you for putting your trust in me to represent you as Member of Parliament. I am more than ready to hit the ground running and start working on key issues that are important to our community.
Through countless conversations during the election campaign, you outlined clear priorities for me.
Affordable Housing
I want to tackle the housing and homelessness crisis in Ottawa. I am committed to working with local notfor-profit housing organizations and all levels of government to secure more funding for affordable housing and social housing and to see the social-housing waitlist reduced as much as possible. Delivering real affordable housing is critical but it is also key to improving the policy so that we are making a true impact in our communities.
Climate Action
I presented a Climate Action Plan for Ottawa Centre that I am committed to seeing through as your Member of Parliament. As part of this plan, I am prepared to advocate for stable funding for our winter trails along the Ottawa River and to consult the community on extending the project to close Colonel By Drive to vehicle traffic for a full year. I will engage with our community and the city to identify additional opportunities for active transportation, such as dedicated bike lanes. I will work to integrate the Ottawa LRT with the new world-class Civic Hospital to reduce emissions and build a better transit system for hospital workers and users. I am committed to working with community partners and advocates to identify bad air quality hotspots in Ottawa Centre and develop strategies to improve it. I am also committed to partnering with communities to develop an urban tree canopy strategy to protect and expand our community’s trees and native plants. Last but not least, I will introduce a law to protect the Central Experimental Farm forever.
End Systemic Racism
All of us have a role to play in telling the truth about our past and a responsibility for reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples in a meaningful way. We must work together to eliminate systemic racism and fight back against the injustices that Black, Indigenous Peoples, the LGBTQ2 community and people of colour are experiencing every day. I will use my privilege and experience to put inclusion at the centre of our public policy with a diverse public service, and I will work towards ending racial profiling in federal law enforcement across Canada.
I want you to know that being an MP who is accessible to you is of upmost importance to me. I am building a committed and hard-working team to assist you through exceptional service. We are in the process of setting up the office. In the meantime, please reach out to me at yasir.naqvi@parl.gc.ca or call 613-9468682 to let me know how we can help, invite me to your events or let me know what you think about important issues in our community. I can’t wait to hear from you!
