C. Canada, 1929–1945 · Canada, 1929–1945: Depression, Extremism and the Second World War

The Holocaust, 1933–1945, and Canada's Response

C3.2 C3.3 A1.2 A1.3 A1.7About 75 minutes

Learning goals

I can define the Holocaust accurately and explain how it unfolded step by step.
I can name other groups persecuted and murdered by the Nazi regime.
I can describe how Canada and Canadians responded to and were connected to the Holocaust, during and after the war.
I can use survivor testimony and other sources respectfully and critically, and explain why Holocaust denial is false and harmful.

Words to know

Holocaust
The systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million European Jews by the Nazi German regime and its allies and collaborators, between 1933 and 1945. In Hebrew it is called the Shoah.

genocide
Acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.

ghetto
A section of a city where the Nazis forced Jewish people to live, sealed off and overcrowded.

concentration camp
A camp where people were imprisoned without trial, often for forced labour, in brutal conditions.

killing centre
A camp built mainly for mass murder, such as Treblinka; Auschwitz-Birkenau was both a concentration camp and a killing centre.

bystander
A person who knows about wrongdoing but does not act.

rescuer
A person who risked their safety to help those being persecuted; Yad Vashem honours non-Jewish rescuers as "Righteous Among the Nations".

testimony
A survivor's or witness's account of their experiences, recorded in writing, audio or video.

Holocaust denial
False claims that the Holocaust did not happen or was much smaller than the evidence shows. It is a form of antisemitism.

Approaching this lesson

The Holocaust is one of the most important events in human history to understand, and one of the hardest. This lesson explains what happened accurately but without graphic detail. Go at your own pace. It is normal to feel sad, angry or confused; talk with a parent or trusted adult about your feelings and questions.

Remember that the people who were murdered were individuals: children, parents, students, workers, musicians and neighbours, each with a name and a life. Survivors' voices are central to how we learn this history.

What was the Holocaust?

The Holocaust was the systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews by the Nazi German regime and its allies and collaborators, from 1933 to 1945. About two out of every three Jews in Europe were murdered.

The Nazis also persecuted and murdered other groups, for reasons of racism or ideology: Roma and Sinti people, people with disabilities, Polish and Soviet civilians, Soviet prisoners of war, gay men, Jehovah's Witnesses, and political opponents. The Nazis targeted Jews with particular intensity: their goal was to murder every Jewish person in Europe.

The Holocaust did not begin with killing. It began with words and laws: antisemitic propaganda, exclusion and discrimination (Lesson 5). Step by step, with many people taking part or looking away, it became genocide.

Each step built on the last. Exclusion came first; mass murder came later. Every step needed the participation, or silence, of many people.

Resistance and rescue

Jewish people resisted in many ways: keeping schools, culture and faith alive in ghettos; smuggling food; keeping records so the world would know (such as the secret archive of the Warsaw Ghetto); and armed revolts, including the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in April 1943. Some people escaped and joined partisan groups.

Some non-Jewish people risked their lives as rescuers, hiding Jews or helping them escape. Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust remembrance centre, honours them as Righteous Among the Nations. Rescuers were a small minority; far more people were bystanders, and many were collaborators.

Canada and the Holocaust

Before and during the war: Canada's government knew that Jews were being persecuted, yet admitted fewer than 5,000 Jewish refugees from 1933 to 1945 and turned away the St. Louis (Lesson 7). As reports of mass murder reached the West from 1942, Canada, like most Allied countries, did little to help Jews escape.
Internment of refugees: in 1940, Britain sent about 2,300 "enemy aliens" to camps in Canada. Most were Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria who had fled the Nazis. They were gradually released, and many stayed and contributed to Canadian life.
Military service: many Jewish Canadians served in the armed forces. The war against Nazi Germany ended the Holocaust; it was not mainly fought to stop it.
Liberation: in April 1945, Canadian forces liberated the Westerbork transit camp in the Netherlands, where about 900 Dutch Jews were still held. Canadian soldiers, airmen, doctors and army photographers also saw other camps after liberation. Their letters, photographs and films brought the evidence home to Canadians.
After the war: about 40,000 Holocaust survivors settled in Canada. Between 1947 and 1949, the Canadian Jewish Congress brought about 1,100 Jewish orphans to Canada through the War Orphans Project. Survivors rebuilt their lives, raised families, and later shared their testimony in schools, museums and books.

Before and during the war, Canada's doors were almost closed. After the war, many more survivors were allowed to come, though restrictions continued for several years.

Remembering, and confronting denial

Canada's National Holocaust Monument opened in Ottawa in 2017. Ontario marks Holocaust Memorial Day (Yom ha-Shoah) each spring, and January 27 (the liberation of Auschwitz in 1945) is International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Holocaust museums and education centres in Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, Vancouver and other cities collect survivor testimony.
Holocaust denial (claiming it did not happen) and distortion (minimizing it, or misusing it for unrelated causes) are false and harmful. The Holocaust is one of the best-documented events in history: Nazi records, photographs and films, trial evidence, testimony from survivors, liberators and even perpetrators all agree. Denial is a form of antisemitism. Canada's Criminal Code includes an offence (added in 2022) of wilfully promoting antisemitism by denying, condoning or downplaying the Holocaust in public statements.

Working with survivor testimony (A1.2, A1.3)

Testimony is a powerful primary source. Use it well:

Note when and how it was recorded (in 1945, or decades later; written, audio or video).
Memory can change details such as dates, but many testimonies together, plus documents, give a reliable picture.
Listen for the person, not only the events: their life before, their losses, how they survived, their life after.
Treat testimony with respect: these are real people's experiences, often shared at great personal cost.

Worked example

Let's answer a Holocaust denier's claim with evidence

Someone online claims, "There's no proof the Holocaust happened." How would a historian respond, using the concept of corroboration?

Identify the claim: it denies a historical fact. It is not a different "perspective"; it contradicts the evidence.
List the types of evidence: Nazi documents (such as records of deportations and the Wannsee Conference minutes); photographs and films taken by liberators, including Canadians; testimony from thousands of survivors; testimony and confessions of perpetrators at trials such as Nuremberg; physical evidence at camps; population records showing the destruction of Jewish communities.
Corroborate: these sources were created by different people for different purposes (perpetrators, victims, liberators, courts), yet they agree.
Consider purpose: denial is usually spread to promote antisemitism and to rehabilitate Nazism.
Respond and report: a calm, factual reply and reporting the post to the platform; don't amplify it by sharing.

The Holocaust is supported by overwhelming, corroborated evidence from perpetrators, victims, liberators and courts. Denial is false and is a form of antisemitism, not a legitimate debate.

Hands-on activity

Listening to a survivor

You need: a computer or tablet, headphones, a notebook, and a parent or trusted adult nearby. Choose an education resource, such as the testimony collections of a Canadian Holocaust museum or education centre (for example in Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg or Vancouver).

With your adult, choose a short testimony clip (5 to 10 minutes) of a survivor who later lived in Canada.
Note: the person's name, where they were from, their life before the war, one thing they experienced, and how they built a life after.
Write a short response (about 150 words): What did you learn that a textbook could not tell you? What would you want to ask them?
Take a break afterwards and talk about how you feel.

What to look for: accurate notes about a real person, respect for their story, and a reflection on why testimony matters (it gives the history a human face and counters denial).

Your turn

Define the Holocaust.

Name three other groups the Nazis persecuted and murdered.

Put these in order: ghettos, Nuremberg Laws, Kristallnacht, killing centres.

Give two examples of Jewish resistance.

What camp did Canadian forces liberate in April 1945?

About how many Holocaust survivors settled in Canada after the war?

Why is Holocaust denial considered a form of antisemitism?

More practice: warm-up

How many Jews were murdered in the Holocaust?

What is the Hebrew word for the Holocaust?

What happened in January 1942 at Wannsee?

What is a rescuer?

When is International Holocaust Remembrance Day?

More practice: on your own

Why do historians say the Holocaust "began with words"?

Explain the difference between a bystander, a perpetrator and a rescuer.

How did Canadian liberators help Canadians at home understand the Holocaust?

Why is it significant that Britain sent Jewish refugees to internment camps in Canada in 1940?

Why is corroboration so important in responding to Holocaust denial?

Challenge

Compare Canada's response to Jewish refugees before 1945 with its response to survivors after 1945. What changed, and why?

The Holocaust was carried out by a modern, educated society. What does this suggest about how genocide happens?

Why might survivors have chosen to share their testimony in Canadian schools, even though it was painful?

Check your understanding

Quiz

How many Jews were murdered in the Holocaust?

Which event came first?

Which camp did Canadian forces liberate in April 1945?

About how many Holocaust survivors settled in Canada after the war?

Which is the best evidence-based answer to Holocaust denial?

Who are honoured as "Righteous Among the Nations"?

Which group was not among those persecuted by the Nazi regime?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: This lesson covers the Holocaust as a major international event and Canada's responses and connections (C3.2), and introduces its impact on Canadian society (C3.3, continued in the final lesson). It practises using testimony and corroboration (A1.2, A1.3) and communicating respectfully (A1.7). The revised course gives the Holocaust and antisemitism greater emphasis.

Sensitive content: The lesson is accurate and non-graphic. There is no "Just for fun" box. Please preview the testimony clip before your teen watches it, and plan time to talk afterwards. Avoid graphic images; reputable Holocaust education centres design resources for teens.

Watch for: jokes, memes or "debate both sides" framing about the Holocaust that teens may meet online. Explain calmly that denial is not a debate; it is a form of antisemitism.

Common difficulties: keeping the sequence straight (exclusion → violence → ghettos → mass shootings → killing centres) and distinguishing Jews as the central target from other victim groups, while recognizing all victims.

How to help: Visit a Holocaust museum or education centre if one is near you, or explore the National Holocaust Monument's website together.