This past Monday's commemoration of Remembrance Day memorializes those that fought and served in the armed forces, but last week at the University of Guelph, there was a week long remembrance of those that lived though the horrors of a war, and like so many veterans, there aren't too many more chances to hear their stories first hand.
Every year Hillel Guelph holds events to mark Holocaust Remembrance Week with a number of activities, the two most notable are a travelling exhibit in an actual train car used to...
This past Monday's commemoration of Remembrance Day memorializes those that fought and served in the armed forces, but last week at the University of Guelph, there was a week long remembrance of those that lived though the horrors of a war, and like so many veterans, there aren't too many more chances to hear their stories first hand.
Every year Hillel Guelph holds events to mark Holocaust Remembrance Week with a number of activities, the two most notable are a travelling exhibit in an actual train car used to transport people to Concentration Camps, and a guest speaker, who is survivor. This year's guest was Nate Leipciger, who's spent much of the last 30 years telling his story to people all over Canada.
Leipciger was 11 years old when the Nazis invaded his home in Poland, and he was 15 years old when he and his family were shipped to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. Like thousands and thousands of people, that might have been where Leipciger’s story could have ended, but his father’s guile saved his life twice, once when he was in line to be "processed," which was the code word for being put to death in the gas chambers, and again when his father convinced an officer to transfer them both out of Auschwitz.
This week on the podcast, you will hear Nate Leipciger tell his own story, in his own words, and what drives him to still travel around and tell his story at the age of 91. After that, you will hear the interview I got to do with Leipciger after his talk, which will give you a little more insight into the indomitable spirit of humanity, even in a Concentration Camp, and why, in spite of everything, Leipciger's never indulged in hate.
So let's hear about one man's story of hope and survival on this week's edition of the Guelph Politicast!
You can get Leipciger’s book, The Weight of Freedom, wherever you get your fine books. To learn more about Hillel Guelph, you can visit their website here.
To hear another story of survival, this week’s episode of Open Sources Guelph will feature Robert McCabe, a survivor of abuse by a Catholic priest who now helps other survivors. McCabe is sponsoring a screening of the documentary Prey on Saturday at the River Run Centre, and we will also be speaking to the film’s director, Matt Gallagher.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here, or download them on your favourite podcast app at iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and Spotify.
Also, when you subscribe to the Guelph Politicast channel and you will also get an episode of Open Sources Guelph every Monday, and an episode of End Credits every Friday.
