Youth learn life lessons from Holocaust Survivors

Holocaust Survivor Fela Karmiol, who lives at the Terraces of Baycrest, proudly admires her Living Legacy poster, lovingly created by two Grade 6 students whose assignment was to meet and interview her, and then honor her life experience using mixed media art. Flanking Fela are her student partners, Taylor (left) and Amanda (right), both 12 years old. "It was an amazing experience," beamed Amanda. "I got a different perspective of the elderly; it made me more aware," said Taylor.

Grade 6 students and elderly Holocaust Survivors came together for an unforgettable evening on June 4 at Baycrest.

The culmination of an intergenerational project with Thornhill Woods Public School students and elderly survivors from Baycrest, close to 300 people turned out to celebrate Living Legacies. The colorful multi-media exhibit, tenderly created by the students, honored the tragic, rich and eventful lives of each of the survivors they had met and interviewed.

Clearly this was a history lesson for children that transcended text books and classroom walls -- an opportunity to hear firsthand accounts from living witnesses of one of the darkest chapters in World War II. The project was a celebration of life, strength and hope that the past will never be forgotten and the future generation will carry the torch of peace and tolerance in the world they will soon inherit as adults.