Watch above: While the horrors of the Holocaust may seem impossible to imagine, a survivor told her story to hundreds of students Wednesday in Saskatoon. Amber Rockliffe reports on how Sally Wasserman is inspiring them to take a stand against hate.
SASKATOON – As a Holocaust survivor, Sally Wasserman, 80, tells her story to inspire people to take a stand against hate.
“It’s my legacy. And it’s also my duty,” she explained.
Wasserman shared her story with more than 500 students at the Jewish Community Centre in Saskatoon.
When she was a child, her parents and brother were taken to Auschwitz. Her mother hid her with a Polish family, who took care of her as one of their own.
“I lost everybody. I lost an entire family. I lost my parents, my sibling; I was an orphan at the age of eight,” she explained.
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Malissa Paul, a Grade 12 student at Carlton Comprehensive Public High School, said Wasserman’s story really resonated with her
“She really tried to talk about what was inspiring, and the triumph that comes through the trials and the challenges, and what you can learn from it, and how you can be strengthened from it,” Paul said.
After the presentation, students participated in the March for Change, a symbol of hope for a better future.
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“There were a number of marches that we recall in the Holocaust, most of them were death marches. Now we have students that return to do a march of the living,” explained one of the event’s organizers, Heather Fenyes.
Fenyes said connecting the younger generations with survivors is becoming more important with every passing year.
“Time is ticking. The young survivors are old, and the old ones aren’t with us anymore. And so our challenge is to find a survivor who has the stamina to do so much,” Fenyes explained.
Wasserman said if she inspires even one student to ignite change, all her effort is worth it.
The students were from Saskatoon and surrounding communities. Students from Carlton High School left from Prince Albert at 7 a.m. to attend the event.
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