Holocaust survivor Nathan Leipciger will be speaking at the University of Guelph on Thursday night as part of Holocaust Education Week 2019.
Now 91, Leipciger was imprisoned in seven different concentration camps, including Auschwitz, during the Second World War.
His presentation will include his experiences during the Holocaust, as well as a question and answer period.
READ MORE: Touring Auschwitz with Justin Trudeau an emotional journey for Holocaust survivor
Born in Poland in 1928, Leipciger found himself inside the gates of Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1943 at the age of 15.
His mother and sister were murdered there in one of the gas chambers that same year.
Leipciger narrowly avoided the same fate after his father rescued him from a line entering a gas chamber by convincing a Nazi officer that the teenager could be used as an electrician.
Get breaking National news
He was moved into a line for workers and everyone in the previous line was killed.
Both he and his father were liberated in May 1945 and three years later Leipciger immigrated to Canada.
READ MORE: Justin Trudeau tours Auschwitz with 88-year-old camp survivor
He has returned to the concentration camp several times, and provided a tour for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in July 2016.
Leipciger’s seminar will be held at Peter Clark Hall at 6 p.m. and all are welcome to attend, the university said.
As part of Holocaust Education Week, the Guelph Hillel, the university’s organization for Jewish students, has also installed an interactive exhibit inside a cattle car in Branion Plaza.
It is a replica of the railcars used to transport Jews to concentration and work camps during the war. It contains images, multimedia and written stories.
—With files from Mike Le Couteur
Comments