Teaching about Auschwitz
The Auschwitz camp complex occupies a unique place in history as the most infamous, and largest, concentration camp and death camp within the Nazi camp system.
The camp complex was built between 1940 and 1942 in German-occupied Poland. In 1942, the Nazis began to deport Jews to Auschwitz, where they were selected for slave labour or for death in the gas chambers, eventually deporting Jews from German-occupied countries and countries whose governments collaborated with Germany. An estimated 1.1 million people were murdered in Auschwitz, approximately 90 per cent of whom were Jewish; other victims included Polish prisoners, Roma and Soviet prisoners of war.
In 2005, the United Nations General Assembly designated January 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, marking the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in 1945. On this day, the Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Program encourages you to reflect on the history of the Holocaust with your students through our memoirs and classroom activities that use first-hand accounts from prisoners at one of the most significant sites during the Holocaust.
Our Auschwitz collection includes fifteen memoirs, three educational activities and sections of two anthologies. You can also consult our digital resource Re:Collection to view survivor authors’ video clips and read memoir excerpts focusing on their deeply moving experiences.
All of our Holocaust survivor memoirs and educational materials are offered free of charge for students and educators in Canada.
These accounts of Auschwitz-Birkenau include discussion of immense suffering and death, so we recommend these resources for students ages 16 and up and ask teachers to take into consideration the maturity of their students.
Memoirs
Six Lost Years
Amek Adler
- Born in Poland in 1928
- Not registered into Auschwitz; sent on to Vaihingen, a subcamp of Natzweiler
- Arrived in Canada in 1954
- Also available in French
A Cry in Unison
Judy Cohen
- Born in Hungary in 1928
- Focus on gendered experiences and spiritual resistance in Auschwitz-Birkenau
- Arrived in Canada in 1948
- Available in audiobook format
Spring’s End
John Freund
- Born in Czechoslovakia in 1930
- Details conditions in Czech Family Camp at Auschwitz for six months, then Men’s Camp until evacuation
- Arrived in Canada in 1948
- Also available in French
As the Lilacs Bloomed
Anna Molnár Hegedűs
- Born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1897
- Focus on gender, camp hierarchy and mother-daughter relationships
- Arrived in Canada in 1952
- Also available in French
A Lasting Legacy
Johnny Jablon
- Born in Poland in 1926
- Death march from Auschwitz-Birkenau to Nazi camps in Austria
- Arrived in Canada in 1948
- Also available in French
We Sang in Hushed Voices
Helena Jockel
- Born in Czechoslovakia in 1919
- Focus on women supporting one another and spiritual resilience
- Arrived in Canada in 1988
- Also available in French
Inside the Walls
Eddie Klein
- Born in Poland in 1927
- Confined in a ghetto and deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and several forced labour and concentration camps
- Unique perspective from a place of relative protection
- Arrived in Canada in 1956
The Weight of Freedom
Nate Leipciger
- Born in Poland in 1928
- Survives with his father and expresses their changing relationship
- Arrived in Canada in 1948
- Also available in French
A Name Unbroken
Michael Mason
- Born in Czechoslovakia in 1928
- Forced labour in Hungary and deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and forced labour camps
- Arrived in Canada in 1948
- Also available in French
Gatehouse to Hell
Felix Opatowski
- Born in Poland in 1924
- Friendship, trading, smuggling, connections with Polish Underground
- Arrived in Canada in 1949
- Also available in French
Bits and Pieces
Henia Reinhartz
- Born in Poland in 1926
- Unique literary style describing experiences in short vignettes, as if glimpses of fuller memories
- Arrived in Canada in 1951
- Also available in French
Dignity Endures
Judith Rubinstein
- Born in Hungary in 1920
- Observes the Sonderkommando Uprising from the unique perspective of a Kommando who cleaned the Auschwitz-Birkenau watchtowers
- Arrived in Canada in 1948
The Last Time
Eva Shainblum
- Born in Hungary in 1927
- Deported from Nagyvárad ghetto to Auschwitz-Birkenau in late May 1944
- Reliance on older sister for support
- Arrived in Canada in 1948
My Heart Is at Ease
Gerta Solan
- Born in Czechoslovakia in 1929
- Confined in Terezín/Theresienstadt ghetto and concentration camp and deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau
- Survival with no family, in children’s block
- Arrived in Canada in 1968
In Fragile Moments
Zsuzsanna Fischer Spiro
- Born in Hungary in 1925
- Deported from Kisvárda ghetto to Auschwitz-Birkenau in late May 1944
- Includes postwar diary entries describing a death march, written in Leipzig, Germany, in 1945
- Arrived in Canada in 1957
Activities
The Human Experience of Auschwitz
Designed to introduce your students to the history of the Auschwitz concentration camp complex, this inquiry-based activity encourages students to participate in knowledge-gathering by providing guided research questions that span the range of common experiences at Auschwitz: deportation, arrival and selection, daily life, resistance, and death marches. In small groups, students will research different questions related to this topic and then present their findings to the class.
*Also available in French
Nate Leipciger Activity
Nate Leipciger was born in Chorzów, Poland, in 1928. During the Holocaust, he was a prisoner in ghettos and Nazi camps, including Auschwitz-Birkenau. He survived with his father, and they immigrated to Canada in 1948. Nate lives in Toronto.
This activity can be used to create a lesson around Nate Leipciger’s survival story.
Johnny Jablon Activity
Johnny Jablon was born in Krakow, Poland, in 1926. During the Holocaust, he was a prisoner in several forced labour and concentration camps. He came to Canada in 1948 as a war orphan and lived in Montreal. Johnny Jablon passed away in 2023.
This activity can be used to create a lesson around Johnny Jablon’s survival story.
Anthologies
Before All Memory Is Lost: Women’s Voices from the Holocaust
- Auschwitz, Fela Yoskovitz-Ross
- Sometimes I Can Dream Again, Suzanne (Katz) Reich
- If the World Had Only Acted Sooner, Rebekah (Relli) Schmerler-Katz
- With Great Pride, Fela Zylberstajn Grachnik
- To My Daughters, Ida Dimant
Confronting Devastation: Memoirs of Holocaust Survivors from Hungary
- The Miracle of Our Survival, Yittel Nechuma Bineth
- Eviction and Terror, Sandor (Sam) Grad
- Amid the Burning Bushes, Ilonka (Helen) Rodak-Iszo
- Beliefs under Shock, Veronika (Vera) Schwartz