Communities, museums, and educational institutions across Canada have officially marked the beginning of Holocaust Education Month (HEM), launching a nationwide schedule of events spanning the entirety of November to preserve historical memory, combat rising bigotry, and equip the public with the tools to counter hate.
Spanning decades of community programming, anchored by initiatives like Toronto’s Neuberger Holocaust Education Week and the Montreal Holocaust Museum, this year’s nationwide rollout arrives against the backdrop of an unprecedented surge in antisemitism across Canada.
Data released by Statistics Canada showed that Jewish Canadians, accounting for roughly 1% of the population, were targeted in 71% of all religion-motivated hate crimes. This upward trajectory was further underscored by B’nai Brith Canada’s annual audit for 2025, released in April, which recorded a record-breaking 6,800 antisemitic incidents. These figures were compounded by ongoing updates and threat assessments issued by Public Safety Canada, which highlighted mounting security threats and community-level harassment.
In response to these trends, federal progress reports under Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy and updates from Public Safety Canada have increasingly emphasized expanded Holocaust education, mandatory hate-crime awareness, and the adoption of the Canadian Handbook on the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism as frontline tools to counter ignorance.
Throughout November, institutions from coast to coast are rolling out specialized public programming. Major highlights include educator training workshops hosted by the Toronto Holocaust Museum in partnership with Facing History & Ourselves Canada and the Azrieli Foundation; regional Kristallnacht commemorations led by the Montreal Holocaust Museum; public lecture series and film showcases organized by the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre and the Atlantic Canada Holocaust Education Foundation; and community forums coordinated nationally through the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA). As organizers and educational leaders emphasize, this extensive lineup is intended not only to honor the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, but to actively challenge the normalization of hate and prejudice in Canadian society today.
Time to reinforce Holocaust education, Montreal Holocaust Museum says
Speaking to The Jerusalem Post, Sarah Fogg, spokesperson and educator for the Montreal Holocaust Museum, stressed the significance of Holocaust education amid a sharp escalation in hostile rhetoric, public intimidation, and rising antisemitic vandalism targeting Jewish institutions and community spaces. Noting that Canadian Jews were victims of 68.5 percent of religiously motivated hate crimes in 2024 despite accounting for only 1% of the population, Fogg stated, “Now is not the time to abandon Holocaust education. It’s time to reinforce it.”
Addressing the hurdles educators face, Fogg highlighted that “we hear a lot of challenges from teachers… about what it’s like to teach the Holocaust in a contemporary context, and it’s not always easy.”. To tackle these difficulties, she noted that the museum is hosting a multi-day international seminar starting on Monday that brings together North American and European experts, including prominent scholars Karin Stögner, Professor of Sociology at the University of Passau in Germany, whose research focuses on the intersection of antisemitism and sexism and Manuela Consonni, Professor of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry and Director of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, “to bolster interest in Holocaust education” and share best teaching practices.
Museum features major Kristallnacht commemoration
Detailing the programming lineup for this month and week, Fogg noted that the museum is continuing its school programs, interactive USC Shoah Foundation “dimensions in testimony” holograms, and survivor testimonies, alongside a major Kristallnacht commemoration featuring author Douglas Century discussing his new book, Crash of the Heavens.
The book chronicles the extraordinary life of Hannah Senesh, a young Hungarian-born poet who volunteered as a British Army paratrooper to parachute into Nazi-occupied Europe to rescue trapped Jews before her tragic capture and execution at age 23.
Fogg told the Post that the museum is currently operating without its permanent exhibition while preparing to reopen at a new downtown Montreal site next summer, though staff remain fully focused on keeping public programming and school workshops active in the interim.
