Just over a week ago, the world commemorated the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII. Prior to that, the world marked 70 years since the death of Anne Frank in Bergen Belsen. Please see links to two moving video created to mark this important anniversary.

Habonim played a role in both films.

In the first film – Voices of Liberation: Like Angels Out of Nowhere – several of the interviews with the survivors took place at our synagogue. In the second film – I am Anne Frank – one of our member’s children took part in the diary reenactments.

Voices of Liberation: Like Angels Out of Nowhere

New Film Released by the March of the Living Digital Archives Project: Voices of Liberation is a new video created with the cooperation of the Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre, March of the Living Digital Archives Project, and the USC Shoah Foundation, assisted by a grant from CIC, Government of Canada. The film was released to To mark the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII in Europe which took place on May 8, 1945.

The 9-minute video, directed by Canadian filmmaker Matthew Shoychet, features the liberation stories of ten Canadian Holocaust survivors, who were liberated by American, Canadian and Russian troops toward the end of WWII. When these forces encountered the labor camps and death camps, they came across thousands upon thousands of corpses and emaciated prisoners who seemed more dead than alive. Indeed, many perished in the immediate days following their liberation as a result of the years of torture and deprivation they endured.

Those who did survive lived the rest of their days with a feeling of deep gratitude for those who liberated them at the last moment – from the jaws of death, often referring to them as “angels” in their post-Holocaust memoirs.

The last story featured in the short film is that of Robert Engel who was liberated from Westerbork by Canadian troops on April 12, 1945, by units of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, including the South Saskatchewan and the 8th Reconnaissance Regiments. Robert Engel recalled:

All of a sudden these soldiers, our liberators, started singing. We didn’t know the song, had never heard it, but we knew instinctively that it was an important song. They sang it with such pride, standing there with their dirty faces beaming.

Their eyes were proud and smiling; by golly, they were beautiful. That song became, for me, the most beautiful song in the world. They sang . . . O Canada.

And we were free!

The film may be seen at:

I am Anne Frank

Among the many young victims of the Holocaust was 15-year-old Anne Frank, whose inspiring words and thoughts have touched the hearts of millions around the world. A prisoner of Auschwitz-Birkenau, she perished in Bergen Belsen just a few months before the end of the war, in February of March of 1945.

I Am Anne Frank was produced by award winning Toronto filmmakers, Riddle Films, to mark 70 years since the death of Anne Frank

The short film may be seen here:

Please take a few moments to watch these short films commemorating these two significant events.

1) The Legacy of Raoul Wallenberg

Raoul Wallenberg disappeared on January 17, 1945 after being apprehended by Soviet authorities. January 17th marks the 70th anniversary of his tragic and never explained disappearance. Last year, Riddle Media and March of the Living, with the help of the Azrieli Foundation produced a very moving short piece on his life and legacy.

100,000 Souls: The Legacy of Raoul Wallenberg

2) 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz

On January 27, 2015, the world will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. In the video link below, five Canadian survivors who frequently accompany students to Auschwitz-Birkenau on the March of the Living, along with a number of March of the Living leaders and students, reflect on the meaning of the 70th anniversary and on the educational importance of Auschwitz-Birkenau to future generations.

Auschwitz-Birkenau: 70 Years After Liberation……A Warning to Future Generations