Grade 10 Reflections on International Holocaust Remembrance Day

This symposium made me realize the importance of hearing about world events from those who have lived through them. 

Born in Brussels, Belgium in 1935, at the age of 5, Mariette Doduck was forced into hiding due to the anti-semitic threats from the Nazi regime. Faced with violence, death, and scurvy, she and a few of her siblings survived the war. In 1947, after several years on the run, having learnt seven languages, she immigrated to Canada, where she went to school and got married in 1955. She cofounded the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre and in 2024, she received the Order of Canada. She is a mother of three, businesswoman, advocate for Holocaust education. As this generation is the last to live amongst Holocaust survivors, her bravery and dedication have laid the foundation for remembering Holocaust stories for years to come.

 

One specific story about her hiding in a farm stuck with me. She hid in a hay bail and after hiding for a while she eventually heard people coming to find her. One of these people (Gestapo) stabbed her in the hand with a pitchfork through the barn wall, but she was unable to cry or scream at risk of being found. She only cried after everyone had left. Her screams ended up shocking herself because throughout the war, she became like a robot who stayed silent because that was the only way to survive, but this time she couldn’t resist it. 

The takeaway I have gotten from this story is that even if conflict seems inexorable, we should never have anything lead to war, it brings people more pain than anything.

She may have been our age when she arrived in Canada, but she had already experienced things no adult should see.

This makes me think about how confused children must haveve been during these times, how they were forced to face the real world before they even became conscious individuals.

I know a lot of people who didn’t know the severity of the Holocaust until yesterday which is why these events and talks hold great importance.

Fear became a normal part of her daily life, something no child should ever experience. This experience helped me understand that this was not just war, but the exploitation of unnecessary hatred toward Jewish people.

She had to go against the inherent instincts of children of craving connection in order to survive. Mariette was able to do this and follow her brother's instructions, learning how to read maps and pick locks, which allowed for her survival.

What resonated with me most was at the end of the symposium when Mariette asked us young people to question what we are told and actively seek out the truth. Due to all the misinformation that is spread by social media, and news platforms that spread more emotion than facts, Mariette’s request is more relevant than ever. It is necessary that we seek out our own answers, and not stay silent.

“Monsters exist, but they are too few to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are the common men, ready to believe and obey.” Mariette’s memories demonstrate the heinous acts that can result from ordinary people blindly conforming to authority.