Local News
Youngest survivor of Auschwitz calls for greater Holocaust education efforts
By MYRON LOVE
Angela Orosz-Richt is greatly concerned about the rising tide of Anti-Semitism in the world.
“It seems that the world hasn’t learned anything from the Holocaust,” she said. “There are still a lot of people who believe that all Jews are rich and influential, that we control Hollywood and the media. The internet is full of garbage and we are seeing rising levels and Anti-Semitic attacks in Germany and France and even Brooklyn.
“And it’s not just the old Anti-Semitism. The lies about Israel are outrageous.”
She further noted that half of Canadians can’t name one concentration camp and many don’t know what Auschwitz was.
“There is still so much more (in terms of education) that needs to be done,” she said.
Orosz-Richt has in recent years taken a leading role in Holocaust education. On Thursday, February 27, the youngest survivor of Auschwitz was in Winnipeg for the first time speaking on behalf of the March of the Living to a full house at the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue.
Her appearance in Winnipeg came at the behest of Carrie Shenkarow, chair of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg’s March of the Living Committee.
Her father was an architect, her mother a well-educated young lady who was raised by French nannies. They met and fell in love and were married in 1943.
“Life was good at first,” she said. “My parents had an active social life. They didn’t see the clouds on the horizon.”
The Germans invaded Hungary in April, 1944, and, shortly after, Orosz-Richt’s parents were removed from their apartment to the ghetto and, on May 22, loaded with hundreds of other Hungarian Jews onto boxcars en route to Auschwitz. Orosz-Richt recounted the standard scenes of yelling, beatings, snarling German shepherds and the presence of Joseph Mengele on the platform designating the new arrivals for life or death.
Prisoners whose lives were spared had their heads shaven, were given uniforms and wooden shoes and were given numbers. “All their dignity was removed,” Orosz-Richt said. “They were no longer counted as human beings.”
While her father was worked to death, her pregnant mother somehow survived. She was first assigned to go through the belongings of victims for anything of value. Then, the five-months pregnant woman was put to work at hard labour building roads. What saved her was a reassignment to kitchen duties where she was able to scrounge potato peels.
When, at seven months pregnant, her condition was brought to the attention of Mengele whose staff subjected her to medical experiments consisting of injecting caustic substances into her cervix.
She was being encouraged by others in her barracks to abort her baby. “MY mother had a dream of her mother telling her to trust in God and not abort her child,” Orosz-Richt said.
She gave birth in the barracks with the help of another inmate who had had some medical experience. Orosz-Richt weighed one kilo at birth and her chances of survival were slim. Further upping the odds against her, almost immediately after birth, her mother had to go outside with the other prisoners for the daily roll call.
“She had to stand for three hours in freezing temperatures in flimsy clothing,” Orosz-Richt said. “It was the thought of her baby waiting inside that kept her going. She was afraid that I might have died before she got back.”
After liberation, mother and sickly child returned to Hungary where they lived with Vera’s mother. Vera found a doctor who looked after her baby. Mother and daughter escaped from Communist Hungary in 1948 and, shortly after, Vera married an older man who had lost his wife and daughter in the Holocaust.
“I grew up with loving and protective parents,” she said.
Orosz-Richt – who has four children of her own – noted that for the first twenty years, survivors didn’t want to talk about what happened to them. For the next twenty years, no one wanted to listen. It has only been in the last 30 years that Holocaust victims are talking and people are listening.
“Holocaust education is so very important,” she said. “Government needs to be involved and we need to start teaching the Holocaust at a younger age.”
Speaking on behalf of the Federation, Jessica Cogan, Israel and Overseas Chair, spoke about the importance of the March of the Living. “I consider the March of the Living a sacred duty,” she said. “My own participation I consider one of the most meaningful moments in my life. It shaped who I am today.”
She noted that the March of the Living began in 1988. Every year, thousands of young people from all over the world gather once a year at Auschwitz, walk the three kilometers from Auschwitz to Birkenau following in the footsteps of the death march near war’s end and show that the world that the Nazi’s failed in their “final solution”. Then they follow up with a trip to Israel where they celebrate Yom Hatzmaut and celebrate the miracle which is the rebirth of Jewish life in our ancestral homeland.
“Our goal this year was to send 20 students from Winnipeg on the March of the Living – 20 in ’20,” Cogan said. “I am happy to announce that we have exceeded that number. We will have 24 students going this spring.”
While the students contribute to the cost of the trip, Cogan noted, the March of the Living Committee raises funds to subsidize those costs.
“We want to thank our donors and encourage others to give,” she said.
Local News
Bark Mitzvah at the Simkin Centre August 13, 2026
By BERNIE BELLAN On a beautiful summer day at the Simkin Centre residents and family members – along with staff, were treated to a delightful “dog day afternoon” when scores of dogs were brought to the front courtyard outside the centre to celebrate what was titled a “Bark Mitzvah.”
Now, no dogs were called up to the podium to read from the Torah – or even to bark out a blessing, although as I canvassed many owners of dogs that were there – inquiring as to whether their dogs had received any special training for the day, I was pleased to hear that many dogs came from good “Jewish homes” and were good “Jewish” dogs. (I would suppose, in the case of our own dog that would mean that she’s been spoiled rotten.)
Some owners though maintained that their dogs had been brought up quite disciplined – although to be honest none of the dogs that I saw seemed to be be rigorously paying attention to any commands. Most were of the Goldedoodle, Yorkie variety. There was one rescue dog in the midst. It seemed quite confused, surrounded as it was by all those lap dogs.
The entire event was presided over – with great humour, but also a certain amount of seriousness, by Rabbi Matthew Leibl, who explained to the very large audience why having a special day celebrating dogs was entirely consistent with Jewish tradition.
Following is part of the transcription of an interview I conducted with Rabbi Lebil following his remarks explaining why he thought holding a “Bark Mitzvah” would be a good event to have. (You can watch the entire video at the end of this story. But where there was a great deal of laughter coming from people who were listening to my interview YouTube inserted the word “laughter” – which should give you an idea how fun an interview it was.)
As Rabbi Leibl explained to me, “I’ll tell you a serious story. When I was training – and I trained with Rabbi Annabal Mass… our teacher, Rabbi Steven Glade, encouraged everyone to consider a blessing of the animals ceremony because he said it’s a monster event. Just look around. It brought out so many people. It’s one of those events you can tie in loosely to a Jewish event – which it is. I mean we did it on Rosh Chodesh Elul- the new year of the animals and this whole idea it’s very similar to Tu B’Shvat- reimagining something old from Mishna to do it like this – but look at the attendance. I mean everyone wants to bring their dog and at a personal care home they say that music, babies, and dogs are the three biggest things that get through to everyone.”
I had to ask about kashrut, however (as I’ve been told repeatedly that kashrut is an essential element of the Simkin Centre – no matter how few residents may care about kashrut. Look – if I’m sent to cover something as frivolous as a “Bark Mitzvah” you can hardly expect me to refrain from going after my pet bugaboo at the Simkin Centre – and how ridiculous it is to require that the centre remain kosher when most of the residents could care less about kashrut), so I said to Rabbi Leibl: “No milk bones here, I hope. I expect that this is a strictly kosher event.”
His response: “I’m not sure. I wasn’t put in charge of that, so I can’t say. But no one’s going to be serving them any of the food that we eat. I can tell [laughter] you that.”
I said: “I’m not sure how to read that. [laughter].”
I asked whether there were Jewish dogs mixed in with non-Jewish dogs? (Dog assimilation is a serious issue.)
Rabbi Leibl replied: It’s inter denominational. [laughter] . I guess I don’t think we check to see if the dogs were uh circumcised. “
I asked: “Are we… [laughter] Are we mixing Jewish and non-Jewish dogs?”
Rabbi Leibl: “I don’t know that dogs have a faith. I’m not sure. I think they do. I think they’re of all faiths. ”
I asked: “Okay. And you know where bark mitzvahs originated?”
Rabbi Leibl: I’m sure it’s probably something silly.
Me: “It was gay guys in New York.”
Rabbi Leibl: ” Really?”
Me: ” Yes. Because they didn’t have kids. They started having bark mitzvahs.”
Rabbi Leibl: “That was probably more of an individual dog thing. This is a communal thing. It’s just a catchy title for publicity, Bernie. It’s the blessing of the animals. That’s the real thing.”
Me: “I was told that some of these dogs are on medication – as are many of the residents.”
Rabbi Leibl: “That’s low hanging fruit, Bellan. Low hanging fruit.”
Here’s the complete video of my interview:
Local News
Nakba exhbit at CMHR – you can see it right here and make your own assessment
By BERNIE BELLAN (Posted June 26, updated July 19) The Nakba exhibit at the Canadian Exhibit for Human Rights opened to the public June 27. The morning before the exhibit was set to open to the public, (it had a private opening for invited guests the evening of June 26) we received a press release from the CMHR. That press release gave a very detailed description of what was in the exhibit, along with photos (supplied by Annie Kierans of the CMHR).
There is also a link right at the beginning of the press release that will allow you to watch the same videos that anyone attending the exhibit can watch. We reprinted what was sent to us without making one edit. We leave it to you to form your own opinion as to whether the exhibit is fair in its presentation, and whether it is lacking “context” – which is an accusation that has been levelled at the exhibit’s organizers by some representatives of Jewish organizations.
We have received many emails in reaction to the exhibit. If you have an opinion and would like to see it published on this website, you can send it to jewishp@mymts.net, but please indicate whether you would be willing to have it published on this website.
Here is what we received the morning of June 26:
Winnipeg, MB — June 26, 2026 — The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) will open a new exhibit tomorrow that explores human rights violations related to the ongoing forced displacement of Palestinian Canadians.
Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present will be on display in the Rights Today gallery on Level 5 until 2028. Featuring personal stories told through artifacts and video testimonies, the exhibit presents Palestinian Canadians reflecting on their ongoing struggle for human rights. The small exhibit reveals enduring patterns of loss and resilience, helping visitors understand more about this contemporary human rights story.
Palestinian Canadian stories are now included alongside many other stories of forced displacement and human rights violations featured in the Museum’s galleries. Each of these stories contribute to our visitors understanding of human rights and help the Museum fulfill its mandate to foster reflection and dialogue.
Exhibition highlights
Personal stories and artifacts: Experience firsthand accounts from Palestinian Canadians sharing their journeys of displacement and memory through a series of five artifacts. Cases display artifacts like property deeds, house keys, and a traditional Palestinian embroidered dress, accompanied by short videos that deepen understanding of the impacts of displacement.
Powerful artworks: In her painting Bound Together in Gaza, Malak Mattar, a Gazan artist, captures the struggles and resilience of her generation shaped by conflict. Her work pays homage to Guernica, Picasso’s powerful masterpiece depicting civilian suffering during war.
Curfews and Closures, by Rajie Cook, bears witness to life under military occupation during the 2000–2005 Palestinian uprising, when curfews and closures were expanded and further limited basic rights and freedoms.
Cultural heritage: Discover traditional Palestinian embroidery called tatreez. Tatreez motifs and colours are tied to place, family history and regional identity. Patterns are associated with particular towns, villages or areas of Palestine. In this way, tatreez is a form of storytelling: a way of preserving memory, sustaining identity and expressing resilience across displacement and exile.
Poetry and reflection: Engage with Mahmoud Darwish’s evocative verses, inspiring personal reflection on exile, voice, and responsibility. Visitors can take a card containing Darwish’s poem and add a personal note, fostering ongoing dialogue beyond the exhibit.
Contemporary context: Witness striking images of current events in Gaza and the West Bank, connecting past displacement to ongoing struggles.
Quotes:
“No force can silence the truth we carry. Growing up in Canada, my children lived the Nakba through our stories. And now we watch it happen again, live, on our phones. When I see the images coming out of Gaza, I am not watching the news. I am watching my history repeat itself.” -Fouad Sahyoun, a Palestinian Canadian featured in the exhibit
“We developed this exhibit with a clear awareness that Palestinian Canadian voices have too often been marginalized, silenced or spoken over — and that anti-Palestinian racism affects whose stories are heard and whose suffering is recognized. That is why we intentionally centred Palestinian Canadian voices throughout the exhibit.” -Isabelle Masson, Curator of Palestine Uprooted
“Human rights matter precisely when they are inconvenient, when the question of who deserves the dignity of having their rights recognized is genuinely contested. These are the moments where having a national museum for human rights is most important.
There are people who believe this exhibit should not exist in its current form. There are people who believe it should have existed sooner. There are people who will visit this exhibit and feel that it does not say enough, and others who will feel it says too much.
We have listened to every one of these voices. We have reflected. And we have renewed our resolve to continue the difficult, sometimes contested, and often controversial work of building understanding about human rights. We are a museum grounded in Canada’s human rights framework, whose mandate requires us to bear witness to the full complexity of the human story. We are proud to open this exhibit because the story it tells will help achieve that mandate, and because this story belongs in the collective memory of Canadians.”
- – Isha Khan, CEO
Local News
A photo that’s being circulated on the internet about me
For those of you not familiar with nutjob Michael Kalo – the psycho who created the notorious “$hitler’s List” years ago and the same psycho who went after Ben Carr, well – now he’s obviously taken a strong disliking to the stance I’ve taken on the Nakba exhibit at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. (You can read elsewhere on this website how I simply posted the entire exhibit as it is – and asked readers to form their own opinions.)
Kalo likes to send out emails to various individual using phony names – such as Frank Ostrowski. When people ask me (or asked Ben Carr) why we don’t take action against him, my answer is: What’s the use? He only basks in the attention.
So Michael – enjoy the attention you’re receiving. I know how much of an embarrassment you are to your wonderfully talented daughters.
