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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The opportunity to meet a Holocaust survivor has given eight students from Thomas Simpson School a different perspective on the Second World War.

A group of students from Thomas Simpson School listened to Ben Lesser speak about his experiences during the Holocaust on April 19 in Yellowknife. The group included, front row, from left, teacher Kyla Winacott, Ben Lesser and Leanne Sanguez. Back row, from left, Aaron Leader, Tyler Pilling, Steven Thompson, Jared Kotchea and Charles Gargan. - photo courtesy of Kyla Winacott

They were among 1,400 students who gathered in the gymnasium of St. Patrick High School in Yellowknife on April 19 to hear Ben Lesser speak. Lesser spent three hours telling the students about the time he spent in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp and the Durnhau Labour Camp between 1944 and 1945.

Tyler Jumbo, a Grade 12 student from Thomas Simpson School who attended the talk, said the three hours went by fast. He said, Lesser's way of speaking conjured images of what he was describing.

Hearing about this aspect of the Second World War from someone who was there was very different than reading about it in a textbook, Jumbo said.

"You almost experience it in person," said Steven Thompson, another Thomas Simpson School student who was in the audience.

Jared Kotchea, Thompson's classmates, said he will never forget Lesser's story.

"I will probably pass it on to generations of kids," he said.

One aspect of Lesser's talk that stood out for Kotchea was his description of how some Nazi soldiers treated Jewish babies. He told us they used them for target practice and let dogs tear them apart, Kotchea said. "I was disgusted."

Other aspects of the talk that stuck with the students were the hiding places Jews used to avoid capture by the Nazis. Lesser told the students about when seven people hid underground in a space dug beneath a dog house in his sister Lola's backyard. Lola and her husband Michael also spent three days hiding in a water tower while rats swam around them.

In addition to developing a desire to learn more about the Second World War, Kotchea said Lesser's presentation also left him with a strong message.

"I learned that racism is not the way to go," he said. "Don't hate, hate will start a war."

The presentation was very emotional for some students.

"I cried through the whole three hours I was there," said Leanne Sanguez.

Sanguez said she did not think she'd meet someone who had been in the Holocaust, an event she's studied in school. Sanguez was so moved by the presentation that she used her lunch money to buy Lesser's book.

"He's a great speaker," she said.

While in Yellowknife, in addition to listening to Lesser speak, the students also visited the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre and toured Buffalo Airways. Teacher Kyla Winacott, who accompanied the students, said listening to Lesser was one of the best moments in her teaching career.

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