2–9 November The Future of Memory

curated programs
The Power of Memoir and Storytelling:
How do we Teach Others about the Pain
of the Past?
Explore two distinct narratives that examine loss, trauma
and the use of memoir in the journey toward healing.
Holocaust survivor Nate Leipciger joins former chief of
the Sagkeeng Ojibway First Nation and Residential School
survivor Theodore Fontaine to talk about how they
came to write and publish their memoirs. They will speak
about the use of storytelling as a way of coping with their
experiences, and the transformative power of sharing
one’s tragedy.
Nathan Leipciger was born in 1928, in Chorzow, Poland. He survived
the Sosnowiec Ghetto and the camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Fünfteichen,
Gross-Rosen, Flossenbürg, Leonberg, Mühldorf am Inn and Waldlager.
Nate and his father were liberated in May 1945 and came to Canada in
1948. Nate’s memoir, The Weight of Freedom, was recently published
by the Azrieli Foundation. This summer, Nate accompanied PM Justin
Trudeau during his visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau; in the fall, Nate visited
Kenora, Ontario, to meet with Elders and Chiefs and to speak to First
Nations high school students.
Theodore Fontaine is a member and former chief of the Sagkeeng
Ojibway First Nation in Manitoba. He attended the Fort Alexander and
Assiniboia Indian Residential Schools from 1948 to 1960. He has worked
for various First Nations government sectors and was an advisor and
executive director of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. Theodore wrote
the bestselling memoir Broken Circle: The Dark Legacy of Indian Residential
Schools, and regularly speaks to numerous audiences on Indian
residential schools. He continues to support other survivors and seek
reconciliation directly with those who were perpetrators of his abuse.
Books will be available for purchase and author signing. Auditorium is
fully accessible and ASL interpreters will be present during the program.
Generously sponsored and presented by The Azrieli Foundation.
Co-presented by Facing History and Ourselves, Ve’ahavta, and Equity
Studies Program, New College—University of Toronto.
Thursday, 3 November | 7:00 PM
University of Toronto
New College | William Doo Auditorium
40 Willcocks Street | Toronto
416–964–7698
Images courtesy of the personal collections of Theodore Fontaine and of Nate Leipciger
via the Azrieli Foundation. Reproduced with permission.
16 Neuberger Holocaust Education Week