Fast Fact Sheet: The Azrieli Foundations Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Program

What is the Azrieli Foundations Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Program? The Azrieli Foundations Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Program was established in 2005 to collect, publish and distribute memoirs of survivors of the 20th century Nazi genocide of Jews who made their way to Canada. The books, published in English and French, are edited and fact checked. In addition to original maps, photographs, a glossary and an index, each book includes an introduction that gives broader historical context to the author's Holocaust experience. The program is guided by the conviction that each Holocaust survivor has a remarkable story to tell, and that these stories play an important role in education about diversity and tolerance, as well as Holocaust education and commemoration.

When did it begin? The Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Program was established in 2005. The first series was published on 2007. How many have been published? 24 memoirs have been published to date 18 in English and 13 in French. Where are the books available? They are for sale at book retailers across the country and online at www.azrielifoundation.org/books Over 70,000 books have been distributed free of charge to libraries and schools across Canada. How many manuscripts come in each year? 195 manuscripts have been submitted since the programs inception. 16 new manuscripts were received in the past two years. How often are new books published? New titles are published every spring and fall.

Fact Sheet: The Azrieli Foundations Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Program Page 2 How many memoirs are published each year? The program is currently publishing eight to ten books a year. How many are translated? All of the books in the Azrieli Series of Holocaust Survivor Memoirs are translated into French or English. Currently there are 13 books published in French. The Program is also in the process of translating Polish, Yiddish, Russian, Hungarian and French manuscripts into English. How many editors are parts of the process? It depends on the specific book and time of its production; some may require experts in specific areas of research and some may require more extensive editorial work than others. How many words are needed to be eligible to be published? There is no minimum or maximum number of words. What is important is to capture the first-hand experience. Submitted works of survivors have ranged from short poems, journal entries, essays, to lengthier memoirs. Shorter works (less than 15,000 words) may be published as part of an anthology or paired with another memoir, or published in the future online. What are the Azrieli Series of Short Films? Intimate, personal profiles of the five most recently published authors of the Azrieli Series of Holocaust Survivor Memoirs. Watch them at www.vimeo.com/azrieli In the 5-minute films, the authors reflect on their histories from childhood through to their experiences during the war to their present lives in Canada. Each profile is introduced with a reading by the author intercut with professional animation that reflects the feel and tone of the authors excerpt. Each short film gives the viewer a small taste of a particular author's nature, character and unique story. What is the purpose of the Azrieli Series of Short Films? To arouse peoples interest in reading the memoirs by celebrating the lives and achievements of the authors in the program on film. To reach more people and keep history current for new generations. To capture the authors voice in perpetuity, allowing generations of readers to meet the authors and hear the individual voices of those who demonstrated the courage, strength, wit and luck that it took to prevail in such terrible adversity. The films allow us to carry on with outreach and book promotion when the authors are no longer able to speak for themselves. (More)

Fact Sheet: The Azrieli Foundations Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Program Page 3 Where have these films been screened? These films have been shown at film festivals, broadcasted across Western Canada on Shaw/Global and screened at events across the country. The films have been used to compliment the memoirs at book clubs, author events, as well as allowing us to interest readers across the country. These short films have been used as resources for classrooms, as well as for use on the Internet and social media. For more information visit: http://www.azrielifoundation.org/memoirs/

Dr. Naomi Azrieli, Chief Executive Officer, the Azrieli Foundation, notes: Millions of individual stories from the Holocaust have been lost to us forever. By preserving the stories written by survivors and making them widely available, the Azrieli Series of Holocaust Survivor Memoirs not only sustains the memory of all those who perished at the hands of hatred, abetted by indifference and apathy, but carries forward the important lessons they have to teach us about tolerance and the acceptance of diversity. The personal accounts of those who survived the Holocaust against all odds are as different as the people who wrote them, but all demonstrate the courage, strength, wit and luck that it took to prevail and survive in such terrible adversity. More than half a century later, the diversity of stories allows readers to put a face on what was lost, and to grasp the enormity of what happened to six million Jews one story at a time. The Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Program publishes memoirs every six months and makes them widely available across Canada in English and French. The memoirs published under the imprint of The Azrieli Series of Holocaust Survivor Memoirs are distributed free of charge to educational institutions and Holocaust-education programs across Canada, and are available for sale in bookstores and online. All revenue from the sale of the memoirs goes toward continuing the publication of the memoirs and the educational work of the program. To date, the program has collected some 190 individual memoirs. Ongoing outreach has inspired many survivors to write about their experiences. Several of the published volumes have been recognized with awards such as an Independent Publisher Book Award, a Canadian Jewish Book Award, a Moonbeam Award and the Pearson Prize. The impetus for the Azrieli Foundations Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Program came out of founder David J. Azrielis own experience of writing his memoir as a Holocaust survivor. In telling these stories, he relates, the writers have liberated themselves. For so many years we did not speak about it, even when we became free people living in a free society. Now, when at last we are writing about what happened to us in this dark period of history, knowing that our stories will be read and live on, it is possible for us to feel truly free.

Biographies

Naomi Azrieli is Chair and CEO of the Azrieli Foundation. In this capacity, she has established the Azrieli Foundation as a force for creative and effective philanthropy in a number of fields, and as one of the premier charitable organizations in Canada. She has created and launched several programs, including the Azrieli Neurodevelopmental Research Program, the Azrieli Fellows Program, the Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Publishing Program and the Azrieli Institute for Educational Empowerment. Naomi Azrieli is also Executive Vice President of Canpro Investments Ltd., a privatelyheld real estate company with interests in Canada and the United States. Naomi Azrieli holds a D.Phil. in History from the University of Oxford and presently serves as Publisher and Senior Editor for the Azrieli Series of Holocaust Survivor Memoirs. Naomi Azrielis personal community involvements include active roles on the boards of several schools and universities. Born in Montreal, she has lived and worked in the United States, Great Britain and France, and now resides in Toronto with her husband and three children.

David J. Azrieli, C.M., C.Q., M.Arch., was born in Poland in 1922, fought with distinction in Israels War of Independence and came to Canada in 1954. Now regarded as one of the worlds most innovative builders and designers, Davids entry into real estate was humble, beginning with the modest construction of four houses in a Montreal suburb. Today, his innovative architectural vision can be seen in the office buildings, high-rise residences, office towers and shopping centres he has built in Canada, the United States and Israel. His two companies Montreal-based Canpro Investments Ltd. and the Tel Aviv-based Azrieli Group are considered leaders in their fields. In 2007, he completed construction of three skyscrapers in Tel Aviv, collectively known as the Azrieli Center the first and most unique of their kind in the Middle East. In 1984, David was named to the Order of Canada, the countrys highest civilian honour. In 1999, he was named chevalier of the Ordre National du Qubec, the provinces highest civilian honour. Davids lifelong commitment to philanthropic causes has been realized in the programs and institutions he has supported personally and through the establishment of the Azrieli Foundation. In this way, Azrieli has helped pave the way for others to achieve individual and community success. David Azrieli is married to Stephanie Lefcort. They have four children and seven grandchildren.

ABOUT The Azrieli Foundation is a Canadian philanthropic organization that supports a wide range of initiatives and programs in the fields of education, architecture and design, community, Holocaust commemoration and education, scientific and medical research, and the arts.
For further information, please contact: Tim MacKay Social Media and Marketing, Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Program tim@azrielifoundation.org Elin Beaumont Educational Outreach Manager, Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Program elin@azrielifoundation.org Jody Spiegel Director, Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Program jody@azrielifoundation.org 416-322-5928 press@azrielifoundation.org

www.azrielifoundation.org

MEDIA RELEASE For Immediate Delivery SCHOOL BOOK CLUBS REVITALIZED THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA - Students tweet, connect and learn with others across the country in first-of-its-kind initiative - (TORONTO March 4, 2013) Students across Canada are embarking on a first-of-its-kind initiative that connects classes across the country through Twitter. The Twitter Book Club is a unique one-month project for grades 10, 11 and 12. The five participating schools will engage in real-time conversation with other students across Canada around a new memoir, Survival Kit, written by Holocaust survivor and Toronto resident Zuzana Sermer. Depending on the school, the Twitter Book Club will be a part of an English, Global Issues or World History class. Every student will read Survival Kit and use their phones, tablets or school computer labs to log into the Twitter chat. Student comments and questions will receive real-time feedback from other students across the country as well as the Azrieli Foundation, the publisher of the memoir and coordinator of the online forum. This project provides students with an opportunity to interact with the ideas and opinions of peers miles away - creating an online conversation that expands beyond the walls of the classroom, creating a dynamic new engagement with the survivor's story. The social media book club will also integrate photos, historical information, maps and commentary into the interactive reading, using the hashtag #survivalkit to connect all tweets and participants. It will focus on issues facing new Canadians by placing a strong emphasis on belonging, exclusion and what it means to be Canadian, and will bring learning into a medium and setting in which todays students are comfortable and capable. This is an opportunity for students to reach out to a wider audience about the importance of Holocaust education, said Jessie Mann, English, Global Media Studies Teacher at Holy Rosary HS in Lloydminster, Alberta and one of the five teachers participating in the project. Getting youth to be passionate about history will ensure they become lifelong learners who have empathy and want to ensure that atrocities like this do not continue. Learning should be engaging and exciting and by using this medium and connecting students from across the country, its an interactive way to read and share. Sermers moving, sensitive and thoughtful story is an account of a 15-year-old girl surviving in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia and Hungary during the Second World War. She survived in hiding until she met Arthur Sermer, the man she would eventually marry, and they fled to Budapest, Hungary. When Hungary was occupied in March 1944, Zuzana and Arthur navigated through treacherous situations by first passing as Polish gentiles with false documents and then surviving both transit camps and prison. The Twitter Book Club is a pilot project of the Azrieli Foundation. If successful it will be rolled out to additional schools in coming months. - 30 - The Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Program was established by the Azrieli Foundation in 2005 to collect, preserve and share the memoirs and diaries written by survivors of the twentieth-century Nazi genocide of the Jews of Europe who later made their way to Canada. The program is guided by the conviction that each survivor of the Holocaust has a remarkable story to tell, and that such stories play an important role in education about tolerance and diversity. The Foundations memoirs in English and French - are distributed free-of-charge to libraries, educational institutions and Holocaust-education programs. They are also for sale at select retailers across Canada. For more information about the Azrieli Foundation visit www.azrielifoundation.org

 MEDIA RELEASE For Immediate Delivery Survivors of Rwandan and Nazi genocides share the importance of remembering the past through personal testimony

(TORONTO April 5, 2013) More than half of Canadas Holocaust survivors and more than 5,000 members of the Rwandan community call Toronto home and this year the commemorations of the atrocities that affected their communities fall on the same date. In recognition of both Holocaust Remembrance Day and Rwanda Genocide Memorial Day, a compelling program hosted by the Azrieli Foundation on April 8th at Ryerson University will bring together survivors from the two communities.

People from both these communities have had to overcome so much in their native countries and have contributed so much to their new homes in Canada. There is a great deal to learn from one another, said Dr. Naomi Azrieli, Chair and Executive Director of the Azrieli Foundation. Firsthand testimony is a powerful way to understand what survivors lived through and remember those whom they have lost.

Write to Heal: Genocide and Memoir will explore the process of healing through writing and the power of personal testimony with survivor and academic speakers: Rachel Shtibel, Holocaust survivor and author of her memoir, The Violin. Dr. Rgine King, Assistant Professor of Social Work at the University of Manitoba and Rwandan genocide survivor who is currently writing her memoir. Dr. Paula David, Institute for Life Course and Aging and the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto, who will discuss her work with Holocaust survivors and the challenges, benefits and effects on older adults of sharing their personal narratives. Leora Schaefer, Canadian director of Facing History and Ourselves, who will discuss the impact of memoirs on future generations. The event will run from 7 to 9 p.m. at Ryerson University, 350 Victoria St., Toronto, Library 72. The event is open to the public but requires an RSVP to: susan@azrielifoundation.org or 416-322-5928.

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The Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Program was established by the Azrieli Foundation in 2005 to collect, preserve and share the memoirs and diaries written by survivors of the twentieth-century Nazi genocide of the Jews of Europe who later made their way to Canada. The program is guided by the conviction that each survivor of the Holocaust has a remarkable story to tell, and that such stories play an important role in education about tolerance and diversity. The Foundations memoirs in English and French - are distributed free-of-charge to libraries, educational institutions and Holocaust-education programs. They are also for sale at select retailers across Canada. For more information about the Azrieli Foundation visit www.azrielifoundation.org For media inquiries including interview or photo requests contact: Brown & Cohen Communications & Public Affairs Inc. 416-484-1132 Jaymes Beatty ext. 8 or jaymes@brown-cohen.com Wendy Kauffman ext. 3 or wendy@brown-cohen.com