Debating Canada‟S National Holocaust Monument Jason
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
The Canadianisation of the Holocaust: Debating Canada‟s National Holocaust Monument jason chalmers Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Religious Studies Department of Classics and Religious Studies Faculty of Arts University of Ottawa © jason chalmers, Ottawa, Canada, 2013 ii Abstract Holocaust monuments are often catalysts in the „nationalization‟ of the Holocaust – the process by which Holocaust memory is shaped by its national milieu. Between 2009 and 2011, the Parliament of Canada debated a bill which set out the guidelines for the establishment of a National Holocaust Monument (NHM), which ultimately became a federal Act of Parliament in early 2011. I examine the discourse generated by this bill to understand how the memory of the Holocaust is being integrated into the Canadian identity, and argue that the debate surrounding the NHM has been instrumental in the „Canadianisation‟ of the Holocaust. I summarise my findings by placing them into dialogue with other national memories of the Holocaust, and identify three distinct features of Holocaust memory in Canada: a centrifugal trajectory originating in the Jewish community, a particular-universal tension rooted in multiculturalism, and a multifaceted memory comprising several conflicting – though not competing – narratives. Résumé Monuments de l‟Holocauste sont souvent des catalyseurs de la «nationalisation» de l'Holocauste – le processus par lequel mémoire de l'Holocauste est formé par son milieu national. Entre 2009 et 2011, le Parlement du Canada a débattre un projet de loi qui crée les lignes directrices pour la mise en place d'un Monument national de l'Holocauste (MNH), qui est finalement devenu une loi fédérale du Parlement au début de 2011. J'examine le discours généré par ce projet de loi pour comprendre comment la mémoire de l'Holocauste est intégrée dans l'identité canadienne, et soutien que le débat entourant le MNH a joué un rôle déterminant dans la «canadianisation» de l'Holocauste. Je résume mes conclusions en les plaçant dans le dialogue avec d'autres mémoires nationales de l'Holocauste, et d'identifier trois caractéristiques distinctes de mémoire de l'Holocauste au Canada: une trajectoire centrifuge d‟origine dans la communauté juive, une tension particulière-universelle enracinée dans le multiculturalisme, et une mémoire à multiples facettes comprenant plusieurs récits contradictories – mais pas compétitifs. iii Contents Acknowledgements v Preface vii Abbreviations x Chapter 1 Introduction 1 Methodology 7 The National Holocaust Monument 12 Chapter 2 The Emergence of Holocaust Memory within Canadian Jewry 22 The Holocaust in Canadian Consciousness: After the War 23 The Expansion of Holocaust Memory in Canada: Three Cases 39 Ottawa‟s Monument, 1978 40 Winnipeg‟s Monument, 1990 43 Halifax‟s Monument, 2011 46 Conclusion 51 Chapter 3 The Canadianisation of Holocaust Memory 54 Holocaust Memory in the Legal System: the 1980s 56 Holocaust Memory in Public Education: the 1990s 58 A New Canadian Discourse: the National Holocaust Monument 62 NHM as an Extension of Legal and Educational Discourse 62 Canadianising Holocaust Memory 64 Canada‟s Historical Relationship to Holocaust Memory 68 Canada‟s Political Relationship to Holocaust Memory 75 Canada‟s Ethical Relationship to Holocaust Memory 77 Conclusion 82 Chapter 4 The Contexts of a Canadian Memory 85 Canadian Multiculturalism 86 The NHM and Immigration 90 The NHM and First Nations 92 The NHM and French Canada 94 Global Society 96 Invoking Globalisation 98 The NHM as a Catalyst for Global Dialogue 102 Conclusion 107 iv Chapter 5 Conclusion: Canada‟s Unique Memory of the Holocaust 109 Notes 119 Bibliography 129 Appendix A 140 Appendix B 145 v Acknowledgements Research is not always easy and, as I have discovered, it becomes exponentially more difficult when it entails the Holocaust. There were times during this project when I was certain that I would become an incomprehensible piece of steamed asparagus, and it is now startling to find myself on the other side. Many people have helped me get here, and I thank them for their motivation and inspiration: The person to whom I find myself most indebted is my supervisor, Rebecca Margolis. She has provided me with both direction and freedom in my research, helping me trudge through the vast mire of Holocaust studies to arrive at a final product that was not only manageable, but meaningful. I also extend gratitude to my readers, Jan Grabowski and Adele Reinhartz, for providing me with similar direction. Several individuals involved with the National Holocaust Monument have been of assistance in their willingness to discuss the memorial with me. First and foremost among them is Laura Grosman, without whom there would be no monument. Rabbi Daniel Friedman, Brian Jean, Mark Kristmanson, John Light, and Randall Visser have all provided valuable insight into this project. Institutions, colleagues, and friends have helped give my analysis the sort of depth I desired. The Ottawa Jewish Archives and its staff were an excellent resource when fleshing out my study with archival documents. Justin Mountain and Heather Barkman were of great assistance for their willingness to document various Canadian memorials. I especially appreciate the contributions of Adriene Harding who not only assisted with translation and documentation, but also provided me with invaluable personal support. vi I thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities for providing me with generous financial support. The most enduring support has come from my family, particularly from my mother and brother, Marlene and Daniel Chalmers, who have continued to encourage me in all my pursuits. I offer appreciation to my grandmother, Molly Applebaum, for instilling and nurturing within me a passion for the Holocaust and its memory, without which this thesis would never have been produced. I dedicate this thesis in memoriam of Glenda Novak and Horse. vii Preface As a student of both religious studies and Holocaust studies, I am deeply aware of the fact that no one approaches their research as a neutral observer. While I have tried to maintain an objective and balanced relationship to my subject, I nevertheless have biases which I make no attempt to hide. Firstly, I come to this project as the grandchild of Polish- Jewish survivors who arrived in Canada in 1948 as part of a group of one thousand Jewish war orphans. Although I received the most secular of upbringings, my grandmother made sure that if I was familiar with one aspect of Jewish history, it was the Holocaust. I don‟t remember when I first learned about the Holocaust, but one of my most vivid early memories is of my grandmother taking me to the Holocaust memorial on Miami Beach, Kenneth Treister‟s A Sculpture of Love and Anguish. For those familiar with this memorial they know that it is one of the most exquisite and emotional manifestations of Holocaust memory, and although I was young at the time it has left a lasting impression on me. The more I was exposed to the Holocaust, the more I realised that it was not the Holocaust per se that had the greatest impact on people‟s lives, but the memory of it. As I listened to people talk about the Holocaust I became aware that it was rarely the facts with which they were concerned but rather the meaning that could be found scattered amongst those facts. I do not deny that there is much value in the study of the Holocaust as a historical event, for memory must have some concrete ground in which to stand; my personal interest, however, is with the ways in which that event has sprouted from the soil to become a memorial force which continues to shape people‟s lives. And while I cannot help but see manifestations of Holocaust memory and its impact on social affairs in nearly every setting, viii my early experiences with the Miami memorial have continued to shape my belief that there is a special relationship between memory and place. I never gave much thought to the question of whether Canada should construct a national monument to the Holocaust, and for the most part accepted it as a matter-of-fact that one had never been built. After all, some of the best memorials are private efforts (such as in Miami), and Canada already has many Holocaust monuments scattered throughout Montreal, Toronto, and other major cities (I know of monuments in Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Vancouver, and am certain that there must be others). But what most shaped my ambivalence was the feeling that the Holocaust lacked in Canadian society the gravity that it had in other national contexts, and so it made sense that there was no national memorial. It was only as I began my research that I realised Holocaust memory is not an innate part of a nation‟s consciousness, but rather becomes a part of that consciousness through public debate – particularly those debates which surround the creation of a national memorial. I therefore come to this project with many different views of Canada‟s forthcoming National Holocaust Monument. Because of my family history, I feel that there is great value in Holocaust commemoration and education, and believe that this monument is a wonderful achievement. But as a sociologist of religion, I also recognise that such a monument has no inherent value and that it becomes only what we collectively choose to make it; it can be used for the purposes of good or evil, or for nothing at all. And as a Canadian, I sense it is important that this monument not become isolated from the rest of Canadian history and memory; it should of course speak to the Holocaust itself, but must also reflect Canada‟s own history, our multicultural heritage, and our position in global society.