‘Quite the journey’: 97-year-old Holocaust survivor returning to Fort Frances

By Matt Prokopchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, tbnewswatch.com

RAINY RIVER — A Rainy River man says an upcoming visit by a notable Canadian Holocaust survivor is a chance for residents to hear first-hand what can happen when extremism runs unchecked.

Ben Mast and other local residents are behind efforts to bring 97-year-old Nate Leipciger to Fort Frances alongside a representative from the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies. The centre’s mission involves “sharing the lessons of the Holocaust, advocating for human rights and combating both antisemitism and hate in all its forms,” according to its website.

Mast said he met Leipciger back in April in Poland when they both attended the March of the Living commemoration — an annual event which sees people from around the world march from Auschwitz to Birkenau in memory of victims of the Holocaust and in honour of those who survived. Leipciger now lives in Toronto, but told Mast that he spent years as an electrical engineer in the Northwest, working at hospitals in Rainy River, Fort Frances and other communities.

Having a conversation with a survivor just feet away from the main gates of Auschwitz — and learning that he played a part in Mast’s own life by working on a medical facility where both he and his son Henry were born — was quite an experience, said Mast.

“Immediately, I was just struck with the gratefulness and the recognition of what this man’s survival through the horror of the Holocaust meant for so many people, including myself directly, and was just blown away by his connection to this area,” Mast said.

Leipciger recently received the Order of Canada for his speaking and Holocaust education work; his memoir The Weight of Freedom was published in 2015.

Through Leipciger’s daughter, Mast said he started formulating plans to bring Leipciger back up north for a series of talks and presentations. Mast and other people from the area raised over $5,000 to cover the costs of bringing Leipciger, his daughter and a Simon Wiesenthal Center dignitary to speak. The centre is also covering some costs, Mast said.

“It’s quite the journey for him — I mean, coming all the way from Toronto up to Thunder Bay and then driving in from Thunder Bay to Fort Frances,” Mast said.

“(I’m) just blown away by his commitment at 97 years old to sharing his story and … I’m hoping and seeking to do everything I can to encourage our Rainy River District here to support his commitment and make the most of this really incredible opportunity that we have right now, but we will not have for much longer.”

Mast — who, himself is not Jewish — said Leipciger’s message is timeless remains very poignant today, even though it concerns events that happened 80-plus years ago.

“Nate’s message is one of upholding the human rights of all people, so he’s not only here as a Jewish person standing up for Jewish people, but he really is committed to human rights for everyone,” he said.

“He has, for many years, appeared with residential school survivors, and he has taught alongside of them and sought to bring awareness to that reality too,” Mast continued. “And so, I say that as an important preface to also acknowledging that we do live in a world of significant anti-Semitism as well.”

“It doesn’t take long — as a young person who is on the Internet — I am so blown away consistently by what I see as the hatred of the Jewish people in significant ways.”

Leipciger and the Simon Wiesenthal Center will be in Fort Frances from Oct. 21-23. They will hold a free public presentation at the Townshend Theatre from 6 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 21 (the event is a partnership with the Fort Frances Museum), followed by talks for students at Fort Frances High School and Cornerstone Christian School on Oct. 22 and Oct. 23 respectively.

“It is the past that is very much in the present,” Mast said.

“And to allow young people, to give them this opportunity, to behold that firsthand and then to carry that with them to future generations.”