Hersch Z. was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1937,
the younger sibling of brother Joe and sister Ruth. The Z. family
moved to Vancouver in the early 1940s, and Hersch returned to Winnipeg
in 1959. Two years later, he married Lillian Bober, and their family
grew to include daughters Pam and Ali and grandson Jonah. Family is
an important part of Hersch’s life, and he was influenced to
undertake Holocaust Education by the loss of his father’s family
and 43 members of his wife’s family during the Holocaust.
Earning Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education
degrees from the University of Manitoba, Hersch taught high school
History and English for 28 years, leaving teaching due to illness
in 1992. He began making presentations in Manitoba schools on the
Holocaust and its implications for racism as it exists today. In 1988
he was selected by the Bnai Brith League for Human Rights
to join 17 other Canadian teachers for the Holocaust and Hope
programme, on a journey to six concentration camps in Poland and Germany
and visits to survivor groups in Israel. This programme continues
with different groups of teachers every two years.
Hersch continues his dedication to Holocaust Education
by presenting to students. It is one of the primary commitments of
his life. Accompanied by a number of survivors, who, in spite of the
difficulty of the task, relate their personal stories of pain and
survival to audiences, he addresses several key issues. He teaches
that the Holocaust is the epitome of the result of racism, and that
blindness to the lessons of the Holocaust can only lead to recurring
attempts at genocide. Information and discussion about the racist
immigration policies of the Canadian government throughout the Holocaust,
the loss of pre-Holocaust Jewish culture and the genocide of Jews
and other ethnic and social groups, resistance movements and the actions
of Righteous Gentiles are all part of this message.
The Holocaust Awareness Committee of
the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg and the board of the Jewish Heritage
Centre of Western Canada, which includes the Holocaust Education Centre,
have assisted in his efforts through their generosity and understanding.
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