{"id":48350,"date":"2026-02-13T01:53:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T09:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=48350"},"modified":"2026-02-11T08:35:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T16:35:53","slug":"survivor-urges-vigilance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2026\/02\/13\/survivor-urges-vigilance\/","title":{"rendered":"Survivor urges vigilance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Resilience and determination were the themes at an International Holocaust\u00a0 <\/span>Remembrance Day commemoration at the Bayit synagogue in Richmond Jan. 27. It was the 81st anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.<\/p>\n

Marie Doduck, a child survivor who was the youngest Jewish orphan admitted to Canada after the war, spoke of her survival story, as well as her life in Canada, and she urged vigilance in the face of rising contemporary antisemitism.<\/p>\n

Doduck was born Mariette Rozen in Brussels, Belgium, in 1935, the youngest of 11 children. She was 5 years old when the Nazis invaded her hometown in 1940. She and her siblings were scattered across the city and countryside, hiding with non-Jewish families, in convents and orphanages, and at times assisting the resistance. While her parents and three of her siblings were killed, eight survived, a remarkable number given that an estimated 85% of Belgian Jewish children were murdered.<\/p>\n

In 1947, she immigrated to Canada as a war orphan and, with three of her surviving siblings, was brought to Vancouver. Her memoir, A Childhood Unspoken<\/i>, was published in 2023. (See the Independent\u2019<\/i>s review of the book at jewishindependent.ca\/an-intense-urgent-read<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Doduck spent the war years being shuffled from one place to another, even serving as a messenger between her siblings and for the resistance, because of her photographic memory.<\/p>\n

\u201cI lived mostly in darkness, literally in hiding places where the Nazis could not find me,\u201d she recounted. \u201cWhen I returned to Brussels years later, I could not recognize the city in the daylight, for my Brussels was a place of darkness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her survival \u2013 and that of seven other siblings \u2013 is a result of series of near-miracles and near-misses.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt one of the orphanages, the mother superior hid me in a rat-infested sewer after one of her nuns found out that I was a Jewish child and reported me to the Gestapo,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

After liberation, Doduck was one of 1,123 orphans sponsored by Canadian Jewish Congress to migrate to Canada. Her adaptation to life in Vancouver, while smoother than many of the children, was very difficult.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first tried to tell people what happened to me, they said, \u2018Forget the past,\u2019\u201d she recalled. \u201cWe all find our own ways of dealing with pain. I became more resilient and learned from life\u2019s harsh lessons to depend only on myself. I, as a child, had a strength to go on despite the mistrust, fear and pain that I then felt. I went on. I went on because I would not consider the alternative. Those lessons are, in a significant way, responsible for whom I am today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doduck explained that the word \u201cholocaust,\u201d which came into the use in 1950s, originally meant a sacrifice burnt entirely on the altar. She contrasted her own experience with that nihilistic image.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe person you see before you tonight, Marie Doduck, is a happy Jewish mother, a successful businesswoman, an author, a grandmother, a great-grandmother,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve also been president of my synagogue and on the board of many Jewish organizations in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Marie Doduck mingled with attendees after the International Holocaust Remembrance Day commemoration at the Bayit. (photo by Pat Johnson)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She is a co-founder of the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre (VHEC).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Doduck\u2019s personal story of success and happiness is replicated among countless survivors of the trauma of that time.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough our childhood was ripped away from us, we survived and continued and we thrived,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have achieved so much for ourselves, our families, and for our community. And I and many others will continue to speak about our stories and to remember, to acknowledge those who perished, who cannot speak for themselves. It is estimated that only 11% of Jewish children who were alive in Europe in 1939 lived to see 1945. As many as 1.5 million of the six million Jews cruelly murdered by the Nazis were children under the age of 18.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Doduck said the world needs to learn from the past.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo society is immune to the danger of prejudice, antisemitism and racism, and we must work together to stand up when we see injustice in the world around us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She explained that the vision of the VHEC is a world free of antisemitism, discrimination and genocide, with social justice and human rights for all.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis noble idea can only be achieved when governments, schools, educators and organizations work together hand-in-hand to teach future generations about the danger of racism and discrimination,\u201d Doduck said. \u201cTogether, we must remember the past and pass on the teaching of the Holocaust together.\u2026 We must make \u2018never again\u2019 a reality, not just an ideal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezra Shanken, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, took exception to the term \u201csurvivor\u201d to describe people like Doduck.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re not survivors. They\u2019re thrivers,\u201d he said. \u201cSurvivors just get by. Survivors are what they thought we would have as a Jewish people after the Shoah. They thought we would have a group of survivors who could not make it in the world beyond the Shoah.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lives of these individuals defied expectations, he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have thrivers that not only found meaningful relationships, not only built families, not only had kids, but cured diseases and became artists and won Nobel Prizes,\u201d said Shanken. \u201cThey did for the world, but the world didn\u2019t do for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The countries where survivors made their homes and contributed so much have become rampant with antisemitism, he said.<\/p>\n

Shanken called on those in the room, especially elected officials, to demonstrate clear leadership.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is critical that people understand what is in bounds and what is out of bounds within our society\u2026. I know it\u2019s hard as politicians to get that done,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I have to tell you, please, on our behalf, keep doing as much as you can because we need you.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Parm Bains, member of Parliament for Steveston-Richmond East, sent greetings from Prime Minister Mark Carney.<\/p>\n

Kelly Greene, member of the BC Legislature for Richmond-Steveston and minister for emergency management and climate readiness, brought greetings from Premier David Eby. Also in attendance were fellow MLAs Hon Chan (Richmond Centre), Steve Kooner (Richmond-Queensborough) and Teresa Wat (Richmond-Bridgeport).<\/p>\n

Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie, in attendance with city councilors Laura Gillanders, Kash Heed, Andy Hobbs, Alexa Loo and Bill McNulty, read a proclamation from the city. He noted that there are fewer Jews in the world now than there were in 1939.<\/p>\n

Doduck was joined in lighting memorial candles by three fellow survivors, Amalia Boe-Fishman, Miriam Dattel and Regine Fefer. Brodie and Dave Chauhan, chief superintendent of the Richmond RCMP, also participated in the candlelighting.<\/p>\n

Sherri Barkoff, vice-president of the Bayit, emceed the event, which was presented by the Richmond Kehila Society, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre, the VHEC, the Bayit, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver.<\/p>\n

Rabbi Levi Varnai welcomed guests to the event, Cantor Yaakov Orzech chanted El Moleh Rachamim, Caf\u00e9 McMullen, program officer at the VHEC, spoke of the organization\u2019s work, and violinist Lior Perry played before and during the ceremony, including a piece from the film Schindler\u2019s List<\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Resilience and determination were the themes at an International Holocaust\u00a0 Remembrance Day commemoration at the Bayit synagogue in Richmond Jan. 27. It was the 81st anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Marie Doduck, a child survivor who was the youngest Jewish orphan admitted to Canada after the war, spoke of her survival story, as well […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[6432,4280,53,1012,5178,330,2893],"class_list":["post-48350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local","tag-bayit","tag-ezra-shanken","tag-holocaust","tag-marie-doduck","tag-richmond","tag-shoah","tag-survivors"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48350\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}