March 13, 2011

Hana's Suitcase Teaches Us Still

In the summer of 2000, our close friend's father received a letter from Japan. The letter was from a young woman who worked at the Tokyo Holocaust Centre, "I have your sister's suitcase" it read.

Fumiko Ishigoka was trying to teach children in Japan about the Holocaust in order to foster tolerance and compassion. She wondered if an artifact from a European child would help Japanese children feel empathy for the children who perished long before they were born.

The Auschwitz Museum sent her a child's sock, a sweater, a shoe, a canister of Zyklon B gas and a suitcase. In thick white paint, the words "Hana Brady, Waisenkind [orphan]" were written on the scuffed brown leather.

The Japanese children were mesmerized by the suitcase that once held a child's possessions. Who was this Hana Brady? What had happened to her? Fumiko began to search for answers. Her painstaking research lead her to the concentration camps in Europe to dig for answers.

After searching through the meticulously-kept records, Fumiko found that Hana was originally from Czechoslovakia and had a brother named George who survived the death camps. A series of coincidences lead her to George's address in Toronto. She sent the letter, telling him that she had the suitcase of his sister who had perished in the death camp when she was 13 years old.

George had escaped from Germany when he was 17, eventually making his way to Toronto and having a family of his own. He was the only one of his immediate family to survive.

The letter opened up a new life for George. He flew to Japan to meet Fumiko and the students who had been so interested in Hana. A radio documentary, a children's book, a popular play and a film have followed from their unlikely meeting. Together they travel the world talking to children about the Holocaust, Hana, and the suitcase that united a Japanese woman and a Czech Canadian survivor.

It is an incredible story because it is one that feels hopeful. The message of Holocaust education is that the Holocaust is not just a Jewish story; it is a human story. The Holocaust was not the only genocide in modern times, learning about one genocide opens the door to talking and learning about others. Which is why I was particularly surprised to read the comments in the Globe and Mail after John Doyle ran a little promo for the Hana's Suitcase film. (No, I am not linking directly to the comments, you'll have to trust me).

Comments about Holocaust fatigue and questions why we have to learn more about a genocide of a cultural group that represents a small part of the population show that George and Fumiko's work isn't done. Tolerance and compassion are not easy lessons, but they are universal ones. I think we owe Hana Brady a couple hours of our time, just as we owe the victims of every other genocides - big and small.

If you would like to learn more about Hana Brady and her family, go to Hanasuitcase.ca and the interactive Inside Hana's Suitcase. The book Hana's Suitcase, aimed at 9 - 16 year olds, is the story of Hana and how her suitcase (and there is even a little twist on that part of the story!) has taught thousands of children about the Holocaust. I have one signed copy to give away, just leave a comment by 11:59 p.m. on March 20 saying you would like the book and I will ask random.org to choose one winner on Sunday, March 20, 2011 at midnight.