Presentation given to primarily high school students about the life and legacy of Ed Carter-Edwards, WWII veteran and survivor of Buchenwald Concentration Camp.

1. Edward Carter-Edwards
Legacy
Veteran of the Canadian Air Force World War 2
POW and Holocaust Survivor

2. Agenda of Today’s Presentation
● Introduction - Ed - my friend and his unique story of bravery and survival
● Definition Holocaust and Holocaust Survivor
● Lost Airmen of Buchenwald - Introduction to the Airmen
● Ed’s Story - His spoken words of his experience
● Why Ed told his story
● CBC - Ed’s Return to Buchenwald
● Pictures of Ed
● Discussion of modern parallels from the past to the present
● So What? - Conclusion

3. My Friend Ed...

4. Holocaust
The Holocaust was the systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution and
murder of six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators from 1933 to
1945.
In addition to committing genocide against the Jews, the Nazis committed
genocide against the Roma and the Sinti. Other marginalized groups were also
persecuted during this period: people with disabilities, homosexuals, Slavic
people, political opponents and Jehovah Witnesses.

5. Holocaust Survivor
Holocaust survivors are persons, Jewish or non-Jewish, who were displaced,
persecuted, or discriminated against due to the racial, religious, ethnic, social, and
political policies of the Nazies and their collaborators between 1933 and 1945. In
addition to former inmates of concentration camps, ghettos, and prisons, this
definition includes, among others, people who were refugees or were in hiding.

6. Lost Airmen of Buchenwald
Lost Airmen of Buchenwald

7. Ed’s Story - His Words
Memory Project

8. Liberation Video
Liberator

9. Ed Returns to Buchenwald
CBC

12. Ed In Photos (Smithville’s Forrest Gump!)

16. Bridging the past with the present - Discussion
Ed was a first hand eye-witness to the events of the Holocaust.
Flash forward 75 plus years!
What are some present day examples of world events that are similar to the
events like the Holocaust?

17. Present Day Examples
Islamic State (ISIS) - Iraq and Syria
● Recognized terrorist organization by United Nations
● Amnesty International has charged ISIS with ethnic cleansing
● United States has declared that ISIS has perpetrated genocide and crimes
against humanity

18. Present Day Examples Continued
Myanmar
● Persecuted minority muslim population (Royingya)
● Over 700000 of 1.1 million Royingya have fled into Bangladesh!
● Myanmar Army was accused of ethnic cleansing, extrajudicial killings, gang
rapes, arson and infanticide
● The United Nations has confirmed that the Myanmar Army has committed the
act of genocide for these events (2018)
● The Canadian Government has confirmed these acts as genocide (2018)

19. Present Day Examples Continued
Charlottesville, Virginia Riots
● White Nationalists and other right-wing groups (including Neo-Nazis and Ku
Klux Klan) rallied August 2017 to protest city’s decision to remove aspects of
its Confederate past
● Public display of swastika flags, anti-semitic and anti-muslim banners,
carrying of torches and chants of ‘Blood and Soil’ and ‘White Lives Matter’
● Resulted in clash between peaceful demonstrators, a woman’s death and 19
injured

20. Present Day Examples Continued
White Nationalist Groups On The Rise In Canada
● More than 100 white nationalist groups in Canada
● The underlying message is still racist: anti-immigration, the dissolution of
white European Christian culture and a loss of privilege and power

21. What are some common aspects between the past
and present events?
● Fear - sows terror in those involved
● Flight and displacement - people being forced to flee from their homes
● Devastation - communities and people are gone
● Clinging to identity - uprooted from homes and communities and trying to
make the best of a world that has been changed by mass violence
● Genocide - What is this?

22. Origin of the Term Genocide
● The term genocide did not exist prior to 1944
● Was formed by a Polish-Jewish lawyer named Raphael Lemkin
● Formed the word genocide by combining geno- from the Greek word for race
or tribe, with -cide, from the Latin word for killing
● It is a very specific term, referring to violent crimes committed against a group
with the intent to destroy the existence of the group
● Was used in the International Military Tribunal held at Nuremberg, Germany,
charged top Nazi officials with crimes against humanity

23. The Crime of Genocide
Any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a
national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
1. Killing members of the group;
2. Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
3. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about
its physical destruction in whole or in part;
4. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
5. Forcible transferring children of the group to another group.
United Nations approved the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the
Crime of Genocide on December 9th, 1948.

24. How do these world events make us feel?
The emotion of ….. And the feeling of being .....
● Fear ( Feeling Scared)
● Anger (Feeling Upset)
● Sadness (Feeling Anguish)
● Disgust (Feeling Discouraged)

25. What can you do about it?
● Educate yourself - Talk about it with peers, friends, and family
● Don’t just be a bystander when you see wrongs - Speak up!
● Make positive choices in your life - choose your words you use with thought
and care
● Be strong and supportive of those in need

26. What can you do to make a positive change and
challenge these events and views?
● Be Kind
● Be Open
● Be Accepting
● Be Tolerant

27. Conclusion
● Victims of the Holocaust were normal people, just like the family, friends,
neighbors and acquaintances you interact with every day
● Events like the Holocaust did not have to happen; if more people had stood
up and spoken against what was happening, more lives might have been
saved
● Every choice you make has consequences - Remember what you do matters
● You have the power to make a positive difference in the lives of the people
around you
● Become the voice of the voiceless - stand up to prevent discrimination,
sexism, bigotry and racism

28. Conclusion Continued ...
● Remember the lessons where people DID NOT stand up and speak out
● Be a positive difference maker in someone’s life each and every day … even
if it is something as simple as a smile!
● Power of the individual - the power of choice
● Individuals can help victims - Just like those whom helped Ed during a time of
evil - not everyone is evil
● Resolve of the human spirit - that even at the darkest hour people refuse to
surrender and continue to fight for survival
● Be one of those who help - and remember the story of my friend Ed !
Thank You!

29. This is my friend Ed … THANK YOU!
April 2, 1923 - February 22, 2017