Preserving Holocaust Survivor Testimony for Future Generations
Carrying Holocaust Testimony was created with a simple but urgent goal: to ensure that Holocaust survivor testimony continued to educate, inspire, and bear witness long after survivors were no longer able to share their experiences in person.
The program was developed by Holocaust survivor Bill Glied and his daughter Michelle Glied-Goldstein, combining Bill’s lifelong commitment to Holocaust education with Michelle’s experience growing up as the child of a survivor and her own dedication to Holocaust remembrance and education.
Together, they recognized a growing challenge in Holocaust education worldwide: the powerful impact of firsthand survivor testimony is well documented, yet the number of survivors able to speak directly to students and community audiences is declining. They believed future generations still deserved meaningful access to authentic testimony, personal family histories, and the lived emotional reality of Holocaust memory.
Carrying Holocaust Testimony was their response.
The Legacy of Bill Glied
Bill Glied was one of Canada’s most respected Holocaust survivors and educators.
After surviving the Holocaust and rebuilding his life in Canada, Bill devoted decades to Holocaust education, remembrance, and combating antisemitism. He became a leading voice in preserving survivor testimony and ensuring that younger generations understood both the historical facts and the human impact of the Holocaust.
Bill understood deeply that hearing survivor testimony could transform understanding in a way that textbooks alone never could.
Among his many contributions, Bill was:
- A founder of Toronto’s first Holocaust museum, now the Toronto Holocaust Museum
- Chair of the Holocaust Survivor Speakers Program, connecting survivors with thousands of students and educators
- A mentor and educator to generations of teachers and students
- A leader of educational Holocaust study trips to Europe for students and educators
- A passionate advocate for remembrance, human rights, and combating antisemitism
- A proud Canadian citizen committed to education and democratic values
Pursuit of Justice and Historical Witness
In addition to his lifelong work in education, Bill Glied also served as a witness in two landmark post-war trials of former Nazi perpetrators: Oskar Gröning and Reinhold Hanning.
Through his testimony, Bill helped bring survivor memory into the courtroom decades after the Holocaust, ensuring that those responsible for Nazi crimes were confronted with the historical truth and human impact of their actions.
Bill’s testimony in the trial of Oskar Gröning was featured in the documentary The Accountant of Auschwitz, which documents the pursuit of justice for Holocaust victims many decades after the war.
For Bill, these trials were not only legal proceedings—they were acts of remembrance, accountability, and moral responsibility. He believed deeply in the importance of bearing witness so that history could not be denied, distorted, or forgotten.
Growing Up in the Shadow of the Holocaust
Michelle Glied-Goldstein grew up hearing her father’s Holocaust testimony and witnessing – as well as experiencing firsthand - the enduring impact of survival on individuals, families, and future generations.
Like many children of Holocaust survivors, she grew up in what is often described as “the shadow of the Holocaust,” shaped by inherited memory, silence, resilience, and the responsibility of carrying forward family history.
Michelle served as a docent at the Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre for over a decade and has been actively involved in Holocaust education and remembrance initiatives throughout her adult life. Through this work, she developed a deep understanding of both Holocaust history and the educational power of personal testimony.
She also recognized an essential truth: while survivor stories originate in history, their meaning and responsibility continue across generations.
Creating Carrying Holocaust Testimony
As the number of Holocaust survivors able to speak publicly began to decline, Bill and Michelle asked an important question:
What happens when survivors can no longer share their stories themselves?
They believed that future generations should still be able to experience the emotional truth and human connection of survivor testimony—not only through historical records, but through lived family memory passed directly from survivors to their children and grandchildren.
Together, they developed a presentation model that combines:
Recorded video testimony from Holocaust survivors
Firsthand family narratives from children and grandchildren of survivors
Historical context of Jewish life before, during, and after the Holocaust
Personal photographs and archival materials
Images of meaningful family artifacts
Opportunities for reflection and discussion
This approach allows audiences to hear the voices of survivors directly, while also engaging with the lived experience of those who grew up carrying their stories forward.
This program has been tested in schools and community settings and has received strong engagement from students, educators, and audiences of all ages. It has since become a widely-requested Holocaust education presentation across Canada.
Our Mission
Our mission is to preserve Holocaust survivor testimony by empowering the next generation to share authentic family histories, strengthen Holocaust education, and inspire future generations to stand against antisemitism, racism, hatred, and all forms of intolerance.
We believe:
Every survivor’s story matters
Testimony has the power to educate and transform
Memory is a responsibility shared by all across generations
Education is essential to preventing hate in the future
Carrying Holocaust Testimony Forward
Today, Carrying Holocaust Testimony continues the work that Bill Glied dedicated his life to: ensuring that Holocaust survivor voices remain present, powerful, and accessible for future generations.
Through survivor testimony, family history, artifacts, and meaningful dialogue, we help audiences connect to history in a deeply human and lasting way.
While survivors may no longer always be present to share their stories firsthand, their voices, experiences, and lessons continue to live on through those who carry their testimony forward.
We are honoured to continue that responsibility.
Our Donors
We would like to thank our generous donors.
Founders
($25,000+)
Marika Glied in Memory of Bill Glied
Visionaries
($12,500-$24,999)
Janice Feldberg & Jeff Bly and Family
Leaders
($6,250-$12,499)
Champions
(Up to $6,249)