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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, Ju ly 21 ,2 02 2 | 24 Holocaust survivor Max Eisen died recently at the age of 93. Eisen was an educator, author and the most gifted and riveting storyteller I have ever heard. I have read his memoir, "By Chance Alone," numerous times, and I'm always moved by the re- markable true story of courage and survival at Auschwitz. I first heard about Max Eisen through Jeff Chard, a history and social sciences teacher and the head of the history department at Laurel Heights Secondary School in Waterloo. He was a guest a cou- ple of years ago on the Bonn Park Podcast, which I co-host with Sa- ra Geidlinger. "When Max Eisen and other Holocaust survivors come into schools to speak, there's a long line of kids that want to talk with them afterward and give them a hug," he told us. "Often there are tears, and it's a beautiful thing to see, this 90- year-old survivor connecting with a 15-year-old." Chard talked about Holocaust education, and the consequences of action -- and inaction -- amid crimes against humanity. "Survivors like Max Eisen want to help people understand that we're all the same, and that genocide has happened before the Holocaust, and sadly since in many other contexts, and that we're not doing good enough. Max Eisen has taught us that we need to have empathy and that we need to stand up, and that we need to be upstanders rather than bystanders." In 2018, I had the opportunity to hear Eisen speak at the K-W Bi- lingual School, where I am the chair of the board of directors. In a room packed with stu- dents, parents and teachers, Ei- sen explained how he made a promise to his father, who was taken to the gas chambers, that he would share his experiences during the Second World War, should he survive. "I've been speaking since 1991 to high schools and universities from coast to coast, along with provincial police, RCMP, and the Canadian Forces College every year," Eisen told me. Eisen spoke of how his parents and three siblings were killed by the Nazis, along with nearly 60 other relatives. He described hor- rific conditions in the concentra- tion camp where he was a slave labourer. Eisen, who lived in Toronto, also shared how he testified at the German trials of two former Auschwitz guards, both put on trial in their 90s and convicted of facilitating mass murder. He told us how he found his way to a new life in Canada and challenged the students to stand up to all forms of bullying and in- timidation toward groups and in- dividuals. "We survivors of the Holo- caust, our numbers are dwin- dling," he told the students. "But we leave you with all these things to think about and hopefully do something about." It's a powerful message that, as time goes on, fewer and fewer people can share from firsthand experience -- at a time when war is again raging in Europe. The death of Max Eisen is the loss of a powerful advocate for humanity. I hope the thousands and thousands of people who heard his story will keep his sto- ry, and his legacy, alive. Marshall Ward is a freelance writer and artist. Check out his award-winning podcast "Bonn Park" with Sara Geidlinger on Apple Podcasts, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. 'BY CHANCE ALONE' A STORY OF COURAGE AND DETERMINATION OPINION THE DEATH OF MAX EISEN IS THE LOSS OF A POWERFUL ADVOCATE FOR HUMANITY, WRITES MARSHALL WARD MARSHALL WARD Column Max Eisen, who died on July 7 at the age of 93, authored "By Chance Alone," a book about escaping death during the Holocaust. Sara Geidlinger photo