Join Facing History & Ourselves, in partnership with the Survivor–Centred Visual Narratives Project, for an engaging professional development workshop on teaching graphic novels of Holocaust survival.
Through this interactive workshop, you will learn ways to engage middle and secondary students in a cross-curricular exploration of Holocaust history, survivor testimony, art, and graphic novel storytelling.
The workshop will centre on two compelling full-colour graphic novels illustrated by Miriam Libicki: Two Roses: A Story of Deception and Determination in Nazi Germany and “A Kind of Resistance,” Libicki’s contribution to the collection But I Live: Three Stories of Child Survivors of the Holocaust, as well as their accompanying films and historical contexts.
Two Roses and “A Kind of Resistance” feature the recollections of Toronto-based Holocaust survivors, Rose Lipszyc and David Schaffer respectively. Their stories explore personal recollections of survival during the Holocaust. But these graphic novels go further; by drawing herself into the graphic novels, Miriam Libicki opens our eyes to the ways in which memory, recollection, grief, trauma, and healing can unfold between a survivor and one tasked with recording their story.
Date: March 24, 2026
Time: 5 – 8 PM (ET)
Registration at 4:30
Location: University of Toronto Schools, 371 Bloor Street West, Toronto
In this workshop, participants will:
- Share pedagogical guidelines, strategies, and resources that support English Language Arts teachers in teaching Holocaust literature with care
- Introduce Facing History & Ourselves’ newly published Teaching Holocaust Literature Guide
- Model flexible and adaptable classroom-ready lesson for deepening students’ learning and scaffold students’ way of thinking about aspects of Holocaust survivor graphic novels such as rhetoric, art, Holocaust history, or moral complexity
- Explore and discuss excerpts of Two Roses and “A Kind of Resistance” and their accompanying resources
- Engage in humanities-based methods for teaching about the Holocaust that honor both historical accuracy and student engagement
All workshop participants will receive:
- Complimentary print copies of Two Roses: A Story of Deception and Determination in Nazi Germany and But I Live: Three Stories of Child Survivors of the Holocaust
- Digital access to free, reliable, ready-to-use classroom resources and strategies for teaching with Holocaust literature and art, designed with sensitivity and academic rigor in middle and secondary classrooms
Audience:
- This workshop is intended for English Language Arts teachers who are interested in teaching Holocaust graphic novels or literature as core or complementary text, and History and Humanities teachers who are interested in extending and deepening student learning on the Holocaust and its legacies through survivor sharing.
- Priority registration will be offered to grade 8-12 and supplemental school teachers of English, History, and Humanities classes, in alignment with the intended audience for each of the specific graphic novels we will discuss. All interested classroom educators are invited to apply.
Accessibility
- The workshop and workshop entrance at the University of Toronto Schools is equipped with an accessible entrance; accessible and universal washrooms are available by the workshop space
- Live transcription / captioning will be provided during the workshop
- The deadline to request ASL services is March 10, 2026. Please email Jennifer Swift at jswift@uvic.ca
What to Expect:
Dinner and refreshments will be provided. You will be contacted in early March regarding your dietary needs. We cannot guarantee all dietary restrictions can be met, however we will seek to accommodate most needs.
This event draws on research by the Survivor-Centred Visual Narratives project and is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Government of Canada.
