Robbie Waisman

Waisman remains a respected voice across Canada and was selected as the recipient of the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award in 2014 for his voluntary service to consciousness raising.

Infused with a strong sense of Yiddishkeit, his formative years were spent in a tight-knit community, where his parents raised him according to the customs and traditions of Orthodox Judaism.

[5] Some of his earliest memories are of his father, who would read Rabbinic stories to him and his siblings, such as those written by the famous Yiddish author and playwright, Sholom Aleichem.

Hugo Schneider Aktiengesellschaft (HASAG), a German metalworking company, was brought in to oversee its operations, producing ammunition and equipment for the Wehrmacht.

[6] The bonds formed between the children became the subject of a 2002 documentary, The Boys of Buchenwald, which featured testimonies from both Waisman and Elie Wiesel on the tribulations of camp life and the friendships they forged during the war.

After much deliberation, and a series of demanding physical examinations, he was granted refugee status by Canada, moving there amongst a group of 1000 people who were allowed in by the Federal Government.

[19] Wanting to involve himself more fully in the city’s Jewish community, Waisman served as the President of the local B’nai B’rith chapter, an organization committed to promoting awareness and combatting antisemitism.

[23] Upon hearing this, Waisman became deeply troubled about the threat of Holocaust denial in Canada, setting aside his fear of public speaking to educate others on the past.

In an attempt to repair the damage caused by his comments, several Indigenous leaders reached out to the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), sparking a dialogue that has continued into the present day.

Waisman became a key figure in this burgeoning relationship, drawing on his experience as a Holocaust survivor to build bridges with those who had survived similar degradation in the Residential School System.

In 2003, Waisman joined Willie Abrahams, a survivor of the school system, to lecture students in British Columbia about their shared experiences in the face of violence and persecution.

In an interview with the Anglican Journal, he explained that he felt “a sacred duty and responsibility to bring healing to residential school survivors.”[4] In 2011, Waisman was made an honorary witness by the TRC, who asked him to share his testimony and the insights he had gained from his life during the war.

He went on to speak alongside the chairman of the TRC, Justice Murray Sinclair, in a series of sponsored events such as “Compelled to Remember,” a 2012 summit on historical trauma and injustice.