Max Eisen devoted his life to educating Canadians about the Holocaust and inspiring them to stand up against hate.

Born in Czechoslovakia in 1929, he was a teenager when he and is family were sent to Auschwitz, where he lost most of his family.

After moving to Canada in 1949, he shared his story of tragedy, loss, courage and hope with hundreds of thousands of Canadians, including through his work with Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, who put out a statement.

”Max was a deeply thoughtful man who reflected on his unlikely survival against all odds during the Holocaust, using his difficult experience to teach younger generations about the dangers of hate and intolerance. 

He taught people of all ages about the power of words, explaining the Holocaust did not begin with violence and murder, but with Nazi lies and myths.

He felt strongly about the importance of sharing his message with young people, and he kept every letter written to him by students, which further motivated him to keep sharing his excruciating personal story.

Those letters, again, showed how words matter,” the statement reads in part.

”Without history, there is no memory.  Without memory, there is no future.”  – Max Eisen