Holocaust survivor

By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

Holocaust survivor Ted Bolgar, a tireless speaker for decades to students at schools and the general public at the Montreal Holocaust Museum about the horrors he witnessed, turned 100 on Sept. 12.

The Suburban spoke to Bolgar, a Côte St. Luc resident, last week after a second celebration of his centennial year at the Cummings Centre’s Café Europa, a weekly drop-in program for Holocaust survivors, held at the Gelber Centre.

Bolgar, born in 1924 in Hungary, was forced with his family into a ghetto in his town of Sarospatak in 1944 by the occupying Nazis and they were then deported to Auschwitz. Bolgar’s mother and sister were sent to the gas chambers immediately, while he and his father were selected for work. Bolgar, as a slave labourer, was sent to work at the Warsaw ghetto and was forced on a death march to Dachau as the Soviets advanced toward the city. Ultimately, Bolgar and his father survived the war and Ted came to Canada in 1948, where he raised a family.

Asked by The Suburban how it feels to be 100, Bolgar said, “very strange!

“First of all, I never expected it. I got to the point where I wake up every morning, and I think ‘which part of my body will hurt?’ Then I get up! But I’m lucky being in Canada and the CLSC in Côte St. Luc is taking very good care of me. I am very thankful, very thankful. Otherwise, I don’t know what 100 years would look like.”

Bolgar said that after the Holocaust, he realized that he and his fellow survivors had two obligations.

“One is to ensure that the Jewish people will continue, which means we got married — I’m bragging now, I have two children, six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.”

The other obligation “was not to let the world forget about the Holocaust. A group of us, once we spoke some English, started to go around, first to schools, from elementary schools to universities, to talk about the Holocaust. Then we went to churches, synagogues and other institutions. We thought it was very important to remind people what went on, and some people were [shocked], they didn’t know much about it.”

Bolgar also went on many March of the Livings, the trip by students and Holocaust survivors to Poland to see the Nazi death camps Auschwitz and Birkenau, followed by a trip to Israel, including a visit to the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem.

“I managed 15 Marches —I think I broke the record! The Germans only left a couple of institutions — naturally, Auschwitz, which became a museum. We went with the youngsters. It was important.”

Bolgar said he was surprised when he went on his first March and re-encountered Auschwitz.

“They tried to destroy the institution. Now it has all kinds of exhibits — for instance, thousands and thousands of pairs of shoes, and hair. There were also kitchen dishes — that upset me quite a bit because it showed either how stupid or optimistic we were. The mothers thought, ‘we are going to work hard, we’ll have the family together and have supper.’ And all these dishes were lying on the floor. And on the same table was shoe polish. Again, how stupid or optimistic were we?”

Bolgar retired from his public speaking when the COVID pandemic emerged. We asked him what message he wants to pass on to the public now, especially in light of the rise in antisemitism since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.

“I never wanted to live in Israel, although I visited more than 20 times, but I’m very what upset what is taking place there now. I want Israel to remain Israel. As for antisemitism, it has been around since the beginning and has continued more or less everywhere.”

Bolgar also told The Suburban’s Chelsey St-Pierre this past July that ignorance is at the core of antisemitism, and that he is disappointed the ignorance continues today.

“I thought people learned from the Holocaust and understood that it was wrong. I am still here and I will keep trying.” n