Leonard’s Story: Survival in the 21st Century
Tue, Dec 16
|Toronto
Leonard Vis, in conversation with Janet Fine about the importance of resilience. This program will be a 40 min conversation followed by a Q&A. We’ll light the candles together marking the 3rd night of Chanukah and celebrate as a community.
Time & Location
Dec 16, 2025, 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Toronto, 56 Maria St, Toronto, ON M6P 1W2, Canada
About the event
Come hear from one of our most beloved members of the shul—Leonard Vis—as he shares his story of survival through the horrors of Holocaust and how his survival skills have guided him through life.
This program will be a 40 min conversation followed by a Q&A. We’ll light the candles together marking the 3rd night of Chanukah and celebrate as a community.
This event is intended for an 18+ audience.
Meet Leonard: Leonard was born in 1930 in Amsterdam. Holland was invaded by the Germans in May 1940. Jews faced excommunication, expulsion, and extermination (the 3 X’s). As of the summer of 1942, different families and neighbours concealed Leonard, separate from his two younger siblings. His mother affirmed “Leonard can handle himself” at the mere age of 11. Having been a hidden child (“a totally new and foreign human experience"), standing on his own two legs in the face of…