COMPLIMENTARY LEARNING RESOURCES

Attending teachers will receive a complimentary set of the following learning resources.  Items 1 and 2 have been approved by the BC Ministry of Education as recommended resources for SS11, History 12 & Social Justice 12.

1.    WITNESS TO HISTORY: CANADIAN SURVIVORS OF WWII IN ASIA is a companion DVD to the learning resource, Human Rights in the Asia Pacific 1931-1945 – Social Responsibility and Global Citizenship developed by the BC Ministry of Education, BC ALPHA.  The documentary features the story of four Asian Holocaust survivors, namely Miriam, Tang Yongjiang, Tony Cowling and Marius van Dijk van Nooten.  Three of them were in their childhood at wartime and Tony was only 17 years old when he became a POW.  They witnessed and experienced the sufferings and horrors of war, particularly the impact of atrocities on women and children.  Length of each survivor’s testimony ranges from 21 to 31 minutes and each story was appropriately “chapterized” to allow teachers the versatility in classroom use.  There is also a 17 minute excerpt of testimony highlights available for teachers if they want to introduce briefly more than just one survivors’ experience to the class.  Interview of the survivors and editing was done by Celine Rumalean. Celine is an independent documentary filmmaker, whose feature documentary Yesterday is Now examines how today's Japan views its wartime past.

2.    FORGOTTEN HOLOCAUST is a documentary containing the stories of Nanking Massacre, “Comfort Station” and Forced Labour during the Asia-Pacific War with testimonies from survivors.  Raymond Lemoine, Principal of Ecole des Pionniers in Coquitlamis is the producer of this documentary which was recorded during his participation in the Peace & Reconciliation Study Tour for Canadian Educators in 2006. 

3.    IRIS CHANG – THE RAPE OF NANKING is a moving and powerful film on the story of Iris Chang who almost single-handedly brought this forgotten Holocaust in Asia during WWII to the awareness of the western world. Her book, The Rape of Nanking - the Forgotten Holocaust of WWII made the best seller list of New York Times for over 5 months when it was published in 1997.  Until her untimely death in 2004, Iris had continued to be voice for the voiceless victims, despite vicious vilifications from deniers.  Iris’ legacy for us all is the ray of hope, justice and peace.  This feature docudrama is co-directed by Anne Pick and Bill Spahic and produced by Real to Reel Productions based in Toronto. 

4.    IRIS CHANG AND THE FORGOTTEN HOLOCAUST -  Best Essays from Iris Chang Memorial Essay Contest 2006

"How has Iris Chang's book, The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of WWII  affected my life and  thinking?" submitted by Graeme  Stacey, Social Studies and History teacher of Kelowna Secondary School was awarded the Second Prize.  This article is included in this book.

5.    THE DENIAL AND ITS COST: REFLECTIONS ON NANKING MASSACRE 70 YEARS AGO AND BEYOND - Best Essays from Iris Chang Memorial Essay Contest 2007