Max Eisen Lecture in Holocaust Studies

Trent University honours the memory of Dr. Max Eisen C.M. '18 (hon) through an endowed lecture that continues his legacy of educating the public about the Holocaust and upholding human rights.

Dr. Eisen (1929 – 2022) was a Holocaust survivor who travelled to schools and community centres across Canada to tell his stories about surviving the horrors of the Second World War. He was appointed a member of the Order of Canada – the nation’s highest honour – for his commitment to Holocaust education. Dr. Eisen was also an award-winning author who shared his experiences in Auschwitz in his best-selling memoir By Chance Alone. Dr. Eisen believed deeply in the value of education, not just as a personal value, but as a reflection of his Jewish values and culture that the Nazis tried to destroy. Trent University was fortunate to host Dr. Eisen on several occasions to share his stories with students, staff, faculty, and the greater community. In 2018, Trent awarded Dr. Eisen an honorary degree in recognition of his efforts in Holocaust education and the promotion of human rights. 

The Max Eisen Lecture in Holocaust Studies is an endowment initiative begun by Professor Emerita Carolyn Kay, who won multiple teaching awards and served as principal of Lady Eaton College over her 32-year career.

After losing Prof. Kay to cancer in December of 2023, her family, colleagues, former students, and friends committed to honouring her dedication to Holocaust Studies with this annual lecture. Those who wish to support this effort are welcome to contribute to the endowment through the donate button on the side menu.

Flights of Spirit: Holocaust survivor and author Elly Gotz in conversation with Tomaz Jardim and Doris Bergen

Elly Gotz and special guests Doris Bergen and Tomaz Jardim

Author, Pilot, and Electronics Engineer

  • calendar icon
    Tuesday, January 20, 2026
  • time icon6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
  • location icon
    TBC

About the Speakers

Headshot of Elly GotzElly Gotz is a graduate electronics engineer, a pilot, businessman and author of Flights of Spirit. He was born in Kaunas, Lithuania. He spent his teenage years in a Nazi Ghetto in Kaunas and later in concentration camp Dachau, Germany, where he was liberated in 1945 by the American army. After the war he lived in Germany, Norway, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. Elly came with his family to Canada in 1964. He lives in Toronto. Elly will talk about his experiences during the war and after liberation from the concentration camps, his search for education, and later life.

 

Doris Bergen is the Chancellor Rose and Ray Wolfe Professor of Holocaust Studies emerita at the University of Toronto. She is the author of Twisted Cross: The German Christian Movement in the Third Reich; War and Genocide: A Concise History of the Holocaust; and Between God and Hitler: Military Chaplains in Nazi Germany.

Tomaz Jardim is a historian of modern Europe at Toronto Metropolitan University and the author of two books: The Mauthausen Trial and American Military Justice in Germany, and Ilse Koch on Trial: Making the "Bitch of Buchenwald"