A Year Later: Honouring the Growth of the Waterdown Museum of Hope

Photo courtesy of the Waterdown Museum of Hope. (See full album below with more photos from our visit)

Just over a year ago, together with representatives from the Hamilton Jewish Federation, we had the privilege of visiting the Waterdown Museum of Hope alongside Holocaust survivor Nadia Rosa, an experience that has stayed with us ever since.

Today, we reflect on that visit with appreciation as we congratulate the museum on its next big milestone: The grand opening of their new home at the Waterdown Legion. This move is a testament to what can grow from one educator’s vision, sustained by students, colleagues, and a community that understands the importance of carrying stories forward.

The Museum of Hope began in 2013 through the initiative of award winning educator Rob Flossman, who reimagined what it could mean to teach history. Rather than keeping the past confined to textbooks, he created a learning environment where students actively engage with artifacts, testimonies, and the lived experiences of those in their own community.

As Flossman shared in a post on Facing History & Ourselves Canada,

"We put this history into the hands of our grade 11 Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity Course students, who have worked to bring our community’s history back to the community. Prior to guiding visitors through the museum, students are immersed in a study of history through a Facing History lens: They learn to see the connections between history with identity, they study the morality of choices individuals made, they ask complex questions, and encounter personal testimonies from some of humanity’s darkest moments."

What emerged was something far more powerful than just your average class project. The creation a WWII museum evolved into a space where history is encountered on a personal level and global events are understood through stories of people that the students know personally or heroes in their community. Students begin to see themselves as participants in the shaping of history and can better decide what part they want to play in it. 

This approach to hands-on, experiential learning became especially powerful when we had the chance to witness students as tour guides when Nadia Rosa came to visit the museum. It must have been such a life altering experience for them. Nadia's impact on the students was unmistakable as she warmly shared her personal stories with them as they shared what they had learned with her.

Born in 1938 in Czechoslovakia, Nadia’s early years were shaped by fear and instability. She lived with her mother and grandparents during the war, eventually going into hiding with a non-Jewish family, only to be betrayed by a Gestapo informant. She and her family were deported to the Sered and Terezin concentration camps. Of approximately 15,000 children held in the camp’s awful conditions, only about 150 survived.

Nadia and her mother were liberated on May 9, 1945. Many of her family members, including her grandparents, did not survive.

Now a longtime Hamilton resident, Nadia continues to play an essential role in Holocaust education across our community. Her presence during our visit transformed the learning for those students. It became a much deeper form of connection when they had the chance to hear directly from Nadia’s personal lived experience. As she repeated to the students:

“One and a half million children died and I survived. I have an obligation to speak for them.”

That sense of responsibility is something you feel immediately when listening to her.

At the museum, her story was accompanied by one of the most haunting and powerful symbols of the Holocaust: the yellow star she was forced to wear. The star of David, historically a symbol of strength and pride, became a symbol used by the Nazis to isolate and dehumanize Jews.  Her artifact serves as a stark and necessary reminder of where unchecked hatred can lead. 

This kind of learning, connecting with those who had first hand experience during the Holocaust, leaves a lasting impact on students. It moves beyond memorization into meaning. It creates a space where students become a part of living History. Where the past is not distant. It encourages introspection on the world they inherited and the legacy they wish to leave behind.

As the Museum of Hope enters this new phase, we are also deeply grateful for the ways our work has become connected. As part of the museum’s transition, a number of artifacts from its original collection, including pieces from Nadia’s personal collection and items from the Harriet Smiley Memorial Holocaust Collection, generously donated by Madeline Levy, have been entrusted to Margaret’s Legacy as we develop our own Museum and Learning Centre.

It is an honour, a responsibility, and a reminder that these stories are meant to be shared across spaces, across generations, and in ways that continue to evolve to engage the next generation.

We are incredibly grateful for this trust, and we look forward to sharing more as this next chapter unfolds.

The story of the Museum of Hope is, in many ways, a reflection of what Holocaust education can and should be today: experiential, community-driven, and grounded in the understanding that memory alone is not enough. It must lead to awareness, to dialogue, and ultimately, to action.

We are in awe of Rob Flossman and all of the community supporters who stood behind this incredible initiative. It's no small feat in today's political climate. Thank you!