Holocaust Memorial Day Observance / Yom Hashoah
Monday, April 13, 2026; 7:30 P.M.
Shaarei Zedek Synagogue
91 Leinster Street, Saint John, N.B.
506-633-1833
info@saintjohnjewishhistoricalmuseum.com
Dr. Michael Zajdman
event information
The programme will feature Dr. Michael Zajdman of Toronto. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of two Holocaust survivors: Renata Skotnicka and Abram Zajdman. Renata was born in Warsaw, Polan and escaped the Warsaw Ghetto through the sewers the day before the uprising began, and survived the war by living under false documents while posing as a gentile. Her extraordinary story will be a central focus of Michael’s talk.
Abram was born in Radom, an industrial town in east-central Poland, approximately 100 kilometres south of Warsaw. During the Second World War, he spent much of the time in the Soviet Union, after first ensuring the safety of his sister-in-law in Lvov (now part of Ukraine). He was one of eleven children—only five of whom survived the war. Abram’s older brother, one of the few Jewish Polish officers, was murdered in the Katyn massacre, in which approximately 22,000 members of the Polish intelligentsia and military leadership were executed by the Soviet secret police (the Russians) in 1940.
Growing up without grandparents, Michael came to understand early on that his family’s history was divided into “before, during, and after the War.” As a teenager, his first trip to Israel and a visit to Yad Vashem deepened his sense of responsibility to live a life that would honour and justify his parents’ survival.
Michael earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and completed medical school at McGill University, before training in pediatrics at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. He continues to practice pediatrics in the Greater Toronto Area and previously served as the Medical Lead for the Pediatric Palliative Care Program at Trillium Health Partners.
In addition to his clinical work, Michael has served on hospital and hospital foundation boards, was President of his synagogue, and chaired Professional Services for the Lighthouse Centre for Grieving Children. For a number of years, he also taught Holocaust education as part of his synagogue’s Sunday Hebrew school curriculum, working with Grade 7 and 8 students. He currently serves as Chair of the Security Committee at his Reform Jewish congregation in Mississauga.
Members of the local Jewish community will light memorial candles, share music and photographs of family members impacted by the Holocaust.
This event is open to the general public.