HALIFAX — St. Thomas University, a liberal arts institution in Fredericton, N.B., is establishing a Holocaust centre to raise awareness of the plight of Holocaust victims during World War II, as well as other genocides throughout the 20th and into the 21st centuries.

Philip Riteman, a retired Halifax businessman, is a Holocaust survivor who has spoken about his excruciating experience to hundreds of school, university and church groups in Canada and the United States in the last 20 years.

In early July, after being presented an honorary doctorate by the university, he was asked to unveil a plaque commemorating his story of survival from the death camps of Europe. The plaque will be prominently displayed at the front of the St. Thomas University Holocaust Centre.

That brought him to tears a week later as he spoke of the new centre.

“I had no idea they were [asking me to officially dedicate the opening],” he said, embarrassed. “I’m just representing the millions of victims and the many, many survivors.”

Michael McGowan, a professor in the university’s department of human rights and the centre’s director, said 2008 is the 10th anniversary of the human rights program at St. Thomas University, in which students can receive a bachelor of arts.

“We were the first university to offer this program,” he said. “The Holocaust was the driving force for starting the program. We want to change attitudes, minds and hearts. The Holocaust was the end product of hate. We need to deal with that.”

He said the centre will educate young people about the tragedies that transpire when prejudice, racism and hate target groups in society. “People learn to hate and they can learn to stop hating by knowledge, understanding and engagement with others. We want to bring students together from across Canada and around the world to increase their knowledge of genocide and equip them to become leaders in their work for peace, understanding and respect.”

McGowan said more than 25 students from St. Thomas’ human rights program have visited Holocaust sites in the last few years. They have met survivors such as Philip Riteman, heard their stories and better understand the issues of hate and discrimination.

“I’ve seen a marked difference in our students after they’ve been on the ground in Treblinka, for example, and heard people there talk of their experience,” he said. “They come back here and it’s amazing what they’ve done, in their own classes, and in their communities. Many of our human rights graduates are teachers and have taken this to their classes.”

He said the students have hosted Holocaust Awareness Week and Genocide Awareness Week at the university.

“The place is usually packed for presentations. Young people want to hear from these students, and want to try to understand what’s happening in the Sudan and other areas now by putting them under the microscope of the Holocaust.”

He said the Holocaust centre will deliver educational programs for students and professional groups, provide scholarships, organize seminars and conferences, and sponsor public lectures by scholars. The new centre will co-operate with other organizations such as the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews, the Canadian Centre for Diversity and the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem.

A fundraising campaign will be launched for the Endowment Fund of the St. Thomas University Holocaust Centre, and an advisory board will guide the centre’s activities.