97-year-old Auschwitz survivor to speak in Fort Frances, Ont. after local man’s encounter in Poland

Ben Mast (left) and Auschwitz survivor Nate Leipciger at the former Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp in Poland on April 24, 2025. (Mark Mast)

Residents of a Northwestern Ontario town have the chance to hear a powerful firsthand account of history by a prominent Canadian Holocaust survivor — all made possible after an unexpected encounter.

Ben Mast and other community members have arranged for 97-year-old Nate Leipciger, an Auschwitz concentration camp survivor, to speak in Fort Frances, Ont., a town about about 300 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg.

Mast, a resident of Rainy River, Ont., said he first met Leipciger in the spring while attending March of the Living in Poland. The annual program brings people from around the world to a former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp to study the history of the Holocaust.

“Here we are at Auschwitz, standing just a few dozen feet away from the ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ gate (translating to ‘Work Makes You Free’) that is so notoriously associated with the Auschwitz-Birkenau complex. And looking over I noticed (Leipciger)…. a man that I had recognized from research,” Mast told CTV News in a phone interview.

Though not Jewish himself, Mast said he has long been intrigued by the history of the Holocaust and had previously conducted interviews with survivors “as a personal passion project, just a recognition that these voices are quickly fading.”

One of the interviewees had been saved by German industrialist Oskar Schindler.

Mast said his interviews led him to learn about March of the Living, though he did not expect to directly encounter any survivors at the event.

“I noticed (Leipciger) was sitting there, and I went over to introduce myself and urged him to remain seated,” Mast said. “But at 97 years old, he sprung to his feet and embraced me with a hug and the conversation continued from there.”

Through their conversations, Mast learned that Leipciger lives in Toronto and was even familiar with his hometown of Rainy River, just west of Fort Frances, which is home to about 800 people.

“Here we are in Poland, and (Leipciger) says, ‘Rainy River, of course, for decades, I worked in electrical engineering on the hospital there and in Atikokan, Sioux Lookout, and Fort Frances.’”

With the assistance of Leipciger’s daughter, Mast was able to arrange a speaking series in Northwestern Ontario. According to Mast, a few dozen local donors have raised upward of $5,000 to cover the costs of bringing Leipciger, his daughter and a representative from the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies to the area.

Loss at Auschwitz

Leipciger was a teenager when he was imprisoned at the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp, where his mother and sister were murdered by the Nazis during the Second World War. The Polish-born survivor would later immigrate to Canada.

A spokesperson for the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum said that among the 1.3 million people sent to Auschwitz, at least 1.1 million were murdered. This included approximately 900,000 Jewish people who were murdered in gas chambers immediately upon arrival at the camp.

Of the approximately 400,000 prisoners registered at Auschwitz, 200,000 people died there, according to the spokesperson.

READ MORE: Auschwitz was liberated 80 years ago. The spotlight is on survivors as their numbers dwindle

In 2016, one year after publishing his memoir “The Weight of Freedom,” Leipciger had the opportunity to guide former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau through the former Nazi death camp.

Leipciger also received the Order of Canada earlier this year for his decades of service toward Holocaust education.

“His story of survival is truly unique,” Mast said, “and one that, in 2025, to have the opportunity to hear, is so stunningly remarkable.

“Even as a young person interested in this history, it’s so easy for it to feel like this is ancient history—black and white, long ago—and yet here we are with living connection to these realities, recognizing that this is not the past.”

There is currently no data on how many Auschwitz survivors are alive or how many live in Canada, according to the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.

Mast said Leipciger will share his story of survival, loss and experiences of antisemitism during the speaking engagements.

He will speak at a free public event at the Townshend Theatre in Fort Frances, put on in partnership with the Fort Frances Museum and Cultural Centre, on Oct. 21 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Leipciger is also scheduled to speak to students at two local schools that week.

“For our young people in particular, what an amazing opportunity that now they, for the rest of their lives, will have this personal connection with the story of the Holocaust.”