The “Bystanders’ Perspective” in Yad Vashem Studies, Volume 39:1

The “Bystanders’ Perspective”: The Toronto Daily Star and Its Coverage of the Persecution of the Jews and the Holocaust in Canada, 1933–1945

Based on a comprehensive examination of Canada’s largest daily newspaper, the Toronto Daily Star, for the years 1933 to 1945, the article reveals that although it was not always consistent in its coverage, the Toronto Daily Star exposed Canadians to a surprisingly high level of detailed information on the persecution and genocide of the Jews of Europe in real time. While the coverage varied in terms of depth, scope, level of detail, and position of placement of Holocaust-related news items in the paper, the persecution and subsequent annihilation of the Jews of Europe was a recurrent and overall continuous theme that allowed Canadians to understand the true nature of the destruction process.