one of the few children to survive holocaust camp, morris dancyger had 'strength and resiliency'
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morris dancyger, who died on may 12, 2026, was a supporter of the arts in calgary. dancyger was one of the few children to survive auschwitz-birkenau, liberated at the age of four and a half by the red army in 1945.
facebook/calgary jewish federation
the death of holocaust survivor morris dancyger on monday has left many in the city’s arts and jewish community “shattered” and in mourning of a man widely celebrated for his resiliency, compassion and impact on the city’s arts and culture.
the longtime calgarian is survived by his wife ann, son howard dancyger, daughter lisa (perry) itzcovitch, grandchildren ashley and bradley itzcovitch, and great grandchildren mila and payton libin. he was 86.
“he had strength and resiliency,” said carol ryder, co-chair of contemporary calgary and a longtime friend of dancyger.
“he never believed people should give him a handout and he overcame (a lot) to build a new life. he believed in the ethic of hard work and to contribute and give back to the community. and he was a very proud canadian.”
the two met several years ago through the jewish community.
long before dancyger built a life in calgary, his earliest years were shaped by devastating loss and tragedy. born in 1940 in the radom ghetto in poland, he and his family were transported to the concentration camp in auschwitz three years later in a cattle car, according to a statement posted to facebook on monday by the calgary jewish federation.
he was one of the few children to survive the holocaust camps, and was rescued when he was four-and-a-half years old by the soviet army in 1945. a now iconic photo taken shortly after liberation shows him and other children revealing the numbers tattooed on their tiny forearms.
his father, shmuel dancyger, had been sent to do forced labour in a weapons factory in nearby pionki before being taken to auschwitz.
at the camp, he was separated from the rest of his family and wouldn’t see them until three years later in 1946 at a displaced persons camp in germany, the jewish museum berlin shared in an online essay of the dancyger family.
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the reunion, however, was woefully brief — the day after shmuel met his then 10-year-old daughter, five-year-old son and wife, he was shot dead by german police in stuttgart, germany. the incident prompted a global outrage that has persisted through decades, particularly over the injustice of the police officers never being held accountable for their actions.
the street where he was killed has since been named danziger platz in his memory.
with his mother, sister and grandmother, morris immigrated to palestinian territory in 1947, just before israel was declared an independent state. four years later, the family arrived in calgary to begin a new life.
decades after the family endured the horrors of the holocaust, shmuel’s story was featured in the documentary six million and one, previewed may 29, 2025, by german filmmaker tina fuchs.
dancyger declined a prominent role in the film, but attended the preview with his wife and son, reported the alberta jewish news.
in his earlier years, dancyger earned a pharmacy degree with distinction from the university of alberta, and built a life with his wife, ann, also a holocaust survivor.
morris and ann dancyger in 2016.
bill brooks
however, friends remember him best for his wit, conviction, kindness and love for the arts.
“he wanted to do his life with things of beauty,” ryder said. “he loved fun clothes, loved his friends but, most of all, he was a real humanitarian.”
mayor jeromy farkas noted how dancyger never shied from a challenging conversation, an experience that stayed with the mayor throughout his life on the political stage.
“at a time when i was still earning trust and finding my footing in public life, his encouragement (of farkas’s campaign to be ward 11 councillor in 2017) meant a great deal,” the mayor wrote in a statement posted to social media on monday.
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“but morris was never the sort to offer support without expectation. he challenged me, particularly on the importance of arts and culture. he pushed me to think more deeply about what makes a city truly great, beyond infrastructure and public services. he believed the arts were central to our civic identity, and he made that case with conviction. that conversation stayed with me,” farkas added.
don braid, a calgary herald columnist and longtime friend of dancyger, echoed the same.
“friendship with morris always meant more than just having a coffee or another chinese food new year’s dinner,” he said. “it was always funny, often inspiring, often controversial.
“there was always a sense that he was an extraordinary man and was much more than what sat before (you).”
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