Tuesday January 28th 2025
Last night, I was able to attend a Q&A period held at the Montreal Holocaust Museum. This Q&A period was hosted by renown journalist Peter Mansbridge and featured George Reinitz. While Peter Mansbridge needs no introduction, being a giant in the Canadian News scene, some who aren’t within the Quebec wrestling community may not know George Reinitz as well.
Coach Victor Zilberman poses with George and Peter Mansbridge
George is a contributor to the wrestling community here in Quebec, both with his donations of time and money. George himself was a wrestler of renown as he was a Canadian Champion during his competition days back in the 1950s. While this in of itself isn’t that ouf the ordinary, George is also a survivor of Auschwitz. Sent there as a twelve year old boy, George survived some unspeakable horrors of which we in modern society couldn’t even begin to imagine. George would later recount some of his experiences as he would put pen to paper, co-authoring a book with Richard King called “Wrestling with Life”.
A Once in a Lifetime interview
On the day of the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz, George would recount some of his stories in front of a packed room of avid listeners. Some of them were Holocaust survivors themselves and the solemn and respectful attention given to the presentation was palpable. The event was further attended by some notable names, such as former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Former Minister of Transport Pablo Rodriguez and UFC Hall of Fame member George St-Pierre, further highlighting the importance of the event.
On behalf of Wrestling Canada Lutte, George was presented with a National Team Jacket to highlight the occasion
On a personal note, I have had the privilege of knowing George throughout all of my wrestling career. He’s seen come in as a young and eager athlete when I first got to the Montreal Wrestling Club NTC, to coach at the very same club. Through it all, he has been a source of inspiration and on the occasional times, a mentor. At ninety two years, he’s still a sharp conversationalist which is extraordinary given his age and every day that I see him come to watch a practice or a tournament is a privilege.
Members of the Montreal Wrestling Club NYC pose for pictures
All in all, this was a memorable night. I hope that the people in attendance got as much as I did and it’s things like this that show more and more the importance of remembering the past.
For the interview of George by the CBC, click here.