![]() Better late than never, I suppose.įor IHRD to make a major impact, dry facts in school textbooks aren’t enough. That it took 50 years until the UN finally devoted a day to the memory of one of the worst human rights abominations on record reflects poorly on the world body. On this date in 1945, Red Army troops liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest and most notorious of the Nazi death camps. 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. In 2005, the United Nations designated Jan. The further in time we move away from it, the more important it is to commemorate and learn from this period of unspeakable horror. With the passage of time, it doesn’t get easier to contemplate the Holocaust.Īs the world prepares to mark IHRD amid a global surge in antisemitism, the lessons of human history’s darkest chapter should loom large. ![]() How does one understand the reality of a civilized country, such as Germany, unleashing a campaign of industrialized mass murder driven by racist ideology? How does one make sense of it being so widely supported by much of the population? How does one come to terms with the genocide of six million Jews and millions of others? What it says about the human capacity for evil and depravity is sobering, to say the least. It defies what we want to believe about humankind. Admittedly, given its sheer scope and size, understanding the Holocaust, on one level, is extremely difficult. When it comes to the Holocaust, awareness is woefully lacking among many Canadians, especially the young. It requires a degree of knowledge and an understanding of history. ![]() 27, International Holocaust Remembrance Day (IHRD) is a powerful reminder there’s nothing like the past to help humanity better tackle the present and address the future. Additionally, many Canadians lost relatives, loved ones and friends in Nazi death camps,” the Government of Canada’s website reads.Marked on Jan. Subsequently, when the Nazis invaded Belgium, France, and the Netherlands in 1940, more than 250 of the passengers who were denied entry were murdered in the Holocaust. Louis, who were refused entry into Canada, and were forced to return to Europe. “This included more than 900 Jewish passengers of the M.S. “Focusing on the humanity of the victims prompts us to remember our humanity, and our responsibility to combat hate speech, combat antisemitism and prejudice - to do all we can to prevent genocide,” the United Nations website reads in part.Īmong those who sought a new home, were hundreds of people who Canada denied entry into the country as a result of restrictive immigration policies at the time. Those policies left millions of people homeless and stateless before and during the Second World War. Many members of the Jewish community have also condemned the offensive comparison of suggesting vaccine mandates were like the Holocaust.Īs well, there has been a 733% rise in crimes against members of Canada’s Jewish community in recent years, according to a report from Statistics Canada.Ĭanada is joining the United Nations in marking this year’s anniversary with the theme “Home and Belonging” to remember that victims and survivors of the Holocaust were forced to adjust their idea of belonging as the Nazi Party put its ideology into practice, identifying who could claim Germany as home. Those incidents of hate include antisemitic symbols and messages carried by some during the so-called Freedom Convoy. With the disturbing rise of antisemitism in our communities, we must uphold our collective responsibility to speak up against hatred and discrimination – wherever and whenever it occurs,” he explained. “In 2023, the Holocaust seems increasingly distant, so listening to and learning from survivors’ stories is now more important than ever. “Each January 27, on the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp in 1945, we come together to promise ‘never again,'” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement Friday. That’s the message from Canada’s prime minister Friday on International Holocaust Remembrance Day. January 27 marks a sombre anniversary around the world but serves as an important reminder not to repeat the mistakes of the past.
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