“On this day, please join us in paying tribute to the strength and resilience of the Jewish people and all those who persevered against the horrors of the Holocaust. We cannot, and will not, forget.”
“The facts and the universal lessons and stories of the Holocaust must be known by everyone. One of the most powerful ways that we can come to understand these truths and learn these lessons are by listening to the stories of survivors”.
“Your stories, while they are incredibly difficult to recount and to hear, must be told and heard. It is through your stories, through your personal accounts of suffering, pain and loss that we learn”
The National Holocaust Remembrance Day Program represents one of the main programs of CSYV that shares the facts and universal lessons of the Shoah. While keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive, the National Holocaust Remembrance Day Program instills in Canadians the values of respect for human rights. This program serves as a vehicle to educate the next generation of Canadians about the dangers of intolerance, ethnic discrimination and social exclusion.
In 2003 the Government of Canada passed a bill establishing a National Holocaust Memorial Day. Since then, the Canadian Society for Yad Vashem has carried out the annual National Holocaust Remembrance Day Ceremony on behalf of the government. The Ceremony commemorates the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and pays tribute to the survivors who rebuilt their lives in Canada, many of whom attend the event. The program includes a personal account by a Holocaust survivor of his/her experiences during the Holocaust, as well as addresses by the leaders of Canadian major political parties thereby stressing the importance of Holocaust remembrance in Canada.
The 2018 National Holocaust Remembrance Day Ceremony
On April 18, 2018, the Canadian Society for Yad Vashem (CSYV) hosted the annual National Holocaust Remembrance Day Ceremony in partnership with the Government of Canada, with The Honourable Harjit Singh Sajjan MP, the Minister of National Defence as the keynote speaker.
Chaired by Fran Sonshine, CSYV National Chair and Bruce Kent, RBC Vice-President, Director & Portfolio Manager and CSYV Board member, the Ceremony commemorated the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and paid tribute to the survivors who rebuilt their lives in Canada. Many survivors came to Ottawa to attend this meaningful event.
The theme of this year’s Ceremony was “Remembering the Past, Shaping the Future: The Importance of Remembering the Holocaust”.
“On this day, please join us in paying tribute to the strength and resilience of the Jewish people and all those who persevered against the horrors of the Holocaust. We cannot, and will not, forget,” Minister Sajjan stated. Minister Sajjan also commended the Holocaust survivors who participated in the Ambassadors of Change Program prior to the Ceremony, during which they shared their testimonies with students. In his words, “Every survivor who has told their story has done so with generous spirit despite the pain it invokes. Every survivor who has told their story is helping to make sure we never forget.”
In addition to Minister Sajjan, The Honourable Andrew Scheer, Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Official Opposition, and Mr. Jagmeet Singh, Leader of the NDP addressed the attendees and lit a candle in the CSYV menorah.
The Honourable Andrew Scheer spoke about how imperative it is to ensure that future generations never forget the Holocaust, “It is our duty to learn the lessons of the past so that we can pass on the torch to our children. We must not let the stories and testimonies of survivor heroism and valour be erased from our history.”
Jagmeet Singh reflected on the resurgence of hatred in recent years and how we cannot let the lessons of the Holocaust fade from our collective memories, “When we forget these lessons and the unthinkable consequences of hatred, we risk creating a climate for it to grow again. Hate’s cruelty does not pick and choose, it hurts all of us.”
Nimrod Barkan, Ambassador of Israel to Canada emphasized the importance of working together in order to stand-up against intolerance. He said “As people [The Jewish people] who suffered through bigotry, then fighting it should be our shared commitment, both at home and abroad. We should be working together towards that goal with all our friends, particularly Canada. “
Rabbi Bulka spoke of the importance of citizens to speak up against hatred and not allow it to grow. He urged people to take action… “If you hear something, do something.” He encouraged the teaching of love, respect and co-existence in our communities.
In line with this year’s theme, for the first time, the program featured accounts from both first and second generation Holocaust survivors.
Felicia Carmelly shared her powerful first-hand testimony of surviving the Transnistria concentration camp and losing 36 members of her family at the age of 10. Felicia emphasized the importance of “the new generation, to become the guardians of the memory of the Holocaust, and be brave enough to create a world were innocent people can live with each other in friendship, respect and peace”, now that Holocaust survivors are leaving us.
Second generation Holocaust survivor and CSYV Board Member Israel Mida, spoke about his quest to “reclaim the memory” of the family he lost in the Holocaust. Israel concluded his speech by exclaiming, “Hitler may have taken their lives, but he can never take their good names … He cannot take their signatures…He cannot take your memories of them. … and he cannot take the memory of them which I have RECLAIMED.”
Over 700 guests attended the Ceremony including Holocaust survivors and their families. Among the distinguished guests who joined the Ceremony were: The Right Honourable Richard Wagner, Chief Justice of Canada; the Hon. Geoff Regan, Speaker of the House of Commons; H.E. Nimrod Barkan, Ambassador of Israel to Canada; over 50 heads of diplomatic missions in Canada; cabinet ministers; justices of the Supreme Court of Canada; close to 60 members of parliament; and hundreds of students and members from communities in Ontario and Quebec.
Prior to the Ceremony, 200 high school students of varied faiths and cultures, from schools across Canada met with Holocaust Survivors to participate in Ambassadors of Change Program. Survivors shared their first-hand experience of the Holocaust and students participated in a discussion regarding the relevance of the Holocaust’s lessons in today’s world and ways they can promote tolerance and inclusion within their own communities. To learn more about the CSYV Ambassadors of Change Program click here.
Special Thanks!
The Canadian Society for Yad Vashem thanks the following members of the Zachor Coalition for their collaboration and commitment to Zachor: The Azrieli Foundation; Baycrest Foundation; B’nai Brith Canada; Canadian Hadassah-WIZO (CHW); Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee; Canadian Race Relations Foundation; Centre for Holocaust Education and Scholarship; Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA); Chenstochover Aid Society; Emunah Canada; Facing History and Ourselves; FAST-Fighting Antisemitism Together; Federation CJA; Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies; Historica Canada; I Talk to Strangers Foundation; International Christian Embassy Jerusalem-Canada; Jewish Federation of Ottawa; Jewish War Veterans Of Canada Ottawa Post; Maramoresher Society of Toronto; Montreal Holocaust Museum; Na’amat Canada; ORT Toronto; Seventh Day Adventist Church in Canada and The Memory Project.
