Ottawa —

The Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister for Multiculturalism, issued the following statement to mark the ninth annual UN International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, also known as International Holocaust Remembrance Day: 

“Last week, accompanying Prime Minister Harper in Jerusalem, I had the opportunity to return to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum and memorial. In that heartbreaking place, I once again contemplated the uniquely cruel and horrific atrocities of the Shoah.

 

“The Holocaust was historically exceptional not only in its brutality and scale, but also in the methodical way the Nazis carried out their program of tyranny and mass murder.

 

“On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Canadians join with people around the world in memorializing the millions of European Jews and other civilians who were tortured and murdered by the Nazi regime seven decades ago.

“Six million Jews, including 1.5-million children – one-third of the world’s Jewish population at the time – died in the Holocaust. Today, on the 69th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration and Extermination Camp in Nazi-occupied Poland, we honour their memory, and that of others who were killed because of their ethnicity, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, disabilities, or political views.

 

“Our country is proud to be an international leader in the fight against anti-Semitism and other pernicious hatreds, and in the promotion of Holocaust remembrance, research and education. Since last March, Canada has served as 2013-2014 chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. As chair, we have supported many events and initiatives to promote Holocaust education in this country, and around the world.

“A number of activities are taking place across Canada to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

 

“As Minister for Multiculturalism, I encourage all Canadians to mark this day by remembering the victims of the Shoah, reflecting on the dangers of such extreme hatred, and taking the time to learn about this dark chapter in world history. In learning about the tragedy of the Holocaust, we commit ourselves to fighting all forms of hatred, and to living the words ‘never again’.”