OTTAWA — At a ceremony in the nation’s capital to commemorate those who perished in the Holocaust, speakers emphasized remembrance to prevent a future that repeats the past.
Members of the Jewish War Veterans of Canada – Ottawa Post march as part of the flag ceremony. [Cara Stern photos]
This year’s official theme of the National Holocaust Ceremony at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa was “Voices of Survivors.”
Although relatively few are still alive, Holocaust survivors can share many valuable lessons, said Peter Kent, minister of state of foreign affairs (Americas), who represented Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the ceremony.
Federal Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff addresses the memorial
More than 120 dignitaries attended, the Canadian Society for Yad Vashem said. The list of speakers included Michael Ignatieff, leader of the official Opposition, and Gilles Duceppe, leader of the Bloc Québécois.
Hundreds of people gathered in the LeBreton Gallery to commemorate what has been called the worst-ever atrocity against humanity.
“It’s very easy to say never again, but in fact, we have to constantly remind ourselves and younger generations of what took place,” Kent said.
He said it’s not just the responsibility of Jews, but of all Canadians and all humanity to remember and resist anti-Semitism.
“We’re seeing around the world a resurgence of anti-Semitism,” Kent said. “The hate that we saw in such terrible proportions in the Second World War still exists today, and I think we constantly need to sensitize ourselves to the fact that it does exist and it takes action to resist.”
NDP Leader Jack Layton said he attended the first annual memorial ceremony, which used to be held on Parliament Hill. He said there he had the opportunity to walk with survivors and place wreaths.
The ceremony has grown quite a bit since then. To accommodate the growth, survivors were instead handed roses.
Although the ceremony remembers the six million Jews who died, Layton said, it also celebrates the many survivors who are alive to share their stories.
“Every year, I’ve had a chance to talk to a survivor and learn a new story, and it’s always very powerful as a reminder of what has been and what we need to do,” he said.
A large group of high school students travelled to Ottawa from Milton, Ont., where they promote diversity in a group called Students Unite.
Studying the Holocaust can put stories and memories in the students’ heads, but it wasn’t until the students saw it themselves, standing inside the concentration camps while on a trip to Poland, that the memories could enter their hearts, said Ian Jones, principal for Milton District High School.
The lessons are universal and must ensure that threats of terror are taken seriously, said Miriam Ziv, Israel’s ambassador to Canada.
The Ottawa ceremony came just a week after two students at Carleton University were allegedly chased with a machete for being Zionists, while the attackers shouted anti-Semitic slurs.
“Today is a call to remind us that we cannot allow ourselves to be the silent ones, contributing to or supporting events or actions that even inadvertently lead to the suffering of others,” said Fran Sonshine, national chair of the Canadian Society for Yad Vashem.
“We must understand that triggers left unchecked can descend into violence,” she said, “and that words of hate lead to crimes of hate.”