PM Trudeau’s statement on the Holocaust doesn’t mention Jews ~ Ilana Shneider

Justin Trudeau. Photo: CIJnews

by: Ilana Shneider 

January 27 is designated by the United Nations as the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the day on which Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi extermination camp, was liberated by the Soviet troops in 1945.

The Holocaust was a systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored murder of six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators.

Auschwitz-Birkenau was chosen as the central location for the targeted annihilation of the Jewish people on an industrial scale. Of the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust, more than one million died at Auschwitz-Birkenau. By 1945, three quarters of all European Jews had been killed.

On the 71st anniversary of the liberation of the world’s most notorious extermination camps, Prime Minister Trudeau issued the following statement:

“On this day, we pay tribute to the memory of the millions of victims murdered during the Holocaust. We honour those who survived atrocities at the hands of the Nazi regime, and welcome their courageous stories of hope and perseverance.

“The Holocaust is a stark reminder of the dangers and risks of allowing hate, prejudice, and discrimination to spread unchallenged. It also reminds us that silence must never be an option when humanity is threatened.

“As we pause to educate ourselves and our families on the bitter lessons of the Holocaust, we also strengthen our resolve to work with domestic and international partners to continue defending human rights and condemning intolerance.”

Trudeau’s statement did not mention Jews even once.

In stark contrast to Trudeau’s statement, Rona Ambrose, Leader of the Official Opposition, issued astatement on behalf of the Conservative Party:

“Today we remember the countless innocent men, women, and children, including six million Jews who were murdered in Nazi death camps during the Second World War.

We also honour those who survived the terrible cruelty of the Holocaust – tens of thousands of whom eventually made their way to Canada – and express our gratitude to those who put their own lives in danger to come to their aid.

The fortitude of the survivors and the courage of those who gave them comfort and shelter in the face of unspeakable evil has been and remains an inspiration to generations since.

Sadly, today is also a day to remind ourselves that the undisguised anti-Semitism of the Nazi-era still festers in too many parts of the world – and that it can reach even into our own society, clothed in more subtle garb.

In too many parts of the world people still face terror, persecution, and oppression not for anything they have done, but simply for who they are or for what they believe.

We call on the Government of Canada to continue to stand against this, both in words and actions, here at home and around the world.

And we call on the Government to follow through on the all-party commitment to the international 2009 Terezin Declaration regarding the restitution of property stolen by the Nazis from Jewish families during the Holocaust.

Today, on the seventy-first anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest of the death camps, all people who cherish freedom, justice, and tolerance are called upon to reflect on one of the darkest periods of human history. And we are called upon to renew our commitment to a solemn vow: “Never again.”

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair echoed the Conservative Party’s statement by issuing one on behalf of the New Democrats:

“Seventy-one years ago today, more than 7,000 prisoners were liberated from the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi death camp.

Today, New Democrats join people of conscious around the world in honouring the memory of the millions of Jewish men, women and children who suffered and were murdered alongside countless others because of their race, religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation.

We must never forget the horror of the Holocaust – symbol of a true failure for all humanity – and pledge that never again will we be indifferent to intolerance, hatred and contempt for others.”