Holocaust Education: Canada

Canada: When during the Second World War it was possible to help Jews to escape the Nazis, Canada stood idly by. However, its postwar effort to provide shelter for survivors has been commendable. Some 30,000 Jews who had lived through the ordeal in various European countries were brought to these shores and given opportunities to rebuild their lives. As they and their descendants remember the horrors by seeking to educate future generations, they also pay tribute to Canada, according to The Star. Support for Holocaust education by the prime minister and his government is significant and important. Its also manifest in the fact that the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance with its 31 member states is currently being chaired by Canada in the person of Mario Silva. He describes his organization as aiming to ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust are not forgotten and In the statement that introduces this years massive program of Torontos Holocaust Education Week starting next Sunday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper writes that by sharing the stories of the survivors we can remain vigilant in confronting those who propagate messages of hatred, anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. Justice Rosalie Abella of the Supreme Court expressed it in her keynote address at a special evening of music and commemoration to honour Holocaust educators earlier this month in Toronto. As a child of Holocaust survivors, born in a displaced persons camp in Germany, she told her parents and her story of loss, resilience, hope and gratitude. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.