Harper's statement on Yom HaShoah

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today issued the following statement on Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day:  “On Yom HaShoah, Canadians stand together to remember the countless innocent people, including nearly six million Jewish men, women and children who suffered and died at the hands of the Nazis during the Holocaust.

Photo: Contributed - CTV

Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

“As we mark the liberation of the first Nazi concentration camp in Buchenwald, Germany, let us also pay tribute to all those brave souls who fought with the Jewish resistance during this dark period, and let us renew our own commitment to continue their fight against all forms of intolerance, discrimination and anti-Semitism.

“On March 5, 2013, Canada became the Chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). As Chair, Canada is committed to an ambitious campaign to raise Holocaust awareness and fight anti-semitism at home and abroad. Canada will host a major IHRA conference in October in Toronto.

“The atrocities of the Holocaust betrayed the fundamental value of human dignity. We must never allow such unthinkable crimes to be forgotten or repeated.”