International Holocaust Remembrance Day commemorates the genocide committed by the Nazis during the Second World War. It is observed annually on January 27, the date the Red Army liberated the Nazi’s largest concentration and death camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, in 1945.

An estimated six million people were murdered during the Holocaust simply because they were Jewish. Before being killed, many were dehumanized for months or even years, stripped of their civil and human rights, forced to work as slave labour, or used for painful medical experimentation.

Hundreds of thousands of others were also targeted and killed, including Romani people, people living with mental or physical disabilities, and gender and sexual minorities.

After the Second World War, Holocaust survivors were hurt and angered by the fact many world leaders knew to some extent what was happening but didn’t do enough to stop it.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day is intended to ensure future generations learn from this history in order to prevent similar targeting of civilians.

Supporting and appreciating multiculturalism throughout the province is a key commitment in The Way Forward on Immigration in Newfoundland and Labrador.

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“The tragedy of the Holocaust continues to have consequences today. The Jewish community in Newfoundland and Labrador and around the world still lives with the heartache of millions of family and friends who were murdered. We have a responsibility to the victims and survivors to learn from history, apply those lessons to the present, and do everything we can in our daily lives to ensure people of all backgrounds are valued and respected.”
Honourable Bernard Davis
Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour

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Media contact
Ryan Crocker
Advanced Education, Skills and Labour
709-729-1795, 725-9595
RyanCrocker@gov.nl.ca