A year ago, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany released what it called an “unprecedented” demographic study of Holocaust survivors, reporting that about 245,000 people survived to the Holocaust were still alive. Nearly half of them lived in Israel and more than one in six in the United States. At that time, there were 5,800 survivors living in Canada. Most of the survivors are now over 90 years old. The Auschwitz Museum said it expects about 50 survivors to attend the ceremony on Monday. Lyon last visited Auschwitz in May 2024 as part of the annual March of the Living. This is an event focused on studying the Holocaust and the roots of intolerance and hatred. “I know how disturbing it is to stand on this ground where so many people have suffered so much and so many have died,” she said. “But it’s also, to a certain extent, It’s an honor to be there to represent Canada and the Jewish community. » Lyon will be present at the event in Poland on Monday alongside Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. She said Canadian Holocaust survivors will also be in attendance. Léger and the Association for Canadian Studies also released a survey conducted this month to determine where Canadians get information about the Holocaust. The survey, conducted between January 17 and 19, involved 1,578 Canadians. In this survey, 22 percent of Canadians under the age of 25 cited online sources as their primary source of information about the Holocaust, more than any other age group. Films and documentaries were the most popular. most common choice of primary news source across all age groups, cited by 34 percent of all respondents. Lyons said she was encouraged that the survey found that 46 percent of all respondents said they were interested in learning more about the Holocaust, with that being the highest interest reported among younger age cohorts. “So we need to look for ways to help people understand the story of the Holocaust, even if it doesn’t come from lived experience,” she said. -year, $5 million fund that the government launched in December to help promote Holocaust education. music or art, but spreading the story in a way that people can relate to through their own humanity, their own humanity,” she said. Lyons said the human connection is key to educating younger generations about an act of genocide that killed more people. than 6 million Jews. “What is so compelling and so intensely disturbing about the Holocaust is that it happened over days, weeks, months, years of planning. Humans planning the death of others, putting systems and infrastructure in place to treat human beings like we would livestock,” Lyons said. “It’s an incredibly compelling and heartbreaking story about how we lose our humanity in the midst and depths of hatred. So I think we owe it to our young people to find new and different ways to ensure that they hear about the Holocaust as a means of their own learning, of their own enrichment as a human being.This report by The Canadian Press was first published January 26, 2025.
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