Remembering the horrors of the Holocaust 78 years after liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau
Remembering the horrors of the Holocaust 78 years after liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau
When Dr. Agnes Klein took the podium at the National Holocaust Monument in Ottawa, there was silence.
Klein, who says she never thought of herself as a survivor, was just three years old when the war broke out. She survived the Holocaust by hiding on a farm in Romania.
"My husband was a concentration camp survivor and he never wanted to speak of his experiences. However, current circumstances and increasing hate have forced me and have made me and induced me to speak out," Dr. Klein said.
In an emotional and powerful speech at an International Holocaust Remembrance Day event in Ottawa, Klein stressed the importance of remembering the millions of victims murdered by the Nazis during the Second World War and underscored the need to stand up against antisemitism and hate.
"As long as we remember their names, they continue to be alive in some ways because it reminds us that those were people who loved and lost, contributed to society, were generous, courageous and resilient," she said.
On Jan. 27, 78 years ago, Soviet troops liberated the most notorious concentration camp -- Auschwitz-Birkenau. While roughly 7,000 prisonners were liberated that day, over 1.1 million people, the vast mostly Jews, were murdered by the Nazis there. Across the world, Jan. 27 has been designated International Holocaust Rememberance Day.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was also among the speakers. He urged Canadians not to be complacent and to call out hatred whenever they come across it. Acts of hateful and antisemitic rhetoric, he said, are coming from "dark corners of our society."
“Hate is being amplified online and on other platforms and so we cannot and must not be complacent," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at the event. "All Canadians, especially those of us here who are leaders, need to stand up and call it out plainly and loudly.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poililevre also encouraged Canadians to call out “utterances of hatred and antisemitism.”
“When we do that, and only then will we live up to the privilege and the honour it is for us to live here as Canadians.”
According to Statistics Canada, the number of police-reported hate crimes increased by 27 per cent in 2021, with an increase in hate crimes targeting the Jewish community went up 47 per cent.
Lisa Levitan, whose grandfather survived a concentration camp, is an advocate for the global End Jew Hatred campaign. The grassroots movement says it aims to eliminate Jew hatred through peaceful action and education.
"He instilled in me the importance of ensuring that we remember, that we never forget the horrors," she said. "It is our duty as the next generation to make sure we remember."
A teacher in Ottawa, Levitan says antisemitism has become too common in schools and "that's a problem we need to end."
"The fact that it is resurfacing to such immense levels ... is unacceptable."
The federal government unveiled its spring budget Tuesday, with a clean economy as the centrepiece, and detailing targeted measures to help Canadians deal with still-high inflation.
Home prices have fallen below the national average in 14-out-of-20 regional housing markets, according to a report by Zoocasa. Saint John, N.B., took the top place for the most affordable region, with an average home price of $268,400.
Around the U.S., private schools generally do not face as many requirements as public schools for developing security plans. The Nashville shooting that killed three children and three school employees is highlighting that issue.
Along with improving access to health care and investing in a clean economy, the 2023 federal budget also includes plans for a one-time 'grocery rebate.' If you're hoping to apply for this rebate, CTVNews.ca wants to hear from you.
Experts say the Canadian presence of American retail giants such as Walmart and Costco isn't likely to blame for rising grocery prices. That's despite Canadian grocery chain executives having pushed for MPs to question those retailers as part of their study on food inflation.
King Charles III arrived in Berlin on Wednesday for his first foreign trip as Britain's monarch, hoping to improve the U.K.'s relations with the European Union and show he can win hearts and minds abroad, just as his mother did for seven decades.
W5 investigates aging asbestos pipes across Canada and the potential health hazards if it ends up in your tap water. Watch W5's 'Something in the Water' on CTVNews.ca and W5's official YouTube channel.
W5 investigates aging asbestos pipes across Canada and the potential health hazards if it ends up in your tap water. An interactive map and chart on W5.CTVNews.ca shows where in Canada these asbestos cement pipes are being used.
CTV W5 speaks with members of the comedy industry, including Russell Peters, for a wide-ranging look at how political correctness and 'cancel culture' has changed the world of stand-up comedy.
An Ontario couple has filed a request with the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) to appoint a new police force to investigate the death of their 17-year-old son Benjamin, who died during a hockey team-bonding event in September 2019.
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in CTV W5's 'What Happened to Ben,' on CTVNews.ca and W5's official YouTube channel.
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in 'What Happened to Ben' on CTV W5.
The RCMP knew about a potential cocaine shipment from the Dominican Republic to Toronto aboard a Canadian charter flight but inexplicably allowed the crew that discovered and reported the drugs to be detained for months without intervening, a W5 investigation has revealed.
CTV W5 investigates what authorities knew about plans to smuggle cocaine out of the Dominican Republic on a Toronto-bound Pivot Airlines flight. The airline's crew is demanding justice following their eight-month detention.
A Toronto police officer is facing disciplinary charges after he allegedly failed to 'conduct a sufficient investigation' into a woman's 'repeated pleas' for help with an ex-boyfriend that she had come to fear, just days prior to her murder.
Toronto Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie is warning that significant cuts to services and state-of-good repair work could be necessary as soon as next year.
Two First Nation leaders have been removed from Ontario's legislative chamber for shouting at Premier Doug Ford to meet with them over mining concerns.
The federal budget proposes an across-the-board three per cent spending cut for all departments and agencies, a belt-tightening move after years of massive growth in the federal public service.
There’s a winter weather travel advisory in effect for Huron and Perth counties. According to Environment Canada, the advisory is in effect for Wednesday afternoon.
Big box shopping in London just got a whole lot bigger. Costco has opened its new London South location on Dingman Drive, replacing its 30 year old consumer warehouse just a stone’s throw away on Wellington Road south.
The Legault government plans to reform Quebec's network through the creation of an agency called Santé Québec. Health Minister Christian Dubé introduced Bill 15, An Act to make the health and social services system more effective, on Wednesday.
A 22-year-old McGill student who suffers from a terminal disease could soon lose access to the medication she needs because she's graduating from university.
A synagogue in The Plateau has been defaced with antisemitic graffiti. Swastikas were spray painted on Bagg Street Shul sometime over the weekend, said synagogue president Michael Kaplan on Tuesday.
A lawyer who represents Nova Scotia mass shooting victims' families said in an interview they are hoping "for clear commentary on what things went wrong and what things ought to have been done better or differently."
New Brunswickers suffering from a mystery neurological disorder are calling for an investigation into potential environmental causes of the health problems they've been living with for more than two years.
The message at the forefront of Tuesday's meeting was united among the five panelists: supports for unhoused people aren’t welcome in Moncton's business district.
The Pizza Hut employee who was shot at his workplace earlier this month is on the long road to recovery, his sister has confirmed Tuesday to CTV News Edmonton.
Shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. climbed more than 10 per cent in early trading after the company reported its net revenue for its fourth quarter rose 30 per cent compared with a year ago.
Businesses in Vancouver will no longer be required to charge a fee for single-use cups as of May 1, a move that reverses a decision by the previous city council.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says clean energy and green technology spending may not have been the big-ticket items of the 2023 federal budget if it weren’t for the need to compete with infrastructure spending in the United States.
The federal government unveiled its spring budget Tuesday, with a clean economy as the centrepiece, and detailing targeted measures to help Canadians deal with still-high inflation.
A new peer-reviewed study from the Medical University of South Carolina report in Brain Connectivity has found individualized brain fingerprints which can help diagnose early Alzheimer's disease.
Tucked into the 2023 federal budget unveiled on Tuesday in Ottawa, the Liberals have announced plans to explore implementing a standard charging port across Canada, in an effort to save Canadians some money and reduce waste.
Apple is getting into the buy now, pay later space with a few tweaks to the existing model -- including no option to pay with a credit card. The company will roll out the product to some consumers this spring, and will begin reporting the loans to credit bureaus in the fall.
A group of prominent computer scientists and other tech industry notables such as Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak are calling for a 6-month pause to consider AI's risks on society.
Students at Heyer Elementary School in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, were set to perform a 2017 duet by Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton, until school administration asked fors its removal from the concert because its lyrics 'could be deemed controversial.'
The Army is working to quickly pull together some new recruiting ads to air during the NCAA's Final Four basketball games this weekend, after being forced to yank commercials that featured actor Jonathan Majors, in the wake of his arrest last Saturday.
Gwyneth Paltrow's attorneys are expected to continue relying mostly on experts to mount their defense on Wednesday, the seventh day of the trial over her 2016 ski collision with a 76-year-old retired optometrist.
Along with improving access to health care and investing in a clean economy, the 2023 federal budget also includes plans for a one-time 'grocery rebate.' If you're hoping to apply for this rebate, CTVNews.ca wants to hear from you.
The federal government unveiled its spring budget Tuesday, with a clean economy as the centrepiece, and detailing targeted measures to help Canadians deal with still-high inflation.
Sportswear maker Adidas on Wednesday reversed course 48 hours after asking the U.S. Trademark Office to reject a Black Lives Matter application for a trademark featuring three parallel stripes.
A Japanese student showed up to graduation as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's lookalike, wearing his signature olive-colored, snug-fit T-shirt and khaki trousers to show his support for Ukraine's fight against Russia.
A mysterious, Montreal-based street artist named Junko is generating buzz in Metro Vancouver with futuristic, bug-like sculptures made from old car parts, scrap metal and tossed out shoes.
U.S. highway safety regulators have opened yet another investigation into problems with Teslas, this time tied to complaints that the seat belts may not hold people in a crash.
California lawmakers on Monday approved the nation's first penalty for price gouging at the pump, voting to give regulators the power to punish oil companies for profiting from the type of gas price spikes that plagued the nation's most populous state last summer.
Craig Pollock's latest project, Formula Equal, would be the first team in the sport that's 50 per cent men and 50 per cent women, he says, with that equal split applying across the whole organization -- from the cockpit to the engineers to the boardroom.
