Holocaust Remembrance Day
Holocaust Remembrance Day invites us to pause, to remember, and to reckon. We remember the six million Jewish people murdered by the Nazi regime, alongside millions of others targeted for who they were, including Roma people, persons with disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ people, political dissidents, and others deemed unworthy of dignity or life.
More than 80 years after the end of World War 2 we continue to reckon with the truth that this genocide was not an accident of history, but the outcome of sustained dehumanization, state power unchecked, and silence from too many who might have intervened.
The Holocaust stands as a stark warning of where prejudice, racism, antisemitism, and authoritarianism can lead when they are normalized or ignored. It also stands as a turning point. In the aftermath of this unimaginable loss, the global community confronted a hard lesson: human rights cannot be assumed, and they cannot be left to the discretion of governments alone. The modern international human rights framework emerged directly from this reckoning, grounded in the idea that every person has inherent dignity and rights simply by being human, and that these rights must be protected by law, vigilance, and collective responsibility.
Holocaust Remembrance Day is not only about memory, but about action. In today’s cultural context, where hate speech is resurging, misinformation spreads rapidly, and some seek to diminish or deny historical truth, remembrance becomes a form of resistance. Remembering is how we challenge denial. Remembering is how we recognize early warning signs. Remembering is how we reaffirm our shared commitment to equality, justice, and the protection of human dignity.
Honouring the victims of the Holocaust means more than looking back. It means carrying forward the lessons of history into our daily choices, our institutions, and our laws. It means speaking out against antisemitism and all forms of hatred. It means defending human rights wherever they are threatened, knowing that the cost of indifference is always borne by the most vulnerable.
On Holocaust Remembrance Day, we remember, learn and recommit ourselves to ensuring that never again is not a slogan, but a shared and lived responsibility.
The preceding is a message from Joseph Fraser, Director & CEO of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission.