April 15, 2015 

Message from the Governor General of Canada 
on the Occasion of Holocaust Memorial Day 

OTTAWA—The Polish man, who used the cover of forest, suffered great loss and found a new life in Canada. The Jewish-Canadian soldier, wary of revealing his heritage in the event he was captured, who found love an ocean away. The hidden Jewish girl, who recorded in a diary her hope for a happy ending that never came. The industrialist, who risked his own life to help smuggle Jewish people out of Germany. These are stories that live on, in all of us who live in freedom and in peace. 

Stories are the sum total of our lives. During the Holocaust, the stories of six million Jews, and many others, ended violently and prematurely. And yet, despite the stories of utter darkness and depravity, there were also stories of hope, of love and of light.

On this Holocaust Memorial Day, let us resolve to preserve these memories, the good and the bad, and to learn from them. And let us never forget. 

David Johnston 

-30-

Media information:

Marie-Ève Létourneau
Rideau Hall Press Office
613-998-0287
marie-eve.letourneau@gg.ca