A large gathering for Holocaust Commemoration at Vanier

Vanier Director General Benoit Morin welcomed and thanked survivors and guests. “Your presence matters deeply to us. We are honoured to stand with you today. This year, gathering for this commemoration has not been straightforward. The event had to be postponed, and that decision was not without impact. I know it created concern, frustration, and, for some, disappointment. I feel it’s important to say that, and to learn from it.

 But today, we are here. And what matters most is why we are here. We are here to remember. Not in an abstract way, and not as a distant chapter in a textbook, but as a human reality that continues to shape the world we live in. Six million members of the Jewish community were murdered, along with millions of others because hatred was allowed to grow, to organize, and to act. And yet, even in that darkness, there was courage. There was dignity. There were people who resisted, who helped, who survived, and who chose to rebuild and to tell their stories so that others could learn.”

 Judith Nemes Black spoke next, bringing to life her childhood memories of hiding and surviving the war with her mother in Hungary. After the war she eventually became a teacher, then a psychologist having seen firsthand the lingering effects of trauma on survivors and their descendants. She shares her story to honour her family and remember.

Addressing the impact on generations, Vanier student Nora Katz, described her participation in the 2025 March of the Living. Alongside young adults from around the world, she traveled to Poland to study the history of the Holocaust and to examine the roots of prejudice, intolerance and hatred. Where Judith Nemes Black laid bare the anguish of hiding from the Nazis, Nora described the horror of the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau.

Following remarks by Shirel Moryoussef, Vanier Hillel co-president, six candles were lighted in remembrance of the six million Jews who perished. The event ended with a commemorative tribute by David Fhima, from Vanier Hillel, followed by a reception where people continued to speak together and share the experiences of their parents and grandparents and what they have learned through the years of the fate of other family members during and after the Holocaust.

By bringing these testimonies into the college, the event underscored that remembrance serves to ensure that the lessons of the past remain an active, living force in shaping the conscience of the next generation.