Antiracist History & Theory

"Canadianizing the Holocaust: Debating Canada's National Holocaust Monument"

Ajay B

Factsheet

Description

This factsheet is a distillation of Jason Chalmers’ article on Canada’s holocaust monument, erected in Ottawa in 2017, which Chalmers believes is an attempt to Canadianize the holocaust. By this, it serves to universalize the holocaust and contrast it with Canada’s history as being inclusive, tolerant and multicultural. This severe violation of human rights is positioned as the antithesis to Canadian identity.

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References

  • Chalmers, Jason.“Canadianising the Holocaust: Debating Canada’s National Holocaust Monument.” Canadian Jewish Studies 24, (2016): 149-165. doi:10.25071/1916-0925.39964.

  • Sheftel, Anna, and Zembrzycki, Stacey. "'We Started Over Again, We Were Young': Postwar Social Worlds of Childhood Holocaust Survivors in Montreal." In The Age of Light, Soap and Water: Moral Reform in English Canada 1885-1925, (2008): 104-128. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Keywords

"Haven", "Hierarchy of Suffering", "Inclusive Nation", "Multicultural Nation", "Overwrite", "Tolerant Nation", Aboriginal Genocide, Agency, Antisemitic Discourse, Antisemitism, Atrocities, Canada's National Holocaust Monument, Canada's Self Image, Canadian Antisemitism, Canadian Heroism, Canadian Memory of the Holocaust, Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Canadian National Narrative, Canadianising, Child, Child Holocaust Survivors, Conflicting Narratives, Cultural Context, Deniers, Erase Marginalized Memories, Erasing Marginal Memories, Exclusionary Policies, Hateful Behaviour, Haven of Canada, Hero and Villain, Historical Complicity, Historical Failures, Historical Memories, Historical Narratives, History of Antisemitism, Holocaust, Holocaust Denialism, Holocaust Survivors, Holocaust Victims, Honest, Human Rights violation, Identity, Inclusivity, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Populations, Intersection, Jewish Canadians, Jewish Refugees, Jewish Settlers to Canada, Liberating Europe, Marginalization of Oppressed Groups, marginalized communities, Memorial, Memorialization, Monument, Monuments, Moral Narrative, Narratives, National Identity, Nationalizing, Oppression, Ottawa, Overshadow, Overwrite Historical Failures, Plural Meanings, Politics of Memorialization, Prioritizes, Public Discourses, Racist Policies, Recognition, Redeem, Redemptive Journey, Rhetorical Device, School Curricula, Second World War, Six Concrete Walls, Social Process, Star-Like Shape, Survivor-centred, Survivor-Centred Approach, Symbolic, Systematic Persecution, Tensions, Think Critically, Universal Symbol, Universalizing, Violations, War Veterans, Wartime Efforts, WWII

Locations

Canada, Ottawa