Canada – Memorial For Jews Turned Away From Canada To Be Unveiled in Halifax

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    Children are shown on the deck of the MS St. Louis in this undated handout photo. The Wheel of Conscience, designed by renowned architect Daniel Libeskind, will be unveiled Thursday at Pier 21, Canada's immigration museum in Halifax. The cylindrical steel sculpture memorializes Canada's shameful decision in 1939 to turn away a steamship carrying more than 900 Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany. (THE CANADIAN PRESS)Canada – A new monument was unveiled Thursday in eastern Canada marking the country’s decision to turn away a steamship carrying Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany in 1939.

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    The luxury liner MS St. Louis was first turned away by Cuba, then the United States and finally Canada before returning to Europe just before the outbreak of war.

    Of the 900 German Jews aboard, almost a third died in the Holocaust.

    The sculpture by Daniel Libeskind, called the Wheel of Conscience and unveiled in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is the centerpiece of a $476,000 national project aimed at educating Canadians.

    “It tells the story of a tragedy, a dark period of Canadian history, where anti-Semitism and anti-immigration policies led to the murder of hundreds of people and the suffering of hundreds of others,” said Libeskind.

    The large memorial is a steel cylinder tipped on its side, with four spinning gears on its face.

    The words hatred, racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism appear on each gear. A map showing the voyage of the ship is etched on the edge of the cylinder.

    The Halifax sculpture was commissioned by the Canadian Jewish Congress.

    “We are here to speak for those whose voices were lost, and for those thousands of survivors who came to Canada after the war … who wore their agony as undergarments beneath their everyday attire and helped to build this country,” said Bernie Farber, head of the Canadian Jewish Congress.

    Both Libeskind and Farber are children of Holocaust survivors.


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    5 Comments
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    13 years ago

    Now I know why I have this hatred when I have to travel in to Canada….

    Butterfly
    Butterfly
    13 years ago

    Why did not the U. S. make the memorial?? Every country is guilty!!

    mtl514
    mtl514
    13 years ago

    I really don’t understand why now when the Canadian Goverment and its Prime minister Steven Harper are Pro Israel more the any other nation in the world, why do we have to bring up old things that was done to Jews, let’s leave it as is and keep it quite.
    Yes! The holocoast was a GAZAIRA from god which we will never understand and those questioning it or blaming countries on what they did at that time are simply “apikursim”.
    Laiv meluchim vesurim beyad hasham…. That is what hashem wanted the goverment to decide at that time

    Butterfly
    Butterfly
    13 years ago

    To #4 Are you trying not to teach your children History?? These are cold hard Facts!! It Happened!! You may as well teach your children because if you do not they will remain ignorant!! Totally stupid of things that happened in history!! You cannot sweep it under the carpet and FORGET and say it did not happen to ME!! IT HAPPENED!! TO ALL OF US!! WAKE UP!! Where have you been all your life?? It is time to face reality!! I hope VIN posts this!!