From February 2 to 5, Prof. Mario Venezia, President of the Shoah Museum Foundation in Rome, visited the cities of Ottawa and Montreal at the invitation of the Italian Embassy in Canada, as part of a comprehensive program of initiatives and meetings with Canadian counterparts.
On February 4, Prof. Venezia visited the Montreal Holocaust Museum, accompanied by the Italian Ambassador to Canada, H.E. Alessandro Cattaneo. He was welcomed by Vice President Adam Atlas, Executive Director Daniel Amar, and survivor and member of the Museum’s Board of Directors, Eva Kuper. The visit represented an important opportunity to initiate a dialogue on future collaboration between the Shoah Museum in Rome and its Canadian counterpart in Montreal.
Prof. Venezia also took part in additional meetings with distinguished members of B’nai Brith Canada – the oldest Jewish Canadian organization dedicated to the promotion of human rights, research, and awareness initiatives – including Paola Samuel, Director for Québec and Atlantic Canada, as well as representatives of local institutions such as the Museum of Jewish Montreal.
In the evening, Prof. Venezia participated as an honorary guest in the Holocaust Remembrance Day commemoration ceremony organized by the Italian Institute of Culture and the Italian Consulate General in Montreal. The event focused on the screening of the documentary Il respiro di Shlomo (The Breath of Shlomo) by director Ruggero Gabbai, which recounts the testimony and legacy of Shlomo Venezia, followed by a conversation with Prof. Venezia, Shlomo Venezia’s son and producer of the documentary.
On the following day in Ottawa, Prof. Mario Venezia visited the National Holocaust Monument, where he was welcomed by the Centre for Holocaust Education and Scholarship (CHES), the leading institution dedicated to educational initiatives aimed at combating antisemitism, in the presence of its Director, Kara Goodwin.
Prof. Venezia then took part as an honorary guest in the event organized by the Italian Embassy in Ottawa in partnership with CHES and B’nai Brith Canada to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day. The event took place at the auditorium of the Ottawa Art Gallery and was attended by a large audience of representatives from Canadian institutions, diplomatic, cultural, and academic circles, as well as Holocaust survivors and relatives of victims.
In his opening remarks, Ambassador Alessandro Cattaneo emphasized the profound significance of the commemoration in response to the global rise of antisemitism, which calls for a renewed commitment to spreading awareness of Holocaust memory among younger generations. Recalling that Italy was among the first countries to establish Holocaust Remembrance Day by law in 2000, the Ambassador highlighted the various initiatives organized by the Italian diplomatic and consular network in Canada. He noted that remembrance of the Shoah and the memory of its victims not only represent a moral duty, but also serve as a safeguard for the fundamental values of democratic societies.
The opening address was followed by the screening of Il respiro di Shlomo and a conversation with Prof. Venezia, moderated by Costanza Musu, Professor at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa.
The Ottawa initiative concluded a series of events promoted by the Italian Embassy and the Italian diplomatic and consular network in Canada on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. These included the screening of the documentary Liliana by Ruggero Gabbai on January 27 at the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre in Toronto and on February 2 at the Holocaust Education Centre in Vancouver.
