WARSAW, Poland – The notion that “never again” can the world allow something like the Holocaust to happen feels like it is slipping away, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk both said Tuesday.
The two leaders met in Warsaw a day after they joined dozens of other world leaders to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the notorious Nazi death camp Auschwitz.
At that ceremony, Trudeau said he spoke with the children and grandchildren of survivors who say they’re glad their grandparents are not around to see the global resurgence of antisemitism and hateful ideologies gaining ground.
He said those words should be a “bright red” flashing warning sign to every democracy.
“We have a responsibility to hold up the two-word pledge that we as an international community committed to after witnessing the horrors of the Holocaust — ‘never again,’” he said. “We cannot fail in that pledge.”
Trudeau said antisemitism is on the rise, “particularly since Hamas’s brutal terrorist attack” on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. So are Holocaust denialism, violent extremism and hatred, “not just against Jews but against all different races and backgrounds” in all democracies.
“We have not yet responded forcefully enough, strongly enough,” he said.
Opposition parties in Canada have heavily criticized Trudeau for not doing enough to respond to growing hatred and divisions in Canada. He has defended the government, pointing to investments made in anti-racism programs, new projects funded this week under the National Holocaust Remembrance Program, and an upcoming antisemitism forum scheduled for March.
Trudeau said when he first visited Auschwitz as prime minister in 2017, “It still felt like the world was holding on to that principle of never again.”
Now, he said, with such a rise in hatred and extremism around the world, people are telling him it is “slipping a little bit.”
The Holocaust, he said, did not happen by accident.
“It took careful, deliberate years-long processes of dismantling democracy, co-opting institutions and dehumanizing others to establish the conditions for genocide,” he said.
Tusk said the alarm bells should also be ringing about the rise of far-right political parties in Europe, including the Alternative for Germany, a far-right anti-immigrant party that is sitting second in the polls in that country’s election currently.
“The problem is that we have such politicians in Europe and they’re gaining power,” he said through a translator.
“They’re excited about referring to Nazis and that chapter of history,” he said.
Elon Musk, the tech giant who is now a close adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, spoke remotely at the AFD’s election campaign launch on Sunday, telling them that Germany has “too much focus on past guilt” and that multiculturalism “dilutes everything,” in reference to the German culture.
Musk was heavily criticized for giving what some believed was a Nazi salute during Trump’s inauguration festivities on Jan. 20. He said the gesture was meant to convey that his heart “goes out” to the crowd.
The Anti-Defamation League, an American Jewish advocacy organization, said they felt it had been an “awkward gesture” rather than a Nazi salute but several days later Musk posted a series of Nazi puns on X, the social media platform he owns.
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt condemned the posts, saying the Holocaust was a “singularly evil event” and “not a joke.”
Neither Trudeau nor Tusk would specifically respond about Musk when asked Tuesday about his actions. Trudeau said it is important to condemn any act of antisemitism, or messages that amplify intolerance and hate.
But he did suggest more needs to be done to limit the influence of tech giants and social media.
“The role of money, the role of social media, the role of propaganda influencing democratic outcomes, is well documented throughout the history of democracies and is an it is incumbent upon governments and citizens to be vigilant and to push back against messages that are designed to divide them.”
Tusk said that with the AFD sitting at 20 per cent in opinion polls — 10 points behind the centre-right Christian Democratic Union — the world should be on alert.
“Let me tell you, ladies and gentlemen, that there is no louder alarm signal,” he said.
The two leaders also signed the Canada-Poland Nuclear Energy Co-operation Agreement on Tuesday, so Canadian companies can help support Poland build nuclear power.
Poland expects to begin construction of its first nuclear reactors next year, with the plant beginning to produce power in 2033.
The deal is seen as a way to help reduce Poland’s reliance on coal-fired electricity and enhance energy security.
The European energy market has heavily reduced purchases from Russia since that country invaded Ukraine nearly three years ago.
Earlier this month, Canada and Poland signed a general security and information agreement.
Once that agreement is implemented, it will allow enhanced information sharing between Canadian and Polish companies in industries like defence, security, aerospace, marine and nuclear.
In December, Export Development Canada issued a letter of intent to provide up to $2 billion in financing to support the sale of goods and services from Canadian suppliers to help build Poland’s first nuclear power plant.
Trudeau returned to Canada after the meeting, concluding what may be his final international trip as prime minister before the next Liberal leader is chosen on March 9.
-With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 28, 2025.
