The memorial, to be completed by next spring, is envisioned as a place of reflection, and both a tribute to those who lost their lives and a reminder of the perils of anti-Semitism.

"Our primary concern is the health of the many participants and the Holocaust survivors who would be joining them."

The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and State Museum called the show "dangerous foolishness and caricature."

"I had endured three years of forced labour under the harshest and most inhumane conditions," Holocaust survivor Sid Cyngiser said in Calgary on Monday.

Studies show that anti-Semitic sentiment persists, especially in Europe, despite the scale of the Nazi atrocities

The photographs are part of a new exhibition set to open later this year, showcasing 75 images of Holocaust survivors and their family members.

The concentration camp, the largest operated by Nazi Germany, saw the killings of more than 1.1 million people.

Joseph Gottdenker, 77, said that he hopes his visit to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the camp's liberation will help educate others about the magnitude of the Holocaust and other genocides around the world.

Bronia Brandman, 89, said being among the last who can offer personal testimony on the Holocaust is especially important at a time when anti-Semitism is spreading “like wildfire."

David Dushman is one of the last surviving soldiers to have taken part in the liberation of the Nazi death camp. And 75 years later, he still struggles to explain how such a catastrophe could happen.