Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honour a local hero from Edmonton, Mr. Raymond Pierzchajlo, whom I had the honour to meet on Holocaust Memorial Day.
In 1941, Raymond sacrificed his freedom to help his brother escape from the Gestapo. He was sent to Auschwitz concentration camp where he was known as prisoner 12632. After four years, he became one of the longest-surviving prisoners in Auschwitz and Birkenau. Freed by U.S. troops on the Buchenwald death march, he was down to just 90 pounds.
He came to Alberta with his wife in 1949 and started his long service to his community. His contributions and honours received are numerous, including the Pro Memoria Medal from the Republic of Poland and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.
Despite all the horrors he endured, he harbours no hatred in his heart, and he told me that he is in fact a lucky man who never lost his faith in God. He serves as a lesson for what it means to live honourably and find strength in the darkest of places.
I thank Mr. Pierzchajlo for his service to Alberta and for showing that where there is faith, there is hope.