On January 27, 2019 the international community will mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day. This day, which marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945, was designated by the United Nations in 2005 as an international day of commemoration to honor the victims of the Holocaust. Since then, it has become a fixture in the political and educational calendars in scores of countries the world over.
The commemorative theme of the 2019 United Nations Holocaust remembrance and education activities is “Holocaust Remembrance: Demand and Defend Your Human Rights”. This theme encourages youth to learn from the lessons of the Holocaust, act against discrimination and defend democratic values in their communities, at a time when the spread of Neo-Nazism and hate groups fuels the rising antisemitism and other forms of hatred around the world. The theme highlights the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
About the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme
Rejecting any denial of the Holocaust as a historical event, either in full or in part, the General Assembly adopted a resolution (A/RES/60/7) by consensus on November 1, 2005. The resolution condemns "without reserve" all manifestations of religious intolerance, incitement, harassment or violence against persons or communities based on ethnic origin or religious belief, whenever they occur.
The resolution declared that the United Nations would designate 27 January - the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp - as an annual International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, and urged Member States to develop educational programs to instill the memory of the tragedy in future generations to prevent genocide from occurring again. It requested the United Nations Secretary-General to establish an outreach program on the "Holocaust and the United Nations", as well as institute measures to mobilize civil society for Holocaust remembrance and education, in order to help prevent future acts of genocide.
The unanimous decision by the General Assembly to adopt a resolution and designate an annual International Holocaust Remembrance Day was the culmination of a focused Israeli diplomatic campaign at UN headquarters in New York and around the globe.
Holocaust Remembrance and Education in Israel
As the national homeland for the Jewish people, and in light of the fact that the majority of Holocaust survivors chose to settle in Israel after the Second World War, Israel holds a unique status in terms of remembrance and teaching about the Holocaust.
Since 1951, when national legislation was passed on the matter, Israel has marked its own Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day every spring (on the 27th of the Hebrew month of Nissan), one week after the festival of Passover, exactly one week before Israel's Independence Day. The solemn day is marked with special ceremonies, the sounding of a siren, the closing of places of entertainment, and special educational and public awareness programs.
Education about the Holocaust has been a central part of Israeli life since the establishment of the state
In 2013, Israeli Education Minister Shai Piron announced that all Israeli schools will teach lessons about the Shoah in each of the 12 years of compulsory education, with materials suited to the different ages: six-year-olds for example, will discuss baseless hatred, tolerance for others and similar topics.
An ongoing and ever-evolving priority in Israeli Holocaust education remains the virtual realm: Resources in both national and a plethora of foreign languages, such as lesson plans, sample ceremonies, maps and guidelines, have been developed and are readily available on a number of websites of Israeli Holocaust organizations, and all the major organizations maintain a presence on the main social networks.
Aspects of Holocaust awareness and commemoration remain present throughout the entire Israeli academic year. Study trips to Poland have been made available to all 11th Graders by the Israeli Ministry of Education. Training courses in Israel and in Poland are also offered to soldiers and security personnel.
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance
Israel is a founding member of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), an intergovernmental body established in 1998 and today made up of 31 Member Countries,10 Observer Countries, and 7 international partner organizations, whose purpose is to support and advance Holocaust education, remembrance, and research, both nationally and internationally.
Israel Adopts IHRA definition of Anti-Semitism
“Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
The definition acknowledges that manifestations of anti-Semitism can also include the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish Collectivity (criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country is not regarded as anti-Semitic).
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
As we mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, #WeRemember the 6 million Jews who were killed by the Nazi Regime and its collaborators.
Throughout the years, many found ways to fight back - armed uprisings in ghettos and death camps, partisan warfare and various forms of rescue.
One of the symbols of Jewish uprising, demanding and defending their human rights, is the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
After the mass deportations to Treblinka in the summer of 1942, the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto barricaded themselves in bunkers and resisted the German Aktion of April 1943. After a month of valiant fighting, the Uprising was quashed and the ghetto burned to the ground.