THE HOLOCAUST, A MAD TRAGEDY NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN

 

Every year around 27 January, UNESCO pays tribute to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and reaffirms its unwavering commitment to counter antisemitism, racism, and other forms of intolerance that may lead to group-targeted violence. The date marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau by Soviet troops on 27 January 1945. It was officially proclaimed, in November 2005, International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust by the United Nations General Assembly.

The Holocaust profoundly affected countries in which Nazi crimes were perpetrated, with universal implications and consequences in many other parts of the world. Member States share a collective responsibility for addressing the residual trauma, maintaining effective remembrance policies, caring for historic sites, and promoting education, documentation and research, more than seven decades after the genocide. This responsibility entails educating about the causes, consequences and dynamics of such crimes so as to strengthen the resilience of young people against ideologies of hatred. As genocide and atrocity crimes keep occurring across several regions, and as we are witnessing a global rise of antisemitism and hate speech, this has never been so relevant.

Keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive is the fulfilment of a universal duty, a duty to humanity, which is UNESCO's raison d'être: uprooting hatred, building peace, and, thus, protecting humanity. On this International Day, let us commit to always remembering. We owe it to the victims of the Shoah, we owe it to the survivors, we owe it, finally, to all the generations to come.

 

Audrey AzoulayDirector-General of UNESCO

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UNESCO. INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY

 International Holocaust Remembrance Day

27JANUARY

Every year around 27 January, UNESCO pays tribute to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and reaffirms its unwavering commitment to counter antisemitism, racism, and other forms of intolerance that may lead to group-targeted violence. The date marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau by Soviet troops on 27 January 1945. It was officially proclaimed, in November 2005(link is external), International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust by the United Nations General Assembly.

The Holocaust profoundly affected countries in which Nazi crimes were perpetrated, with universal implications and consequences in many other parts of the world. Member States share a collective responsibility for addressing the residual trauma, maintaining effective remembrance policies, caring for historic sites, and promoting education, documentation and research, more than seven decades after the genocide. This responsibility entails educating about the causes, consequences and dynamics of such crimes so as to strengthen the resilience of young people against ideologies of hatred. As genocide and atrocity crimes keep occurring across several regions, and as we are witnessing a global rise of antisemitism and hate speech, this has never been so relevant.

MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL

"Whenever this history is questioned, whenever violence is done to the memory of the victims, the rise of anti-Semitism and hate speech is encouraged, an everyday scourge of Jewish communities around the world. More than ever, we must therefore be vigilant. It is our shared responsibility to protect the truth, and to keep alive the memory of all those who suffered under the Nazi regime; to support research and documentation that can confront the fantasies of fanatics with the reality of history; and to study and teach the Holocaust, so that education may prevent anti-Semitism and all forms of racism." —  Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust

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2022 COMMEMORATIONS

To mark the 77th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, UNESCO will organize a series of events. Due to restrictions put in place because of COVID-19, and to reach global audiences, the majority of events will be held online. Events will include a commemoration ceremony and a panel discussion on the legacy of Jewish artists who died during the Holocaust on 27 January 2022, in addition to an exhibition at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. UNESCO Field Offices and Regional Bureaus will also join the global commemoration of the International Day by organizing local events.

The 2022 commemorations are organized thanks to the generous support of the Permanent Delegation of Germany to UNESCO.

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HOLOCAUST - NEVER BE REPEATED !

 Pope: ‘Never repeat unspeakable cruelty of Holocaust’

As the world prepares to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Thursday, Pope Francis urges families to remind younger generations about the millions of people, especially Jews, killed at the hands of the Nazi regime.

-By Devin Watkins

“This unspeakable cruelty must never be repeated.”

Pope Francis made that appeal at the end of the Wednesday General Audience, one day before the world dedicates a day to recalling the horrors of the Holocaust, also known as the Shoah.

The International Holocaust Remembrance Day is held on the date of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp on 27 January 1945.

The Pope said the world must remember the “extermination of millions of Jews, people of various nationalities and religious faiths.”

He lamented the genocide of around 6 million of Europe’s Jews, or two-thirds of the continent’s Jewish population, at the hands of the Nazi regime.

“This is a suffering people. They have suffered hunger and great cruelty, and they deserve peace.”

Teaching younger generations

Pope Francis also appealed to everyone, but especially to “educators and families, so that they might engender in younger generations the awareness of the horrors of this dark page in human history.”

“It must never be forgotten, so that we can build a future in which human dignity is never again trampled upon.”

‘So much cruelty’

Pope Francis visited the ruins of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 2016, where the Catholic priest St. Maximillian Kolbe was killed, along with 1.1 million others.

The Pope spoke no words on that occasion, but only embraced several of the camp’s survivors.

He wrote his prayer in Spanish in the Book of Honor:

“Señor ten piedad de tu pueblo. ¡Señor, perdón por tanta crueldad! Lord, have mercy on your people. Lord, forgive so much cruelty!”

Vatican News

DON'T FORGET! - N'OUBLIE PAS ! - ¡NO LO OLVIDES!

 

"We are all called to have a moment of prayer and reflection, each one saying in his or her own heart, 'Never again, never  again!'"

Pope Francis

HOLOCAUST. DO NOT FORGET !

HOLOCAUST: NEVER FORGET !!!

Far-right activity on university campuses is rising and Holocaust denial is becoming more prevalent among the younger generation, experts say. The Independent reports.

As the number of Holocaust survivors continues to decline, and their first-hand testimonies will no longer be heard, the situation is likely to get worse, anti-racist researchers have warned.

Holocaust denial leaflets and posters, as well as antisemitic graffiti including swastikas, have emerged on campuses across the UK in recent years as more far-right activists target students.

The warnings come as data, collected by The Independent, shows that antisemitic incidents were reported at 19 UK universities between 2015 and 2017, with the number nearly tripling in two years.

Joe Mulhall, a researcher at anti-racism organisation Hope Not Hate and a trustee of charity Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, said: “There was a time when Holocaust denial in the UK was an increasingly ageing pursuit. It was elderly men in duffel coats.

“With the internet, we have started to see a younger, newer generation of Holocaust denial emerging, which ties into things like the alt-right, and that is really really concerning.”

After monitoring far-right forums, including neo-Nazi forums, the researchers have seen a growth of younger people denying the Holocaust in a “jokey style” through social media and online forums.

But students are also concerned about antisemitism and far-right extremism on campus – including swastika graffiti and Holocaust denial leaflets – rather than just online.

Last year, a group of men who spread neo-Nazi stickers around Aston University campus and performed a Hitler salute were found guilty of attempting to incite racial hatred.

A Union of Jewish Students spokesperson said they had seen “increasing trivialisation” of the Holocaust, with graffiti on campuses and students using Nazi imagery as jokes at parties.

They added: “It is the job of all of student society to counteract antisemitic language and imagery.”

A Universities UK spokesperson said: “Universities take all forms of hate crime extremely seriously and all students and staff are entitled to a safe and positive experience at university.”

Link:  https://schoolsimprovement.net/far-right-activity-at-universities-rising-as-more-young-people-deny-holocaust-experts-warn/

Sunday, January 27th - NOT TO FORGET!

HOLOCAUST, A WAY FROM DARKNESS INTO THE LIGHT

 An experience of UMEC/WUCT educators

at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem

“In our time, when day by day mankind is being drawn closer together, and the ties between different peoples are becoming stronger, the Church examines more closely her relationship to non-Christian religions. In her task of promoting unity and love among men, indeed among nations, she considers above all in this declaration men have in common and what draws them to fellowship (Nostra Aetate 1). God holds the Jews most dear for the sake of their Fathers […] Since the spiritual patrimony common to Christians and Jews is thus so great, this sacred synod wants to foster and recommend that mutual understanding and respect which is the fruit, above all, of biblical and theological studies as well as of fraternal dialogues” (Nostra Aetate 4).

            In the spirit of this brotherly dialogue, from the 8 till the 14 December, a delegation of  World Union of Catholic Teachers (UMEC-WUCT) led by Mr Guy Bourdeaud'hui (president UMEC-WUCT) and made up of Mrs Katie Addison (St. John Fisher Catholic college, Newcastle, UK – teacher), Mr Santino Cerami  (Primary school, E. De Amicis, Palermo - IT – coordinating teacher), Mrs Concetta Fascella (Secondary school, E. Medi, Palermo - IT – coordinating teacher), Mrs Caroline Healy (St Mary University, London, UK – teacher), Mrs Barbara Leggeri (College school Ovidio, Roma, IT – teacher), Mr Gerard Marciniak  (Xaverian College, Manchester - UK – teacher), Mr John Philip Nish (Wakefield City Academies Trust Wakefield – President CATCS, UK, Headteacher), Fr. Adrian-Vasile Podar (Iuliu Maniu High School, Oradea, Romania, teacher), Mrs Anna Torretta (College school Piaget-Majorana, Rome - IT-teacher), Mr Bert Verhaegen (Primary school, Heist-op-del-Berg, Belgium – teacher), and Mr Raf Joseph Waumans (Community of primary schools, Willruk -teacher, Belgium) took part in a Seminar at Yad Vashem Memorial in Jerusalem, that was based on the study of the Holocaust....

Read: HOLOCAUST 

HOLOCAUST. DO NOT FORGET

UNESCO: EDUCATION ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST

New study to assess education about the Holocaust and genocides in the European Union

©UNESCO

UNESCO and the European Commission, in partnership with the Georg Eckert Institute in Germany, are launching a new research project to assess education about the Holocaust and other genocides in the European Union.

The study, entitled ’The Holocaust and Genocide in Contemporary Education: Curricula, Textbooks and Pupils’ Perceptions in Comparison’, will offer an analysis of curricula, textbooks and pupils’ perceptions in EU member countries. The project will provide education stakeholders and Holocaust and genocide studies experts with an assessment of representations of the genocide of the Jewish people and of other crimes perpetrated by the Nazi regime and its collaborators, while also assessing the understanding of other genocides within educational media. The study of educational directives and materials will provide an international comparison of holocaust and genocide representations and show how these are reflected in classroom teaching and learning processes.....

EDUCATION ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST

JANUARY 27 - MEMORIAL DAY

JANUARY 27 - MEMORIAL DAY 

DO NOT FORGET THE TERRIBLE TRAGEDY OF THE HOLOCAUST!    

LET US  RENEW OUR PERSONAL AND COMMON COMMITMENT

TO MAINTAIN THE  DIGNITY OF EVERY MAN AND TO BUILD A WORLD OF JUSTICE AND PEACE

27 de enero - DÍA DEL  RECUERDO - 

¡NO PODEMOS OLVIDAR 

LA TRAGEDIA TERRIBLE DEL HOLOCAUSTO!

TENEMOS QUE  RENOVAR NUESTRO COMPROMISO

PERSONAL Y COMUN

PARA MANTENER LA DIGNIDAD DE CADA HOMBRE

Y TENEMOS QUE AYUIDAR A CONSTRUIR  UN MUNDO DE JUSTICIA Y DE PAZ

27 janvier - JOUR DU SOUVENIR-

N’OUBLIONS PAS LA TERRIBLE TRAGEDIE DE L'HOLOCAUSTE!

A L’OCCASION DE CETTE JOURNEE, IL EST IMPORTANT POUR NOUS, ENSEIGNANTS, DE RENOUVELER  

NOTRE ENGAGEMENT PERSONNEL ET COMMUN

A  PROTEGER LA DIGNITE DE CHAQUE HOMME ET A  BATIR UN MONDE DE JUSTICE ET DE PAIX

27 januari,  DAG VAN DE HERINNERING

LAAT ONS NOOIT DE TRAGEDIE VAN DE HOLOCAUST VERGETEN !

Op deze dag is het van belang dat wij, leerkrachten, ons persoonlijk en gemeenschappelijk engagement  aanwenden

ter verdediging van de menselijke waardigheid

en van een wereld waarin rechtvaardigheid en vrede worden gecultiveerd en gerespecteerd.

27 gennaio – PER NON DIMENTICARE

LA TERRIBILE TRAGEDIA DELL'OLOCAUSTO!

Noi educatori, in particolare, siamo chiamati

a rinnovare il nostro impegno, personale e comunitario,

per proteggere la dignità di ogni uomo

e per costruire un mondo ove regnino giustizia e pace.

THE HOLOCAUST

International Day of Commemoration In Memory of the
Victims of the Holocaust
January 27, 2011

52

Women and the Holocaust: Courage and Compassion

Per non dimenticare! - Aimc Italia