As part of this crucial and often complicated work, KIgA has developed educational material and led workshops and training for teachers and multipliers. They are also the proud founders of the European Network ENCATE, which connects 11 countries with a common goal to counter antisemitism and other forms of discrimination.
“Holocaust remembrance and education are key components of understanding the history of antisemitism,” Dervis explains. As a former high school teacher, he observed that reading Anne Frank and visiting sites of the Holocaust had an impact, but he also acknowledges that this is not enough to combat contemporary antisemitism especially in the classroom.
“There are fewer survivors to share stories and young people today feel the Holocaust happened in the distant past – what that means is that we need to bring people together based on human and civil rights and values and from there explain that learning from the Holocaust is the foundation on which our societies were built – this approach allows people to learn and share. Communication and how we talk to one another is everything.”
This is something Dervis observed during a project KIgA ran 9 years ago called “Discover Diversity” where Syrians who escaped Assad’s prisons were invited to take a tour of the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial. The participants couldn’t help but draw parallels between their experiences in Assad’s prisons with those of Sachsenhausen’s prisoners, many of whom were also political prisoners. “The comparisons presented a challenge – why should I interrupt this man who is having a moment of real connection to the former prisoners of Sachsenhausen?” He explained the delicate balance between responsible Holocaust education and allowing people to build bridges and receive all the information to understand that no, these are not the same things, but the two terrible systems of oppression underline the importance of the universality of human rights and democratic values.
