Learn about Denmark’s efforts to advance education, remembrance, and research on the Holocaust and genocide of the Roma.
Learn about Denmark’s efforts to advance education, remembrance, and research on the Holocaust and genocide of the Roma.
Joined the IHRA
International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Karen Grønlund Rogne (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark) – Head of Delegation
Cecilie Felicia Stokholm Banke (Danish Institute for International Studies) – Deputy Head of Delegation – Academic Working Group
Marie Mørk Apitz (Ministry of Foreign Affairs Denmark) – Deputy Head of Delegation – Academic Working Group
Freja Kirstine Kjær (Ministry of Justice) – Academic Working Group
Anders Jerichow (Humanity in Action) – Education Working Group
Morten Revsgaard Jensen (Ministry of Education) – Education Working Group
Anders Kristensen (Ministry of Education) – Education Working Group
Janus Møller Jensen (Danish Jewish Museum) – Museums and Memorials Working Group
Christian Axboe Nielsen (Aarhus University) – Academic Working Group
Otto Rühl (Humanity in Action) – Education Working Group
Morten Christiansen (Ministry of Culture) – Museums and Memorials Working Group
The last decade of IHRA membership has brought about two main developments in Denmark. Firstly, civil society organizations have become increasingly involved in organizing activities related to the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day ‘Auschwitz Day’, as well as to other historical events. This increased participation signals that keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive is not only an obligation for states, but also for civil society. Secondly, IHRA membership has helped keep a political focus on the importance of bringing the Holocaust, as well as related issues of antisemitism, discrimination and other forms of intolerance, into the classroom.
Denmark issued a statement to the IHRA membership clarifying their position on the working definition of antigypsyism/anti-Roma discrimination.
In January 2022, the Danish Government presented an action plan against antisemitism.
All IHRA Member Countries are asked to complete a basic questionnaire with key facts about the state of Holocaust education, remembrance, and research in their country. The answers to the questionnaire, and to the Country Report, if available, are provided by the national delegations, who are also responsible for keeping the information up to date.
As general background, it should be highlighted, that the exact number of Roma persons living in Denmark is unknown as ethnicity is not registered. The number of Roma living in Denmark is estimated at a couple of thousands out of a total population of 5.8 million. The majority of the Danish Roma came to Denmark in the 1960s and the 1970s. Given their small numbers and relatively short history in Denmark – and probably also given the historical circumstances surrounding Denmark’s non-involvement in the Holocaust – attention to this important aspect of the Holocaust has so far been modest in Denmark.
We are not aware of any relevant statements.
On January 25 2022, the Danish Government presented a comprehensive plan to fight antisemitism in Denmark. The overarching goal of the plan is to strengthen the general resilience against antisemitism and to ensure that antisemitism does not take root in Denmark. The plan – among other things – looks at how we make sure, that future generations remember Holocaust and learn about Jewish life and history. The plan focuses on how schools and institutions educate children and young people about antisemitism and contains a strengthened focus on better guidance in connection with antisemitic incidents in schools and workplaces. The plan also strengthens monitoring of antisemitic incidents and through research increases our understanding of contemporary forms of antisemitism and how we define antisemitism. The plan aims at improving the way the Danish authorities handle antisemitic incidents in order to improve support for victims of antisemitism. Moreover, the plan strengthens the cooperation and coordination among relevant Danish authorities and the Danish Jewish Society, and contains increased foreign policy focus on combating antisemitism (link).
In addition to the comprehensive plan to fight antisemitism the Danish government decided early 2022 to compile an anti-racism action plan.
Denmark does not have an integration policy specifically aimed at the Roma population. Danish authorities do not register ethnicity. Consequently, it is not possible to collect and quantify data dis-aggregated on ethnic groups. On an equal footing with every other person residing legally in Denmark, Roma have access to the universal welfare state’s services (childcare, education, health care, employment effort etc.) largely funded by the general taxation. In addition, Denmark’s emphasis on abiding by general principles of equal treatment ensures recognition of political, civil, social etc. rights of the Roma population. Any target for education level, employment rate and health (including COVID-19) – as well as its monitoring mechanisms – in Denmark apply to Roma as well as to everyone else. These principles, which form the bedrock of Denmark’s approach to Roma inclusion, were reaffirmed in Denmark’s national strategy on Roma equality, inclusion and participation submitted on December 22 2022 in pursuance of the recommendation of the European Council of 12 March 2021 on Roma equality, inclusion and participation (link).
It is estimated that a few events organized by citizens take place annually.
There are no designated academic programs or permanent professorships dedicated to the Holocaust and the genocide of the Roma in Denmark. However, the Holocaust and the genocide of the Roma is a prevalent topic in broader courses, lecture series and elective courses at Danish universities and other institutions.
Research publications in Denmark have mainly focused on broader themes such as genocide, racism or Nazi Germany. Below is a brief list of the most noteworthy research publications on the subject.
Research publications since 2015:
– Claudio Fogu, Wulf Kansteiner, Todd Presner (2016), Probing the Ethics of Holocaust Culture (Harvard University Press, 2016)
– Anders Jerichow & Cecilie Felicia Stockholm Banke (eds.), Advarsler før Folkedrab (Columbus, 2018)
– Thomas Brudholm & Birgitte Johansen Scheperlern, ’The Memory of Prevention: European Anti-Hate Crime Policy and Holocaust Remembrance’ in International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society 32, 2 (2019)
– Therkel Stræde, Reimer Möller & Martin Jensen Overby, Stutthof Maritime Evacuations Project: Academic Report (Report, International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, 2021)
We are not aware of any surveys.
The main textbook for secondary Education on the Holocaust is by Jacob Halvas Bjerre and was originally published in 2010, with the latest revision in 2020. This book includes the genocide of the Roma.
Besides the newest book on world history (Peter Frederiksen: Vores Verdenshistorie 3, forlaget Columbus, 2020) also mentions the genocide on the Roma in the chapter on Holocaust.
The website created as part of the Danish ministry of education’s commitment to the Stockholm declaration, folkedrab.dk, has been widely used and has several teaching resources on the genocide of the Roma.
In primary school, we do not have the opportunity to have a systematic overview of the teachers’ use of, or knowledge of teaching materials.
We know these materials are available for children (A series of three books). They are reviewed in the teacher’s magazine Folkeskolen.dk:
https://www.folkeskolen.dk/dansk-danskundervisning-skonlitteratur/himmelporten-raklos-rejse-3/1944036
Further examples om materials available for children:
• ROMAER – Europas største etniske mindretal af Malene Fenger-Grøndahl. – Århus : Turbine Forlaget, 2012. med kapitlet om Danmark: Den, der lever skjult… romaer i Danmark” https://faktalink.dk/titelliste/sigo
• https://amnesty.dk/wp-content/uploads/media/5780/natalina-jansen-final.pdf
• Sigøjnere er ét folk af Jørn E. Albert. – 1. udgave, 1. oplag. – Kbh.: Forum, 1982. Den danske udgave nyskrevet efter: Thomas Acton: Gypsies.
• Sigøjnere af Kirsten G. Andersen (f. 1929) – Munksgaard, 1971.
We are not aware of any surveys.
In January 2022, the Danish government launched a national plan of action against antisemitism, which includes a number of initiatives aimed at teaching and learning intended to raise awareness of the Holocaust.
There has been a number of publications, including websites, intended for educational purposes at primary and high school levels:
– www.aldrigmere.dk
– Julius Tromholt-Richter & John Nielsen Præstegaard, Auschwitz skal stoppe folkedrab (Seismo, 2021)
– Kari Astrid Thynebjerg, Holocaust og andre Folkedrab: Temabog (DigTea, 2018)
– Solvej Berlay & Anne Wøhrens, Med elever i Auschwitz: guide til undervisere på studietur i Auschwitz-Birkenau (DIIS, 2015)
Dansk Jødisk Museum (Danish Jewish Museum) is a state approved museum that focuses on the consequences of the Holocaust for the Danish Jews in their exhibitions and educational program as a part of the general history of 400 years of Jewish life in Denmark.
• Frihedsmuseet (Museum of Danish Resistance) is part of the National Museum of Denmark tells of the flight and rescue of (most of) the Danish Jews in October 1943.
• Holocaust UndervisningsCentret (Holocaust Educational Centre) is dedicated to telling the story of Holocaust to school and high-school children. It is part of Sydvestjyske Museer and is located in Esbjerg and is active for the region.
s of now, Denmark does not have a dedicated memorial museum for the victims of Holocaust or any other genocides. However, the Danish Jewish Museum, is organizing the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day – in Denmark called Auschwitzdag – on behalf of the municipality of Copenhagen, which currently has some status as the official Danish event marking the day. The museum is currently in the process of creating a network of all of the museums in Denmark working with different aspect of the Second World War in general and Holocaust and its consequences in particular. In this work the International Memorial Museum Charter plays a significant role. The museum is further more involved in marking other memorial days of other genocides for instance the genocide in Rwanda – and is in this particular respect working on making the marking the annual day of the genocide against the Roma and Sinti people become a matter of attention and focus in the future.
In 2006, the Danish Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies became a unit within The Danish Institute of International Studies until its closure in 2013. It maintained a a website until 2018 albeit primarily for research-based educational purposes. The responsibilities for producing teaching materials and other educational purpose publications has been reassigned to aldrigmere.dk.
On January 19, 2017, the Danish Parliament (Folketing) passed decision V 26 On the Armenian Genocide (https://www.ft.dk/samling/20161/vedtagelse/v26/index.htm), which in an unofficial translation reads as flows:
‘The Folketing confirms its resolution No. V 54 of 19 May 2015 regarding the tragic and bloody events that took place in eastern Anatolia in the period 1915-1923. The Folketing finds that the best way to reconciliation will be an open dialogue on history on the basis of free and uncensored historical research, including the release of all official documents from the period. The Folketing regrets that Turkish law prohibits citizens and the media from using the term ‘genocide’ about the events, and finds that this constitutes an unreasonable restriction on both research freedom and freedom of expression without thereby relating to the use of this term. The Folketing thus maintains its parliamentary tradition of not issuing judgments on historical events.’
The Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde has launched a mission to clarify whether there could be a Holocaust grave site linked to the forced evacuation operation from the Stutthof concentration camp.
International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) samler regeringer og eksperter for at styrke og fremme undervisningen om, bevidstheden om og forskningen i holocaust på verdensplan og for at opretholde forpligtelserne i Stockholm-erklæringen fra 2000.
Vi, statsledere og regeringsrepræsentanter ved Stockholms Internationale Forum om Holocaust, erklærer at...