We regularly comment on current events that overlap with the IHRA's mandate. Statements can come from the IHRA Chair, IHRA Secretary General, or, when consensus is reached among all Member Countries, by the IHRA in the form of an IHRA Statement.
31 member countries, eight observer countries and seven Permanent International Partners reaffirm their commitment to the Stockholm Declaration to mark its 15th anniversary.
On the anniversary of this momentous occasion, the participating countries come together to reaffirm their commitment to the Stockholm Declaration through the following statement, in the knowledge that much great work has been done but that antisemitism, xenophobia and genocide are not confined to the past but continue to be real threats:
Today, 70 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, the 31 member and eight observer countries of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), together with our seven Permanent International Partners, have collectively reaffirmed our strong and unqualified support for the founding document of our organisation, the Stockholm Declaration of the year 2000, and the solemn commitments which our governments then undertook.
The unprecedented character of the Holocaust will always hold universal meaning for us. We are committed to remembering and honouring its victims, to upholding the terrible truth of the Holocaust, to standing up against those who distort or deny it and to combatting antisemitism, racism and prejudice against the Roma and Sinti.
We are determined to continue to develop our international cooperation on Holocaust education, remembrance and research and the prevention of future genocides.
15 years ago, the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust was held, bringing together high-ranking political leaders and officials from more than forty countries to meet with civic and religious leaders, Holocaust survivors, educators, historians and others who have dedicated their work to promoting Holocaust education, commemoration and research.
Nobel Prize laureate Elie Wiesel served as the Forum’s Honorary Chairman and Professor Yehuda Bauer was the senior Academic Advisor to the Forum.
The Stockholm Declaration was signed by participating countries at the closing session of this conference and became the founding document of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). In this Declaration the participating states pledged their commitment to promoting Holocaust education, remembrance and research. Over the years IHRA has grown to include 31 member countries, eight observers countries and seven Permanent International Partners. It remains a unique organisation; bringing together politicians as well as experts from the fields of academia, education, communications, and memorials and museum.
As the Chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and on behalf of all its members, I am deeply saddened by the fatal shootings which took place in Paris between 7-9 January.
IHRA would like to express our deepest sympathy to the families of those killed in these hate crimes. IHRA firmly supports the French Delegation to IHRA at this difficult time.
The Stockholm Declaration stresses the need for mutual understanding and justice and these horrific events underline the fact that the international community continues to share a solemn responsibility to fight antisemitism, xenophobia and intolerance in all its forms.
The unity shown in the face of such tragedy by heads of state as well as citizens across the world is deeply heartening and IHRA stands alongside them.
IHRA Chair
Last week IHRA Chair Sir Andrew Burns and the IHRA Executive Secretary joined a briefing with Rabbi Andrew Baker (American Jewish Committee), Dr Andras Heisler (President of Maszihisz), Professor György Haraszti (Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Holocaust Research and Documentation Centre), and a number of international and Hungarian historians and experts to discuss the House of Fates project with its director Dr Maria Schmidt.
Dr Schmidt outlined the project which is intended to serve a primarily educational purpose. Agreement was reached on five points:
IHRA will be involved in establishing the two academic working groups of international experts.
Contrary to media reports, IHRA will not be in a position to endorse the House of Fates concept until the consultations with the national and international experts as well as with the Hungarian Jewish Community have been taken into account. Dr Heisler has published a letter to Dr Schmidt about the points of concern to the Jewish community which are shared by IHRA. Close cooperation with Maszihisz is not only desirable but essential in ensuring the integrity of the project.
As the Chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and on behalf of its members, I am deeply shocked by the fatal shootings at the Brussels Jewish Museum on 24 May, in which four people were killed.
We strongly condemn this criminal act and would like to express our sincere sympathies to families of those killed as they mourn the loss of these victims. IHRA offers its full support to the Belgian Delegation following this heinous crime.
This incident sadly illustrates the necessity of the statement of the Stockholm Declaration, to which all 31 IHRA member countries are committed, that the international community shares a solemn responsibility to fight antisemitism and xenophobia.
The Chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) condemns Harper Magazine’s use of Nazi symbolism on its February 2014 cover for a feature entitled “How Germany Reconquered Europe.” The inappropriate use of this imagery trivializes the Holocaust and the National Socialism period in an attempt to sensationalize a modern political issue.
Cases such as this illustrate the necessity of IHRA’s “Working Definition of Holocaust Denial and Distortion,” which was adopted by IHRA’s 31 member countries in October 2013.
On behalf of the 31 members of International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), the Canadian Chair of IHRA strongly condemns the recent broadcast of an antisemitic Christmas carol on Romanian state television.
The lyrics promoting the Holocaust and violence against Jews are appalling and completely unacceptable. The loss of tens of thousands of Romanian Jews and millions of others in the horror of the Holocaust is a painful history, which must be remembered with solemnity and respect.
This horrendous display of antisemitism and racism is to be vigorously denounced and IHRA supports the condemnation of the broadcast by Romanian officials.
On behalf of the delegates of the 31 member countries of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), among them 24 members of the European Union, I would like to express my deep concern with the European Commission’s proposal for a General Data Protection Regulation.
Ensuring open access to and the protection of Holocaust-era archival materials are at the heart of IHRA’s mission and are central to the commitments of 46 countries to the Stockholm Declaration on the Holocaust of 2000.
Although IHRA supports the European Commission’s efforts to ensure uniform protection of personal data online and offline to benefit citizens and business, IHRA believes that the provisions of the newly-created “right to oblivion” may have devastating effects on historiography in general and commemoration in particular. The current form of the proposed General Data Protection Regulation risks making it very difficult, if not impossible, to undertake research on individual victims, perpetrators and bystanders in the Holocaust and to use archival materials in Holocaust education and remembrance.
IHRA is concerned that the European Commission’s initiative could lead to the closing of archives or the destruction of personal information on Nazi victims and perpetrators, without which education, remembrance and research on the Holocaust will not be possible. It is a moral duty to preserve these authentic records for future generations.
As such, IHRA believes that the proposed regulation should contain only general provisions that acknowledge the need to balance the fundamental right to privacy and the protection of personal data with other legitimate public or national interests. It is of the utmost importance to Holocaust remembrance that the “right to be forgotten” should not entail the anonymization or destruction of Holocaust-era archival material.
IHRA is seeking high-level consultations with officials in Brussels to address this issue.
The Belgian Chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance is deeply shocked by the parade of a fake Nazi railcar during the Aalst Carnival.
The representation of the float with officers drinking champagne and stereotyping a Jewish victim is a despicable act insulting the memory of the victims of the Holocaust.
Especially during the year of the Chairmanship of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, when Belgium has recognized the responsibility of the State in the deportation of the Jewish citizens by the Nazi occupiers and their collaborators, the Holocaust must not be trivialized for the purposes of a local political situation.
The Chair of IHRA strongly condemns the belittling of the Holocaust and the use of antisemitic stereotypes.
