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.
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.
As Chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, I would like to express my appreciation for the European Union’s placement of 27 January, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, on its official calendar.
Remembrance is at the core of IHRA’s mandate, and the Stockholm Declaration commits all member countries “commemorate the victims of the Holocaust and to honour those who stood against it.”
All 31 IHRA member countries, including the 23 that are also EU member states, reflect this commitment by holding annual national commemorations on 27 January.
The IHRA’s focus on Holocaust Memorial Days encompasses several activities. The IHRA’s Grant Strategy includes a program encouraging applicants to develop strategies for Holocaust Memorial Days in a way that injects substance, real meaning, and educational value into these events. The IHRA has also devoted a part of its new multi-year work plan to this topic.
The IHRA will continue its efforts to promote meaningful and content-rich Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations around the world and stands ready to cooperate with the EU and other international institutions in this regard.
