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.
The Chair of the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research (formerly ITF, now IHRA) has registered that statements have been made during the current health care debate in the US making inappropriate references to the Holocaust in an attempt to influence the political deliberations. The Chair of the ITF condemns these statements as they trivialize the history and memory of the victims of the Holocaust which must be held sacred for future generations.
Ambassador Georges Santer, Chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), said:
“We are outraged at the barrage of threats made against Holocaust survivor Liliana Segre, which have led to her being given police protection. IHRA condemns antisemitism in all forms and we are alarmed by the abuse and hatred directed towards a Holocaust survivor.
The intolerable hate speech and incitement to hatred aimed at Mrs Segre is itself proof of the need for the commission against antisemitism, racism, hate and violence which she proposed in the Italian Senate and which was adopted by a vast majority of senators. Unfortunately, however, a number of parties preferred to abstain which is regrettable given the laudable nature of the initiative.”
“As the Chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, it was with deep shock that I learned of the attempt by an armed gunman to enter a synagogue in Halle, Germany, and the subsequent deadly shootings nearby on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for the Jewish community. In the name of all 33 Member Countries of the IHRA, I express my sincere condolences to the families and friends of those murdered in the attack. Our thoughts are also with those wounded and we wish for their quick recovery.
Over the last years we have witnessed an increase in right-wing extremism. We fully support the German government at this time and share the sentiment expressed by Horst Seehofer, Minister of the Interior, that the incident represents an abhorrent attack on peaceful coexistence. We are not just calling on political, social and religious leaders to counter hate crimes and acts of violence and incitement, but urge all members of society to stand together in order to ensure that we can all live in security and peace and ultimately stop the rise of antisemitism.”
IHRA Chair
Ambassador Georges Santer
“Today, the French people pay their last respects to their late President Jacques Chirac. In the name of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, I would like to pay tribute to President Chirac for the courageous speech he delivered on 16 July, 1995, at the Vel d’Hiv, fifty years after the roundup that cost the lives of many thousands of French Jews.
The history of all our nations contain chapters written in golden letters and pages written in poisonous ink. Nobody will ever forget the determination, the bravery and the fearlessness of the French Resistance movement during World War II, but yes as the President put it, there were situations where “the criminal folly of the occupiers was supported by the French, by the French State”. With these words, the President broke with a long lasting culture of denial and forgetting and changed the culture of remembrance in his country. Admitting that there had been a policy of collaboration with the Nazis became the official discourse of the Republic and of all the Presidents who succeeded him.
In these days where we deplore a resurgence of denial and distortion of the Holocaust, it is good to remember the words of the President: “In passing on the memory of the Jewish people and of its sufferings, and of the camps; in bearing witness again and again, in acknowledging the errors of the past, and the errors committed by the State; in concealing nothing about the dark hours of our history, we are simply defending an idea of humanity, of human liberty and dignity. We are struggling against the forces of darkness which are constantly at work.”
Fully in line with the memorable speech of President Chirac, his successor Emmanuel Macron was right when in 2017, at the 75th anniversary of the roundup of the Vel d’Hiv he said: “By acknowledging its faults, France has opened the way to repair them. That is the sign of a strong nation that can face its past.”
For his defense of the historic truth, for having given a new dimension to remembrance in France in relation to events during World War II, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance will always cherish the memory of President Jacques Chirac.”
Ambassador Georges Santer
IHRA Chair
“The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance commends the brave action taken by Mayor Remigijus Šimašius to remove the plaque honouring Jonas Noreika due to the controversy surrounding his actions during the Holocaust, including his role in the ghettoization and expropriation of property of Jews in Siauliai district in 1941.
It is important to remember that any distortion of the history of the Holocaust can allow for more violent and more dangerous forms of Holocaust denial and antisemitism to take place. We will continue to work with the governments of our 33 Member Countries to counter distortion and antisemitism to honour the memory of the victims and survivors of the Holocaust.”
Ambassador Georges Santer
IHRA Chair
“The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance aims to safeguard the record and counter distortion of the history of the Holocaust and genocide of the Roma. Its vision is to work towards the moral imperative of “a world without genocide.”
Eschewing scholarly comparison, which enables early recognition of the symptoms of militarized, dehumanizing, mass detention of civilian populations and supports voicing timely warnings, defeats the very meaning and purpose of the IHRA mission. The IHRA Academic Working Group stands in opposition to any and all such prohibitions.”
The IHRA welcomes the appointment of Dr Gilly Carr as the first representative for Guernsey, Jersey and Alderney in the UK’s delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. As the foremost international network of governments and experts working on the topic of the Holocaust, a central pillar of IHRA’s work is safeguarding the historical record of the Holocaust.
Dr Carr is also leading the IHRA project ‘Safeguarding Sites: the IHRA Charter for best practice’ which aims to create guidelines for the protection of sites. The research and preservation of sites where Nazi atrocities took place is a fundamental part of safeguarding the record and remembering victims and survivors.
The IHRA looks forward to working with Guernsey, Jersey and Alderney to strengthen international cooperation and exchange between experts and policymakers.
The IHRA unites governments and experts to strengthen, advance and promote Holocaust education, remembrance and research worldwide, and to uphold the commitments of the 2000 Stockholm Declaration.
“On 4th June 2019, the IHRA Plenary agreed to appoint a group of IHRA experts to provide input or suggestions to the international advisory boards of the House of Fates museum in Budapest, Hungary. The IHRA has taken great interest in the House of Fates museum since 2014 as the previous concept was much criticized by domestic and international audiences.
The decision of the Plenary followed the presentation of a new preliminary outline for the House of Fates museum by the Hungarian delegation to the IHRA, led by Minister of State Szabolcs Takacs. The Hungarian Head of Delegation quoted Prime Minister Orban that there will be no museum if there is no peace around it and assured the IHRA Member Countries that the final concept of the museum, which has yet to be developed, will only be adopted if international and domestic support is secured. He emphasized that ‘inclusivity’ is central to the entire process. The IHRA therefore expects that the voices of all concerned Jewish communities in Hungary, which means besides the Chabad EMIH Jewish Federation in Hungary also the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (MAZSIHISZ), will be heard and that their input will be taken seriously.
The IHRA has not yet been shown the new concept in any detail. We welcomed the clear assurance by Rabbi Shlomo Köves (Chabad EMIH Jewish Federation in Hungary) and the Minister of State, that a highly controversial historian who had been involved in the drafting of an earlier concept had played no role in developing the new vision for the House of Fates and that this person would not be involved in the initiative moving forward.
IHRA Member Countries also called on Hungary to clarify the relationship of the House of Fates and the existing Holocaust Museum in Pava Street in Budapest, including an update on the previously announced financial support to the Pava Street Museum.
Hungary, as one of our 33 Member Countries, has committed itself to upholding the terrible truth of the Holocaust against those who deny or distort it. We look forward to supporting Hungary in its efforts to present a nuanced and self-critical history of the Holocaust in Hungary.”
Ambassador Georges Santer
IHRA Chair
