Newsletter Nr. 58

“« Never again » is now”, President von der Leyen says ahead of International Day of Holocaust Remembrance

27 January marks the International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 79th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. Ahead of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, President von der Leyen said:

“Following the despicable terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel on 7 October 2023, remembering the Holocaust has taken on a new meaning. European Jews are living again in fear: no parent should be afraid to send their children to school. Jewish people are bullied, harassed, and attacked on the street, in school and university. Synagogues have been vandalised. Jewish cemeteries have been desecrated.

The unprecedented spike of antisemitic acts we have seen all over Europe reminds us of the darkest time of our history. What is different now, however, is that we all stand with the Jewish communities. There is no place for antisemitic hatred, especially here in Europe. And there is no justification to antisemitism.

Three generations after the Shoah, we must ensure that Jewish life continues to thrive in public. We cannot accept that Jews are hiding their identity. Fostering Jewish life is at the heart of our EU Strategy on combating antisemitism. As we mark this year the 79th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau, we shall remember the 6 million Jewish women, men and children, and all other victims, among them hundreds of thousands of Roma, murdered during the Holocaust.

As the last Holocaust survivors are passing away, we must find new forms of remembrance and implement new methods of teaching, using the last traces of the past. To do so, we are developing a ‘Network of Places Where the Holocaust Happened', a flagship action of the EU Strategy on combating antisemitism. Places of memory need to be safeguarded and serve educational and remembrance purposes.

We must remember how it all started: antisemitism and hatred led to the Shoah. It is our duty, as Europeans, to build a European Union free from antisemitism and any form of racism and discrimination. If Europe fails the Jews, Europe will have failed us all. Never again is now!”

HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE CONFERENCE:

Remembering the past. Shaping the future.

On 23 January 2024, the European Commission, the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance hosted the 'Holocaust Remembrance Conference: Remembering the past. Shaping the future.' on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Baronesse Regina Sluszny, Holocaust Survivor and Hidden Child, shared her testimony in a conversation with Katharina von Schnurbein, Coordinator on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life.  About her presence, Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas stated:

"Dear Regina, thank you for your tireless work and for finding the strength to recount your story, and that of your husband, in schools across Belgium.  Stories like yours are testament to the resilience of the human spirit; to the triumph of hope over despair. They provide us with a moral imperative to keep fighting for a world free from antisemitism and hate." 

During the conference, Vice-President Schinas announced the launch of the creation of a Europe-wide network of places where the Holocaust happened:

"Over the past years, we have seen multiple attempts by enemies of democracy to instrumentalise the Holocaust and fuelled Holocaust denial, distortion, and trivialisation. As we prepare to mark  International Holocaust Remembrance Day, let us all make a solemn promise to redouble our efforts. On the side of the Commission, we have increased funding for projects on Holocaust education and remembrance. We are launching a public open call for tender for the amount of EUR 3 million to establish a secretariat and develop the Europe-wide Network of places Where the Holocaust Happened, building on the broad consultation process that was launched at this conference one year ago."

Marie-Colline Leroy, Secretary of State for Gender Equality, Equal Opportunities and Diversity of Belgium, Sara Lustig and Ambassador Terezija Gras, Co-Chair of the Croatian Presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, Sergey Lagodinsky, Vice-President of the European Parliament Working Group against antisemitism, and Dani Dayan, Chairman of Yad Vashem, also delievered opening statements. 

A panel discussion on safeguarding Holocaust sites with experts addressed the importance, the need  and the benefits of such a network of places for the Holocaust remembrance efforts.

They also took part in a candle lighting commemoration ceremony alongside Emma Hallali, President of teh European Union of Jewish Students. 

Musical interludes, including the song Wiegala by Ilse Weber, a victim of the Holocaust, were performed during the conference. 

Ahead of the conference, Vice-President Margaritis Schinas joined the IWalk Belgium: Hidden Children, survivors of the Holocaust in Brussels, which retraces the Brussels-based lives of four child survivors of the Holocaust, together with Director of House of European History museum, Constance Itzel, Amb. Dani Dayan, State Secretary Marie-Colline Leroy, Brussels Mayor Philippe Close, H.E. Amb. of Israel to EU and NATO Haim Regev and the Head of the Representation in Belgium at European Commission Stefaan De Rynck. 

This conference was organised in cooperation with the American Jewish Committee Transatlantic Institute, B’nai B’rith Europe, B’nai B’rith International, European Jewish Association, European Jewish Congress, European Jewish Community Center, European Union of Jewish Students, and World Jewish Congress.

The page of the event contains the full programme. 

This was the first meeting of the Working Group after the barbaric terrorist attack by Hamas on 7 October on civilians in Israel. 

The first day of the working group focused primarily on the impact of the attack on Jewish communities in the EU and action taken on European and national level to address the spike of antisemitism since the Holocaust.

Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life, opened the working group reiterating the Commission’s unwavering commitment to ensure Jewish life can continue to prosper in the EU, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish communities.

On the second day, the focus was on the development and implementation of the national strategies in line with the Council Conclusions on combating racism and antisemitism of 4 March 2022, in which Member States committed to “developing national strategies against antisemitism, and endeavour to do so by the end of 2022”. Member States national authorities and Jewish communities provided updates on the developments in their countries.

In line with the EU Strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life, the European Commission will present a progress report on the fight against antisemitism in the first half of 2024, which will draw on best-practices from national strategies.

To mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, this session was followed by the presentation of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Charter for Safeguarding Sites, and a discussion on how to best preserve Holocaust places and sites for future generations.

The fifth meeting of the working group addressed the following topics:
1. Impact of the Hamas terrorist attack on Jewish communities
2. Countering online antisemitism – the impact of the Hamas terrorist attack
3. Updates on the development and implementation of national strategies
4. The IHRA Charter for Safeguarding Sites