remember the doomsday

Observed by the United Nations on 27 January every year, International Holocaust Remembrance Day provides an opportunity to remember the atrocities of the Holocaust that resulted in the death of an estimated 6 million Jews. The day marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in January 1945. The formula for Holocaust remembrance remains unchanged: never again. A turning point in history, the Holocaust is one of the most visible acts of violence and discrimination. Yet, the lessons of the past fade in the haze of time. Are those who do not remember the past condemned to repeat it?

Holocaust distortion and denial

As the Holocaust recedes over time, the forces of anti-Semitism, racial and religious intolerance, and discrimination and hate speech pose new challenges to global civilizational values, threatening the recurrence of past crimes. Holocaust ignorance, perversion and denial are increasing at an alarming rate. The Anti-Defamation League Global 100, an index on anti-Semitism, found that anti-Semitic sentiments are turbulent, with more than a quarter of the people surveyed, an estimated 1.09 billion people, anti-Semitism worldwide. Shelter the viewpoint. Across Asia, only 23% of those surveyed had heard of the Holocaust and believed the historical account. Data from North America and Europe suggest that young people are less likely to be aware of historical accounts of the Holocaust, with less than half of those surveyed under the age of 35 having ever heard of the Holocaust. Considering India’s youth demographics, these figures are significant. Youth proved particularly vulnerable to techniques employed by extremists to spread hateful and racist ideologies, underscoring the importance of empowering youth with the knowledge, capacity and agency to reject hate.

Connecting youth with the traumatic history of the Holocaust and the moral and ethical issues highlighted by it has contemporary relevance as a tool to help fight hate and prompt discussion of the social contexts that support exclusionary policies to divide communities. enables. With a more globalized younger generation, it is important to leverage the power of education, communication and connectivity as effective tools to motivate people to act.

India’s growing global influence and efforts towards digitization provide further impetus to expand youth networks so that youth around the world can connect, share experiences and denigrate extremist mindsets, ultimately eliminating violence and discrimination. to strengthen its efforts. However, this needs to be carefully monitored as the lack of critical skills to filter or navigate misinformation or propaganda on social media can leave youth vulnerable to online hate speech. According to a publication by the Center for Countering Digital Hatred, anti-Semitism can be found on all social media platforms. The situation is worse in languages ​​other than English, as social media companies including Facebook and YouTube lack global content moderation teams. This is particularly important to note in the Indian context, as youth make up a substantial portion of the Internet user base.

Malicious words have the power to kindle wildfire, because it is these words that started the Holocaust. Therefore, to prevent Indian youth from spreading various forms of hate speech, both online and offline, we must educate them about the Holocaust and anti-Semitism today, to address contemporary issues affecting societies around the world. to deeply reflect upon, such as the power of extremist ideologies, propaganda, abuses of official power, and group-targeted hatred and violence.

Addressing Anti-Semitism

India’s vision of creating inclusive and equitable education that encompasses a more comprehensive knowledge of different cultures, religions, languages ​​and gender identities to develop respect for diversity through the National Educational Policy 2020 is already in line with work on Holocaust education programs. Makes a fertile land for To further this vision and strengthen the resilience of Indian society against anti-Semitic discourses, the embassies of Israel and Germany, with the support of UNESCO, organized a conference on anti-Semitism for policy makers, school principals and teachers this February. Organizing a workshop. Using existing training resources, expert teachers from UNESCO, Israel and Germany will equip teachers with the knowledge and perspective needed to use the history of the Holocaust to make ‘Never Again’ an actionable promise that emerges from our classrooms.

With the community of Holocaust survivors dwindling, we need to pass on the lessons of the past to young people. It is imperative that they be empowered with the knowledge to combat myths and lies and be able to withstand the effects of violent extremism and hate speech.

nAOR Gillon is the Ambassador of Israel to India, Walter J. Lindner is the Ambassador of Germany to India and Eric Fault is the Director, UNESCO, New Delhi.