15-16 February, 2016

In February, the IHRA organized the International Research Conference on Education about the Holocaust together with the PH Luzern University of Teacher Education in Switzerland. The conference was organized by Monique Eckmann, Chair of IHRA's Steering Committee on Education Research and was aimed at researchers, educators, policy-makers and funders. Watch a number of the keynote addresses from the conference on our YouTube Channel. The outcome of the research project is available in the volume: “Research in Teaching and Learning about the Holocaust. A Dialogue Beyond Borders”.

8 March, 2016

Romania assumed the Chairmanship of the IHRA on 8 March during a handover ceremony that took place at the Embassy of Romania in Berlin. Together with the outgoing Hungarian Chair, State Secretary Szabolcs Takács, and the incoming Chair, Ambassador Mihnea Constantinescu, the ceremony was attended by members of the diplomatic corps.

10 March, 2016

In March, the second volume in the IHRA publication series was published under the name “Bystanders, Rescuers or Perpetrators? The Neutral Countries and the Shoah”. It offers a trans-national, comparative perspective on the varied reactions of the neutral countries to the Nazi persecution and murder of the European Jews. Read the full publication.

15-17 March, 2016

During the Funding Review Committee Meeting, the annual Yehuda Bauer Grant was awarded to the organization Terraforming South (Serbia), for their project on developing a European Library Platform for Holocaust education. The project aims to create a large-scale library network and to develop a collaborative platform of international resources for Holocaust education, and was chosen “in light of its excellent quality and its highly multilateral dimensions", according to the Funding Review Committee.

6 April, 2016

On 6 April, the Romanian Chairmanship hosted a Diplomatic Briefing in Bucharest. The IHRA Chair, Ambassador Mihnea Constantinescu, met with Ambassadors of IHRA Member and Observer Countries in Bucharest to mark the start of Romania’s Chairmanship and to present the Romanian priorities: work with the media and social media, the consolidation of Holocaust education in Member Countries and beyond, the promotion of academic research, and combating antisemitism.

6-7 April, 2016

During the Forgotten Voices Conference in Bucharest, the IHRA Chair informed the audience about the IHRA’s activities in the area of remembrance and education on the genocide of the Roma. This conference, organized by the European Roma and Travellers Forum in cooperation with the Council of Europe, took place in the Romanian Parliament in Bucharest, Romania

14 April, 2016

The IHRA was delighted by the inclusion of a specific reference to the Holocaust within the new EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that was adopted by the European Parliament on 14 April. The 2015 IHRA Chair, State Secretary Szabolcs Takács, had earlier carried out a comprehensive campaign in Brussels to raise awareness of the potential negative impact of the GDPR on Holocaust-related research. Considering that the Holocaust lies at the heart of the foundation of the European community, and given the increasing antisemitism across Europe, the need for unfettered access to documents on Holocaust related issues is of central importance.

19 April, 2016

The IHRA Executive Secretary, Dr. Kathrin Meyer, took part in the International Network Against Cyber Hate and the Israeli Students Combating Antisemitism conference on online antisemitism in Jerusalem. Dr. Meyer participated in a panel entitled 'Towards Solutions – Education, Counterspeech and Coalition Building'. Mark Weitzman, Chair of IHRA's Committee on Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial, and Ms. Katharina von Schnurbein, the European Commission Coordinator on Combating Antisemitism, also participated in the conference.

10 May, 2016

On 10 May, an IHRA delegation discussed the future of the historic site Staro Sajmište in Belgrade, Serbia. IHRA’s experts expressed their concern about the preservation of the site due to the risks posed by urban development and unclear future plans for a memorial complex. The visit followed up on discussions held during the Debrecen Plenary meetings. The President of the Commission Staro Sajmište, Bishop Jovan Culibrk, attended the IHRA Plenary Meetings in Iasi in November and IHRA was offered a seat on the Commission.

13 May, 2016

In May, the IHRA Chair made a statement regarding the Holocaust Denial Cartoon Competition in Iran. As in previous years, IHRA’s 31 Member Countries stood united in their condemnation of the planned competition. “It must remain clear that any attempt to claim that the Holocaust did not take place or to minimize or blur responsibility for the genocide is an attack on the memory of the victims and memory of the Holocaust”, the IHRA Chair, Ambassador Mihnea Constantinescu, said.

23-26 May, 2016

The IHRA successfully concluded its four-day Plenary Meetings in Bucharest, where the IHRA Plenary adopted a working definition of antisemitism. “By adopting this working definition, the IHRA is setting an example of responsible conduct for other international fora and hopes to inspire them also to take action on a legally binding working definition”, the IHRA Chair stated.

25 May, 2016

IHRA Honorary Chairman, Professor Yehuda Bauer, was awarded the National Order for Merit by the President of Romania, H.E. Klaus Iohannis. The award was given as a sign of appreciation for Professor Bauer’s long-standing efforts in the field of Holocaust research and education, and particularly for his work with the IHRA.

8 June, 2016

The IHRA Chair visited the Republic of Moldova, where he attended high-level political meetings, visited the Jewish cultural centre “Kedem” and talked to the media. The objective of the visit was to “emphasize the necessity of Holocaust education, of increasing efforts in Holocaust remembrance and to express concern regarding the preservation of Jewish cultural heritage”, said the Chair. The Republic of Moldova has been one of the IHRA’s 11 Observer Countries since 2014.

13-17 June, 2016

The IHRA Executive Secretary and Communication Officer, Laura Robertson, visited the USC Shoah Foundation in Los Angeles, California. They were introduced to the USC Shoah Foundation’s multiple collections, their archiving process as well as the institute's programming and evaluation procedures, which provided important input and inspiration for the development of an IHRA strategy.

27 June, 2016

In June, the Romanian IHRA Chairmanship launched a training program for public servants, magistrates, law enforcement agencies and diplomats on the topic of combating antisemitism, racism, xenophobia, and Holocaust denial.

28 - 29 June, 2016

On 28 and 29 June, the IHRA Chair participated in the commemoration of the Iași Pogrom that was organized in Iași, Podu Iloaiei și Târgu Frumos. The commemoration marked 75 years since the pogrom. The IHRA Chair said, “I take this opportunity to pay my deepest respect to the victims of a horrendous tragedy that happened 75 years ago. The Romanian IHRA Chairmanship recommends that IHRA Member Countries actively and attentively confront the lessons of the past with the current realities and challenges in order to make all possible efforts to ensure that tragedies like the Iași Pogrom can never happen again.”

5 - 6 July, 2016

On 5 and 6 July, the IHRA Chair and the IHRA Executive Secretary visited Ukraine to attend high level meetings at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The purpose of the visit was to discuss the IHRA's work and the upcoming commemoration of Babi Yar on 29 September 2016. The IHRA delegation also visited the Babi Yar site during the meetings. The IHRA hopes to welcome Ukraine as an IHRA Observer Country in the near future and support Ukraine in its efforts to promote Holocaust research, remembrance and education, both through funding and with academic and educational support.

12 July, 2016

An IHRA delegation, including the IHRA Chair, attended high level meetings in the Czech Republic to discuss the uncertain future of the former concentration camp site of Lety u Pisku where an industrial pig farm stands. Over 1,300 Roma and Sinti were interned in Lety during the German Nazi occupation. The IHRA had stated its concern about the situation at Lety on several occasions during the past year and in November 2016 received the positive news that the Czech Government had passed a decision to close the farm.

19 July, 2016

The IHRA Executive Secretary presented a paper on the topic of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and its role in the development of Holocaust remembrance in the international political arena at the British Association of Holocaust Studies (BAHS) conference in London. The conference entitled 'The Presence of the Holocaust in society, politics and culture, c.1970 – 2015' explored the growth and development of Holocaust history and memory over the past four decades.

2 August, 2016

On the day of commemoration of the genocide of the Roma and Sinti, the IHRA made a joint statement with the OSCE/ODIHR. The Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Michael Georg Link, and the IHRA Chair stressed that greater efforts are needed to protect endangered memorial sites and ensure the dignity of victims. Read the statement.

The IHRA also spoke to the Chair of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma, Romani Rose, to discuss what 2 August means to the Sinti and Roma community, and what the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance can do to support these commemorative efforts. Read the full interview.

2 August, 2016

The commemoration at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum marked the day in 1944 when the last group of nearly 2,900 Sinti and Roma were killed in the gas chambers. A ceremony was also held at the former Łódź Ghetto and was attended by the Chair of the IHRA Committee on the Genocide of the Roma, Martina Maschke, and Committee member Gerhard Baumgartner. Martina Maschke and Gerhard Baumgartner also participated in the unveiling of a new memorial for the Roma and Sinti victims in Chełmno on behalf of the IHRA.

14 September, 2016

The second IHRA diplomatic briefing took place in Bucharest and was an opportunity to present the IHRA’s achievements from the first six months of the Romanian Chairmanship. The IHRA Chair highlighted the good cooperation between the IHRA and other fora, such as OSCE/ODIHR, and commended the initiative of the German Chairmanship of the OSCE to propose the adoption of a working definition of antisemitism, based on the working definition adopted by the IHRA in May 2016.

20 September, 2016

On 20 September, the IHRA Chair gave a speech at the Belgian conference ‘Connecting Law and Memory’, supported among others by the IHRA and the Council of Europe. Citing Elie Wiesel in his speech, the IHRA Chair highlighted the dangers of indifference and hypocrisy: “There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” The conference took place at the Museum Kazerne Dossin in Mechelen, Belgium.

22 - 23 September, 2016

In the capital of Portugal, Lisbon, the IHRA Chair and IHRA Executive Secretary attended a conference and a number of high level meetings with the aim of promoting IHRA’s mission and main objectives with representatives of the Portuguese Government and with various Portuguese organizations focusing on the memory of the Holocaust.

5 October, 2016

In October an IHRA delegation visited Warsaw to participate in high level political meetings. The meetings included an appointment at the Chancellery of the President and the Institute of National Remembrance, as well as the Ministries of Education, Foreign Affairs and Culture and National Heritage. Additionally, the IHRA delegation had the opportunity to visit the POLIN Museum and meet Director Dariusz Stola. Poland has been an IHRA Member Country since 1999, and is committed to strengthening efforts to promote education, remembrance and research about the Holocaust.

9 October, 2016

The IHRA Chair attended the national Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at the Holocaust Memorial in Bucharest and laid a wreath. The ceremony was also attended by the Presidential Counsellor Andrei Muraru, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Lazăr Comănescu, the State Counsellor from the Ministry of Justice Gabriela Scutea, representatives of the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Defense, and the Bucharest City Hall, Jewish and Roma communities, as well as children from Lauder Reut High School and Ion Creanga High School in Bucharest.

4 November, 2016

How do we compare genocides and crimes against humanity? The IHRA Committee on the Holocaust, Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity published the report “A Matter of Comparison”, and an interactive map, which provides an analysis and overview of Holocaust programs and literature with a comparative focus. Read the full publication.

7-10 November, 2016

On 10 November the IHRA successfully concluded its second bi-annual Plenary meeting under the Romanian Chairmanship in Iasi. Recognizing that Holocaust education is of contemporary political importance, almost 200 experts and policymakers from the IHRA’s 31 Member Countries, eleven Observer Countries, and seven international partner organisations gathered in Iasi. The IHRA Plenary was held in Iasi to coincide with the 75th commemoration of the Iasi Pogrom.

19 November, 2016

Martina Maschke, Chair of the IHRA Committee on the Genocide of the Roma, and Gerhard Baumgartner, director of the Documentation Center of the Austrian resistance and member of the IHRA Committee, attended the annual commemoration event in memory of the Austrian Roma and Sinti victims murdered during the NS-regime on the site of the former “gypsy camp” Lackenbach in the Federal State of Burgenland.

3 December, 2016

On 3 December 2016, upon invitation of the Salzburg Global Seminar, the Co-Head of the Austrian Delegation to the IHRA, Ambassador Michael Baier, participated in the Seminar’s Session 564 “Learning from the Past: Promoting Pluralism and Countering Extremism” where he introduced the IHRA and its outreach to non-IHRA countries.

6 December, 2016

In a joint effort between UNESCO and the IHRA, a roundtable was organized in Paris to examine current responses to prevent antisemitism. A report of the discussions is available on the UNESCO website.

15 December, 2016

At the Iasi Plenary Meetings, IHRA experts raised serious concerns about provisions in the existing and proposed legislation in Poland that could impact on Holocaust research. On the invitation of the Polish authorities, an IHRA expert working group visited Warsaw on 15 December to enter into dialogue with the relevant Polish stakeholders.

19 December, 2016

In December, the IHRA proudly launched its new blog “Seeking Protection" which explores how our knowledge of the refugee situation before, during and after the Holocaust can be relevant for understanding the current refugee situation. The blog aims to serve as a resource center for educators and as a platform for guest bloggers to reflect on the topic of refugees.

9 January, 2017

The IHRA held its first ever seminar focused on teaching and learning about the Holocaust and related issues in El Salvador, an IHRA Observer Country. Drawing on IHRA's educational guidelines, the seminar aimed to teach educators about the Holocaust, why it is important, and how to teach about the topic. The seminar was organized by IHRA's Professional Development Outreach committee, together with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Education of El Salvador. Programme coordinator, Dr. Carrie Olsen, facilitated the seminar in Spanish and IHRA delegate, Jennifer Ciardelli, supervised the programme. The IHRA Chair, Ambassador Constantinescu, addressed participants in a written address.

26 January, 2017

To mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the IHRA Chair addressed the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna. The OSCE works towards security, peace and cooperation between states and communities, goals which are aligned with the IHRA mandate of strengthening and advancing Holocaust research, remembrance and education. In his speech, the Chair argued that, “this tragedy is not only part of the human dimension but, reflecting on the Holocaust and related antisemitism and hate speech, it is of direct relevance to the security and safety of our societies.” Read the address made by the Chair.

27 January, 2017

Learning from the past is an important part of educating for the future. On the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the IHRA Chair and the Director of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, Prof. Michael O'Flaherty, issued a joint statement on the importance of educating for the future and preventing the recurrence of human rights violations. Noting that the rising tide of intolerance spreading across Europe demonstrates the vulnerability of human rights, Prof. O'Flaherty stressed the need to be ever vigilant in their protection.

Read about the commemoration events which took place this year in IHRA Member and Observer Countries.

27 January, 2017

International Holocaust Remembrance Day was commemorated in the Albanian city of Tirana through a conference entitled “We remember. Promoting human rights through the lens of Holocaust education and remembrance”. The Co-Head of the Austrian Delegation to the IHRA, Ambassador Michael Baier, and Advisor to the IHRA, Professor Steven Katz, participated in the conference organized by the Albanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Read Ambassador Baier's speech.

30 January, 2017

In relation to the recent events in the USA, the IHRA Honorary Chairman, Professor Yehuda Bauer, issued a statement on the IHRA website: "The Jews are not even mentioned in the Presidential statement on 27 January, thus gratuitously violating the memory of the murdered millions. On the same day, an Executive Order was issued by the President's office, banning refugees from entering the US, singling out persons from mainly Muslim countries. This constitutes, in effect, discrimination on religious grounds, violating the Refugee Convention of 1951, of which the US is a signatory. It raises possible troubling parallels with the refusal of most countries during the Nazi period to accept refugees, especially Jewish ones.”

16-17 February, 2017

In cooperation with the Holy See, the IHRA organized the two-day conference “Refugee Policies from 1933 until Today: Challenges and Responsibilities” at the Palazzo della Cancelleria in Rome. Participants were public policy-makers from Europe, North America and the Middle East, media representatives and representatives of NGOs and civil society organizations. The focus was on refugee policies from 1933 to the present day. Read more about the conference, speakers and programme.

7 March, 2017

Switzerland assumed the Chairmanship of the IHRA. During the handover ceremony at the Embassy of Switzerland in Berlin, the outgoing Chair Ambassador Mihnea Constantinescu of Romania handed over the Chairmanship to Ambassador Benno Bättig of Switzerland. At the ceremony, Prof. Monique Eckmann presented the new volume of the IHRA publication series, “Research in Teaching and Learning about the Holocaust. A Dialogue Beyond Borders”.

Download the free pdf-version of the book.