Statement of the ITF Chair Concerning the Commemoration of Knut Hamsun
After extensive consultations, the ITF (now IHRA) Chair has authorized the ITF's Permanent Office to transmit the following statement: In recent weeks, certain individuals and institutions have publically questioned Norway's suitability to chair the "Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research (ITF)". The reason for this is Norway's commemoration this year of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Nobel Prize winner Knut Hamsun. The commemoration of Knut Hamsun's birth has led to a debate about him as an acclaimed author and as a person who...
Statement about the Pope's Decision on Bishop Williamson's Unacceptable Stance Regarding the Holocaust
Statement about the Pope's decision on Bishop Williamson's unacceptable stance regarding the Holocaust The Chair of the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research (formerly ITF, now IHRA) welcomes and fully supports the Yad Vashem comment (see below) regarding the Pope's decision on Bishop Williamson's unacceptable stance regarding the Holocaust. The Work of the ITF is based on the Declaration of 2001 of the Stockholm International Forum of the Holocaust which states inter alia: Together we must uphold the terrible truth of the Holocaust...
Chair Expresses Abhorrence at the Intention of Neo-Nazis to Demonstrate in the Old Jewish Quarter of Prague on November 10
Final – approved 30 October, 2007 The Chair of the ITF (now IHRA), on behalf of the members of the ITF, expresses his abhorrence at the intention of neo-Nazis to demonstrate in the old Jewish Quarter of Prague on November 10, the anniversary of the „Kristallnacht“ Pogrom perpetrated by Nazi Germany in 1938. The Nazi regime and its actions have justifiably come to represent absolute evil, and any pro-Nazi demonstration must be seen as an expression of identification with that abhorrent regime and as an attempt to return Nazism to this world. The Chair and the ITF condemn all efforts to...
Chair's Declaration on Teaching About the Genocide of the Roma and Sinti
Final – approved June 13, 2007 Chair’s Declaration on Teaching about the Genocide of the Roma and Sinti The Chair draws the attention of member countries of the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research tothe importance of supporting projects and of strengthening education on the fate of the Roma and Sinti during World War II. The Holocaust Task Force, in accordance with the 2000 Stockholm Declaration on the Holocaust, focuses its activities on the Holocaust or Shoah, i.e. the genocide of the Jews perpetrated by the Nazis and their...
Declaration About Iranian President's Statements on the Holocaust
DECLARATION ABOUT IRANIAN PRESIDENT’S STATEMENTS ON THE HOLOCAUST The Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research (formerly ITF, now IHRA), which consists of delegations from 24 governments, has released the following statement through its Chair: “At the recent meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations, the Iranian President, Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, declared that there is a need for an expert commission to examine the claim that there was what is known as the Holocaust (Shoah - the genocide of the Jews at the hands of Nazi...
Task Force Chair Rejects Remarks by Iranian President
International Task Force Chair Rejects Remarks by Iranian President January 5, 2006 The recent statements of the Iranian President, Mr. Ahmedinajad, calling the Holocaust a myth, and in effect calling for a genocidal policy towards another member state of the UN, namely Israel, were an unacceptable departure. The genocide of the Jewish people at the hand of Nazi Germany in World War II has been recognized by the UN as a defining event in mankind's history. The Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research is devoting its best efforts to...
Task Force Chair Expresses Concerns About Darfur to the United Nations
In my capacity as current Chair of the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research, I wish to convey to you my deepest concerns regarding the current crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan. As you know, the Task Force is committed to the 2000 Stockholm Declaration on the Holocaust, which states that: “With Humanity still scarred by genocide, ethnic cleansing, racism, antisemitism and xenophobia, the international community shares a solemn responsibility to fight those evils.” Our role is to ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust, which...
International Task Force Expresses Condolences on Death of Simon Wiesenthal
International Task Force Expresses Condolences on Death of Simon Wiesenthal September 20, 2005 The Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research, comprising government representatives and NGOs from more than 20 countries, expresses its deepest condolences on the passing of Simon Wiesenthal. A survivor of the Holocaust, Mr. Wiesenthal dedicated his life to raising the awareness of the public and their governments on the importance of prosecuting Nazi criminals and ensuring that justice is dispensed on behalf of the victims of the Holocaust...
International Task Force Reiterates Urgent Need for ITS to Open Archives
International Holocaust Task Force Urges Opening of Bad Arolsen Archive June 30, 2005 The twenty-country Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research, which met in Warsaw on June 30, reiterated its call for immediate steps to be taken to open the archive of the International Tracing Service (ITS) at Bad Arolsen, Germany, to scholars and other researchers. In this regard, the Task Force welcomed the decision May 30 in Rome of the International Commission of the International Tracing Service to entrust an intergovernmental committee of...
International Task Force Urges Immediate Opening of ITS Archives
International Task Force Calls for Concrete Steps to Open Holocaust-Era Archives of the International Tracing Service in Germany December 16, 2004 At their plenary meeting in Trieste on December 16, 2004, in Trieste, Italy, the member countries of the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research called for immediate steps to be taken to inform the public about the long-inaccessible Holocaust-related archives of the International Tracing Service (ITS) of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and to open the archives for research...