Written evidence submitted by the Holocaust Educational Trust

The Holocaust Educational Trust is the leading organisation in the UK working with schools, colleges and the wider public to ensure that people from every background learn about and understand the Holocaust. We do this to remember those murdered by the Nazis, to honour the survivors, and ensure that the contemporary relevance of the Holocaust is understood. 

Through formal education, youth engagement and work with the wider public, we educate not only about the history of the Holocaust but also about its roots, its legacy and the difficult and complex questions it raises for us today – an understanding of antisemitism is a crucial part of this education. We are pleased to be able to submit evidence to this Home Affairs Select Committee Inquiry into antisemitism.

The Holocaust   

The Holocaust was the planned, systematic, industrialised murder of six million Jewish men, women and children during the Second World War. It was an event unprecedented in history. It was the first and only time that every member of a particular group, in this case the Jews, was marked for complete annihilation.

The Holocaust changed the landscape of Europe, destroying families, communities and an entire culture, the repercussions of which we still feel today.

Although the Holocaust represents history’s most destructive example of antisemitism, its ideology did not simply emerge from Hitler or Germany. Antisemitism had deep roots in Europe, expressed through a sorry history of pogroms, expulsions and legal restrictions. For centuries, this was primarily a religious prejudice but from the late nineteenth century onwards a new mutation emerged. This was increasingly expressed in the absurd, but fervently held, belief in a worldwide Jewish conspiracy which sought to subjugate humanity; both capitalism and socialism were seen as manifestations of this supposed plot. Such beliefs were encouraged by unscrupulous politicians, journalists and others, notably the Russian Tsarist regime whose secret police force produced the notorious work, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.[1]

In this emerging antisemitic discourse, examples of which could be found across the political spectrum, tropes emerged which would prove enduring, notably that Jews were ‘rootless’ alien interlopers loyal only to themselves rather than to their host societies and that they secretly controlled political institutions and the mass media to push their own agenda. Given the history of the Holocaust, it is important to understand that these attitudes were not uniquely or especially German: several states, beginning with Hungary in 1920, introduced anti-Jewish laws long before the Nazis came to power in Germany and antisemitic parties found platforms in virtually every country.

These developments did not make the Holocaust inevitable but they did ensure that when an obsessively antisemitic movement took control of a major European country and, in due course, established continental dominance, there would be states, groups and individuals across Europe all too willing to cooperate with it. Whilst the Holocaust was the result of many complex factors, at its root lay an ancient hatred which was all too often allowed to go unchallenged.

The Challenges of Antisemitism

In the years since the Holocaust, and even since our foundation in 1988, the manifestations of antisemitism have shifted and evolved, with Jew-hatred showing itself in different guises but often with the same ‘tropes’ at its core. It is astounding to think that decades after the world said ‘never again’, we are still discussing the presence of antisemitism in our society.[2]

In 2015, the Community Security Trust (CST) recorded 924 antisemitic incidents, the third highest total ever. A relatively new challenge is the way in which these views are being disseminated; in 2015, 17 % of these incidents took place online on social media platforms.[3] This ‘echo chamber’ on the internet, difficult to monitor and to control, makes the policing of antisemitism and other forms of racism more difficult than ever before.

Examples of online antisemitic abuse targeted at the Holocaust Educational Trust in the past month alone include statements such as:

• “slithering Jews always make everything about the Holocaust.”

• “Here is Gaza, this is the real Holocaust.”

• Our Chief Executive, Karen Pollock MBE, was told that her organisation “sends children to the guilt chambers.”

• “…the Holohoax. The truth should be taught.”

A significant number of antisemitic incidents continue to invoke Holocaust imagery or language. In 2014, for example, 239 of the 1,168 antisemitic incidents reported to the CST reported Nazi references.

One particular manifestation of modern-day antisemitism is the deliberate invoking, equivocating, denying or distorting of the Holocaust. It is this aspect of modern-day antisemitism that we at the Holocaust Educational Trust are concerned about and we believe that it is on the increase. Our response to this inquiry will focus on this subject.

Increasingly, this distortion of the Holocaust is linked to the State of Israel. This manifestation is complex: on the one hand there is the suggestion that the current conflict in Israel is comparable to the Holocaust. Equally there are those that use the Holocaust as a moral imperative – in short, the “Jews should know better” or “the oppressed is the oppressor”. These are offensive in the sense that they use a painful history against those who experienced it in a way that would not happen with any other people or any other event.

A central issue we have today is the recognition of less visible or obviously recognisable antisemitism. As a society we are - rightly – often able to point out and condemn neo-Nazi symbolism on the far-right but we seem to be less able to call out the more insidious antisemitism that rears its head from across the political spectrum in relation to Israel, often drawing on typical age old tropes such as the quest for world domination or undue influence. This newer form of antisemitism is of very real concern and should be called out for what it is.

As the leading charity working to ensure that the historical truth of the Holocaust is protected, it is alarming to see that this particularly virulent strain of antisemitism, recognised in the working definition of antisemitism endorsed by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance[4], is a very real and present problem. 

Discussed below are four central ways in which Holocaust language and imagery is presently used and misused in popular discourse.

1. Outright Holocaust denial and distortion

Whilst outright denial of the Holocaust is rare in political discourse, it continues to present a persistent issue on social media platforms where individuals feel more able to make outrageous claims without fear of consequence. 

A more frequently seen trend today however is to distort the facts of the Holocaust. Common distortions include, for example, assertions that: the figure of six million Jewish deaths is an exaggeration; the deaths in the concentration camps were the results of disease or starvation but not policy; that Anne Frank’s diary is a forgery.

It also includes:

• Intentional efforts to excuse or minimise the impact of the Holocaust or its principal elements, including collaborators and allies of Nazi Germany;

• Gross minimization of the number of the victims of the Holocaust in contradiction to reliable sources;

• Attempts to blame the Jews for causing their own genocide;

• Statements that cast the Holocaust as a positive historical event. Those statements are not Holocaust denial but are closely connected to it as a radical form of antisemitism. They may suggest that the Holocaust did not go far enough in accomplishing its goal of “the Final Solution of the Jewish Question”;

• Attempts to blur the responsibility for the establishment of concentration and death camps devised and operated by Nazi Germany by putting blame on other nations or ethnic groups.

2. Comparisons with other genocides and conflicts

“Under the cover of the Second World War, for the sake of their ‘new order,’ the Nazis sought to destroy all the Jews of Europe. For the first time in history, industrial methods were used for the mass extermination of a whole people. Six million were murdered, including 1,500,000 children. This event is called the Holocaust.”[5]

Today, the ‘everything is Auschwitz’, catch-all analytical tool is frequently applied by the news media and others to international politics. There is the danger that an application of Holocaust analogies to current conflicts or genocides can result in an oversimplification of a complex past or even a creation of a ‘hierarchy’ of gradations of torment. Additionally, contemporary events and issues deserve to be judged and analysed on their own merit and therefore to draw parallels between them and the Holocaust is to do a disservice to both.

The most emotionally-charged political use of Holocaust rhetoric and imagery is in relation to Israel. Proponents of this equation suggest that Israel behaves similarly toward the Palestinians as Germany did towards the Jews in World War II. Commonly seen on banners at protests sparked by conflict in the Middle East are catchphrases such as ‘Zionism=Nazism’ or ‘Israel: The Fourth Reich’, intensifying during moments of crisis such as the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict. Historical facts suggest that such parallels are inappropriate and inaccurate but it is also offensive because it suggests that Jewish people should ‘know better’.  It is attractive because of its ultra-simplistic narrative; however, there is a danger of it planting an image of Jews ‘doing onto others what was done to them’.

The summer of the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict saw an unprecedented number of antisemitic incidents reported across the UK. In two months, CST recorded 544 antisemitic incidents, an increase on the entire previous 12 months. More so than during any other period, antisemitism was prevalent across social media, most notably Twitter, where the hashtag #Hitlerwasright was at one point trending. This abuse, shown most notably through social media, was also present on the streets of Britain – on placards at demonstrations, and event shouted at Jews in public. Nazi-related language was widely used to abuse Israel or Jews, featuring in 171 of the 544 incidents reported to CST.

Whilst criticising the policies of the Israeli Government is not, and should not, be portrayed as antisemitic, there are an increasing number of occasions on which antisemitic themes and motifs designed specifically to offend Jewish people do form part of such criticism. Analogies that specifically compare the Jewish state with the Nazi regime that was responsible for the murder of a third of Europe’s Jewish population is an example of language that can appear deliberately calculated to insult and offend, as well as implicitly undermining the memory of the Holocaust. When public figures make such explicit parallels between the conflict in Gaza and the events of the Holocaust, such as referring to Gaza as the Warsaw Ghetto, or more subtly when they use language or terminology that are closely associated with the Holocaust[6], their high profile status can add legitimacy to the analogy. This must be identified and condemned whenever it arises.

It is the responsibility of all members in civil society to use measured, appropriate language when referring to modern-day political conflicts.  We are very clear that the Holocaust has no place in such debates and the increase in this becoming an acceptable thing to do is worrying and should not be tolerated. 

3. Lazy misuse of the Holocaust

Hyperbolic Holocaust language or imagery can also be used to describe anything that one merely dislikes or disagrees with – a more insensitive and inappropriate (rather than politically divisive) form of the comparison. It is, however, a lazy form of arguing as casual use of “you’re a Nazi” or “you’re just like Hitler” trivializes the political phenomenon. Another example of this would be when animal rights campaigners refer to the appalling conditions that some animals are held in as “Auschwitz”. This is an example of casual, non-politically motivated use that wrongly uses the Holocaust as a frame of reference in order to create an attention-grabbing headline. Once again, the Holocaust and the history that led to these events must be protected.

4. Puerile misuse - misuse for comic effect

An example of the misuse of Holocaust rhetoric and particularly imagery, art and visual media, is when it is intended to be humorous, subversive or satirical – an attention-grabbing device that can banalise and trivialise the events of the Holocaust. Such invoking of the Holocaust can cause gross offence, but is not intended to be offensive. An example of such misuse would be the poster showed in Poznan, Poland, which blended Mickey Mouse’s image with a woman’s nude body and a swastika. Attempting to be a commentary on the “horrors of American society” it, instead, was grossly offensive. 

Combating Antisemitism

1.      Holocaust Education

Holocaust education is not, in and of itself, a panacea for prejudice but it can be a valuable tool in combating antisemitism, racism and intolerance. While learning about the Holocaust, by understanding where hatred led during the Holocaust young people become sensitized to these issues and more aware of the dangers they represent. The Holocaust Educational Trust seeks to deliver quality Holocaust education that explores the Holocaust in all of its breadth and complexity through a variety of programmes, providing a platform for students and teachers to reach their own conclusions about the Holocaust and related subjects, including antisemitism.

Our work includes:

• The Outreach Programme is a central part of our work, allowing students and teachers the opportunity to hear survivor testimony firsthand and take part in focused workshops designed and delivered by our trained educators. The impact of hearing a Holocaust survivor speak is something most people never forget. For many of the students that the Trust works with, hearing from a Holocaust survivor is the first time that they have ever met a Jewish person, and often helps to break down and pre-conceptions and prejudices that they may hold. 

• The Lessons from Auschwitz Project is our flagship programme for post-16 students and teachers and is no now in its seventeenth year, taking over 30,000 students and teachers from across the UK to the Nazi concentration and death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. The four-part course is open to two students from every school and college in England, Scotland and Wales, and incorporates a one-day visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau. The visits, combined with Orientation and Follow-up seminars, leave an unforgettable emotional and educational mark on participants. The Project aims to increase knowledge and understanding of the Holocaust based on the premise that ‘hearing is not like seeing’ and to signal what can happen if prejudice and racism become acceptable.

• The Holocaust Educational Trust also develops engaging and interactive classroom resources, all of which are available free of charge. Our flagship resource, Exploring the Holocaust, is a downloadable cross-curricular teaching pack which provides teachers with all of the materials they need to teach the Holocaust across a range of subjects at Key Stage 3 (or S2 in Scotland). We produce a wide range of age appropriate resources for other stages in the school curriculum, from late primary school to sixth form.

• Teacher Training is the final pillar of our work. As the UK’s foremost authority in Holocaust education, we deliver teacher training to trainee teachers at institutions of higher education and to practising teachers as part of the Continuing Professional Development. We partner with schools, local authorities and educational organisations to develop bespoke workshops, and each year the Trust leads several UK-based seminars bringing teachers into contact with leading Holocaust scholars. Additionally, our Teacher Study Visit series gives British teachers the opportunity to learn abroad from international experts and to consider the use of historical sites to enhance students’ understanding of the Holocaust.

Character education in particular offers students an opportunity to explore the legacy of the Holocaust in today's Britain, and to consider what it teaches them about their society, their role as a citizen, and importantly, themselves. When students start to explore the complex decisions and issues surround the Holocaust - for example the roles of not just victims but also perpetrators, those who stood by, and those who choose to act to save Jews, they can start to explore the complexity of human nature and human responses to situations. We often hear students speak very passionately about issues surrounding prejudice, hatred, and antisemitism after taking part in Holocaust education, and more actively considering the roles that they play in their community. 

2. Civil Society

Holocaust education should be viewed as a ‘key learning moment’ not just in education but also in civil society more broadly. This could apply to adults in professions where this history is particularly pertinent, such as law enforcement and the armed forces. In the United States, for example, it is an expected component of police training. This would require all members of the police force to learn about the Holocaust and antisemitism as part of their professional development. Required learning of these issues would help develop a more deeply imbedded, institutionalised sensitivity and knowledge of the issues within iconic public institutions.

The Trust already takes Members of Parliament, civil servants and - with the CST - police officers, to visit Auschwitz- Birkenau and it is clear that those who are given this opportunity consider it a hugely worthwhile experience. We believe it is crucial that people that work on behalf of the public good have an understanding of their position of responsibility in society, and how this position was once abused by the state in Nazi Germany. 
 

 Recommendations

1. We recommend that the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism - as endorsed by the UK Government through its membership of this body - is widely used and adhered to giving context to examples of antisemitism. 

2. We recommend that comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany are viewed as antisemitic. Such comparisons are grossly offensive and historically inaccurate. They diminish the memory of the Holocaust and play directly and deliberately on Jewish sensitivities to elicit a reaction.

3.  There should be a no-tolerance approach to antisemitism adopted and societal leaders should roundly condemn language that invokes the Holocaust. Political leaders in all parties, as well as anyone in an authoritative position in public life, should take a stand against those who would seek to deny or distort the Holocaust, including saying no when platforms are shared with these individuals. Our public figures should set an example in using appropriate and non-inflammatory language when referring to modern-day events or conflicts, noting that antisemitism peaks when conflict in the Middle East occurs. 

4. There should be a recognition of the importance of Holocaust education in understanding the history of antisemitism. Whilst Holocaust education is not a cure-all, it remains a vital tool in showing where antisemitism, hatred and prejudice can lead. To this end, we recommend continued government funding for the Lessons from Auschwitz Project – which to date has taken over 30, 000 students and teachers to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau.

5. We recommend that the Community Security Trust continues to receive government funding to provide security for the Jewish community.

6. We recommend consulting organisations like the Holocaust Educational Trust and the Community Security Trust on training and education, with a view to help people better understand antisemitism in both historical and contemporary forms.