Remembrance, research and education about the Holocaust (Shoah)

Remembrance, research and education about the Holocaust (Shoah)

The Holocaust is a defining legacy of European history. Remembrance, education and research of the Holocaust is an essential instrument to prevent antisemitism and racism today.

On 27 January every year, the European Commission commemorates International Holocaust Remembrance Day with training for EU staff, exhibitions and dedicated events to raise awareness.

On 29 November 2018, the EU acquired a Permanent International Partnership with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. The participation of the EU in this international body allows for closer cooperation on combating Holocaust denial and preventing racism, xenophobia and Antisemitism.

The European Holocaust Research Infrastructure (EHRI) is the largest ever EU-funded research initiative on the Holocaust. Together with partners in Israel and the US it supports the research community by connecting and making available across Europe and beyond dispersed sources related to the Holocaust. The goal is to strengthen the network of European research on the Holocaust.

Under the Europe for Citizens Programme, the European Commission supports annually with around EUR 3.5 million initiatives that raise awareness about the memory of the Holocaust.

EU-funded remembrance projects are helping young people learn from history, promoting European values in the Western Balkans and beyond in a bid to ensure war, genocide and totalitarianism remain a thing of the past.

The European Union is co-funding the Jewish Digital Cultural Recovery Project. The annihilation of Jewish culture as well as the unprecedented displacement of art objects during the Nazi era has never been fully documented. The major goal of the Pilot Project, which will last a year and a half, is to test the feasibility of an all-encompassing database while exploring different methodological approaches that bring together research tools and technological solutions. The aim is to serve as a due-diligence checkpoint for the art market - auction houses, art galleries and art fairs, as well as museums, libraries and governments - by creating a modular set of educational materials that will enable the conducting of complex research.

Further reading: 

• SUMMARY REPORT - Informal consultations to support the development of a 'European Network of Places where the Holocaust happened'

• Message by President von der Leyen on International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2023, 2022, 2021 and 2020.

• Council of Europe: Recommendations on passing on remembrance of the Holocaust and preventing crimes against humanity

• Live conversation between Vice-President Schinas and Holocaust survivor Irish-Slovak Tomi Reichental to mark the International Holocaust Remembrance Day on 25 January 2021.

• Joint Statement by President von der Leyen, President Michel, President Sassoli ahead of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

• Address by President von der Leyen on the International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2020 - 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

• Briefing by the European Parliamentary Research Service on Holocaust education: 'Never, never be a bystander' published on 26 January 2021.