Holocaust Remembrance and Public Memorials: The Complexities and Challenges of Facing the Past (Round Table Discussions)

*Linda Ramadi is an M.A in International Relations and Diplomacy candidate at Seton Hall University, she specializes in International Organizations and Global Negotiations. She is also the NGO Student Representative

On 02 November 2016 The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme co-sponsored an event on the Holocaust Remembrance and Public Memorials: The Complexities and Challenges of Facing the Past (Round Table Discussions). UN Headquarters, CRM 1, New York.

The opening remarks were given by H.E. Mr. Volodymyr Yelchenko, Permanent Representative of Ukrain to the United Nations, H.E. Mr. Mordehai Amihai Bivas, Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations and Ms. Cristina Gallach, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information.

Ms. Gallach said that the questions that begged an answer in this great event was how best to instill on young people the desire to defend human rights and democratic values and how to educate young people about the tragic events of the past so that they can best understand this past.

She said the meeting also serves as a night of remembrance of the dates of 9th to 10th November 1938, which was the time when the Nazi government orchestrated a night of terror against Jewish people in Germany and their occupied territories. She spoke in particular of Crystal Naagt, which was an escalation of a violent anti Semitic campaign by the Nazis. She said this should serve as a warning of the sanctioning of state sponsored violence of abuse of our fellow humans.

The further emphasized that the event serves as a remembrance of the 75th anniversary of the massacre of Babi Yar in the Ukraine. In his opening remarks H.E. Mr. Volodymyr Yelchenko referred to the Babi Yar tragedy as the darkest hour in the history of the Holocaust and that of the Ukraine. He said massive commemorations were being sponsored and done this year across the Ukraine. In his opening speech H.E. Mr. Mordehai Amihai Bivas, gave a sordid vivid picture of the horror of the Crystal Naagt and told of how 33771 women, children and men both young and old, religious and non religious were rounded up and whilst standing naked were shot in Babi Yar. He said these people had nothing in common except that they were Jews. He added that the killing continued for two days.

The Panelists were Professor Emeritus James E. Young, Founding Director of the Institute for Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies at the University of Massachusetts, United States, Dr. Igor Shchupak, Director of the “Tkuma” Ukrainian Institute for Holocaust Studies, Ukraine, Dr. Eyal Kaminka, Lily Safra Chair of Holocaust Education, Director, and International School for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre, Israel, Mr. Michael Abramowitz, Director of the Levine Institute for Holocaust Education at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, United States, Mr. Carlos Reiss, Director of the Holocaust Museum in Curitiba, Brazil, Ms. Tali Nates, Founding Director of the Johannesburg Holocaust &Genocide Centre, South Africa, Ms. Fumiko Ishioka, Executive Director of the Tokyo Holocaust Education Resource Centre, Japan.

According to Kimberly Mann the holocaust remembrance event is also being done across the globe. She stated that there have been approximately 120 holocaust and remembrance activities in 33 countries in 2016 alone. She asked the panel to answer why would educational programmes far removed from Europe choose to commemorate the holocaust and to shed light into how public memorials have chosen to commemorate the holocaust?

Professor James Young began by explaining that memory leads to passion and innovation and that Art has been used as a vehicle by which history is captured and reserve. He talked about concerns of artists of creating art for its own sake. He submitted that as people we are shaped inwardly by the holocaust and other genocides and that there is a general skepticism for art for its own sake and in particular the so called fascist form of architecture and dictatorship. He said artist shy away from authoritarian kinds of art and the use of art about the holocaust becoming a substitute for doing something about it. He explained for example, in response to initial resistance to the building of museums to commemorate the holocaust in 1993 Germany, that emphasis was placed on using such memorials as a foundation for action. Put in layman’s terms this would be expressed as using memorials as a means to an end rather than an end to its means.

Dr. Eyal Kaminka said of the work done by the Holocaust Remembrance Centre at Yad Vashem, that the museum emphasized personal artifacts that commemorate individual experiences across the globe. The Centre which documents, researches, commemorates and educates on the holocaust is the largest archives depository in the world. He submitted that the Centre gives victims of the holocaust a name, a face, a life story and all that was brutally taken away from them. He stated that commemorating them contradicts Nazi ideology that dehumanized every Jew. He said 6 million names are currently registered in the Centre’s archives. Dr, Kaminka illuminated on the importance of educating the current and future generations using technology. He said technological advancements changed everything as regards the concentration span of the youth in class rooms. He said there is an outcry in reforming educational methods so that they help students understand the complexities of the holocaust. He said there was a need to deal with issues of relevancy, anti-Semitism, global politics and shifting narratives.

Ms. Tali Nates from the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre said their Centre also commemorates the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and covers genocide in the 20st Century. She said they deal with the 1904 Herero enema genocide that took place when the word ‘genocide’ was even invented. Their Centre is said to commemorate stories and artifacts of South African survivors, bystanders and perpetrators and deals with the consequences of the prejudices such as racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia and xenophobia.

Ms. Nates said education is the main focus of the Centre. She spoke of the changes in the school curriculum in South Africa in 2007 to include the study of Nazi Germany during world I and II and the holocaust. The South African curriculum’s grade 9 and 11 social studies and history has changed to include Human Rights, UN and apartheid history all of which happened in 1948. She submitted that the Centre also trains teachers in South Africa to teach a curriculum on the holocaust. She said in this November of 2016 they would be involved with UNESCO and 5 African countries to talk and offer training on teaching about the holocaust, genocide and the child soldier.

In summary, the panelists emphasized the need to protect human rights and in particular Genocide for all peoples. It was common among the centers on the Holocaust across the board to have been instrumental in awareness of what happened to Jews in both the first and second world wars. It is important to also mention that the Tokyo Holocaust Education Centre has purchased a suitcase belonging to an orphan from the Second World War to bring to reality the horrors of the time. The presentations were received well by the audience who highly praised and thanked the panelist for their tireless work and dedication in making sure the world never forgets the lives of those lost in the Holocaust and to help stop all discrimination against peoples on the bases of race and religion and to say about the holocaust NEVER AGAIN!

By Linda K. Ramadi

http://diplomacy.shu.edu