U.S. Holocaust Museum Decries Recent European Anti-Semitism

U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

Yesterday, here in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) issued a timely and cogent statement on the alarming recent spike of anti-Semitism in Europe:

In the first half of the 20th century, the nations of Europe failed to protect their Jewish communities, leading to the murder of six million Jews. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is gravely concerned about the alarming escalation of antisemitism—perhaps the greatest since 1945—in the lands where the Holocaust happened and beyond.

These antisemitic actions have included physical attacks on Jews gathered to pray and celebrate, demonstrators on the streets of Berlin and other German cities calling for “Jews to the gas,” and assaults in parts of Amsterdam on Jews wearing yarmulkes. The prime minister of Turkey outrageously stated that the actions of Israel have “surpassed Hitler.” Swastikas and antisemitic imagery reminiscent of Nazism are often used to incite the public and terrorize Jews. A range of people from average citizens to national leaders are exploiting the war with Hamas—which pledges to “obliterate” Israel—for their own political, and often hateful, ends.

The Museum applauds public statements from the leaders of France, Germany, United Kingdom, and Italy condemning these actions and calls upon all government and societal leaders in the European Union and elsewhere to take the necessary steps to ensure that all their citizens can live in peace and that the deadly antisemitism that engulfed their countries in the 20th century is not allowed to reemerge. As the Holocaust teaches us, hate is a virus that can spread. The Nazis and their collaborators began by targeting Jews and ultimately killed millions of others as well.

The statement is especially interesting in light of the USHMM’s history.  During its early years, the museum focused exclusively on the destruction of European Jewry between 1937 and 1945.  More recently, the USHMM has cautiously begun to explore more recent examples of anti-Jewish hatred.  This evolution has been natural, appropriate, and wise.  We can only hope that the USHMM continues to bring attention to contemporary anti-Semitism as well as to the worst manifestations of that hatred during the last century.

We thank Prof. Alvin Rosenfeld for bringing this statement to our attention.  Dr. Rosenfeld, who heads Indiana University’s anti-Semitism research center, serves on advisory boards for both the Louis D. Brandeis Center and the USHMM.