Israel and German Foreign Ministers State Jointly ‘We have the Responsibility to Preserve and Protect the Historical Facts of the Holocaust’

Jerusalem, 20 January, 2022 (TPS) — A joint statement by the Foreign Minister of the State of Israel, Yair Lapid, and the Foreign Minister of Germany, Annalena Baerbock, was released Thursday evening to mark the adoption of the United Nations Resolution on Holocaust Denial.

The resolution was passed on 20 January 2022 for a reason. This date marks the 80th anniversary of the Wannsee Conference. This was where SS leaders Reinhard Heydrich and Adolf Eichman convened a meeting of the top Nazi officials and military officials responsible for dealing with the civilian populations in German occupied Europe.

The Wannsee Conference, named for the location where it was held, formalized the systematic persecution and murder of the Jews throughout Europe and established the use of gas chambers at concentration camps to carry out this plan.

The resolution, which was proposed by Israel, co-sponsored by Germany and supported by the United States and Russia, passed in a consensus vote held by the UN General Assembly Thursday. Only Iran opposed the resolution.

It includes a declaration that the Holocaust “will forever be a warning to all people of the dangers of hatred, bigotry, racism and prejudice.” The resolution also urges all U.N. members to “reject without any reservation any denial or distortion of the Holocaust as a historical event, either in full or in part, or any activities to this end,” and to “develop educational programs that will inculcate future generations with the lessons of the Holocaust in order to help to prevent future acts of genocide”

Ministers Lapid and Baerbock said that they welcome the adoption of the UN-Resolution on Holocaust Denial and Distortion.

“We have a solemn duty to all the victims and survivors never to forget,” they declared. “We have the responsibility to preserve and protect the historical facts of the Holocaust, which resulted in the murder of one third of the Jewish people, along with members of other minorities. The Holocaust will forever be a warning to all people of the dangers of hatred, bigotry, racism and prejudice.”

“We are extremely concerned by the dramatic increase in Holocaust denial, distortion and revisionism,” said the ministers.

“Deeply troubling is also the phenomenon of comparisons being made between current political disputes and the Shoah,” they added. “Such comparisons are a perversion of history and an injustice to the men, women and children who were deprived of their rights, persecuted and murdered. Those comparisons are a form of antisemitism and stand in direct contradiction to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism as well as the IHRA definition of Holocaust denial and distortion. “

The two went on to state that such comparisons also create prejudice and hatred that ultimately threaten the world’s societies. Lapid and Baerbock said that the promotion of Holocaust remembrance and education, as well as efforts to combat antisemitism, racism and xenophobia, are priorities for both their governments and their respective peoples.

“We carry an obligation to remember, to learn and to challenge the growth of Holocaust revisionism, denial and distortion both on and offline,” they said.

The UN resolution calls on member states, UN agencies, and also on private sector actors such as technology companies, to take active measures against what they described as the disturbing trend of Holocaust denial and distortion. It also calls for the fostering of education, research and Holocaust remembrance.

“It is a timely and important contribution to counter antisemitism and it is our shared moral duty,” said the two foreign ministers.

“Today’s consensual adoption clearly shows that Holocaust denial is a topic on which the international community stands together and speaks with one voice,” they added. “We are committed to keeping the memory of the victims alive and ensuring that the horrors of the past will never ever be repeated.”