Prejudice against or hatred of Jews — known as antisemitism — has plagued the world for more than 2,000 years. The Holocaust, the state-sponsored persecution and murder of European Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators between 1933 and 1945, is history’s most extreme example of antisemitism. Yet even in the aftermath of the Holocaust, antisemitism remains a continuing threat.
A woman sits on a park bench marked "Only for Jews." Austria, ca. March 1938.
UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM #11195/Institute of Contemporary History and Wiener Library Limited
Today, there are signs of increasing antisemitism across Europe and the Islamic world, including hate speech, violence targeting Jews and Jewish institutions, and denial of the Holocaust. Militant Islamic groups with political power use language suggestive of genocide regarding the State of Israel. The president of Iran recently declared the Holocaust a “myth” and called Israel “a disgraceful blot” that should be “wiped off the map.” The Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas pledges in its founding covenant to “obliterate” Israel.
Many moral failures led to the Holocaust. In the aftermath of those failures, we must remain alert to the continuing threat of antisemitism and to the ultimate consequences of unchecked hatred.
AT THE MUSEUM
A Dangerous Lie: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion A Dangerous Lie: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion explores the continuing impact of the most widely distributed antisemitic publication of modern times. Despite countless exposures of the Protocols as a fraud, the myth of a Jewish world conspiracy has retained incredible power for Nazis and others who seek to spread hatred of Jews. Today, technology has made the Protocols available to anyone with Internet access, and it continues to be circulated by those who promote hatred, violence, and even genocide. Exhibition opens on April 21.
Antisemitism: How Deep are the Roots? The Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies is actively engaged in supporting scholarly research on antisemitism and in organizing programming to educate university faculty, students, and the general public about the nature, history, and consequences of antisemitism.
Special Exhibition Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race In the early 20th century, as science and technology were becoming more prevalent, the “science” of eugenics began to provide a basis for defining Jews as biologically inferior. Under the Nazis, racial eugenics gave “scientific” legitimacy to their effort to destroy the “inferior races” to purify their “master race.”
The troubling resurgence of antisemitism in many parts of the world today is cause for concern, but also a reminder of the importance of understanding the history of this longstanding, complex phenomenon.
Fred S. Zeidman, Chairman, United States Holocaust Memorial Council, Testimony before the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (June 16, 2004)
Let me begin today by thanking the chairman and the members of the commission for holding this hearing, and for inviting me to testify. As chair of the governing council of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, I pledge that we will continue to work side-by-side with the commission to fight antisemitism and to warn of the dangers it presents.
View all This listing of news stories and other articles is provided in order to promote discussion of antisemitism in history and the manifestations of antisemitism in our own day. The opinions expressed within these articles are solely those of the authors. Inclusion within the listing does not represent endorsement by the USHMM.
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