IHRA Honorary Chairman Statement

IHRA Honorary Chairman, Professor Yehuda Bauer, has issued the following statement: "The current refugee crisis, which has led to a tremendous number of refugees arriving in Europe, will undoubtedly affect the work of IHRA.

IHRA deals with preserving the memory of the Holocaust as well as with its academic and educational impact for the current situation.

As the IHRA Working Group and Committee Chairs said in their statement of 9 September, the present refugee crisis is notably different from the persecution of the Jews and other victims before, during, and after the Holocaust. Historical analogies should be avoided; they are never useful, although there are some parallels between the treatment of refugees then and now. The world has to realize that failing to adequately address mass migration has, in the past, created the conditions for untold disaster. From the Holocaust, the world can understand, what happens when these problems are not internationally addressed.

Therefore, I join the IHRA Working Group and Committee Chairs in their call to the governments of IHRA member countries to cooperate and remain committed to the principles of the Stockholm Declaration of 2000, which include the fight against xenophobia. I also call on the wider political world to do everything in its power to act to alleviate the suffering of the victims and at the same time to seek a sustainable and coordinated international solution to the crises which have led so many refugees to seek asylum in Europe."

Professor Yehuda Bauer
IHRA Honorary Chairman
17 September 2015