If you say Sweden and the Holocaust in the same breath, you automatically think of Raoul Wallenberg. While Wallenberg was a hero of the 20th century who saved literally thousands of Hungarian Jews from deportation to Auschwitz, a Swedish hero of the 21st century with a 20th-century background is the man who can be credited with initiating the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).His name is Göran Persson, and it was he, as prime minister of Sweden, who set the ball in motion for global recognition of Holocaust Remembrance, the principles of which were determined at the Stockholm Forum in January 2000.Speaking via Zoom this week to a gathering at the residence of Swedish Ambassador Eric Ullenhag, Persson recalled that what started the process was a newspaper item that caught his eye. According to the report, a shocking number of Swedish schoolchildren did not know whether or not there had been a Holocaust.
When Persson himself was a child in a small village, he read everything he could find about the Holocaust at the local public library.Even then, it had occurred to him that if ordinary, well-educated people could do what the Germans had done, it could also happen in Sweden or anywhere else in the world, and anyone else in the world could be among the victims.
Raising awareness of antisemitism, racism, and xenophobia
It became imperative for him to raise awareness of antisemitism, racism, and xenophobia.Initially, he enlisted the cooperation of politicians of different political parties in Sweden; then with members of his own “political family” in other countries, and gradually, the governments of other countries.During its first decade, the IHRA was known as the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research. The name change occurred in 2013.Relating to the post-October 7 resurgence of antisemitism, intolerance, hate speech, and denial and distortion of Holocaust history, Persson said that new methods are needed to imbue the new generation with the values of democracy. He also emphasized the need to hear witnesses. “We need the voices of witnesses and we need to pass on their legacies,” he said.
LOOKING OUT from the large screen at his audience that included, inter alia, the head of the delegation of the European Union Dimiter Tzantchev; Danish Ambassador Thomas Winkler; Lithuanian Ambassador Audrius Brozgo; Croatian Ambassador Vesela Mrden Korac; Romanian Ambassador Rado Ioanid; Australian Ambassador Ralph King; Colette Avital, the chairwoman of the Center Organization of Holocaust Survivors in Israel; Laurence Weinbaum, executive director of the Israel Council on Foreign Relations; Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan and international human rights activist and former justice minister and attorney-general of Canada Irwin Cotler, who is currently international chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights. Persson reiterated his belief that no one is immune. “It could happen to you and me. It could happen to all of us,” he said.That comment gains traction from the timeline in an illustrated Holocaust history book Tell Ye Your Children (the title of which is based on a verse from the biblical Book of Joel). In 1934, new laws were introduced forbidding marriages between Germans and people of foreign races as well as ‘defective’ people of German blood.Later that year, there were widespread arrests of homosexuals. In 1935, people who identified as members of Jehova’s Witnesses were barred from civil service. Also in that year, Jews were not permitted to serve in the military, though some who managed to conceal their faith continued to serve in the German army.Between September and November 1935, Jews, gypsies, and Negroes were stripped of civil rights and forbidden to marry or have sexual relations with people of German blood (designated by the new racial laws as Aryan).In 1938, following requests by Sweden and Switzerland which were both neutral countries during the war but maintained relations with Nazi Germany, passports of German Jews had to be stamped with a red capital J for Jew.In October of that year, all naturalized German Jews of Polish origin were expelled.Both Persson and Ullenhag found it difficult to comprehend the evil that is sparked by hatred, incitement, and intolerance. “We are all human beings with the same fears, dreams, and roots, even if we don’t look alike,” said Persson.Ullenhag linked the atrocities of the Holocaust with those of October 7.Acknowledging that Sweden and Israel have many disagreements, he said that he could never understand how ordinary men and women could practice antisemitism or why every time there is conflict in the Middle East, there are repercussions for Jews around the globe.
Antisemitism is the most blatant form of racism
IT IS almost impossible today, to leave October 7 out of the conversation when the Holocaust and antisemitism are being discussed.Antisemitism is statistically the most blatant form of racism, said Dani Dayan, adding that it is directed towards the elimination of the State of Israel, and that it should be off limits in any democratic state.In his reference to October 7, Dayan said antisemitism now is in the guise of anti-Zionism. “Who would have imagined October 7?”Antisemitism often derives from ignorance. Deeply aware of this Dayan said that the fight against antisemitism includes the fight against ignorance and the need to safeguard historical records.He lauded Persson for having inspired so many people to follow him.There are currently 35 member states that have accepted the IHRA definition of antisemitism and have generated educational projects about the Holocaust. There are also several other observer states.Irwin Cotler underscored the importance of learning the lessons of the Holocaust.He saw the marking of the quarter century of the IHRA as “an important moment of remembrance and reminder” and cited the 80th anniversary this year of the deportation to Auschwitz of 440,000 Hungarian Jews.Cotler, Dayan, and Persson each quoted eminent Jerusalem-based historian and Holocaust expert Yehuda Bauer, who is an adviser to both Yad Vashem and the IHRA. Bauer has voiced three commandments regarding the Holocaust. “Thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be a perpetrator, and above all, thou shalt not be a bystander.”Dayan also quoted the late Eli Wiesel who likewise spoke and wrote about the danger of being a bystander and the danger of forgetting.“Antisemitism is toxic to democracy. While it begins with Jews, it doesn’t end with Jews,” said Dayan. “The unspeakable mass atrocity by Hamas was not just anti-Zionism, but antisemitism.”Dayan termed the present rise of antisemitism in the world “an explosion” and said that “Antisemitism does not start with action but words and indifference.”Could the Holocaust have been prevented?In Dayan’s opinion, it could.What makes the Holocaust so horrible he stated, “is that they knew (what was happening) but did not act. Dayan regarded this as a betrayal by the elites – doctors, lawyers, scientists, etc.He advised that those fighting against antisemitism be inspired by Holocaust survivors who found the capacity to build families, contribute to society, and remember their rescuers, such as Raoul Wallenberg.As for the challenges that Jews face today, one of the most prevalent is social media, which Persson said “has no respect for Jews.” He also regretted that many politicians are using antisemitic chants.