Holocaust Remembrance: Passing on the Torch

Memory, Dignity, and Justice

The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme was launched on the 20th of January as an expression of the unwavering commitment of the UN (United Nation) to advocate for human rights. Taking place over a span of one month, the remembrance events are graced with the theme of Memory, Dignity, and Justice, which seeks to challenge racial hatred, strengthen solidarity, and champion compassion. The exhibition entitled “After the End of the World: Displaced Persons and Displaced Persons Camps” showcases the internalisation of the ramifications of the war by the survivors, that result in feelings of alienation and ostracization. Jewish composers were accredited in the virtual music concert that embodies the memories of the Holocaust, in an effort to prevent the recurrence of genocide. Secretary-General António Guterres underscored the paramountcy of the Holocaust education as a global imperative spearheaded by the UN, “The United Nation must always be on the frontline of the fight against antisemitism and all other forms of religious bigotry and racism.” In the attempt to reflect the brutality committed, the Holocaust commemoratives and educational activities reconstruct the devastating history and highlight the long-lasting impacts inflicted upon the survivors. Acknowledgement of the survivors’ harrowing experiences is a collective determination to boldly confront the atrocities perpetuated by the Nazis, and their attempt to obliterate the dignity and cultural traditions of the Jewish people. Strong public clamour for the act of remembering revolves around the need to rupture the bubble of complicity; the survivors are empowered to reclaim their rights and question the distorted portrayal of history in contemporary antisemitism.

 

History of the European Convention on Human Rights

Shortly after the Second World War, the Council of Europe was founded in 1949. It was a significant response to the bloodshed brought about by the Nazi atrocities, which powerfully expressed the international aspiration to sound the death knell of violence and embrace international peace. The Council adopted a multi-faceted approach to realise this ambition, of which its central pivot is to promote democracy and access to justice by upholding the rule of law. As their first quest, the Member States crafted a treaty that secures the fundamental rights of everyone who resides within their borders, regardless of nationality. The Convention was based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – a historic document that had inspired more than 80 international conventions and treaties and catalysed the legal protection of the marginalised. Human rights were granted a solid footing in convention and are defined as rights possessed by everyone, by virtue of being human. Its application is autonomous; although the rights can be restricted under limited circumstances, no one shall be deprived of them. The basic rights were constructed upon shared values such as dignity, fairness, equality, respect, and independence. Made up of 18 Articles, the Convention guarantees the enforcement of specific rights and freedoms, and prohibits practices perceived as encroachments to fundamental rights. The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) was signed in Rome in 1950 and eventually came into force after three years.

 

‘Hate is something that should disappear from the world’

In conjunction with the memorial ceremony, Mr Pinchas Gutter, a Polish man who survived six concentration camps, recalled the traumatic events of his childhood when he was thrusted into the wartime pandemonium. “Hate is vicious. Hate is pernicious. Hate creates vengeance. Hate is something that should disappear from the world,” the xenophobic invasion was an atrocity, and hatred targeted towards a racial group can never be justified. After hiding in a bunker for three weeks, Mr Gutter and his family were discovered in the Warsaw Ghetto before being transported to the Majdanek concentration and extermination camp. It was one of the largest Nazi concentration camps and was used during Operation Reinhard to murder Polish Jews in German-occupied Poland. Three million Polish Jews were murdered. Conditions in the train wagon were dreadful with Jewish prisoners dying from suffocation during the journey, because of this dehumanising treatment. Having been spared from a round of gas-poisoning, young Gutter considered the possibility of his father being alive, but the glimmer of hope was extinguished by the news of his family members’ death the next day. The family tapestry was ruthlessly lacerated; their deaths devastated him and had a profound effect on his life, and he was pushed further into the abyss of despair upon realising that he had been left desolate in this living hell. For ten years, he distracted himself from the loss before the emotional distress culminated in him screaming every night as his vulnerabilities surfaced, “If you have a soul and that soul goes to heaven or wherever it goes, that soul is going to remember the Holocaust.” Mr Gutter’s wife became his only salvation amidst the aftermath as he continued to be tormented by the agony. The world, embroiled in political, social, and economic perturbations, tenaciously waited for six years before regaining harmony – but for Holocaust survivors, the impacts may be eternally felt. 85 million casualties, broken families, and shattered dreams – the ravaging power of racial prejudice deposits itself within the emotional scars.

 

Resurgence of Resentment

Modern society may seem more concerned about racial equality and justice, but signs of contemporary antisemitism continue to emerge. Not only does the offensive sentiment encompass hostile crime and hate speech, but it also extends to the proliferation of disinformation on online platforms, deliberately skewing the public opinion against Jewish people. While some people blame the abhorrent Holocaust on Jewish people, there are others who outrageously suggest that the tragedy advantaged the Jews, attempt to minimise the genocide, or deny it happened altogether. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has observed that 17% of the content on TikTok is associated with distortion and denial of the Holocaust history. “Denying, distorting, or trivialising the true facts of the Holocaust is a pernicious form of contemporary antisemitism,” remarked UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay. Nils Muižnieks, while serving as the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, observed that outright denial of the Holocaust reprehensibly persists in the Europe. Exasperated by the impotence of the judicial approach in combating antisemitism, he commented on the failure of the Greek courts to prosecute Kostas Plevris, a politician who published a book that provoked hatred and violence against Jewish people. Despite his first instance prosecution, his acquisition granted by the Athens Appeal Court and the Court of Cassation illustrates the disenchantment towards the incapacity of the judiciary in protecting human rights. Other residues of antisemitism are identified in acrimonious crimes, such as the horrendous attack against the Jewish Ozar Hatorah School in Toulouse in March 2012. Slovak MP Milan Mazurek deluded the public by claiming that the Holocaust is a “fairy tale and a lie”- such an offensive and false remark made by high-profile politicians could rile up antisemitic sentiment, and condones rancorous condemnation against the Jewish people.

 

Antisemitism and the Rule of Law

The rule of law subjects everyone to the accountability of law and implies that the same legal rule applies to everyone, including the lawmakers. In tackling antisemitism, the Strasbourg court demonstrated commendable resilience through its robust approach to Holocaust denial. On several occasions, the court enforced Article 17 of the ECHR and barred the individual from relying on the protection conferred by Article 10. Article 17 instigates proceedings against ‘abuse of rights’ and precludes the individual from his entitlement to the protection because his acts are deemed to infringe the fundamental rights rudimentary to the Convention. Muižnieks proposed that Member States should rigorously endorse the 2003 Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime, which criminalises acts of racist and xenophobic nature committed through computer systems. The deterrent effects of curricular education in shaping conscientious future generations should also not be overlooked. “Our very name was coined to describe the alliance fighting the Nazi regime and its allies,” asserted Secretary-General while vehemently pronouncing the ignominious castigation of humanity as an “unprecedented horror and calculated cruelty.” The dream of a just world can only be born from an egalitarian society, whereby everyone is guaranteed to be free from discrimination, violence, harassment, and coercion.

 

I have a torch, which I want to give to the children and to the world.

My torch has more than one flame. It has many flames. And my torch has no racial discrimination, no religious discrimination, no homophobia, no xenophobia and above all, no hate.

Hate is vicious. Hate is pernicious. Hate creates vengeance. Hate is something that should disappear from the world. This is the flame. These are the torches with all these different flames, which I hand over to the world, which I hand over to you.

-Pinchas Gutter

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *