Towards a new theory of holocaust remembrance in Germany: Education, preventing antisemitism, and advancing human rights

Abstract

This chapter on Holocaust remembrance and education in Germany focuses on a specific point that is highly relevant to contemporary society. The guiding principle is that the purpose of remembrance of the Holocaust today is to prevent and to fight anti-Semitism, the core ideology of the Nazi system, as well as all other forms of inhumane thinking and acting. This thesis is developed with reference to the latest empirical studies on anti-Semitism, “group focused-enmity”, and “historical consciousness” in Germany and other parts of Europe. On the basis of theoretical reflections on these results, implications are drawn for a new concept of Holocaust remembrance that recognises that Holocaust education can fail. Finally, Holocaust remembrance is shown to be the core element of a Culture of Remembrance in which teaching about Auschwitz is set in the context of a general effort to resist inhumanity. Learning after and about the Holocaust thus functions to advance a vision of human rights for all members of society.