United Nations: Resolution Against Holocaust Denial

Israel and Germany had submitted a proposal to the United Nations to combat Holocaust denial and distortion. The General Assembly accepted the resolution, only Iran distanced itself from it.

The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution against Holocaust denial and trivialization, co-sponsored by Israel and Germany. Only Iran distanced itself from the resolution.

The resolution calls on member states, UN organizations and companies to promote education, research and remembrance of the Holocaust. Social network operators should take active measures to combat anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial and distortion. It should be easier to report such content.

Wannsee Conference as a key event of the Holocaust

Israel and Germany introduced the resolution on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Wannsee Conference. On January 20, 1942, in a villa on Berlin’s Wannsee, Nazi officials discussed the extermination and systematic murder of up to eleven million Jews in Europe. The Wannsee Conference is considered a key event of the Holocaust.

Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Israeli Foreign Minister Jair Lapid welcome the UN decision. It shows “that Holocaust denial is an issue on which the international community stands together and speaks with one voice.”

Baerbock and Lapid: “Perversion of History”

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the two countries write that they are concerned about the “dramatic increase in the denial, falsification and revisionism of the Holocaust” and that comparisons are currently being drawn between current political disputes and the Shoah.

“Such comparisons are a perversion of history,” write Baerbock and Lapid. “Promoting remembrance and education related to the Holocaust, and combating anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia are priorities for our governments and our societies.”