https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/decade-action-against-antisemitism
UNESCO is the UN agency specifically mandated to promote Holocaust and genocide education. We work with strategic partners to create a future where hate has no place. Over the past 10 years, through its International Programme on Holocaust and Genocide Education (IPHGE), implemented with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, UNESCO has supported 24 countries across the world to integrate the history of the Holocaust and other violent events into their school curricula.
7 February 2025
Decades after the Holocaust, antisemitism is on the rise in Europe and beyond. Education programmes are vital to help people understand violent pasts and develop values to prevent future atrocities.
To mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay recently travelled to Poland to take part in official commemorations. On site, she visited a new research centre on hate, extremism and radicalization being created by the Counter Extremism Project with support from UNESCO in the former house of Auschwitz commandant, Rudolf Höss.
She reiterated UNESCO’s commitment to the fight against antisemitism.
At a time when survivors and direct witnesses of the Holocaust are growing fewer, it is vital to further invest in education to pass on memory to younger generations as well as to combat contemporary forms of antisemitism. Since its creation, UNESCO has been resolutely committed to carrying out this mission.
Promoting tolerance in 24 countries
For over a decade, UNESCO has supported countries around the world to integrate the history of the Holocaust into their school curricula. This International Programme on Holocaust and Genocide Education, implemented with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, has reached 24 of UNESCO’s Member States across all regions, including Cambodia, Colombia and Rwanda.
As part of its Global Citizenship and Peace Education Programme, UNESCO has also trained more than 1,000 educators in 2024 on how to prevent antisemitism through education. Together with the European Commission and the OSCE, UNESCO has set up a dedicated teacher training programme which is already in place in twelve EU countries and will this year be extended to all EU Member States.
Remembrance of the Holocaust
Holocaust denial is any attempt to negate the established facts of the Nazi genocide of 6 million European Jews. UNESCO’s partnership with the World Jewish Congress fights against Holocaust denial and distortion and provides people factual answers about the Holocaust including on the AboutHolocaust.org website. Available in 19 languages, the site received over 4.4 million visitors in 2024 alone.
