Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research in Spain
Click here for an Overview of Holocaust-related acitivites in Spain
New seminars for Spanish teachers at Yad Vashem
July 13th, 2010
The fruitful cooperation between Yad Vashem and Casa Sefarad-Israel has produced two new seminars to be held in Jerusalem under the title "Memory of the Shoah and the dilemmas of its transmission". Two new groups of Spanish teachers selected by Casa Sefarad-Israel and with scholarships from both institutions will have the opportunity to receive thorough training in Yad Vashem. The purpose is to continue weaving a close-knit network of Spanish teachers from different regions and education levels that share a strong commitment to continual training.
Most of the activities are carried out in Yad Vashem, although a day is reserved at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and another at the Lohamei Hagetaot Museum, located in a kibbutz erected by the Warsaw ghetto fighters.
The seminars reserve some places for other members of the Spanish network, who are not teachers but can play a significant an important role in its building: two representatives of the Jewish communities of Madrid and Valencia, the daughter of the Auschwitz survivor Violeta Friedman and president of its Foundation, the president of the Amical Mauthausen (association of the Spanish ex-deportees from the Nazi concentration camps) and two members of the Spanish Roma community.
Statement from the President of the Government on the 65th anniversary of liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Camp, 27 January 2010
On 27th January, all of Europe will commemorate the official day in Remembrance of the Holocaust and for the prevention of Crimes against Humanity. Furthermore, this year will also be the 65th anniversary of liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Camp; a place that will forever be an expression of one of the greatest injustices we have ever known. As we relive that sombre period in which the sun darkened over Europe's sky, as expressed metaphorically on the walls of the Yad Vashem memorial in Jerusalem, we do not cease to honour for one moment the Shoah victims or to proclaim our admiration for all those who maintain the light of consciousness shining over the crimes that take away the very condition of humanity: dignity. Understanding is impossible but knowledge is necessary, said Primo Levi. For that reason, the Europeans of the 21st century must always remember the moral and universal courage of the Shoah, whose light continues to illuminate the men and women committed to the everyday defence of human rights in so many places around the world.
Yad Vashem, the Casa Sefarad-Israel and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Spain organise in Jerusalem a seminar for Spanish journalists
From 16 to 20 November. "Memory of the Shoah and dilemmas on its transmission" is the title of the seminar, whose objective is to illustrate its participants, representatives of the main Spanish media in fields such as: "Nazi propaganda and stereotypes", "Universal and particular aspects of the Holocaust", "Spain and the Holocaust" and other related topics.
This seminar will also cover educational aspects such as the educational philosophy of the International School for Holocaust Studies and will include lectures by major experts in this field, such as Professor Yehuda Bauer, ITF Honorary Chairman.
The programme includes meetings with outstanding figures of the Jewish world, such as a round table with the Yad Vashem Chairman, Avner Shalev; a recount of his own experiences by Jack Stroumsa, a Sephardic survivor of Salonica -and known as the "violin player of Auschwitz"-, and, lastly, a meeting with Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, who was saved, when he was 8 years old, from the Buchenwald Concentration Camp.
A guided visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum and a meeting with the Spanish Ambassador to Israel complete this pioneering seminar, which is part of the activities carried out within the framework of Spain's participation in the ITF.
The perception of the Holocaust in Spain is still generally limited to a very basic knowledge. The main reason for this is that Spain did not directly take part in World War II and that it was overwhelmed by its own history, so the population used to perceive no connection with the events of the Holocaust. Hence, until recently the Nazi crimes were something exclusively remembered by the immediate victim groups such as the Spanish republicans, survivors of German concentration camps and the Jewish communities of Spain. This situation has been gradually improving since Spain's participation to the ITF as an observer country in 2005. In December 2008, Spain was accepted as full member.
Ana Sálomon
Ambassador-at-Large for Relations with the Jewish Community and Organisations
Education
For the first time, the teaching of the Holocaust has been expressly introduced into the Spanish educational system, using a multi-disciplinary approach: at the earliest stage, in Primary Education, the Holocaust is taught using a mostly cross-curricular and "emotional" approach. Later, in Compulsory Secondary Education, the approach is more rational and fact-based. Finally, at Baccalaureate level, the Holocaust is taught as an essential feature of pupils' responsibility and civic engagement.
In essence, the new educational law allows Holocaust teaching in the sense of its universal meaning. The Holocaust is understood as a paradigm for the education on all topics related to human rights and responsible citizenship, and against all forms of discrimination, such as racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, etc. An increasing number of Spanish teachers are receiving training for the specifics on the transmission of the Holocaust. Every year, several seminars are offered either in Spain or abroad.
Comments by the Minister of Education Mercedes Cabrera, December 2008
Remembrance
In Spain the Holocaust is defined as the systematic destruction of European Jewry by the Nazis, stressing, in accordance with the Declaration of the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust, its magnitude, its universal meaning and unprecedented character, the terrible suffering of the Jewish people and many millions of other victims and the indelible scar it left across Europe. This is reflected in the decision of the Cabinet meeting of 10 December, 2004, which established January 27 as the official Holocaust Remembrance Day. The definition according to the Stockholm Declaration is systematically reaffirmed and reflected in the speeches given by different Government authorities on the occasion of the yearly Holocaust remembrance day events.
Since January 2006, Presidential and Ministerial speeches have been made every year on the occasion of the Remembrance Day. Holocaust survivors from different countries, invited to the commemoration acts, play a major role in all remembrance events, always with full audiences and excellent responses. Although the most important commemoration room is always given to Jewish victims, other groups of victims are also honoured, such as Roma people, or Spanish deported people to Nazi concentration camps. Spanish Righteous Among the Nations always play a major role, usually represented by their descendants. The programme of the activities is always determined by a central idea which changes every year.
Research
As for the educational, academic and public examination of Spain's historical past related to the Holocaust period, a specific approach has been designed and a working plan outlined to meet this ITF requirement. It is our intention to visit ITF member countries with experience in Historical Commissions, to reflect and discuss on different aspects of Spain's history during World War II. This will allow us to establish a working plan according to specific aspects related to our own history.
A take-off meeting took place in Madrid in January 2009 to discuss the way forward and to define several areas to be treated, such as "lessons learned", access to archives, looted art and memorial sites. We decided to start by establishing a small group of historians to identify all archives with documents related to the Holocaust as a working basis. The outcome of all these activities will provide guidance to the Spanish Government on the most appropriate way to move forward in academic, educational and public examination of Spain's historical past as related to the Holocaust period, including the possible setting up of a historical commission.
At the initiative of the Jewish Community of Madrid, a Holocaust Memorial was unveiled in April 2007 in Madrid, in the presence of the Mayor of Madrid and local representatives from different institutions. It is dedicated to all victims of Nazi persecution. Since its inauguration, many people and students have visited this memorial on the occasion of January 27, but it is the will of the Jewish community and the Government to promote regular visits of a greater number of students during the whole year.
Quote Mercedes Cabrera:
"It is every educator's duty to preserve and to teach the memory of the Holocaust and as a result the Spanish Government introduced in our educational system a specific subject devoted to the topic using a multidisciplinary approach."
There is an increasing awareness of Holocaust issues due to several developments, amongst them all the activities implemented by the Spanish delegation to the ITF (remembrance ceremonies, exhibitions, seminars, books, concerts...). As a significant example, Yad Vashem was honored with the Prince of Asturias Award for Concorde in October 2007, which is a very famous and probably the most prestigious award in Spain. This event received high media attention and was followed with great interest not only by Spanish society but also abroad. Additionally, every year there are more and more books in Spanish on Holocaust topics published and movies and documentaries related with its history screened on television and in cinemas.
