On Preserving Historical Integrity

Resolution No. 2/2021

REMAINING COMMITTED TO AND ACTING IN THE SPIRIT of the World Jewish Congress resolution on preserving historical truth,

THE EURO-ASIAN JEWISH CONGRESS,

RECALLS the previous WJC resolutions concerning the denial and distortion of the historical truth about the Holocaust;

TAKES INTO ACCOUNT the commitment of the WJC and EAJC to countering any forms of glorification of Nazi collaborators and accomplices, Holocaust distortion, or outright Holocaust denial;

REFUSES to engage in any participation or activity that could be construed as participation in or tacit consent to the rewriting of historical truth;

REJECTS the practice whereby objective facts are deliberately distorted to promote a national narrative, such as by minimizing the scale of the Holocaust, downplaying involvement in Nazi crimes, or glorifying Nazi collaborators as heroes on the grounds of their contribution to the struggle for national liberation;

EQUIVOCALLY DECLARES that the glorification of any historical figure who supported or supports Nazism or holds antisemitic beliefs is unacceptable, and all such individuals must be strictly condemned, as must those who advocate for such glorification in public or private discourse;

EMPHASIZES that the distortion and outright denial of the Holocaust are used as tools to promote antisemitism and other forms of xenophobia, and continue to spread through traditional media and even more rapidly via online platforms;

NOTES WITH CONCERN that the distortion of historical truth has gained significant traction within certain political movements, as well as some governments, where the glorification of former Nazi collaborators is used today to whitewash history, conceal involvement in the destruction of Jewish communities and individuals, and serve as an instrument for achieving political goals;

RECALLS that while the intentions of nationalist movements in distorting historical facts are used by authorities in several countries primarily to present their own history in a more favorable light, rather than with the explicit intent to promote antisemitic or racist policies, such distortions invariably lead to the corruption of the historical truth of the Holocaust, creating other false pseudo-historical narratives that are not only detrimental to the Jewish people but also pose a potential threat to their existence;

URGES the national governments within the EAJC regions of activity to recognize the importance of historical accuracy in their own national narratives by encouraging objective historical research, rather than the politicization of national identity and history to the detriment of minority communities and individuals;

CALLS UPON international organizations and governments to defend historical truth, to adopt the working definition of Holocaust denial and distortion formulated by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA); to educate on history based on verified facts; and to encourage citizens to critically examine collective national memory so that future generations may avoid repeating aggression and violence.