US, Germany announce progress in initiative to boost Holocaust education

The United States and Germany announce that their governments have made significant progress in their joint initiative to boost Holocaust education, combat Holocaust denial and countering the so-called rehabilitation of those who took part in Holocaust crimes.

The joint dialogue launched in 2021 by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and then-German foreign minister Haiku Maas with participation from the
US State Department, the German Federal Foreign Office, the German Foundation Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.

A joint statement issued by the two governments states progress in the following areas.

Holocaust education has been integrated into the Applied Security Studies program at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Germany, with over 100 senior military and civilian officials from more than 30 countries participating in the pilot module last year. The program “was designed to help professionals apply lessons from the Holocaust to their own work of protecting life and democratic principles while working in a multinational context,” the joint statement says.

The joint US-Germany dialogue led to the production of research projects on Holocaust denial that will examine online material in 12 languages that will provide lawmakers in both countries quantitative data off of which they will be able to make policy recommendations.

The dialogue has also been examining the so-called rehabilitation of individuals who participated in Holocaust crimes, producing a study that will help governments and private citizens better identify the problem and provide the tools through which it can be combated.