National Holocaust Commemorations As Antisemitism Surges

As New Zealand marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27 January, the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand is calling on New Zealanders to confront a difficult truth: the forces that enabled the Holocaust did not end in 1945, and their warning signs are again visible today.

Throughout the week, the Centre will host public commemorations across the country, inviting New Zealanders to remember the past, bear witness to survivor testimony, and reflect on the responsibilities that come with remembrance in a time of rising antisemitism.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day marks the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and honours the six million Jewish men, women and children murdered in the Holocaust, alongside Roma, gays, political dissenters and disabled people.

It is a day that reminds the world what happens when hatred is normalised, when prejudice becomes policy, and when silence becomes complicity.

Holocaust Centre of New Zealand Chair Deborah Hart says, “remembrance is not only about history – it is about what we choose to tolerate now.”

“Antisemitism is the world’s oldest hatred, and it is growing again – globally and here at home. Holocaust remembrance is a warning to all of us. When Jewish communities are targeted, it is a signal that society’s moral boundaries are weakening.”

A central focus of the week is the role of young New Zealanders in carrying Holocaust memory as part of the country’s expanding commitment to Holocaust education.

Auckland student Josh Korpus, who will co-host the Auckland commemoration, says: “I didn’t live through the Holocaust. But I live with what it did. I carry the story forward so the world can’t pretend it didn’t happen, and so hate doesn’t get another try.”

“My inheritance isn’t trauma, it’s responsibility. I’m here to protect human dignity, because I know what happens when people decide some lives matter less.”

This year’s commemorations also highlight the growing importance of education. The Government’s recent announcement that Holocaust education will be mandatory within the draft Years 0–10 Social Sciences curriculum is a landmark commitment, ensuring every young New Zealander understands not only what happened, but why it matters now.

Deborah Hart says, “the week is a moment for New Zealanders to stand together.”

“The Holocaust began with words, not gas chambers. Today we again see conspiracy theories, dehumanising language and online misinformation fuelling antisemitism and hatred. Remembrance must lead to action – in our schools, online and in our communities.”

Notes:

• About commemorations
• Auckland, 2.30pm, Sunday 25 January. Keynote speakers are Her Excellency, the Right Honourable Cindy Kiro, Governor General of NZ, Dr Stephen Rainbow, Chief Human Rights Commissioner and Hon Mark Mitchell.
• Hamilton, 3.30pm, Sunday 25 January with Hamilton Mayor Tim MacIndoe
• Wellington, 5.30pm, Tuesday 27 January at Parliament, hosted by Hon, Chris Bishop
• Blenheim: 5pm, Thursday 29 January with Mayor of Marlborough District Council, Nadine Taylor
• Christchurch, 5pm, Thursday 29 January with keynote speakers Prof Giacomo Lichtner and Hon Alfred Ngaro
• About the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand

The Holocaust Centre of New Zealand is the country’s leading organisation for Holocaust education, remembrance, and research. Its mission is to inspire and empower action against antisemitism, discrimination, and apathy by remembering, educating, and bearing witness to the Holocaust.

• About the Holocaust

The Holocaust refers to the genocide of six million Jews carried out by Nazi Germany and its allies between 1933 and 1945. 

The term encompasses an escalation from disenfranchisement to discrimination, persecution and finally extermination. This reached its deadliest point in the Nazis' ‘Final Solution’ and the establishment of unprecedented Extermination Camps, such as Chełmno, Bełżec, Sobibor, Treblinka, Majdanek, and Auschwitz-Birkenau.

The Holocaust was the deliberate attempt to exterminate the Jews, defined by antisemitic ideology, propaganda, legislation, and the systematic implementation of unprecedented extermination techniques. 

The Holocaust did not happen in isolation, and many other people were also persecuted with dedicated measures. Some – such as the Roma people and the disabled – were targeted for extermination alongside the Jews, while many others were also oppressed by the Nazis on the basis of their ethnicity, political ideas, religious beliefs or sexual orientation.

Understood in this broader context, the Holocaust represents both a distinctive and unique historical event, and a tragedy with complex legacies and universal relevance, with ongoing significance for the history of humanity.

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