The Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust Brochure

Contents

Background

In this brochure we seek to give a brief overview of the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust, a governmentalconference that took place on 26-28 January 2000. The themes described here have been specially selected to illustrate the breadth and diversity of the conference, but also to demonstrate the spirit of accord that prevailed. A complete account will be available in the form of a final report of the Forum.

The Swedish Prime Minister, Goran Persson, invited government colleagues, experts, researchers and survivors to take part in the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust. It was the first time that Heads of State and Government from different parts of the world had gathered to discuss the lessons to be learned from history.

The purpose of the conference was to pass on remembrance of the Holocaust and support education and research on this dark chapter in 20th century history. It was hoped that discussions at the conference would render our societies better equipped to combat racism, anti-Semitism and intolerance as they manifest themselves in the modern-day world.

The process was set in motion in May 1998, when the Swedish Prime Minister Persson, the British Premier,Tony Blair, and the President of the United States, Bill Clinton, agreed to set up the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research on the eve of the new millennium.

Later France, Germany, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland joined their ranks. At the Washington Conference on Holocaust-era Assets in November-December 1998, these countries adopted a joint declaration, in which they pledged to encourage parents, teachers, political, religious and other leaders to renew their efforts to support Holocaust education and research and to contribute to remembrance.

The conference focused on the following fundamental questions:
• What can we learn from the Holocaust and how can studying these events alert contemporary society to the dangers of racism, anti¥Semitism, ethnic conflict and other expressions of hatred and discrimination? Can we foresee the circumstances that give rise
to persecution and genocide in order to prevent their recurrence?

• What can politicians and other forces in the community do to support Holocaust education, remembrance and research? And what should they do?

Forty-eight countries along with several multilateral organisations took part in the conference. A total of 600 delegates attended. The national delegations comprised official representatives as well as representatives of the research and educational communities, staff from museums and archives, representatives from NGOs, and other experts. Representatives of Holocaust survivors also played a prominent role. A selected group of international experts specialising in areas related to the Holocaust were invited to participate as moderators or speakers at the various panel discussions and workshops.

The Nobel Peace Laureate, Elie Wiesel, was the Honorary Chairman of the conference, while Professor Yehuda Bauer from the Yad Vashem Holocaust Centre in Jerusalem served as senior academic adviser.

The conference closed with a joint declaration: the Declaration of the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust.