CommunicationPublished on 3 May 2023

Switzerland's chairmanship of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance in 2017

Switzerland, which has been a member of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance since 2004, take over chairmanship of the organisation in March 2017. The chair of the IHRA and Ambassador, Benno Bättig, talks about what Switzerland will focus on during its chairmanship – education, youth and social media.

Photo of the commemorative plaque for International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2016 taken at the Ecole des Cropettes in Geneva, honouring the role played by the school building during the Second World War. — © Keystone

Projects and priorities of the Swiss chairmanship

Switzerland take over chairmanship of the IHRA in March 2017 with Ambassador Benno Bättig as chair for one year. The IHRA aims to promote historical research and education about the Holocaust and to preserve the memory of victims through commemorations and memorials, especially in its 31 member countries.

In 2017, Switzerland will organise two IHRA plenary meetings, the first in Geneva (26–29 June) and the second in Bern (27–30 November). On 26 November, the University of Teacher Education Bern will host a conference about how people with disabilities were massacred by the Nazi regime. At the beginning of 2018, Holocaust study topics will be included at the University of Teacher Education Lausanne as part of the international study days on education.

The FDFA is also supporting a number of projects during Switzerland’s chairmanship. One of these is a multimedia application called ‹Fleeing the Holocaust›, which uses a number of tools to document the fates of four individuals. It is mainly aimed at young people and will be launched soon. The FDFA is also supporting the publication of a collection of Holocaust survivors’ testimonials and two mobile exhibitions – ‹The last Swiss Holocaust survivors› photography exhibition and ‹The children of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp›, comprising educational materials on the subject. The German booklet ‹Memoiren von Holocaust-Überlebenden› (Testimonials of Holocaust survivors) will also be published in French.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day

27 January marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which commemorates the victims of the Holocaust. The United Nations theme for this year’s remembrance day is ‹Educating for a Better Future›. Switzerland fully supports International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which serves as an important reminder about the universal lessons to be learned from the Holocaust – to respect human rights and join together in the fight against genocide, ethnic cleansing, racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia.

Links

• International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, official
• Message from the Swiss President, Doris Leuthard, Bern, 27.01.2017
• UN Resolution 60/7 on Holocaust remembrance
• Link to the Swiss television (SRF) evening news report on the March of the Living on 24 April 2017 (19:30 - german)
• A web app and new book about Carl Lutz: Switzerland supports projects that use witnesses to teach young people about the Holocaust, media release, 27.11.2017
• Address on the occasion of the IHRA plenary meeting, Benno Bättig, Chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, 27.11.2017
• Statement on the occasion of the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, On ‹feeling at home in the world›, President of the Swiss Confederation Alain Berset, 27.01.2018

Documents

• Switzerland's chairmanship of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance in 2017, report, FDFA, 20.06.2018

  PDF553.11 kB20 June 2018

• Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education Holocaust, dossier

  (French)

  PDF241.35 kB25 February 2025

• Speeches from Benno Bättig, future chair of the IHRA and FDFA secretary general, François Wisard, Head of History Unit of the FDFA and Prof. Ivan Lefkovits, Holocaust survivor and Editor of a series of Memoirs, Bern, 27.01.2017

  PDF717.19 kB27 January 2017