
Yad Vashem

The Yad Vashem Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority – established by the Knesset in 1953 - is a museum and research institution in Jerusalem that safeguards the memory of over six million Jews murdered by Nazi Germany and its allies during WWII.
The museum exhibits personal artifacts of Holocaust victims as well as survivor testimonies. It also commemorates the partisans who fought the Axis forces, and honors Righteous Gentiles – non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the war.
In addition to the museum and research facility, Yad Vashem houses an archive and the International School for Holocaust Studies. One of the institution’s central goals is to educate future generations about anti-Semitism, its roots and its destructive consequences. The central memorial at Yad Vashem is the Hall of Remembrance, where an eternal flame burns in memory of Nazi Germany’s victims.
Yad Vashem is also the site of a yearly commemoration ceremony that marks the anniversary of the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto uprising.



Polish Envoy Rejects Israeli Criticism of Holocaust Libel Trial: 'Risky' to Give Historians Immunity
In a letter posted on Twitter, Ambassador Marek Magierowski writes that freedom of research should not override the right to defend someone's reputation

Yad Vashem Says Libel Suit Against Polish Historians Is an 'Assault' on Holocaust Research
Two researches are facing a libel suit for citing a Holocaust survivor who recounted that a village mayor who saved her had also turned in about 20 other Jews to the Germans

Opinion Hashtagging the Holocaust: How COVID Gave Death Camps New Life Online
Pandemic lockdowns pushed Holocaust memorials to produce innovative, immersive and interactive ways to engage with a distanced audience, from Zoom testimonies to concentration camp tours on Instagram Live


Don't Let the Smiles of These Children Survivors of the Holocaust Mislead You
A new online photography exhibition at Yad Vashem examines the lives of Jewish children right after the Holocaust

Was This Polish Mayor Righteous Among the Nations or Nazi Collaborator? Court Will Decide
A history book referring to the role of a Polish mayor – in saving or murdering Jews – has triggered a libel suit that is testing freedom of speech and being closely watched in the academic world


Australian Jewish Community Joins Outcry Against Pick to Lead Yad Vashem
Effi Eitam, who spewed anti-Arab rhetoric, 'cannot lead an institution that is dedicated to warning of its dangers without discrediting that institution’s core message,' Executive Council of Australian Jewry statement says

Opinion Yad Vashem Is Selling Its Soul to Shady Right-wing Racists and Populists
Yad Vashem should stop dirtying its hands. It should focus on fulfilling its mandate, keep out of partisan politics, and keep away from politicians who use and abuse Holocaust memory

Gantz to Oppose Netanyahu’s anti-Arab Pick for Yad Vashem Chairman
According to Likud-Kahol Lavan coalition agreement, defense minister's challenge effectively blocks Effi Eitam’s appointment

Israeli Ministers Threaten Pushback Against Controversial Yad Vashem Chairman Nomination
Gantz’s party threatens to block the appointment of former far-right politician until an agreement is reached with Netanyahu’s Likud on other top positions in the public service still waiting to be filled



‘We Make Allowances for Ourselves as if We Were Still Weak, Helpless Jews’
In his novel ‘The Memory Monster,’ Yishai Sarid imagines a Holocaust historian becoming dangerously immersed in his work. In an interview marking the book’s publication in English, the writer explains why it’s important to ask provocative questions about Shoah education

Revered Polish Jew, Holocaust Survivor Joins Protests Over Top Appointment at Yad Vashem
In letter to President Rivlin, Marian Turski warned that Effi Eitam’s appointment would 'greatly undermine Yad Vashem’s authority'

In Rare Move, ADL Joins Campaign Against Former Far-right Politician Slated to Head Yad Vashem
The record of Effi Eitam, who has called for Palestinians to be expelled from the West Bank, is 'deeply disturbing for those individuals and organizations dedicating to inculcating the lessons of the Holocaust,' ADL letter says

Plan to Name Former Right-wing Politician to Head Yad Vashem Enrages Holocaust Survivors
Opponents decry candidate Effi Eitam, an ex-lawmaker and IDF commander known for harsh anti-Arab remarks, as a ‘lightning rod’ for ‘haters of Israel, anti-Semites and supporters of BDS,’ unsuited to sensitive post at Holocaust authority

Opinion Let TikTok Creators Pretend to Be Victims of the Nazis. It Strengthens Holocaust Memory
The noisy campaigns against young social media users role-playing and hashtagging the Holocaust are misplaced. From TikTok to Instagram to YouTube, a new, creative and necessary kind of testimony is emerging

Israel's Top Court Rejects Petition to Ban War Criminals From Visiting Yad Vashem
Court rules it cannot interfere in official diplomatic visits of controversial leaders to Israel's Jewish Holocaust memorial

Israel’s Attorney General Wants to Rescue a Holocaust Relic From Public Auction
A notebook with rabbinical rulings from the Bergen-Belsen refugee camp is considered primary evidence detailing victims' fate

Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev Announces Retirement After 27 Years
Shalev gave no reason for his departure, but it comes as the Israeli Holocaust memorial faces a financial crisis and damage to its reputation over historical inaccuracies

What if Anne Frank Had Survived the War and Moved to Israel?
Carry Ulreich and her observant, Zionist family were successfully hidden by a Catholic family in Rotterdam, with the teenage girl offering a remarkably unfazed account of those traumatic years. Her diary has been recently translated from Dutch

With School Trips to Poland Canceled, Could the Coronavirus Affect the Memory of the Holocaust?
Isael's Education Ministry canceled Holocaust commemoration trips to Poland for high-school students due to the coronavirus pandemic. Some worry that the memory of the Shoah could become blurred

The BBC Broadcast That Shocked the World Gave Me a Horrifying Insight Into My Grandmother’s Life
BBC journalist Richard Dimbleby’s real-time report from the liberation of Bergen-Belsen provided graphic details of terrors that my gentle grandmother had spared us

All the Jews in This Village Were Slaughtered. This Baby Was Spared
The amazing saga of Larisa Breicher, now a 78-year-old New Yorker and the sole survivor of a 1942 massacre of 2,500 Jews in a remote Russian village

Nazis Boasted About Six Million Holocaust Victims. But It Was a Jew Who First Cited That Figure
A historian embarks on a pioneering archival journey to discover the first time that someone used the number

In a World in Lockdown, Anne Frank Is the Latest Social Media Influencer
The new Anne Frank video diary on YouTube, which came out during the coronavirus pandemic, forces us to confront our treatment of human sufferings – like the one plaguing us today

Coronavirus Offers Glimpse Into Future of Holocaust Remembrance
Holocaust survivors are passing away daily and the coming years are the last chance to hear directly from those who were in there. The coronavirus pandemic radically changed their plans for Remembrance Day