Author(s): Halioua, Bruno; Bantman, Patrick; Rimmer, Rachel; Ghozlan, Eric; Vaislic, Muriel; Halioua, Dan; Amson, Fabienne; Taieb, Charles; Prasquier, Richard; Gutthman, Jean-François; Ejnes, Robert; Dassa, Stéphanie; Astruc, Alexis; Cohen, Marc; Sarfati, Samuel; Fohlen-Weill, Marc; Namia-Cohen, Odile; Deutscher, Aline; Taieb, Jonathan
Abstract: Objective: The terrorist attacks of 7 October 2023 in southern Israel had a significant impact on the mental health of Holocaust Survivors (HS), who are considered to be particularly vulnerable to traumatic events. The aim of the study was to assess the severity of perceived stress and the psychological impact of the 7 October attacks on HS.
Methods: The study was conducted from 30 October to 15 December 2023 among HS who were contacted through HS support organisations (OSE, Aloumim). They completed a questionnaire consisting of four sections: socio-demographic data and experiences during the Holocaust, assessment of psychological stress using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), feelings of isolation, health consequences, and reactions to the 7 October attacks.
Results: 171 HS completed the questionnaire with 61 males (35.7%) with a mean age of 86.6+/−4.4 years (min 79–max 97). 59.6%, lived outside Israel, mainly in France. The mean score on the PSS-10 was 17.7 +/−6.0 on a scale of 5 to 40. The average PSS 10 score is not significantly higher in cases of age ≤90 years (18.0 ± 6.0 vs 15.7 ± 6.4, NS), or for those living in Israel (17.2 ± 5.3 vs 18.1 ± 6.6, NS). About a quarter reported feelings of isolation or loneliness following the attacks. The impact of the 7 October attacks was particularly significant among those living outside Israel. Approximately two-thirds felt that the events had rekindled memories of their Holocaust experiences, and nearly one-third observed a decline in their health since the attacks. Among survivors living outside Israel, 86.6% expressed concern about the future safety and identity of their children and grandchildren as Jews.
Conclusion: Identifying Holocaust survivors (HS) who are experiencing psychological distress is crucial to providing them with appropriate therapy.
HIGHLIGHTS
75.3% of Holocaust Suvivors experienced moderate to severe distress in the two months following the 7 October terrorist attacks, as measured by the PSS-10 questionnaire
Non-Israeli HS tend to think more frequently about the Holocaust period (87% vs 62.7%, p ≤ .05) and more often make a spontaneous link between the images broadcasted of the October 7 massacre and what happened during the Holocaust (83.7% vs 66.7%, p ≤ .05).
Compared to non-Israeli HS, those living in France and Canada are more anxious about the future of their children and grandchildren as Jews (86.6% vs 58.8%, p ≤ .05).
Abstract: Keine sechs Jahre nach dem Ende des Holocaust schrieb Theodor W. Adorno, einer der bekanntesten Vertreter der Kritischen Theorie, in seiner Schrift Minima Moralia: „Der Antisemitismus ist das Gerücht über die Juden.“ Der Philosoph und Soziologe wollte mit dieser schlichten Definition das formulieren, was kennzeichnend für den
Antisemitismus ist und sich häufig hinter der Verbreitung von Verschwörungsideologien verbirgt: Das Konstruieren einer homogenen Gruppe, der pauschal negative Eigenschaften zugeschrieben werden. Das Wort „Gerücht“ drückt zugleich etwas „Heimliches“ aus, etwas, das im Verborgenen passiert. Ein Geheimnis also, von dem nicht alle
Menschen wissen sollen oder dürfen. Sogenannte Verschwörungsmythen kommen selten ohne Antisemitismus aus – und umgekehrt. Das zeigen nicht zuletzt aktuelle verschwörungs- ideologische Diskurse um SARS-CoV-2. Wie das
Virus, so breiten sich weltweit in ebenso rasanter Geschwindigkeit Geschichten um dessen Herkunft und Ursprung aus. Das „Gerücht“, nach dem die Krankheit von einer geheimen Macht erfunden worden oder harmlos sei, glauben in den USA viele Menschen bis hin zum amtierenden Präsidenten Donald Trump, und sie haben inzwischen auch in Deutschland Hochkonjunktur. Insbesondere die extreme Rechte versucht, sich diesen Verschwörungsmythos zunutze zu machen. So entwickelte sich von den Vereinigten Staaten ausgehend ein neues Phänomen, das zum Synonym für viele Verschwörungsideologien wurde. Das Schlagwort hinter diesem Phänomen lautet:
QAnon.
Abstract: Das Internet, als zentraler Ort für gesellschaftliche Diskussionen, zählt heute zu den Haupttradierungsorten von Antisemitismus und gruppenbezogener Menschenfeindlichkeit. In Foren, Blogs oder Chat-Gruppen können Inhalte leicht geteilt und weitgehend ungehindert in Sekundenschnelle verbreitet werden. Dies macht gerade soziale Netzwerke wie Instagram, X, Facebook oder Telegram besonders attraktiv, um einfach und schnell Inhalte zu teilen, denen antisemitische Narrative und Stereotype zugrunde liegen. Durch das Internet gelangen Desinformationen, Hass und Hetze tief ins kollektive Bewusstsein. Die Folge ist, dass vor allem auch der Hass auf Jüdinnen und Juden rasant ansteigt. Der vorliegende „Jahresreport zum OnlineMonitoring 2025“ ist Teil des Projekts „Aktuelle Dynamiken des Antisemitismus im Internet: Formen, Ursachen und Gegenstrategien“ des Jüdischen Forums für Demokratie und gegen Antisemitismus e.V. (JFDA). Gerade in Zeiten von Krisen, gesellschaftlicher Transformation und Weiterentwicklung bietet das Internet einen idealen Nährboden für die Verbreitung demokratiefeindlicher Inhalte. Um
diese zu beleuchten und besser zu verstehen, wie Antisemitismus im digitalen Raum funktioniert, hat das JFDA ein systematisches Online-Monitoring aufgebaut. Dieses erkennt und analysiert antisemitische Inhalte und gibt fundierte Einblicke in deren Entwicklung. Das Internet, als zentraler Ort für gesellschaftliche Diskussionen, zählt heute zu
den Haupttradierungsorten von Antisemitismus und gruppenbezogener Menschenfeindlichkeit. In Foren, Blogs oder
Chat-Gruppen können Inhalte leicht geteilt und weitgehend ungehindert in Sekundenschnelle verbreitet werden. Dies macht gerade soziale Netzwerke wie Instagram, X, Facebook oder Telegram besonders attraktiv, um einfach und schnell Inhalte zu teilen, denen antisemitische Narrative und Stereotype zugrunde liegen. Durch das Internet gelangen Desinformationen, Hass und Hetze tief ins kollektive Bewusstsein. Die Folge ist, dass vor allem auch der Hass auf Jüdinnen und Juden rasant ansteigt. Der vorliegende „Jahresreport zum OnlineMonitoring 2025“ ist Teil des Projekts „Aktuelle Dynamiken des Antisemitismus im Internet: Formen, Ursachen und Gegenstrategien“ des Jüdischen Forums für Demokratie und gegen Antisemitismus e.V. (JFDA). Gerade in Zeiten von Krisen, gesellschaftlicher Transformation und Weiterentwicklung bietet das Internet einen idealen Nährboden für die Verbreitung demokratiefeindlicher Inhalte. Um diese zu beleuchten und besser zu verstehen, wie Antisemitismus im digitalen Raum funktioniert, hat das JFDA ein systematisches Online-Monitoring aufgebaut. Dieses erkennt und analysiert antisemitische Inhalte und gibt fundierte Einblicke in deren Entwicklung.
Abstract: À partir des années 1990 s’impose la conviction que le recul du racisme et de l’antisémitisme résultera de la connaissance des tragédies du passé auxquelles ces idéologies ont conduit. Trente ans plus tard, le constat est sans appel : le racisme peine à reculer, l’antisémitisme connaît une nouvelle vigueur et l’extrême droite xénophobe accumule les succès électoraux. Il devient donc impérieux d’interroger une pédagogie par la mémoire des événements tragiques (Shoah, esclavage « négrier », colonisation) qui n’est plus au diapason d’une société et d’une jeunesse en profonde mutation.
Alors que les mémoires sont devenues des vecteurs de confrontations identitaires, que l’antisémitisme contemporain puise à des matrices ignorées des programmes scolaires (islam et antisionisme) et que la recherche historique récente a enrichi et renouvelé les savoirs, le récit historique doit être profondément repensé.
Cet essai suggère de transmettre l’histoire des racismes et des antisémitismes, non plus en partant de leurs conséquences les plus tragiques, mais par l’analyse de leur fabrique, de leurs mythes constitutifs et des stratégies de leur permanence, en privilégiant le temps long et la démarche comparative, sans éluder ni le rôle des religions, ni les sources extra-européennes du racisme et de l’antisémitisme.
Abstract: Les Juifs ont souvent été accusés de pratiquer le « meurtre rituel » : de la judéophobie antique à l’antisionisme radical d’aujourd’hui, en passant par l’antisémitisme racial moderne, cette accusation mensongère s’est traduite par des légendes qui n’ont cessé de susciter des mobilisations politiques et des violences meurtrières (émeutes sanglantes, pogromes, attentats terroristes). Ces récits de meurtres, qui stimulent la haine, permettent la criminalisation d’un peuple tout entier : les Juifs. Un peuple imaginé comme étant constitué d’assassins potentiels. La haine des Juifs n’a certainement rien inventé de pire.
Pierre-André Taguieff, à travers l’analyse de nombreux exemples, montre que cette accusation n’a cessé, au cours de l’histoire, d’être reformulée dans des contextes très différents, et qu’elle est la matrice d’un enseignement de la haine destiné à susciter de l’indignation. En se diffusant massivement sur Internet, ces récits diffamatoires préparent le passage au « tout est permis » contre les Juifs, et ainsi justifient les actions les plus violentes contre eux. L’examen critique de ces récits offre au lecteur les moyens de démonter les mensonges d’une propagande judéophobe qui s’est globalisée.Les Juifs ont souvent été accusés de pratiquer le « meurtre rituel » : de la judéophobie antique à l’antisionisme radical d’aujourd’hui, en passant par l’antisémitisme racial moderne, cette accusation mensongère s’est traduite par des légendes qui n’ont cessé de susciter des mobilisations politiques et des violences meurtrières (émeutes sanglantes, pogromes, attentats terroristes). Ces récits de meurtres, qui stimulent la haine, permettent la criminalisation d’un peuple tout entier : les Juifs. Un peuple imaginé comme étant constitué d’assassins potentiels. La haine des Juifs n’a certainement rien inventé de pire.
Pierre-André Taguieff, à travers l’analyse de nombreux exemples, montre que cette accusation n’a cessé, au cours de l’histoire, d’être reformulée dans des contextes très différents, et qu’elle est la matrice d’un enseignement de la haine destiné à susciter de l’indignation. En se diffusant massivement sur Internet, ces récits diffamatoires préparent le passage au « tout est permis » contre les Juifs, et ainsi justifient les actions les plus violentes contre eux. L’examen critique de ces récits offre au lecteur les moyens de démonter les mensonges d’une propagande judéophobe qui s’est globalisée.
Abstract: Antisemitism, understood as a particular manifestation of racism directed against a collectivity defined by religion, ethnicity, or a combination of both, constitutes a form of social exclusion. Such exclusion operates through formal and informal mechanisms that separate members of the targeted group from full participation in various spheres of social life. It may manifest as an outright prohibition from entering specific social circles or events, or as a conditional and restricted form of participation-one permitted only under special, typically unfavorable, terms. In both situations, inclusion is perceived as improper or undesirable, and when it occurs, it is often subject to heightened scrutiny or control. As with other forms of racism, antisemitism may persist within a society irrespective of the presence or absence of legislation explicitly supporting it. Moreover, antisemitism can remain operative even in contexts where laws formally prohibit ethnic or religious discrimination. This is possible because exclusion and discrimination may assume subtle or covert forms, legitimized through the selective or manipulative use of legal provisions that allow for differential treatment on ostensibly neutral grounds. The capacity of antisemitism to hide behind seemingly unrelated attitudes or arguments -masking negative sentiment toward Jews as a collectivity- raises fundamental questions about how the term “antisemitism” should be defined and what indicators are necessary for its identification and systematic analysis. This paper discusses the controversy surrounding competing definitions of antisemitism as it emerged before and after the recent Israel-Palestinian conflict, where legitimate political critique of the State of Israel is at times intertwined with antisemitic discourse disguised as purely political disapproval of Israeli policies or leadership.
Abstract: This joint report from HOPE not hate and Antisemitism Policy Trust explores the overlap and interplay between antisemitism and misogyny in a series of articles, case studies and social media analysis.
The report investigates the ways in which antifeminism and misogyny can act as slip roads towards antisemitism and other forms of racism, due to a perceived loss of status among white men – and women – based on gender and racial hierarchies. In recent years, the antisemitic far right, in particular, has become increasingly adept at steering antipathy to feminism and women more broadly towards Jew-hatred, reasserting men’s status at the expense of others.
It also outlines the role of conspiracy theories in bridging anti-feminism and antisemitism, in particular the “Cultural Marxism” and “White Genocide” ideologies that implicitly or explicitly position Jews as the root of feminism and women’s behaviour in general. Such theories can provide a grand context for personal frustrations and prejudices, as well as scapegoats.
We explore the ways in which Jewish people are gendered in antisemitic discourse, outlining longstanding stereotypes of Jewish men and particularly Jewish women who, being on the receiving end of both antisemitism and misogyny, are the targets of especially vile abuse.
We also look into the important, but precarious, role of women in antisemitic movements as recruiters and propagandists, including several of the UK’s best-known Holocaust deniers. Women can play a conscious role in “softening” extreme prejudice, although they can also quickly become targets for abuse themselves.
This report also includes an analysis of misogyny and gender politics on the messaging app Telegram, a key online hub for the antisemitic far right. We found that open misogyny is widespread and enabled within antisemitic spaces on the platform. Attacks on gay men are especially commonplace, which itself indicates the heterosexual male dominance of these spaces. Sexual assault is a prominent theme, and whilst it is discussed in a variety of ways, pro-rape comments are not uncommon.
Topics: Main Topic: Antisemitism, October 7 2023 attacks + aftermath, Gender, Feminism, Antisemitism, Antisemitism: Israel-Related, Antisemitism: Left-Wing, Antisemitism: Theory, Theory: Critical Theory, Sexism and Misogyny, Intersectionality
Abstract: Antisemitism and Sexism: Ideological Constellations Before and After 7 October analyses the manifold ways in which antisemitism and sexism appear not as isolated ideologies but as intersecting ones, exploring their historical, social, political, economic, and psychological constellations. Drawing on Critical Theory, the book offers a comparative historical analysis of these entanglements from nineteenth-century Europe—particularly Germany and Austria—through National Socialism and its preconditions, to the historical and contemporary formations of Islamism. The sexist antisemitism of 7 October and its aftermath are examined as a contemporary eruption of these enduring ideological patterns, while Critical Theory itself is sharpened in light of these events.
Structured around distinct analytical dimensions, the book opens with a theoretically dense examination of the damaged relationship between human beings and nature under modern labour society, identified by Critical Theory as a key source of both antisemitism and sexism. Subsequent chapters analyse the contradictory constructions of Judaism and femininity, the relation between body and mind, and socially regulated forms of sexuality. Conspiracy myths linking weakness and omnipotence, the psychosocial roots of authoritarian dispositions, and the embedding of these ideologies in specific formations of capitalist modernity and repressive communities are examined in turn. The book also offers a critical examination of intersectional feminist antisemitism in the aftermath of 7 October and advances a proposal to reformulate intersectionality as an ideology-critical framework for a feminist critique of antisemitism.
Abstract: In this policy paper:
Renowned demographer and President of JPR’s European Jewish Demography Unit Professor Sergio DellaPergola explores possible futures for the Jewish People over the next century, not by making precise predictions, but by identifying the core structural forces that have shaped Jewish history and will continue to do so. It highlights the enduring complexity of Jewish identity and existence, examining not only whether the Jewish People will endure but also in what form.
Some of the key findings and arguments in this policy paper:
Three enduring questions will shape the Jewish future: What defines Jewish identity? How is it transmitted? How do Jews relate to non-Jews as a minority? How does the Jewish collective organise and defend its shared interests?
Jewish existence will continue to rest on three interconnected pillars: Israel – a sovereign Jewish state, demographically strong but politically challenged; Diaspora – diverse minority communities, often influential but structurally vulnerable; the Israel–Diaspora relationship – a critical but fragile axis.
Three key dynamics affect Jewish demographics: Ageing and low fertility in most Diaspora communities; higher fertility in Israel, especially among more religious groups; and potential long-term transformation of the Jewish population’s internal composition.
Future migration patterns will depend heavily on political stability, economic conditions and levels of security and antisemitism.
Assimilation and identity erosion remain major challenges, while new forms of ‘joining’ Judaism may emerge.
Jews will continue to represent a tiny global minority, and Jewish life will continue to be shaped by external perceptions and pressures. At the same time, antisemitism is expected to persist in evolving forms.
Israel is likely to become home to the majority of the world’s Jews within decades. This shift will redefine the meaning of Jewish peoplehood, its cultural and political priorities and the power dynamics within global Jewry.
Rapid growth of more religious populations (particularly Haredim) may reshape economic structures, political systems and social cohesion.
Leadership capacity must include three key requirements: the ability to unite diverse segments of the Jewish People, a realistic assessment of challenges and opportunities, and the development of new or improved shared decision-making frameworks.
Abstract: Wenn eine KI-generierte Anne Frank im Feed auftaucht, DJs in der Gaskammer auflegen, die AfD Tipps zur Ahnenforschung gibt und Israel zur neuen Chiffre des Bösen wird: Geschichtsbilder von jungen Menschen werden heute maßgeblich im Netz, durch Videospiele und digitale Anwendungen geprägt. Doch die Gefahren werden bislang noch viel zu wenig beleuchtet – und die Potenziale und Chancen, die sich durch digitale Geschichtsvermittlung ergeben, sind noch längst nicht voll ausgeschöpft.
In unserem Report „Der Holocaust als Meme“ stellen wir einige Beispiele geschichtsrevisionistischer Inhalte in digitalen Medien vor, die in unseren Augen eine breitere Öffentlichkeit brauchen – sei es, weil sie besonders große Reichweiten erzielen, besonders subtilen Strategien folgen oder zu schon bedenklich normalisierten Formen alternativhistorischer Erzählungen gehören. Die aufgeführten Beispiele und Analysen dienen dazu, zentrale Beobachtungen, wiederkehrende Muster und exemplarische Phänomene im Umgang mit Geschichte in digitalen Räumen zu veranschaulichen.
Ein besonderer Fokus liegt auf den Plattformen Instagram und TikTok, da sie zu den reichweitenstärksten und einflussreichsten Social-Media-Kanälen unter Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen zählen. Neben sozialen Medien beziehen wir uns auch auf digitale Spiele mit historischem Setting.
Abstract: Eigentlich könnte doch alles ganz einfach sein, oder? Antisemitismus und Rassismus sind beides menschenfeindliche Einstellungen, die von allen bekämpft werden müssen; die Kritik dieser Ideologien müsste deshalb stets zusammen geleistet werden. In der Praxis kommt es jedoch immer wieder zu Unvereinbarkeiten, handfesten Auseinandersetzungen und Grabenkämpfen, mit wechselseitigen Ausschlüssen, Relativierungen, Beschuldigungen und einem Klima des Argwohns. Hinzu kommt, dass die historischen und theoretischen Bezugnahmen von Rassismus- und Antisemitismuskritik sehr verschieden sind.
„Frenemies“ umzirkelt das Problemfeld, fragt nach den Gründen der Auseinandersetzungen, sucht nach Gemeinsamkeiten, ohne dabei Unvereinbarkeiten und Selbstansprüche der beiden Kritikformen zu relativieren.
Das Buch versammelt kurze Texte von Forscher*innen, Bildungspraktiker*innen, Aktivist*innen, die jeweils als Antworten zu „naiven Fragen“ dargestellt werden – in Form eines „FAQ“. Was unterscheidet Antisemitismus und Rassismus? Gibt es Verbindungen zwischen Nationalsozialismus und Kolonialismus? Ist BDS antisemitisch? Sind Juden und Jüdinnen „weiß“? Wie werden diese Debatten in anderen Ländern geführt? Der Anspruch des Buches ist es, einen niedrigschwelligen Einstieg in ein komplexes, wenngleich sehr präsentes und konfliktreiches Themenfeld zu liefern. Die Schwerpunkte liegen auf Antisemitismus, antimuslimischem und anti-Schwarzem Rassismus.
Mit Beiträgen von: Rebecca Ajnwojner, Julia Yael Alfandari, Sina Arnold, Felix Axster, Manuela Bauche, Joseph Benamram, Karima Benbrahim, Jonas Berhe, Floris Biskamp, Micha Brumlik, Saba-Nur Cheema, Harpreet Cholia, Johanna Christner, Frank Engster, Leo Fischer, Adi Hagin, Albert Herszkowicz, Robert Hirsch, Malte Holler, Günther Jikeli, Ozan Zakariya Keskinkılıç, Ayesha Khan, Michael Kiefer, Jana König, Gert Krell, Memphis Krickeberg , Deborah Krieg, Mahret Ifeoma Kupka, Doris Liebscher, Urs Lindner, Aram Lintzel, Hanno Loewy, Meron Mendel, Astrid Messerschmidt, Gunnar Meyer, Ronya Othmann, Jonas Pardo, Hannah Peaceman, Massimo Perinelli, Hanno Plass, Bruno Quélennec, Gilda Sahebi, Michal Schwartze, Claudius Seidl, Gil Shohat, Yasemin Shooman, Frank-Oliver Sobich, Riem Spielhaus, Tom Uhlig, Peter Ullrich, Stefan Vogt, Burak Yılmaz, Milena Younes-Linhardt, Jürgen Zimmerer und Zacharias Zoubir.
Abstract: This research investigates how recommender algorithms on TikTok and Rumble expose UK minors to antisemitic content.
Analysts created 10 TikTok profiles representing 15-year-old users with varied political and cultural interests, including neutral interest in the Israel-Palestine conflict, left and right-wing political interest, male lifestyle influencer content, far-right content and two neutral accounts. The profiles were prompted towards relevant topics for each interest through an hour and a half of manual content viewing, followed by content engagement via bespoke bot over 14 days, resulting in over 5,500 recommended videos. Thematic analysis clustered content into 10 core themes, revealing pathways from neutral lifestyle content to highly politicised and conspiratorial clusters. Relevant themes were manually reviewed, revealing that harmful content persisted through videos, comments, and TikTok’s sticker and sound features, illustrating systemic gaps in safeguarding minors.
On Rumble, analysts collected 4,412 videos from the platform’s “Editor’s Picks” over six months. Analysts filtered for antisemitism-related keywords and reviewed 259 videos potentially relevant to antisemitism. Findings show Rumble hosts more overt antisemitic content than TikTok, including slurs, Holocaust distortion and conspiracies about Jewish control. These findings underscore urgent gaps in platform accountability and the need for robust enforcement of the Online Safety Act to protect children from the normalisation and mainstreaming of antisemitic content.
Abstract: Historical commissions have played an important role in the most recent efforts to garner restitution and reparations for Holocaust victims and their families. Several dozen Holocaust commissions were convened in the late‑1990s and early‑2000s in European countries where histories of collaboration and complicity with the Nazi regime were either under‑documented or suppressed in the official discourse. This essay examines the Holocaust commissions from a historiographical perspective with special attention given to the methodological and rhetorical strategies they employed when confronted by the traumatic experiences and memories of victims and survivors. While the work of these commissions was shaped and influenced, to varying degrees, by external political forces and interest groups, this essay explores the ways in which “the politics of history” entered into their written reports and, consequently, obscured and silenced fundamental aspects of Holocaust history. Three commissions, in particular, are held up for scrutiny (i.e., Austria’s Jabloner Commission, the International Commission for Holocaust‑Era Insurance Claims, and France’s Mattéoli Commission), and an assessment of their work is given against the backdrop of ongoing debates within the field of trauma studies and in response to questions concerning the Holocaust and the “limits of representation.”
Abstract: Seit einigen Jahren dokumentiert die Antisemitismusforschung eine starke Zunahme von antisemitisch motivierten Äusserungen und Angriffen in diversen europäischen Ländern, sowie jüngst auch in der Schweiz. Dieser Umstand schlägt sich nieder in einer intensiven Diskussion über die Hintergründe und Ursachen dieser Zunahme, die unter dem Stichwort «Neuer Antisemitismus» zusammengefasst ist. Neben der Frage, inwiefern diese Zunahme auf Kontinuitäten judenfeindlicher Ressentiments christlich-religiöser, rassistisch-nationalistischer oder links-ideologischer Hintergrundfolien zurückzuführen ist, rückt auch die Frage nach judenfeindlichen Einstellungen in muslimisch sozialisierten Kontexten in den Vordergrund. Vor diesem Hintergrund verbindet das vorliegende Heft Expertisen aus der Antisemitismus-Forschung, der Geschichtsdidaktik, der interreligiösen Bildungsarbeit, der Islamwissenschaft wie auch der Islamisch-theologischen Studien, um der Herausforderung einer sachgerechten Darstellung in den je als notwendig erachteten Bezügen und Faktoren gerecht zu werden. Damit soll ein Beitrag geleistet werden für eine interkulturelle Antisemitismus-Aufklärung, die sich vor dem Hintergrund einer aktuellen gesellschaftlichen Aufgabe versteht und Verwertungsmöglichkeiten für die gesellschaftliche Bildungsarbeit aufzeigt. Akteur:innen aus der öffentlichen und religiösen Bildungsarbeit bietet das Heft eine interdisziplinäre Expertise, auf deren inhaltlichen Grundlagen eigene Formate und Angebote aufbauen können. Die interdisziplinäre Verzahnung bietet Fachwissenschafter:innen einen Einstieg in einen sich neu zusammensetzenden thematischen Blickwinkel in der Antisemitismusforschung. Die interessierte Öffentlichkeit gewinnt aus dem Heft eine kenntnisreiche Darstellung, die der Begleitung gesellschaftlicher Diskussionen dienlich sein kann.
Abstract: Marking the 75th anniversary of The Authoritarian Personalityin 2025, this article revisits its insights into the persistence of authoritarianism in contemporary society, drawing centrally on the work of Theodor Adorno and Else Frenkel-Brunswik. Based on the results of their studies, it can be demonstrated how antisemitism, sexism, anti-feminism, and queerphobia are interconnected rather than separate phenomena—a concept expanded here as the "intersectionality of ideologies." Examining rigid gender norms in authoritarian systems, the article explores their role in reinforcing antisemitic narratives, with examples from Hamas and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Additionally, it analyzes the culture industry as a site of ideological entanglement, using the 2022 documenta 15 exhibition as a case study. By reassessing authoritarianism's links to antisemitism and gender oppression, the article highlights its enduring relevance.
Abstract: Haketia, a hybrid Judaeo-Spanish trans-language suppressed under imperial rule in the Maghreb, is being actively reanimated through digital heritagisation practices amongst dispersed communities of speech. How do digital heritage practices enable the postvernacular transformation of Haketia from suppressed vernacular to an active tool of cross-cultural coalition-building? Drawing on virtual ethnography of the eSefarad online platform, this study examines how such platforms operate not as static preservation but through processes of ‘trans situ’ heritagisation, where cultural elements are exchanged across multiple sites, temporalities, and modes of presence. The analysis traces Haketia’s transition to postvernacular performance, where using the language becomes a conscious cultural enactment that forges virtual communities across historical rupture. Rather than representing continuous transmission, these digital practices are marked by inventive reconstruction and purposeful reassembly, conceptualised here as ‘open-source Sephardism’ – a framework grounded in diasporism that privileges relational ‘hereness’ over territorial return. Through collaborative negotiation and cross-cultural coalition, this digital heritage practice fosters the revival of Judaeo-Muslim virtual worldly commons, demonstrating how minoritised vernaculars can be reactivated as living threads of diasporic connection that transcend traditional boundaries of heritage preservation.
Abstract: Introduction. This study addresses the representation of ethnic minority cultures in online museum collections, which often reflect diverse viewpoints. We propose a data-driven methodology to construct a large-scale multi-viewpoint knowledge graph, using Jewish cultural heritage as a case study.
Method. We developed an LLM-based pipeline that combines object typing, named entity recognition, relation extraction, enrichment, and clustering.
Results. An analysis of 647,951 records and 178,444 extracted subjects from the collections of Jewish museums across the globe revealed diverse thematic emphases: Israel and the Netherlands prioritised religious themes, while others highlighted everyday life. Surprisingly, only Australia emphasised the Holocaust.
Conclusion(s). The central contribution of this study is the development of a knowledge organisation system capable of tracing major trends and identifying patterns in the polyvocality of perspectives. The methodology provides quantifiable, scalable analysis of multi-viewpoint cultural heritage, extendable to other minorities.
Abstract: In 2009, the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum took the experimental initiative of creating a Facebook page; since then, it has established accounts on other social media platforms, such as Instagram and Twitter, and is now followed by more than one million users across these networks. This chapter investigates the ways in which the Museum utilises social media, particularly with regard to its authority as an institution and site of Holocaust education and remembrance. On one hand, the Museum has fostered an online virtual community where Auschwitz victims are commemorated, the ethics of remembrance are discussed, and users’ feedback is sought and acknowledged. On the other hand, the institution uses social media to fact-check and criticise certain representations of Auschwitz, suggesting only those explicitly approved by the Museum are acceptable. This demonstrates a wider Museum dichotomy between retaining traditional, didactic practices and establishing contemporary, participatory ones.
Abstract: Virtual reality and augmented reality experiences play an increasingly significant role in Holocaust memory and education as professional memory institutions continue to explore the affordances of integrating digital technologies into visitor and user experience. There is a rapidly expanding list of projects experimenting with cinematic virtual reality, photogrammetry, digital mapping, 3D modelling, 360-degree on-location survivor testimony as well as a growing portfolio of augmented and mixed reality mobile and tablet applications.
Principally being implemented as spatial technologies, several memorial sites and museums are exploring the possibilities of creating 3D graphic reconstructions of former sites of Nazi persecution in AR/VR such as the digital reconstruction of Falstad Concentration Camp, the Here: Spaces for Memory App at the Bergen-Belsen Memorial Site, the Sobibor AR exhibit, the project Auschwitz VR as well as the 360-degrees-walks at Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial. Going further, some digital initiatives are using VR/AR/MR technologies to zoom in on historical documents, testimonies and artefacts, notable projects include the ARt AR App at the Dachau Memorial Site and Museum which revivifies historical and contemporary drawings and paintings in-situ at the present-day site, the Anne Frank House VR which invites visitors to navigate the annex through a series of digital objects, and The Last Goodbye VR experience which foregrounds survivor testimony within Majdanek, the similarly survivor-driven Walk with Me at The Melbourne Holocaust Museum and numerous films that shape the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center’s The Journey Back exhibition space.
While it is important to note that VR technology is not new and has existed for more than 30 years, it is only recently that the technology has become more widely accessible in the heritage and museum sectors (in part, due to the affordability of headsets and devices in the domestic market). The proliferation of VR and AR projects within the sector, then, raises critical questions regards the opportunities for digital Holocaust memory practice and education while also bringing to the fore issues of curation, contextualisation, visitor experience and accessibility.
This report serves as an important first step in this work. It was created as part of the research project ‘Participatory Workshops – Co-Designing Standards for Digital Interventions in Holocaust Memory and Education’, which is one thread of the larger Digital Holocaust Memory Project at the University of Sussex. The participatory workshops project have focused on six themes, each of which brought together a different range of expertise to discuss current challenges and consider possible recommendations for the future.
The themes were:
AI and machine learning
Digitising material evidence
Recording, recirculating and remixing testimony
Social media
Virtual memoryscapes
Computer games
Abstract: The social media landscape is ever-changing as is its relationship to Holocaust memory and education. In the earlier days of Facebook and Twitter’s dominance, there was a clear divide of opinions in the Holocaust sector. On one hand, some institutions were early adopters (notably the Auschwitz State Museum) and others experimented with the affordances of these platforms such as the team at Grodzka Gate, Lublin extending the analogue practice of school pupils sending letters to child Holocaust victim Henio Zytomirski onto Facebook and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s ‘tweet-up’ hybrid architecture tour. On the other hand, expressions of hesitance about these participatory spaces informed the need for the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s Education Working Group to establish guidelines for using social media in this context (2014).
As practice grew, it also became somewhat formalised with most organisations predominantly focusing on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for public engagement work, and most content presenting traditional curation of historical sources with additional narrative, promoting the organisation’s offline (or elsewhere online) work, or behind the scenes access to curator and educator experiences. Whilst, one of the
celebrated potentials about social media is their ability to help organisations to reach wider (global) audiences, little has changed online since Eva Pfanzelter’s (2014) claim that the Holocaust institutions that dominated previously offline, also dominate on social media platforms. Few others attract much engagement with their posts.
TikTok has brought both new opportunities and challenges for the Holocaust sector – organisations and individuals who have taken to creating content on the platform are seeing far greater engagement than they had on previous ones. Yet, TikTok is also one of the most data-invasive and opaque platforms regarding researcher access. Many also encounter far more Holocaust denial, distortion and trivialisation on this platform. However, the social media landscape is also far larger than the Holocaust sector has really acknowledged and much of the coded hate content that appears on mainstream platforms has been cultivated at scale on others, from 8Chan to Telegram, and gaming and VR social spaces. It is imperative therefore that we bring together a wide range of stakeholders and experts to discuss what the sector needs to move forward with its work on social media. If Holocaust memory and education is to remain visible in the ever-expanding digital world, then it must be visible across a variety of digital spaces.
This report serves as an important first step in this work. It was created as part of the research project ‘Participatory Workshops – Co-Designing Standards for Digital Interventions in Holocaust Memory and Education’, which is one thread of the larger Digital Holocaust Memory Project at the University of Sussex.
The participatory workshops project have focused on six themes, each of which brought together a different range of expertise to discuss current challenges and consider possible recommendations for the future. The themes were:
AI and machine learning
Digitising material evidence
Recording, recirculating and remixing testimony
Social media
Virtual memoryscapes
Computer games
Abstract: Exhibition from September 18, 2024 to March 16, 2025 at the Jewish Museum Vienna and from April 9, 2025 to March 1, 2026 at the Jewish Museum Munich
Eighty years after the Holocaust, the last eyewitnesses are dying. Their stories, but also their trauma, have been passed on to their children and grandchildren. While the Second Generation grew up as direct observers of their parents’ psychological and physical damage, the Third Generation can look with greater distance at the family histories, in which memories and silence, family myths and secrets, and overwhelming or missing family legacies are ever-present.
The catalogue of the exhibition “The Third Generation: The Holocaust in Family Memory” investigates various ways of dealing with the inherited trauma and the difficult confrontation with the burden of family history. The contributions discuss biographical and artistic coping strategies by the generations after the Shoah and highlight the common features shared by a heterogeneous group scattered throughout the world.
Abstract: This article explores how Holocaust education can be reimagined through the lens of Critical Theory—particularly the work of Theodor W. Adorno—in order to more effectively confront contemporary antisemitism. While Holocaust education is often invoked as a response to rising antisemitism, its actual impact in this regard remains contested. Drawing on Adorno’s reflections on antisemitism and education after Auschwitz, the article highlights both the emancipatory potential and the limitations of education. Central themes include the importance of early childhood education, the critique of ideology, and the tension between pedagogical aims and societal structures. The article proposes eleven impulses for rethinking Holocaust education, emphasizing, among other points, the need to turn toward the subject, the dangers of half-education (Halbbildung), and the importance of linking historical specificity with sociological insight. Rather than offering a prescriptive model, it outlines a conceptual framework that situates Holocaust education within a broader project of social critique and enlightenment. Ultimately, it argues that Holocaust education alone cannot prevent antisemitism, but can meaningfully contribute to resisting it.
