This year's International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Saturday, January 27, 2024, saw a significant amount of antisemitism and Holocaust denial worldwide. International Holocaust Remembrance Day takes place on January 27, the day the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp was liberation in 1945. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum notes that this year, more so than in past years, it is even more important to consider the lessons learned from the Holocaust and determine how to ensure that a similar atrocity never occurs again: "As we are witnessing an alarming rise of antisemitism around the globe, it is more important than ever for us to recognize the critical lessons of Holocaust history as we commemorate the victims and honor the survivors."[1]
After the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, the United States alone has seen a 337% increase in antisemitic incidents compared to the same period in 2022.[2] Antisemitic posts online and incidents in-person occur daily, but in the days leading up to and following International Holocaust Remembrance Day, numerous instances of Holocaust denial and antisemitism specific to International Holocaust Remembrance Day were observed around the world.
The MEMRI DTTM has been tracking a rise in antisemitism globally since the October 7 attack, and has published extensive coverage of how neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other antisemitic extremists have exploited the Gaza conflict to further their antisemitic narratives.
Example of antisemitic cartoon circulated on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, posted on Gab.
Common themes and topics for the posts covered in this report include Holocaust denial, accusations of Israeli genocide of Gazans, praise of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich, and various antisemitic tropes, including physical stereotypes of Jewish people.
On social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), Gab, and Telegram, neo-Nazi, white supremacist, and antisemitic accounts have taken advantage of the media focus on the Holocaust in light of Holocaust Remembrance Day to spread antisemitic conspiracy theories online to a wider audience.
The following report covers a sampling of social media content, posted between January /24 and January 30, related to Holocaust Remembrance Day.
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Antisemitism Related To Holocaust Remembrance Day
On Gab, in a neo-Nazi group, on January 24, a user posted a collage of images and graphics. One image shows a commemoration stone for the Jews of Darmstadt and Southern Hesse, who were deported to Theresienstadt and murdered during the Holocaust. The graphics concern Holocaust Remembrance Day. The user wrote, "Germany: Jews Remind Gentiles to Remember on Holocaust Remembrance Day. This holocaust idol plaque will be added in Theresienstadt as a second holocaust idol in the city on Holocaust Celebration Day Jan. 27. The Jews say in their plate that Germans commemorate 'Jewish children, women and men from Darmstadt and southern Hesse,' who were 'killed' by evil Nazis. 'They are to be never forgotten,' the holocaust prayer concludes. Remember the Jews have their International Holocaust Remembrance Day Festival not only on Jan. 27 but also on April 18, and many local Holocaust Remembrance Day Festival as in Florida and other days and months of a year. Ask for local rabbi of Satan for details."
In a group on Gab on January 27, a user posted a photo of Holocaust survivor Irene Shashar holding up a copy of her autobiography, "I Won Against Hitler," at the European Union Parliament, and a cartoon titled, "Alice in Lampshade Land." The user wrote: "Holocaust Tales: 'Hitler Wanted to Exterminate Me,' Remembers a 87-Year Old 'Holocaust Survivor' Parasite Irene Shashar, born Ruth Lewkowicz, a 'holocaust survivor' remembers at (((EU Patliament))) on Jewish festival of the international holocaust remembrance day on Sabbath Jan. 27 the events of 1939, when she was a 2-year-old kikelett. 'Hitler came and wanted to exterminate me,' she remembers."
An X user was one of many using Holocaust Memorial Day speeches, memorials, and posts as platforms to compare the Holocaust to Israel's alleged genocide of Palestinians. Ragged Trousered Philanderer's January 27 post on the topic reads, "On Holocaust Memorial Day it's worth noting that not a single organization involved with remembering the holocaust has condemned Israel's genocide of Palestinians. Indeed every single one of them has defended and condoned Israel's right to exterminate 12,000 Palestinian children."
[1] Ushmm.org/remember/international-holocaust-remembrance-day, January 30, 2024.
[2] Adl.org/resources/press-release/adl-reports-unprecedented-rise-antisemitic-incidents-post-oct-7, January 30, 2024.
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