Ei-iE

On January 27, 2025, Holocaust Remembrance Day, educators and union leaders from over 20 countries gathered in Krakow to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Hosted and organized by the Polish Zwiazek Nauczycielstwa Polskiego (ZNP) together with the Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft and the Verband Bildung und Erziehung (GEW and VBE) and the Israel Teachers’ Union (ITU), with the support of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and the Polish ministry of Education, the event honored Holocaust victims and underscored the critical role of education in combating antisemitism, racism, and the resurgence of far-right ideologies.

ETUCE: Education remains the most powerful weapon against hatred and ignorance

“This conference honours the memory of the six million people who were killed during the Holocaust. The Auschwitz-Birkenau camps, liberated on 27 January 1945, stand as eternal reminders of humanity’s capacity for both cruelty and resilience. Of the at least 1.3 million individuals imprisoned there, 1.1 million—including Jews, Poles, Romani people, Russians, and prisoners of other nationalities—were murdered under the Nazi regime,” stated the President of the European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE), John Mac Gabhann.

“Hosted by Poland’s teacher union, ZNP, this education conference is the latest milestone in a long-standing partnership among education unions from Germany, Israel, and Poland. For the past 40 years, members of these unions have convened regularly to explore effective strategies to combat antisemitism, racism, and xenophobia while fostering peaceful co-existence,” he explained.

He went on to say that “recent events and political developments across Europe and beyond demonstrate that the far right remains a potent and persistent threat. Hate crimes, antisemitic attacks, crimes against LGBTQI individuals, and acts of racism and discrimination continue to plague societies. The spread of misinformation and fake news, designed to sow hatred and division, challenges us to renew and redouble our resolve to confront these issues with courage, empathy, and unwavering determination.”

He also noted that “in an era where attacks on basic democratic values and human rights have become alarmingly common, it is inspiring to witness the unwavering commitment of education union leaders and activists. Their vigilance and dedication to opposing the resurgence of fascist ideologies offer a beacon of hope in these troubling times.”

“ The resolutions adopted at the most recent World Congress of Education International (EI) in Buenos Aires urge us to develop strategies and forge alliances to counteract the growth of the far right and its assaults on democracy and workers' rights. The resolutions are a clear acknowledgement that fascism threatens the present just as it stained the relatively recent past. We must not be complacent when the warning bell of history tolls so insistently,” Mac Gabhann also said.

He added that “the history we teach to our students and, as importantly, to our own children and communities must be informed by a rooted sense of humanity, a deep and genuine respect for those who were murdered in the death camps and profound gratitude to those who, since their liberation, have over the decades borne witness.”

He was also adamant that, “as educators and trade unionists, we are entrusted with a profound responsibility to model and inculcate values of peace, diversity, and understanding in future generations, in our children, our students and our communities. Education remains our most powerful weapon against hatred and ignorance. By fostering historical awareness and critical, ethical thinking, we empower young people to reject prejudice and embrace the shared dignity of humanity. This work must transcend commemorative days, becoming a continuous endeavour in classrooms, communities, and across borders.”

Education must take a stand and oppose resurgent antisemitism

For GEW President and member and EI Executive Board Maike Finnern, “stigmatization, insults, threats, and violence are part of the daily life of many Jewish teachers and students. Anti-Semitism must have no place in educational institutions. Schools, universities, daycare centers, and continuing education institutions are places of diversity, dialogue, and enlightenment. They bear a special responsibility to impart democratic values to young people and to enable them to actively counter prejudice, hatred, and discrimination.”

In addition to preventive educational actions, she emphasized that clear intervention strategies are needed: “Educational institutions must pursue a zero-tolerance policy towards anti-Semitism. This requires binding catalogs of measures as well as support for those affected. Protection against discrimination in educational institutions must be systematically expanded.”

Gerhard Brand, VBE Federal Chairman, also explained that “we urgently need the necessary space in schools to be able to address a topic as significant for our democracy as anti-Semitism and the fight against it in an appropriate manner. Instead, we have overcrowded classes, class cancellations, and dilapidated facilities. This way, neither prevention and enlightenment nor education in general can succeed.”

He called for better support for teachers on how to address the topic of anti-Semitism: “The employer must create more and high-quality training and continuing education measures to adequately train teachers. Additionally, we need support from multi-professional teams to counter the increasing anti-Semitism with the necessary strength. Those responsible must finally understand that the future of our democracy and the freedom of the individual depend on whether we succeed in reversing the negative developments of recent years.”

On January 28th, in the morning, trade union representatives will visit the Auschwitz Museum, pay tribute to the victims, and lay candles and flowers at the Birkenau memorial. In the afternoon, they will share their experiences building educational activities about the Holocaust and Auschwitz around artefacts.

Education International’s policy and ongoing work for democracy and against authoritarianism

Through many World Congress resolutions adopted and diverse activities conducted since its inception, EI has been showing a clear commitment to protecting democracy and fighting far-right movements and authoritarianism worldwide. It also relentlessly highlights contributions that teachers, schools, universities and representative organizations can make to solidify and progress democratic life.

On its 25th anniversary, EI released “On Education & Democracy: 25 Lessons from the Teaching Profession”, authored by former EI President Susan Hopgood and EI General Secretary emeritus Fred van Leeuwen. These lessons serve as a set of recommendations to every classroom teacher working at all levels in our education systems and in their education unions and are an invitation to take a stand in favour of democracy everywhere.