Yad Vashem, Israel’s national Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, is planning for the first time to establish a branch outside Israel: a Holocaust education center in Germany. The ambitious project comes amid a worrying rise in antisemitism across Europe, and in Germany in particular. The center will not only commemorate the Holocaust but also serve as a major educational tool in combating Holocaust denial. It will also focus on addressing hatred and antisemitism.
The idea for the center was first raised in a 2023 meeting between Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan and then-German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Following an in-depth review and a nationwide feasibility study conducted with the support of the German government, Yad Vashem narrowed the options to three federal states: Bavaria, North Rhine–Westphalia and Saxony. A decision on the location is expected in the first quarter of 2026, after which detailed planning will proceed based on the chosen site and structure.
Sources familiar with the matter said there is genuine and intense competition among the federal states, each of which is effectively running a campaign to attract the project. “There is real competition here, with each state trying to draw the center to its territory through various proposals,” one source said. The new center is expected to serve visitors and educators from across Germany and abroad, combining Yad Vashem’s unique pedagogical expertise with existing commemorative initiatives in Germany.
Among the proposals under consideration is one from the city of Cologne in North Rhine–Westphalia. City officials have offered Yad Vashem a historic building that previously housed a study center of the Romano-Germanic Museum, adjacent to the iconic Cologne Cathedral. Mayor Torsten Burmester personally presented the site to an Israeli delegation, saying the project would send “a clear signal against hatred” and support Jewish community life in the region.
“As mayor, but also on a personal level, this project is very close to my heart,” Burmester said. “A Yad Vashem education center in Cologne would send a clear message that our city is committed to Jewish life in the long term, that we are consistently fighting antisemitism through education and awareness and that we recognize the significant role Jews have played in our 2,000-year history.”
Competition within the state also includes cities such as Düsseldorf and Dortmund. Düsseldorf has proposed a former theater outside the city center, while Dortmund has offered the building of the former South Railway Station.
Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan said, “The new educational center will help address dangerous phenomena of Holocaust distortion and trivialization and will serve as a pillar in the fight against antisemitism.” Germany’s Federal Education Minister Karin Prien added, “Antisemitism is an ongoing challenge for all educational institutions. Visits to memorial sites should be an integral part of the curriculum, and we are pleased that Yad Vashem wants to take this step in Germany.”