A delegation from the European Union led a group of ambassadors and diplomats on a visit to the Ghetto Fighters’ House Museum in northern Israel, ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, focusing on preserving Holocaust memory and confronting rising antisemitism worldwide.
The visit was organized by the EU delegation in Israel and included envoys from EU member states as well as diplomats from other countries. It took place on the 84th anniversary of the Wannsee Conference on Jan. 20, 1942, when senior Nazi officials coordinated plans for the genocide of Europe’s Jews.
During the tour, diplomats were introduced to exhibits documenting both the destruction of Jewish communities during the Holocaust and acts of resistance by Jews who chose to fight the Nazis under extreme conditions. The museum, founded by Holocaust survivors and resistance fighters, places particular emphasis on moral courage and armed and spiritual resistance.
EU Ambassador to Israel Michael Mann said the joint visit was especially important amid a global rise in antisemitism, including across Europe.
“We felt it was vital to come here together,” Mann said after the tour. “Preserving the memory of the Holocaust and educating future generations is not only a moral duty toward the victims. For the European Union, it is a central pillar in the ongoing struggle against antisemitism and hatred.”
Yigal Cohen, director general of the Ghetto Fighters’ House Museum, said the visit carried clear international significance.
“The presence of ambassadors and diplomats from across Europe is a strong statement about the global importance of Holocaust remembrance,” Cohen said. “This is a place where memory meets stories of resistance, human spirit and courage. At a time when antisemitism is again on the rise, our shared responsibility is not only to remember, but to act, to educate and to pass on values of morality and equality.”
The visit concluded with an open discussion between the diplomats and museum staff on national efforts to combat antisemitism and promote Holocaust education. Participants emphasized the importance of reaching younger generations and linking Holocaust remembrance to universal lessons about human rights and the dangers of hatred.
Several diplomats shared initiatives from their own countries. The Greek ambassador described plans for a new Holocaust memorial museum in Thessaloniki commemorating the Jewish communities of Greece and the Balkans, about 90% of whom were murdered during the Holocaust. The Lithuanian ambassador spoke about the recently opened “Shtetl Museum” in Lithuania, dedicated to Jewish life that once flourished there, noting that roughly 95% of the country’s Jewish population was killed during the Nazi occupation.