Holocaust education organizations around the world are paying tribute to Professor Yehuda Bauer, one of the field’s greatest scholars, who died Friday in Israel at the age of 98.
The Czech-born kibbutznik, honorary president of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, emigrated to Palestine with his family on the eve of World War II.
A professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, he has written numerous books on many topics, including Jewish resistance during the Shoah, reactions to the catastrophe, and anti-Semitism, and was the founding editor of the Journal of Holocaust and Genocide Studies There was also.
The Center for Holocaust Education at University College London paid tribute to a “giant”, saying he was “one of the greatest Holocaust historians of our time and the most persuasive orator and teacher”.
“He was, in many ways, the force that led to the creation of what is now known as the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance…” said Robert J. Williams, chief executive of the University of Southern California Shoah Foundation.
“How world leaders can visit Yehuda to ensure better education about the Holocaust, commemorative activities that remind the public of the importance of the Shoah, and research efforts that keep this subject alive.” I asked for advice on.”
Mr. Bauer said, “We will engage in many important conversations needed today, including the uniqueness of the Holocaust, the role of perpetrators, the experiences of survivors and victims, the complexities of rescue, and the ironies of some nations and movements.” He was primarily responsible for starting it,” he added. Exploiting the history of the Holocaust. ”
He was also one of the “few voices in the wilderness” who warned of a possible resurgence of anti-Semitism in the early 1980s, Williams said.
Israel’s National Holocaust Museum Yad Vashem said he was a “world authority” on Holocaust history whose “wisdom and dedication have enriched our understanding of this dark chapter.”
Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, called Bauer “a guiding light who helps us understand the complexity of Holocaust history and its relevance today.”
He “clarified everything in a thought-provoking and clear manner, making the most difficult subjects and arguments interesting and easy to understand.”
His studies at Cardiff University were interrupted when he returned to Israel to fight in the War of Independence. Not only did he speak eight languages, he could sing Welsh folk songs while playing the guitar.
Stephen Pollard, editor-in-chief of the Jewish Chronicle, said: “It was one of my great privileges as editor of JC to befriend Yehuda and to persuade him to write regularly for him.” spoke.
“His columns were based not only on his unparalleled scholarship, but also on the depth of his humanity, which shone through in everything he wrote.”
In a 2017 article for JC magazine, Bauer warned of a shift away from liberalism around the world, writing that “Jews can only live peacefully in relatively liberal societies.”
In another article last year, he criticized the “increasing tendency of scholars to politicize the Holocaust and use the tragedy as a weapon against Israel.”
Read more: The world’s leading Holocaust scholar speaks to JC
Yehuda Bauer of JC
