Message from the Shoah Memorial

The mission of the Shoah Memorial created in 1943 underground is to transmit and teach the consequences of racism and antisemitism in history, that of the Holocaust and genocides, throughout France, Europe and the world. Educate against anti-Semitism, racism, hatred of others that lead to barbarism.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas, an Islamist terrorist organization whose project is to assassinate the Jews and destroy the state of Israel, perpetrated a barbaric massacre of defenceless civilians. Elderly people, young girls and children have been murdered, abused and taken hostage.

We are all upset, bruised and in solidarity with the State of Israel and its entire population as we were with the victims and their families after Montauban, Toulouse, the hyper-cacher, Charlie Hebdo, the Bataclan, Nice and all the deadly Islamist terrorist attacks that have hit our country. Notably those who caused the death of teachers Jonathan Sandler, Samuel Paty and Dominique Bernard. In France and in Israel, Islamist terrorism has only one face, that of Barbarism and hatred.

We particularly think of the 240 hostages at the hands of Hamas, among them 40 children including one infant. 40 French people were murdered and 8 missing, some of whom are among the hostages. We also think of our colleagues historians, our counterparts from Yad Vashem, the Kibbutz of the Warsaw Ghetto fighters, Massua as well as all the Holocaust survivors.

The events unfolding in Israel and Gaza have led to an unprecedented increase in anti-Semitic acts, not only in France but on a global scale. Alongside security, political and legal responses, education plays a central role.

The mission of the Memorial is to educate against Barbary and hatred of others by teaching the consequences of racism and antisemitism in the history of the Holocaust and genocides. We teach tolerance by valuing the values that underpin our republic and our democracy.

The Memorial tries through education, reflection, the development of critical sense, to dismantle stereotypes and prejudices as well as all forms of propaganda whose risk is extremist indoctrination, complotist, anti-Semitic, racist or negationist

"No Frenchman will be free until the Jews enjoy the fullness of their rights. No Frenchman will be safe as long as a Jew in France and throughout the world can fear for his life" Jean Paul Sartre, 1946, in "reflection on the Jewish question"

The Shoah Memorial will pursue and expand its action with determination, in particular its educational work against the consequences of intolerance, antisemitism and racism in the history of the Holocaust and genocides.