Survivors take on Holocaust denial in new digital campaign

The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, (Claims Conference) has launched a new digital campaign, #CancelHate. The campaign features Holocaust survivors reading Holocaust denial posts from across social media platforms. Each post illustrates how Holocaust denial and distortion can not only rewrite history but perpetuate antisemitic tropes and spread hate.

Gideon Taylor, President of the Claims Conference, said, “The world is a volatile place right now. Social media offers individuals a place to hide while they spread words of hate. This campaign shows that these are not victimless posts – these mean and vile words deny the first-hand testimony of each and every Holocaust survivor, their suffering and the suffering and often loss of their families.”

The #CancelHate campaign features Holocaust survivors introducing themselves, reading social media posts about Holocaust denial and then addressing what they’ve read, debunking the lies and speaking to the truth with testimony of their experiences in the Holocaust. Every video ends with the tagline, “Words matter. Cancel hate.”

Holocaust survivor Carla Benninga, who resides in Florida and participates in the campaign said: “The Holocaust is not a lie. I know because my family narrowly escaped. We tried to leave Holland when the war started but were unable. We were forced, with tens of thousands of other Jews, to move to the Amsterdam ghetto. As things got worse, my mother made the heart-wrenching decision to have the Underground place me and my sister with Catholic families – she did not know if she would ever see us again. For a year-and-a-half, I was without my family. Almost 75 percent of the Jews in The Netherlands were murdered – nearly three-quarters of them, just for being Jewish. The Holocaust is not a lie. I lived it; my family lived it. Posting Holocaust denial on social media doesn’t change the facts. All it does is spread lies and hate. Words Matter, Cancel Hate.”

This powerful campaign addresses head-on the ongoing issue of Holocaust denial and distortion on social media. The anonymity of the channels and the distance from actual human contact make social media platforms ideal for this level of antisemitic hate.

Greg Schneider, Executive Vice President of the Claims Conference, said, “I could never have imagined a day when Holocaust survivors would be confronting such a tremendous wave of Holocaust denial and distortion, but sadly, that day is here. We all saw what unchecked hatred led to — words of hate and antisemitism led to deportations, gas chambers and crematoria. Holocaust survivors from around the world are participating in this campaign to show that hate will not win. Those who read these depraved posts are putting aside their own discomfort and trauma to ensure that current and future generations understand that unchecked hatred has no place in society.”

A recent study in the United States of Millennials and Gen Z over the age of 18 found that approximately half (49 percent) have seen Holocaust denial or distortion posts on social media or elsewhere online, a sentiment that mirrored the results in other countries. In the U.K., 29 percent of adults saw denial or distortion on social media. These surveys also found that in many countries Holocaust knowledge was waning. In Canada, 22 percent of Millennials and Gen Z were not sure if they had heard of the Holocaust, and in France, 25 percent of Millennials were unsure if they have ever heard of – or have not heard of – the Holocaust. This growing gap in basic knowledge of the Holocaust is leaving younger generations more and more vulnerable to denial and distortion.

Holocaust survivor and #CancelHate campaign participant in the United States, Abe Foxman said, “I survived the Holocaust, but 13 members of my immediate family were murdered because they were Jewish. Holocaust denial on social media isn’t just another post. These things we say matter. Posts that deny the Holocaust are hateful and deny the suffering of millions of people. We must take our words seriously. Our words matter.”

Herbert Rubinstein, a Holocaust survivor in Germany who read a Holocaust denial post from a user in Germany, said, “I lived through the Holocaust. Six million were murdered. Hate and Holocaust denial have returned to our society today. I am very, very, very sad about this and I am fighting it with all my might and strength. Words matter. Our words are our power.”

Hedi Argent, a Holocaust survivor in the U.K., said, “My family was turned out of our home… because we were Jews. My father was forced to scrub the streets and was later arrested for making anti-Nazi comments, yet we were the lucky ones. The 17 members of my family who were murdered were not lucky. The Holocaust did happen.”

The #CancelHate campaign is a month-long campaign against Holocaust denial and distortion. Starting today, videos from Holocaust survivors around the world will be posted every day for 30 days featuring testimony from a Holocaust survivor disputing Holocaust denial social media posts.

All videos can be seen on the organization’s website: www.Claimscon.org/CancelHate

The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference), a nonprofit organization with offices in New York, Israel, Germany and Austria, secures material compensation for Holocaust survivors around the world. Founded in 1951 by representatives of 23 major international Jewish organizations, the Claims Conference negotiates for and disburses funds to individuals and organizations and seeks the return of Jewish property stolen during the Holocaust. As a result of negotiations with the Claims Conference since 1952, the German government has paid more than $90 billion in indemnification to individuals for suffering and losses resulting from persecution by the Nazis. In 2023, the Claims Conference distributed over $560 million in compensation to over 200,000 survivors in 83 countries and allocated over $750 million in grants to over 300 social service agencies worldwide that provide vital services for Holocaust survivors, such as home care, food and medicine. For 2024, the Claims Conference successfully negotiated approximately $535 million in compensation for survivors globally and $888 million for survivors’ home health care needs.

For more information, visit: www.claimscon.org