News item | 26-03-2026 | 11:56
On Wednesday, March 25, 2026, the Holocaust Education Working Conference took place at Sociëteit De Witte in The Hague. Education professionals, experts, policymakers and social partners came together to exchange knowledge and experiences about Holocaust education and the place of the Holocaust in education.
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The central question was how teachers can treat the Holocaust carefully and meaningfully in the classroom, at a time when eyewitnesses are disappearing and social and digital contexts are changing.
Last generation of survivors
Wojciech Soczewica, director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, spoke about the transfer of knowledge about Auschwitz in the period after the last generation of survivors. Willem Wagenaar of the Anne Frank Foundation discussed Holocaust education in a time of change. His contribution focused on the fact that education about the Holocaust, in addition to commemoration, also requires historical context, analysis and reflection on exclusion, perpetrators and democratic constitutional values.
The central question was how teachers can treat the Holocaust carefully and meaningfully in the classroom, at a time when eyewitnesses are disappearing and social and digital contexts are changing.
Workshops with relevant themes
The workshops continued to work on themes from educational practice. Topics discussed included scapegoating mechanisms, stories of hiding, Holocaust denial and Holocaust distortion, and international examples of Holocaust education. The sessions provided participants with an opportunity to share experiences and discuss educational approaches.
First Loe de Jong lecture
During the conference, the first Loe de Jong lecture was also delivered by Adriaan van Dis. With this lecture, the National Coordinator for Combating Anti-Semitism introduces an annual moment of reflection on the lasting significance of the Holocaust and the importance of education about it.
NCAB: “As a society, we will only remain resilient to anti-Semitism if we enable every teacher in the Netherlands to provide good education about the Holocaust. The great need for concrete tools was once again evident from the responses of the teachers present. We will include their input in further strengthening our offering, including through a support center, the annual campaign and the Learn about the Holocaust website.”
