Auschwitz in the 20th century was a Nazi-run concentration camp. In the 21st century, it has transformed into an educational tourist destination, preaching awareness about the mass murder of the Jews.
Yet, this paradoxical symbolism appears to quell little of the rising wave of anti-Semitism. As the world commemorates 75 years of the holocaust, the UK government has announced a new fund to pay for 150 student leaders a year for the next three years to visit Auschwitz. Additionally, the Government may even stump public funding for universities and local councils if they refuse to adopt an internationally recognised definition of anti-Semitism.
But it must be noted that the Labour Party in the UK is challenged and perhaps, fractured by the growing anti-Semitism within their political quarters. Labour leadership during the general election campaign may have apologised for the said anti-Semitism row which has been continuing within the Party for the last three years. This said apology was issued only after the Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, publicly confronted the Party leadership, claiming that “a new poison- sanctioned from the very top- had taken root in Labour. It is interesting to note that none of the new Labour leader candidates have addressed anti-Semitism in their leadership pitches or speeches.
In light of the recent spate of attacks on Jewish synagogues in London, to Nazi graffiti appearing in the Grangetown community in Cardiff two years ago, it is little wonder that the Jewish community feels isolated and perhaps, wary of our political corridors. Whilst this some may argue be the anti-Semitic landscape in the UK, the feeling among some Jews in Europe can be quantified as perhaps even worse.
A survey conducted by the European Commission last year noted that 50 per cent of Europeans consider anti-Semitism a problem in their country, including majorities in Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, Italy, Belgium and Austria. Attacks on Jews, from the French city of Toulouse in 2012 to Pittsburgh in 2018 and Halle in eastern Germany last October bear testimonies to the Jewish community’s concerns.
There is no definite answer quantitatively or qualitatively to the question if anti-Semitism has been on the rise especially ever since the 1940s. However, some academics opine that anti-Semites feel more emboldened today whether as keyboard warriors in firing and misfiring abusive tweets or through drawing Swastika outside the building campuses. Social media and “biased” media reporting of incidents are perhaps as much to blame for the anti-Jewish sentiment being cemented within the community as the political corridors.
But what remains unanswered today even after Jews were persecuted at Auschwitz nearly three-quarters of a century ago is this: What is the root cause of anti-Semitism? And in the 21st century, many academics have wonder if a comparison can be drawn between anti-Semitism and racism. The answers to these questions are subject to individuals’ perceptions. Seventy-five years later we may say that we are better educated about what happened in the 1940s in Poland but perhaps, we are still not better informed about it.
