History must help us build a more tolerant and a more humane world, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Wednesday on the occasion of Croatia's taking over the presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).

“Today, Croatia begins its presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, which unites governments and experts around the world in the promotion and improvement of Holocaust education, research and remembrance,” Plenkovic said in his address.

The memory of the Holocaust, he said, concerns not only the past but also the present and the future. Since our generation is the last to have the opportunity to meet the survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust, this memory is more important than ever, said the Prime Minister.

We must make sure that the Holocaust is not left only to books, films, archives and museums, Plenkovic said, adding that one must preserve the vivid memory of the darkest period of history in order to prevent genocide and mass crimes. We owe this to our children and future generations, the PM underlined.

Croatia’s presidency of the IHRA will focus on the Future of Remembrance initiative, the goal of which is to provide the IHRA with greater visibility and at the same time preserve contemporary memory by developing digital technological solutions, promoting tolerance, implementing IHRA definitions and fighting hate speech in sports.

“This will make the memory of the Holocaust, the suppression of anti-Semitism and anti-Roma discrimination more accessible and relevant for all generations, despite their age and location,” said Plenkovic.

He said that all these topics will be discussed at the Future of Remembrance Conference, which will be held in Osijek in the second half of September. An international conference on genocide against the Roma will also be organised under the Croatian presidency.

‘The Holocaust is the most documented genocide in the world’

“The Holocaust is the most documented genocide in the world. The collective truth of Holocaust survivors has so far been the most tangible evidence to counter Holocaust denial and distortion. Now it is our responsibility to continue making the same efforts as we witness the rise of extreme forms of anti-Semitism, globally and online, which in itself is a denial,” he pointed out.

He recalled that on February 24, on the first anniversary of the brutal aggression against Ukraine, IHRA member states once again demonstrated that supporting Ukraine is a joint obligation. Russia deliberately provoked the war, claiming it will “denazify” democratic Ukraine, and such outrageous examples of truth distortion are among the greatest contemporary threats to the legacy of the Holocaust, Plenkovic said.

Today, preventing the distortion of the Holocaust refers to how we protect the facts, but also the way we protect the future, and therefore the priority of the Croatian presidency is to mark the tenth anniversary of the IHRA working definition of Holocaust denial and distortion, the PM said.

Prime Minister Plenkovic said that the IHRA, as an organisation in full expansion, must provide the means to maintain effective and efficient management of its various groups, while ensuring compliance with its strategy and mission, and therefore the structural reform of the IHRA is the second priority of the Croatian presidency.

Plenkovic also congratulated his colleague Ulf Kristersson on the successful Swedish chairmanship and announced that the Croatian IHRA co-chairs will be Ambassador Terezija Gras and his special adviser Sara Lustig.