Why is history important? Most of you may answer that it is in order to recognise our mistakes. Most often it would be to learn from history in order to create a better future.
However, do we actually learn from history? Or is the idea of learning from history merely a 'fairytale' ideal?
The Holocaust (the Shoah) was without a doubt one of the most atrocious acts of genocide of humankind to date. It involved the attempted mass murder of Jews and non-Jews (Gypsies, Poles, communists, homosexuals and the disabled) in Nazi Concentration Camps across Germany and German occupied areas.
Eleven million in total died.
The 27th January marks the liberation of the most notorious concentration camps, Auschwitz.
Have we learned from the Holocaust?
After the Holocaust came to light to the entire world the United Nations declared the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide. This came into effect as a direct result of the Holocaust. Article 2 of the Convention defined genocide as "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group."
It would appear from this convention declared by the UN that a lesson may have been learnt from the Holocaust. Genocide or even attempting genocide is one of the most despicable crimes that anybody could commit.
One of the most important lessons however (in my own opinion) to take from the Holocaust is that we should protect innocent communities and individuals from persecution. The Holocaust should have taught us that persecution of any community (whether that be religious, ethnic etc.) is inherently wrong.
However innocent groups of people continue to be persecuted all around us.
For example, the Israel-Palestine conflict. Palestinian Muslims and Christians face daily persecution by Israeli Zionists. This persecution is ongoing.
Anti-semitism continues to be a problem today. According to a recent survey many people continue to hold anti-semitic stereotypes, leading 54% of Jews to believe they have no future in Britain. Also in light of the events in Palestine, many Jews face the unnecessary repercussions of those that misunderstand the conflict. This persecution is ongoing.
In Burma, Muslims have continuously faced persecution by many Burmese Buddhists. The 969 Movement is seen as triggering nationwide anti-Islamic beliefs in Burma, for example in 2013 there were the Burma anti-Muslim riots which incited violence against Muslims. Many of Burma's Muslim population have had to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh due to a huge violation of their human rights in Burma. This persecution is ongoing.
Therefore it is clear with these few examples (many more could be added for sure) that we do not appear to have learnt from the Holocaust. The Holocaust should have taught us that persecution for whatever reason, such as religion or ethnicity, is categorically wrong. However many communities around the world continue to face persecution. Albeit not all of them are on the mass scale of genocide, however persecution nonetheless is ongoing in our society. So, have we learned from the Holocaust? No.
