Between Memory and Responsibility
"Beyond Auschwitz" Follow-Up Event

Parliamentary staff, ministerial officials, and policy advisors rarely visit the sites where "Aktion Reinhardt"- the systematic murder of nearly two million Jewish people - took place during World War II. Visiting these sites is essential in order to understand how bureaucracy, logistics, and societal indifference enabled their extermination. The "Beyond Auschwitz" project, organized by the World Jewish Congress and the Alfred Landecker Foundation and conducted by what matters gGmbH, seeks to address this gap by offering curated four-day journeys to Bełżec, Sobibór, Majdanek, and the former transit ghettos of Izbica and Włodawa. On May 4, participants reconvened to reflect on their experiences alongside experts in the field.

In her opening remarks, Lena Altman, Co-CEO of the Alfred Landecker Foundation, spoke about a place that had left a particularly strong impression on her: Izbica. It was the last known location of Alfred Landecker, the foundation’s namesake.  She emphasized that even for those deeply familiar with these topics, such journeys leave a lasting mark. Standing at a site that bears little trace of the once-flourishing Jewish life - and of the mass murder that extinguished it - is both moving and unsettling.

Bella Zchwiraschwili, Head of the WJC Representative Office in Berlin, noted in her remarks that the journey created a rare opportunity for open exchange. This was made possible by the participants’ willingness to engage with one another and with what they encountered. In this way, participants became ambassadors for preserving the memory of those murdered during "Aktion Reinhardt."

The Journey Still Resonates

During the reflection session with Dr. Andreas Kahrs, Founder and Director of what matters, many of the participants described the difficulty of returning to everyday life: the experiences continued to resonate, with few opportunities to convey their meaning to those who had not been there.

At the same time, the journeys generated momentum. Participants described a strong sense of connection and a renewed motivation to act. Follow-up meetings took place, and concrete initiatives emerged - including a Hanukkah celebration in the Bundestag that grew directly out of the network formed during the journey.

From Historical Exclusion to Present-Day Patterns

The second part provided the participants with a short historical review outlining major stages that eventually lead to the Holocaust. Antisemitism has to be understood as a gradual process. During national socialism this process was marked first by the legal exclusion of Jews and its social normalization in the 1930s; followed by public violence and the final escalation: the extermination of millions of Jews in the shadow of World War II. Dr. Kahrs central argument was that dehumanization does not occur suddenly - it becomes actionable policy through incremental steps, each normalized before the next begins.

Ernest Herzog, Executive Director for Operations at the WJC, stressed that antisemitism rarely begins with violence. It starts with words, leading to its normalization and eventual institutionalization within society. Speaking out against it today, he noted, can still carry the risk of rejection or exclusion.

Benjamin Steinitz, Managing Director of Bundesverband RIAS e.V., supported these statements with data: documented antisemitic incidents in Germany have risen sharply in recent years, with a significant acceleration following October 7, 2023.

Countering the Normalization of Antisemitism

The closing panel brought together Marina Chernivsky, Managing Director of OFEK e.V.; Jessica Lewin, Director of Security at the WJC; and Benjamin Steinitz to examine antisemitism across different contexts. Marina Chernivsky argued that Germany must recognize antisemitism as a phenomenon rooted in the societal mainstream.

The experts noted that for decades, public discourse has focused on memorialization and the commitment to "never again," while paying insufficient attention to those directly affected. Since  October 7, 2023, the genocidal dimension of antisemitism has once again become visible to Jewish communities. They warned that once people have been dehumanized, the threshold for such thinking remains permanently lowered.

Furthermore, they pointed to the growing trivialization and inversion of the Holocaust, evident in the increasing number of antisemitic incidents at memorial sites. They emphasized that the logic of boycott has become so normalized that it is already leading to the denial of fundamental rights, such as access to university education. 

Another point highlighted during the discussion were the technological dynamics behind the spread of antisemitic narratives: digital platforms currently profit from amplifying hatred rather than containing it, creating a trickle-down effect that floods society with antisemitic content. 

The evening concluded with a final reflection and an informal exchange among the participants.