Yad Vashem to open first Holocaust education center outside Israel in Munich

Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre in Jerusalem, announced on Thursday that it will establish its first Holocaust Education Centre outside Israel in Munich, Germany, as part of its effort to expand Holocaust education and combat rising antisemitism and historical distortion in Europe.

The new centre will be located at Karolinenplatz in central Munich and is expected to open within three years, according to a press release.

Yad Vashem said Munich was selected following an extensive nationwide survey and field research conducted with support from the German government. The World Holocaust Remembrance Centre cited the city’s strategic location, educational infrastructure, security capabilities and historical significance as factors in the decision.

“As we move further from the era of living survivor testimony, historically grounded Holocaust education is more important than ever,” Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan said in a statement.

“Through this Education Center, Yad Vashem will bring to Germany its unique educational approach at a critical juncture of growing Holocaust distortion, denial and antisemitism,” he continued. “The choice of Munich, the birthplace of the Nazi Party, carries deep symbolic significance and reflects the importance of confronting this history where it began.”

The idea for a Holocaust education centre in Germany was first discussed during a 2023 meeting between Dayan and then-German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The project has since received backing from Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other federal and state officials.

The centre is intended to serve not only the state of Bavaria, but audiences across Germany and neighbouring European countries. In addition to the Munich facility, Yad Vashem said it plans to open an extension in Leipzig, Saxony, featuring interactive learning spaces and educational outreach programs for teachers and educators throughout the region.

The organisation also announced plans to expand its existing partnership with the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia into a nationwide cooperation model.

Karin Prien, the federal minister for education, family affairs, senior citizens, women and youth, said the initiative comes at a time when many young Germans lack sufficient knowledge about the Holocaust.

“Knowledge of the past is essential to preventing such evil in the future,” Prien said. “Many young people in Germany still know too little about the Shoah—the systematic murder of millions of Jews under National Socialism.”

She said the German federal government would continue supporting the project financially and organizationally.

Kai Diekmann, chairman of the Friends of Yad Vashem in Germany, said the project “reflects the deep trust between Yad Vashem and Germany and builds on many years of successful collaboration.”

Yad Vashem currently maintains educational agreements with all 16 German states and has trained thousands of German educators, students, civic leaders and professionals using its Holocaust education programs.

According to the organisation, the new centre will further expand those efforts by focusing on educational methods centred on the experiences and voices of Jewish Holocaust victims.

In 2023, the Conference of European Rabbis moved its headquarters from London to Munich. Germany has publicly opposed attempts to accuse Israel of genocide, including this year at Berlinale film festival and the Venice Biennale arts show.