Remaking the Promise of Never Again

The Holocaust was civilisation's darkest moment.

All of the structures that humanity had taken centuries to create–from the law to industry, from medicine to bureaucracy, from transport to the military to publishing–all of these developments became mobilised and subsumed to the single task of eradicating Jews.

As the reality of the Shoah emerged in the years following the Second World War, the world pledged Never Again.

Institutions and frameworks and promises were made.

Yet almost before the ink was dry, the Holocaust began to lose its meaning as the primary lesson about where civilisation will go, if anti-Semitism is unchecked.

The Vehicle of Anti-Semitism

Nowadays we do little more than pay lip-service to its memory, with many wars or manifestations of prejudice portrayed as a parallel. In recent years many have even sought to undermine the centrality of anti-Semitism to the Holocaust. But the journey to a war that engulfed the world, and to the Holocaust itself, was clearly only possible by way of the vehicle of anti-Semitism.

2025 is the year that we must put this lesson back into the heart of our understanding of the Holocaust, and at the core of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

It's clear that institutions and declarations are not enough to guarantee Never Again; each generation must understand the Holocaust for itself. Each generation must remake that promise.

Remake the Promise in 2025

In 2025, Our Fight will be involved in a number of activities to help to remake the promise of Never Again.

The first will be on Sunday, February 9th, when we will hold a public event in North London and online, on the theme of Remaking the Promise of Never Again, where we will help with this urgent task. We will have a number of panels on topics such as Representations of the Holocaust and The Holocaust in Academia.

The day will conclude with an in-person discussion with Brendan O'Neill, politics editor of Spiked Online, author of After the Pogrom and known to many for being one of the first to point out the growing problem of anti-Semitism in the West amongst progressives. Brendan has also consistently argued for a bold defence of Israel as it battles for its survival against Islamism.

Tickets for the whole event will be announced shortly, but for now, get this date into your diary.

If you are interested in sponsoring a session or part of the day-school, or other activities through the year, then please contact events@OurFight.uk.

Let's ensure that 2025 is the year that we remake the promise of Never Again.