global Holocaust education – progress made, gaps still to fill – and a bold step forward in Belarus

In recent decades, the global community has made commendable progress in Holocaust education. Survivors’ stories have reached millions, museums have institutionalised memory, and the Holocaust has found its place in school curricula across continents. Yet despite these successes, serious challenges remain—particularly when it comes to the hidden Holocaust in Eastern Europe, especially in former Soviet territories like Belarus.

Now, a historic development in Belarus is helping to correct this imbalance—and The Together Plan is at the heart of it.

successes of global Holocaust education

International Recognition and Commemoration
The adoption of UN Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27) in 2005 marked a significant milestone. Institutions such as Yad Vashem, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum continue to lead the world in memorialisation, education, and research.

1. Inclusion in curricula
   Thanks to UNESCO and the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), many countries now include Holocaust education in school curricula and provide support for teacher training.
2. Survivor testimonies and digital access
   Projects like the Shoah Foundation have humanised history through survivor testimonies, while digital archives and virtual tours have broadened global access and engagement.
3. Legal and policy measures
   Laws against Holocaust denial exist in countries such as Germany and France, and governments like the UK have mandated Holocaust education in schools—reinforcing a commitment to truth and memory.

persistent challenges and missed ppportunities

1. Holocaust denial and political distortion
   The spread of misinformation and distortion online is on the rise. In some countries, including Poland and Hungary, historical revisionism poses a serious threat to an honest understanding of the Holocaust.
2. Inconsistent and superficial education
   Many countries still lack formal Holocaust education, or teach it in a fragmented, surface-level way—missing opportunities for deep historical and ethical engagement.
3. The passing of survivors
   As we lose the last generation of Holocaust survivors, the emotional resonance of first-hand accounts is harder to maintain—despite digital testimonies.
4. Neglect of Eastern Europe and non-Western narratives
   The Holocaust in the former Soviet Union, where one-third of all victims perished, remains underexplored and largely absent from mainstream education. The Soviet regime suppressed Holocaust recognition after WWII, and this legacy persists today in countries like Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia. Moreover, these nations are excluded from the IHRA, even from observer status, leaving them outside the global dialogue and support structures that foster accurate and inclusive Holocaust education.

5. Disconnect from present-day issues
   In many cases, Holocaust education fails to link history to modern antisemitism, racism, and human rights—missing its moral and civic potential.

In a powerful move to redress some of these blind spots, on July 10, 2025, Belarus signed a landmark agreement to establish the Belarusian Museum of the Holocaust and Resistance in Novogrudok—a town with one of the most extraordinary, yet under-acknowledged, histories of Jewish resistance – click here for more.

This historic collaboration brings together the Jewish Religious Union in the Republic of Belarus (chaired by Artur Livshyts and official partner of The Together Plan), the Belarusian MIR Foundation, and the Novogrudok District Executive Committee. The new museum will be the first Holocaust museum in Belarus, filling a critical void in commemoration and education.

Novogrudok was home to approximately 11,000 Jews, most of whom were murdered under Nazi occupation. But it was also the site of the largest documented tunnel escape in Nazi-occupied Europe, carried out by Jewish ghetto prisoners on September 26, 1943. After five months of secretly digging a 200-metre tunnel, 235 Jews escaped, of the 126 who survived the escape many joined the Bielski partisans, the only all-Jewish partisan group in Belarus. Operating in the Naliboki Forest, they rescued over 1,200 Jews, building a hidden camp with a school, workshops, and a hospital—an unprecedented act of resistance and survival.

“The story of the Bielski partisans, immortalized in the film Defiance, is not just one of resistance—it is one of rescue, resilience, and community,” said Debra Brunner, co-founder of The Together Plan. “This museum will honour not only the victims, but also the bravery and humanity of those who fought back, often with nothing more than their will to survive and protect others.”

The new museum will incorporate the existing Museum of Jewish Resistance in Novogrudok and will serve four key aims; to memorialise the victims of Nazi atrocities in Belarus, document and share stories of survival and solidarity, explore the distinct history of the Holocaust in Belarus and educate future generations about the dangers of antisemitism, racism, and authoritarianism.

“This is not just a museum—it is a commitment to truth, to education, and to peace,” said Artur Livshyts, who also chairs the Jewish Religious Union in Belarus. “In remembering our past, we lay the groundwork for a more tolerant and just future.”

The Together Plan is proud to be a driving force behind this transformational initiative. Since 2013, we have been working to support Jewish communities in Belarus and to recover the histories lost or silenced during the Soviet era.

Our mission is to bring hidden Holocaust narratives into the light, to build human connections through heritage, and to foster an inclusive, human-centred approach to Holocaust education.

Our Making History Together programme and travelling exhibitions (in English and Russian) are at the forefront of this effort. These initiatives start the journey in the East—not in Auschwitz or Western Europe—but in the towns, forests, and killing fields of the former Soviet Union. They promote dialogue, reflection, and a deeper understanding of how the Holocaust unfolded—and why it still matters today.

While global Holocaust education has achieved notable successes, it remains incomplete without the voices and histories of the East. The establishment of the Belarusian Museum of the Holocaust and Resistance in Novogrudok is a bold step toward addressing that.

At The Together Plan, we remain committed to elevating overlooked stories, connecting past to present, and empowering future generations to remember, question, and act, because only by understanding the full picture can we build a future grounded in truth, empathy, and justice.

Let’s make history—together.

For more information – please get in touch [email protected]