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Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, Life President of the Weidenfeld Institute/Centre for German-Jewish Studies, spoke last week in a debate at the House of Lords that marked Holocaust Memorial Day 2025.

The Rt Hon. Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, David Edmond Neuberger, gave a compelling speech on the importance of Holocaust education. Reflecting on the contemporary political climate, he highlighted how education and research are critical to confronting racism: 'It is through education that we seek to ensure that future generations are encouraged and enabled to recognise and combat racism in general, and anti-Semitism in particular. It seems to me essential that young people are both taught to disavow racism, anti-Semitism and intolerance and educated about our constitutional system and the rule of law.' 

Significantly, our Life President celebrated the far-reaching impacts of the work of the Sussex Weidenfeld Institute and Centre for German-Jewish Studies, and how it is essential that histories, stories and experiences of the Holocaust are relayed to the young:  'When it comes to education, I would like to take the example of the work of the Weidenfeld Institute of Jewish Studies at the University of Sussex, home to the Centre for German-Jewish Studies, of which I am privileged to serve as president. For over two decades, the Institute has been dedicated to scholarly inquiry into the history, culture and thought of Jewish refugees from German-speaking lands. This not only preserves the memory of those who fled persecution but, by actively engaging with students, school children and the wider academic community, helps to ensure that contemporary understanding is informed by past knowledge and experience.'

We are very grateful to Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury for highlighting the work of the Institute in this special Lords debate to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.

You can watch the full speech here.

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