“I learned so much from survivors,” Lessing, who now serves on IHRA’s Executive Board reflected. “They don’t want revenge – they want dignity. They want their stories to be heard, and their suffering acknowledged. And that is what the Stockholm Declaration ultimately did: it made governments take responsibility for this memory.”
They [survivors] don’t want revenge – they want dignity. They want their stories to be heard, and their suffering acknowledged.
For many delegates, the Stockholm Forum was not only about plenary speeches — it was about the connections forged in quieter moments. Richelle Budd Caplan, a member of the Israeli delegation to the Forum and later Chair of the IHRA’s Education Working Group in 2001, remembers the Forum’s informal spaces just as vividly as its official sessions.
“The Forum’s marketplace granted me with a unique opportunity to meet Holocaust-related experts and diplomats from more than 40 countries. I recall side discussions about how countries planned to legislate annual Holocaust memorial days and how the ITF sought to develop liaison projects, particularly with Czechia. In addition, a first-ever international directory of organizations in Holocaust education, remembrance and research was disseminated by Wesley Fisher. Energized, I delved into networking and developing projects.”
The directory Richelle refers to — distributed in printed form at the Forum — became one of the ITF’s earliest shared resources, symbolizing the Forum’s spirit of exchange and collaboration in a pre-digital age.
Hope and Political Reality
The Stockholm Declaration was uncontested when presented, but its implementation in the years that followed was not wholly without challenges. IHRA’s unique structure – bringing together Holocaust scholars, educators, and political representatives – became its greatest strength. Yet, it also introduced complexities.
Consensus-building – where political priorities and historical expertise had to align – often meant slow progress. Some governments initially also resisted acknowledging aspects of their Holocaust history, particularly around collaboration, and negotiations could be difficult. Yet, it was precisely this structure – where experts challenged policymakers with historical evidence, and policymakers turned knowledge into political action – that ensured IHRA’s work was not just about commemoration but about shaping real-world policy.
Dr. Kathrin Meyer, who was IHRA Secretary General from 2008–2025, was instrumental in turning the Declaration’s commitments into concrete policy and action. Reflecting on the significance of the Declaration, she emphasized its role not just as a guiding principle but as a binding commitment. “The Stockholm Forum was a breakthrough – it brought experts and policymakers to the same table. This wasn’t just about governments pledging commitments; it was about ensuring they had the historical expertise to implement them responsibly,” she noted.
Ensuring that all countries had an equal voice meant that commitments made under the Stockholm Declaration held weight, even when political tensions arose.
As early as 2009, as the ITF marked its 10-year anniversary, Dr. Meyer and others leading the effort then understood that the road ahead would not be easy. The introduction to its anniversary publication reflected on the challenges they foresaw: the risk of fatigue in dealing with the topic, political resistance, educational gaps, and the persistent danger that, if people were permitted to forget, the warning of the Holocaust would lose its power.
Recognizing this threat, IHRA member countries came together in 2020 to adopt the Ministerial Declaration, a reaffirmation of the Stockholm Declaration’s core principles. The declaration underscored the dangers of Holocaust distortion and the urgent need to counter efforts that manipulate history for political ends. It served as a reminder that, even decades later, governments must remain proactive in protecting the facts.
Returning to London: the challenge of memory in a politicized world
In February 2025, under the UK Presidency, the IHRA returned to London to mark 25 years of the Stockholm Declaration – a city where, in 1998, its journey first took shape with the ITF’s inaugural meeting. Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich reminded those present, “we do not tell our stories for ourselves. We tell them so that the next generation understands what happens when hatred goes unchecked.”
“We do not tell our stories for ourselves. We tell them so that the next generation understands what happens when hatred goes unchecked.”
Paul Boateng, the Head of the UK Delegation to the Stockholm Forum, emphasized why Holocaust remembrance remains as critical as ever.
“We stand at a moment when history is not only being forgotten but actively rewritten.
Professor Yehuda Bauer, former Honorary Chairman of the IHRA, at the Forum (front left)
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