IN MEMORIAM:
PROFESSOR YEHUDA BAUER
IHRA, Yad Vashem
Born in Prague on 6 April, 1926, Professor Bauer and his family fled to the British Mandate of Palestine via Poland and Romania following Nazi Germany’s annexation of Czechoslovakia in March 1939. From a young age, Professor Bauer was dedicated to the study of history. Following his high school studies in Haifa, he received a scholarship to attend Cardiff University in Wales, after which he returned to Israel for his graduate work at the Hebrew University, writing on the British Mandate of Palestine. Professor Bauer taught at the Institute for Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University, and served as a visiting professor at Brandeis University, Yale University, Richard Stockton College, and Clark University.
As a prolific scholar, he authored numerous seminal articles and books on the Holocaust and genocide, founded and edited the journal “Holocaust and Genocide Studies”, and was awarded the Israel Prize in 1998 for his significant contributions to Holocaust research. In 2001, he became a member of the Israeli National Academy of Sciences and was awarded the Illis Quorum by the Swedish government in 2005. Bauer was also honored with the Yakir Yerushalayim (Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem) award from the Jerusalem Municipality in 2008.
Professor Bauer’s comprehensive grasp of the history of the Holocaust, coupled with a moral clarity, made him an advocate for historically informed policymaking and genocide prevention. One of the founding members of the IHRA, he authored the Stockholm Declaration and guided the organization as it grew and developed. In his role as Advisor and later as Honorary Chairman, Professor Bauer facilitated building international consensus around the importance of Holocaust education, remembrance, and research.
Whether through his captivating speeches or his thorough scholarship, he reminded world leaders and students alike that “antisemitism is not a Jewish problem. It is a problem for all the societies in which it grows” – and he underlined the role each of us plays in countering it.
“The Holocaust is unprecedented,” he would say. “But it is not unique. If it were unique, we could forget about it, because it could happen only once. But it could happen again. We are here because we want to avoid that.”
Throughout his life, Professor Bauer was steadfast in his commitment to the truth, in all its complexity. “Yehuda Bauer devoted his life to teaching us all the importance of protecting the facts. He did not shy away from uncomfortable truths or from encouraging member countries to face up to difficult pasts. He liked to remind us all that no one came out of the Holocaust clean. But he also believed in keeping governments around the table, in dialogue and in working together – despite differences– to make the world that little bit better,” says IHRA Secretary General Dr Kathrin Meyer.
At Yad Vashem, Bauer led the International Institute for the Study of the Holocaust from 1996 to 2000, and subsequently became an academic advisor. His long-standing contributions extended beyond research, Bauer was also a member of the Yad Vashem Council, the Scientific Committee, and the editorial board for the academic journal “Yad Vashem Studies”.
Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan said: "Prof. Yehuda Bauer not only enriched our knowledge of the Holocaust, but also deepened our understanding of this unprecedented event in Jewish and human history. Bauer never confined himself to the ivory tower of academia; he was always an 'engaged intellectual.' He expressed his views decisively, yet always with respect for those who disagreed with him. For decades, and up until his final days, Yad Vashem and the entire world benefited from his knowledge, insights, and research through his roles at Yad Vashem's International Institute for Holocaust Research and in various international organizations. With his passing, we have lost the foremost Holocaust scholar of our time."
Our deepest condolences go out to Professor Bauer’s family, friends, and colleagues. His warmth, kindness, and character will be missed, and not forgotten.
It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that the IHRA announces the passing of our Honorary Chairman, Professor Yehuda Bauer. One of the foremost historians of the Holocaust, Professor Bauer left an indelible mark on both the IHRA and the field of Holocaust studies. His moral guidance, insight, and friendship will be sorely missed.
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