Czech museum to return original Beethoven score to heirs
December 3, 2022 GMTPRAGUE (AP) — A musical manuscript handwritten by Ludwig van Beethoven is getting returned to the heirs of the richest family in pre-World War II Czechoslovakia, whose members had to flee the country to escape the Holocaust.
Asian faiths try to save swastika symbol corrupted by Hitler
November 27, 2022 GMTSheetal Deo was shocked when she got a letter from her Queens apartment building’s co-op board calling her Diwali decoration “offensive” and demanding she take it down.
“My decoration said ‘Happy Diwali’ and had a swastika on it,” said Deo, a physician, who was celebrating the Hindu festival of lights.
Auschwitz survivor and Sinti and Roma advocate dies at 98
October 22, 2022 GMTBERLIN (AP) — Zilli Schmidt, a survivor of the Auschwitz, Lety and Ravensbrueck concentration camps who became a vocal advocate for the recognition of the Nazi genocide of Sinti and Roma, has died. She was 98.
German far-right politician ‘danced’ on Holocaust memorial
October 12, 2022 GMTBERLIN (AP) — Israel's ambassador in Berlin has slammed a member of the far-right Alternative for Germany party for appearing to dance on the country's Holocaust memorial.
Ambassador Ron Prosor said tweeted Tuesday that far-right politician Holger Winterstein had brought “shame upon himself and his party.”
Iranian president’s Holocaust remarks spark outcry in Israel
September 19, 2022 GMTJERUSALEM (AP) — The Iranian president's comment that “there are some signs” that the Holocaust happened but that the issue required more research sparked an outcry on Monday from Israeli officials, who denounced the remarks as antisemitic Holocaust denial.
New York museums to disclose artwork looted by Nazis
September 16, 2022 GMTALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Museums in New York that exhibit artworks looted by Nazis during the Holocaust are now required by law to let the public know about those dark chapters in their provenance through placards displayed with the stolen objects.
Sisters who survived Holocaust die days apart in Alabama
September 7, 2022 GMTBIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Two sisters who survived the Holocaust as girls and moved to the United States afterward died just days apart in their adopted home of Alabama.
The Alabama Holocaust Education Center said Ruth Scheuer Siegler died Saturday at the age of 95.
Israeli president evokes horrors, ties at German parliament
September 6, 2022 GMTBERLIN (AP) — Israel's president addressed Germany's parliament on Tuesday about atrocities committed during the Third Reich, while at the same time praising the close and friendly relations that have emerged between the two countries since the end of the Holocaust.
Minnesota’s Walz hits rival Jensen for Holocaust remarks
August 25, 2022 GMTFALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz criticized Republican challenger Scott Jensen on Thursday for repeated comments that equated masking rules and other restrictions the governor imposed early in the COVID-19 pandemic with the rise of authoritarianism in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust.
In call with Israeli PM, Scholz condemns Holocaust denial
August 18, 2022 GMTBERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Israel's prime minister Thursday that he condemns any attempts to deny or downplay the Holocaust, offering reassurance after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sparked outrage with remarks to that effect earlier this week.
German leader condemns Abbas’ ’50 Holocausts’ remark
August 17, 2022 GMTBERLIN (AP) — Germany's chancellor said Wednesday that he was “disgusted by the outrageous remarks" made by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Berlin, accusing Israel of committing “50 Holocausts” against Palestinians over the years.
Long-hidden synagogue mural gets rehabbed, relocated
August 16, 2022 GMTBURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) —
A mural that was painted in a Vermont synagogue more than 100 years ago by a Lithuanian immigrant — and hidden behind a wall for years— has been termed a rare piece of art and has been painstakingly moved and restored.
Holocaust survivors mark 80 years since mass Paris roundup
July 17, 2022 GMTPARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron decried his Nazi-collaborator predecessors and rising antisemitism, vigorously vowing to stamp out Holocaust denial as he paid homage Sunday to thousands of French children sent to death camps 80 years ago for one reason alone: because they were Jewish.
Thousands in Bosnia commemorate 1995 Srebrenica massacre
July 11, 2022 GMTSREBRENICA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Fifty newly identified victims were honored and reburied Monday in Bosnia as thousands gathered to commemorate the anniversary of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, Europe’s only acknowledged genocide since the Holocaust.
Pope orders online release of WWII-era Pius XII Jewish files
June 23, 2022 GMTROME (AP) — Pope Francis has ordered the online publication of 170 volumes of its Jewish files from the recently opened Pope Pius XII archives, the Vatican announced Thursday, amid renewed debate about the legacy of its World War II-era pope.
Polish man who rescued Jews during the Holocaust dies at 102
June 21, 2022 GMTWARSAW, Poland (AP) — Józef Walaszczyk, a member of the Polish resistance who rescued dozens of Jews during the Nazi German occupation of Poland during World War II, has died aged 102.
Walaszczyk died on Monday, according to the Institute of National Remembrance, a Polish state historical body.
Poland wants formal rules for Israeli Holocaust study trips
June 20, 2022 GMTWARSAW, Poland (AP) — The Polish government wants formal rules to regulate the terms under which Israeli schoolchildren pay Holocaust study visits to the country, including on the presence of armed Israeli guards, an official in Warsaw said Monday.
Israel cancels youth trips to Poland over Holocaust studies
June 16, 2022 GMTJERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has canceled educational trips to Poland for thousands of high school students this summer, claiming the Polish government is trying to control the Holocaust-studies curriculum taught to Israeli children, the Israeli foreign minister said.
$1.5M to be paid to police chief who displayed Nazi insignia
June 11, 2022 GMTKENT, Wash. (AP) — A suburban Seattle city will pay more than $1.5 million to settle a dispute with a former assistant police chief who was disciplined for posting a Nazi rank insignia on his office door and joking about the Holocaust.
Holocaust memorial chairman thanks pope for opening archives
June 9, 2022 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — The chairman of Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial said he thanked Pope Francis on Thursday for giving scholars access to the Holy See’s World War II-era archives.
Dani Dayan, who met with Francis at the Vatican, said the pontiff described the archives’ opening as “an issue of justice.” Francis visited the memorial during a 2014 pilgrimage in Israel.
Vatican’s Pius XII archives begin to shed light on WWII pope
June 7, 2022 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican has long defended its World War II-era pope, Pius XII, against criticism that he remained silent as the Holocaust unfolded, insisting that he worked quietly behind the scenes to save lives.
Israel says Putin apologized over his FM’s Holocaust remarks
May 5, 2022 GMTJERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said he accepted an apology from Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday for controversial remarks about the Holocaust made by Moscow's top diplomat.
Israel lashes out at Russia over Lavrov’s Nazism remarks
May 2, 2022 GMTTEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel on Monday lashed out at Russia over “unforgivable” comments by its foreign minister about Nazism and antisemitism — including claims that Adolf Hitler was Jewish. Israel, which summoned the Russian ambassador in response, said the remarks blamed Jews for their own murder in the Holocaust.
Holocaust survivor who helped found Dallas museum dies at 94
April 29, 2022 GMTDALLAS (AP) — Max Glauben, a Holocaust survivor who tirelessly shared his story and was among the founders of the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum, died Thursday.
Polish leader calls for Ukraine unity at Holocaust event
April 28, 2022 GMTWARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish President Andrzej Duda denounced Russia's war against Ukraine on Thursday as he joined Holocaust survivors and people from around the world at an annual observance at the former site of Auschwitz.
Israel halts for Holocaust day, honors 6 million Jews killed
April 28, 2022 GMTTEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Sirens blared across Israel early Thursday as the country came to a standstill in an annual ritual honoring the 6 million Jews murdered during the Holocaust.
People halted where they were walking, and drivers stopped their cars to get out of the vehicles as people bowed their heads in memory of the victims of the Nazi genocide.
Ushering in Holocaust day, Israeli PM warns of polarization
April 27, 2022 GMTJERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett delivered a stark message Wednesday as the country ushered in its annual Holocaust memorial day, warning Jews against letting internal divisions tear society apart.
Alabama marking Holocaust remembrance with events
April 24, 2022 GMTBIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Alabama will remember the Holocaust, the systematic slaughter of Jews and other people by Nazis, with events planned for this week in Montgomery and Birmingham.
The Alabama Holocaust Commission is sponsoring an annual gathering of remembrance on Tuesday at the Alabama Department of Archives and History in the capital.
Boston couple plans to build city’s 1st Holocaust museum
April 7, 2022 GMTBOSTON (AP) — A Boston couple says they have purchased a building in the city to create a Holocaust museum.
Jody Kipnis said Thursday that she and Todd Ruderman purchased the 15,000 square-foot building on Tremont Street for $11.5 million.
93-year-old German jailed again for denying Holocaust
April 1, 2022 GMTBERLIN (AP) — A Berlin court has sentenced a 93-year-old German woman to 12 months in prison for denying that Jews were systematically murdered during the Holocaust.
The Berlin regional court on Friday rejected an appeal by notorious neo-Nazi Ursula Haverbeck against two convictions for Holocaust denial in 2017 and 2020.
EXPLAINER: Why Putin uses WWII to justify war with Ukraine
March 18, 2022 GMTTEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Vladimir Putin on Friday again painted his enemies in Ukraine as “neo-Nazis,” even though the country has a Jewish president who lost relatives in the Holocaust and who heads a Western-backed, democratically elected government.
Auschwitz survivor Leon Schwarzbaum dies at 101 in Germany
March 14, 2022 GMTBERLIN (AP) — Leon Schwarzbaum, a survivor of the Nazis' death camp at Auschwitz and a lifelong fighter for justice for the victims of the Holocaust, has died. He was 101.
Schwarzbaum died early Monday in Potsdam near Berlin, the International Auschwitz Committee reported on its website.
EXPLAINER: Why Putin uses WWII to justify attacks in Ukraine
February 24, 2022 GMTTEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Vladimir Putin told the world in the lead-up to Thursday’s attacks on Ukraine that his operation aims to “denazify” Ukraine, a country with a Jewish president who lost relatives in the Holocaust and who heads a Western-backed, democratically elected government.
Eichmann prosecutor, Israeli justice Gabriel Bach dies at 94
February 20, 2022 GMTJERUSALEM (AP) — Gabriel Bach, a prosecutor in the 1961 trial of notorious Nazi Adolf Eichmann who went on to serve on Israel's Supreme Court, has died. He was 94.
The Israel Judiciary Authority on Friday announced his passing.
German dictionary changes definition of ‘Jew’ after outcry
February 16, 2022 GMTBERLIN (AP) — The leading dictionary of standard German has changed its definition of Jew, or “Jude” in German, after a recent update caused an uproar in the country’s Jewish community — a move reflecting the sensitivities that persist eight decades after the Holocaust.
Whoopi Goldberg returns to ‘The View’ after suspension
February 14, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Whoopi Goldberg returned to “The View” on Monday after a two-week suspension for remarks about the Holocaust, expressing surprise at some people who had reached out to her during her absence.
Tennessee parents, teachers push back against ‘Maus’ removal
February 11, 2022 GMTATHENS, Tenn. (AP) — Growing up in rural eastern Tennessee, James Cockrum hadn't given much thought to the possibility that one day he might find himself speaking about his Jewish heritage in front of a packed school board meeting.
Latvia passes long-awaited Holocaust restitution law
February 10, 2022 GMTHELSINKI (AP) — Latvia’s parliament passed a Holocaust restitution bill Thursday that includes compensation for lost Jewish property and funding to revitalize the Baltic nation’s Jewish community, which was almost completely wiped out during World War II.
Book aims to shine light on Romanian role in the Holocaust
February 6, 2022 GMTBUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Maksim Goldenshteyn recounts a story his grandmother once told him about how, as a 4-year-old child, she snuck out of a Jewish ghetto during World War II to retrieve her favorite dolls that had been left behind when her family was forcibly evicted from their home in occupied Soviet Ukraine.
US Jews talk identity, Holocaust after Goldberg’s remarks
February 5, 2022 GMTThe uproar over Whoopi Goldberg's remarks about the Holocaust has catalyzed somber reflections by many American Jews about not only the legacy of the Holocaust but anti-Jewish discrimination in the United States and their sense of a collective identity.
Did ABC miss a learning opportunity by suspending Whoopi?
February 4, 2022 GMTABC’s decision to suspend Whoopi Goldberg from “The View” for two weeks for her remarks about the Holocaust has opened the network up to criticism that its response derailed a teachable moment for the nation about a sensitive topic often misunderstood and seldom discussed on air.
ABC suspends Whoopi Goldberg over Holocaust race remarks
February 2, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Whoopi Goldberg was suspended for two weeks Tuesday as co-host of “The View” because of what the head of ABC News called her “wrong and hurtful comments” about Jews and the Holocaust.
Holocaust novel ‘Maus’ banned in Tennessee school district
January 27, 2022 GMTATHENS, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee school district has voted to ban a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust due to “inappropriate language" and an illustration of a nude woman, according to minutes from a board meeting.
As world marks Holocaust, some survivors in Israel struggle
January 27, 2022 GMTJERUSALEM (AP) — Several dozen octogenarians, bundled against the cold, chattered in Russian and Hebrew as they picked through heaps of carrots, onions and grapefruit in a Jerusalem courtyard.
Nearly all of them Holocaust survivors, they were picking up donations of food and winter blankets before a snowstorm hit the city on the eve of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
EU leaders worried by rise in antisemitism, Holocaust denial
January 26, 2022 GMTBRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders pledged Wednesday to confront the rise of antisemitism and Holocaust denial witnessed during the coronavirus pandemic, on the eve of the annual commemorations of Auschwitz’s liberation.
UN chief decries antisemitism, urges stand against hatred
January 26, 2022 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — Secretary-General Antonio Guterres decried the resurgence of antisemitism in comments Tuesday night at a service commemorating victims of the Nazi Holocaust, and he urged people around the world to “stand firm against hate and bigotry anywhere and everywhere.”
RFK Jr. apologizes after condemnation for Anne Frank comment
January 26, 2022 GMTAnti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. apologized Tuesday for suggesting things are worse for people today than they were for Anne Frank, the teenager who died in a Nazi concentration camp after hiding with her family in a secret annex in an Amsterdam house for two years.
UN approves resolution condemning denial of Nazi Holocaust
January 20, 2022 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly approved an Israeli-sponsored resolution Thursday condemning any denial of the Holocaust and urging all nations and social media companies “to take active measures to combat antisemitism and Holocaust denial or distortion.”
German FM: Diplomats shared blame for Holocaust
January 20, 2022 GMTBERLIN (AP) — Germany's foreign minister said Thursday that the country's diplomats during the Nazi era shared blame for the Holocaust and she wants more training for staff to speak up against all forms of discrimination.
Assistant police chief disciplined for posting Nazi insignia
January 4, 2022 GMTKENT, Wash. (AP) — An assistant police chief in Kent, Washington, has been disciplined for posting a Nazi insignia on his office door and joking about the Holocaust.
Austrian Holocaust survivor “Mrs. Gertrude” dies at 94
January 1, 2022 GMTBERLIN (AP) — The Holocaust survivor Gertrude Pressburger, who became famous during Austria's 2016 presidential campaign with a video message in which “Mrs. Gertrude” warned of hatred and exclusion triggered by the far right, has died at 94.
Dutch judge: Remove tweets comparing unvaccinated to Jews
December 15, 2021 GMTTHE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A judge on Wednesday ordered Dutch right-wing populist lawmaker Thierry Baudet to take down four tweets in which he drew comparisons between coronavirus lockdown measures and the treatment of Jews under the Nazi regime, saying they “instrumentalized” the suffering of Jews.
Governor signs bill mandating genocide education in schools
December 4, 2021 GMTBOSTON (AP) — Middle and high school students in Massachusetts would learn about the history of genocide and human rights issues under a bill signed into law by Gov. Charlie Baker this week.
The bill requires middle schools and high schools in the state to include instruction on the history of genocide.
Holocaust survivors mark Hanukkah at Jerusalem Western Wall
November 30, 2021 GMTJERUSALEM (AP) — Several dozen Holocaust survivors marked the third night of Hanukkah on Tuesday with a menorah-lighting ceremony at Jerusalem's Western Wall that paid tribute to them and the 6 million Jews killed by the Nazis.
Lawmakers approve bill to mandate education on genocides
November 24, 2021 GMTBOSTON (AP) — Middle and high school students in Massachusetts would learn about the history of genocide and human rights issues under a bill approved by state lawmakers Wednesday.
The bill requires middle schools and high schools in the state to include instruction on the history of genocide.
Survey in Britain finds lack of awareness about Holocaust
November 10, 2021 GMTJERUSALEM (AP) — A survey released Wednesday found what organizers say is a lack of awareness in Britain about the Holocaust and a major episode in the country's rescue of Jews ahead of World War II.
Labor leader apologizes for likening Holocaust to mandates
November 3, 2021 GMTTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas labor leader apologized Wednesday for remarks he made during a legislative hearing comparing COVID-19 vaccine mandates to the Holocaust that killed millions of Jews.
Berlin police chief sorry for Holocaust memorial push-ups
November 1, 2021 GMTBERLIN (AP) — Berlin's police chief apologized on Monday for an incident in which officers were pictured practicing push-ups on a part of the German capital's memorial to the 6 million Jews killed in the Nazi Holocaust.
Kansas vaccine mandate foes rally; Holocaust comment decried
October 30, 2021 GMTTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Hundreds of people opposed to COVID-19 vaccine mandates rallied Saturday at the Kansas Statehouse and pushed state lawmakers to quickly counter them, while an international labor union disavowed a local leader's comparison of the mandates to the Holocaust that killed millions of Jews.