Starmer Pledges to Make Holocaust Lessons Mandatory

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks at the Holocaust Education Trust appeal dinner, in London, on Sept. 16, 2024. Isabel Infantes - WPA Pool/Getty Images

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to make lessons about the Holocaust mandatory in all schools in England.

The prime minister vowed that studying the Holocaust will become a “critical, vital part of every single student’s identity.”

Speaking at the Holocaust Education Trust appeal dinner on Monday, Starmer said that even schools that don’t currently have to follow the national curriculum will implement the changes.

The government will also allocate £2.2 million to the Lessons from Auschwitz project, an experience-based course for students. It includes talking to Holocaust survivors, a day trip to Poland to visit Holocaust-related sites, and group work to reflect on the lessons learned.

Starmer told the dinner attendees that while his wife has visited Auschwitz, he hasn’t yet been able to do so.

“I know there is there is nothing quite as powerful as seeing it for yourself. My wife Vic has been, I must go. So I will join the Holocaust Educational Trust for one of these visits,” Starmer said.

On the importance of Holocaust education, Starmer said that Britain needs to “be bolder and more defiant.”

“Tonight I am making two decisions in advance of that review. First, the Holocaust will remain on the curriculum come what may. And second, even schools who do not currently have to follow the national curriculum will have to teach the Holocaust when the new curriculum comes in.

“For the first time, studying the Holocaust will become a critical, vital part of every single student’s identity. And not just studying it, learning from it too. And above all, acting on its lessons,” the prime minister said.

National Holocaust Memorial

Labour will not shy away from calling out anti-Semitism and will not “look the other way,” Starmer told the audience. His speech comes after Labour reintroduced legislation to build the National Holocaust Memorial in the heart of Westminster.

The Holocaust Memorial Bill, currently making its way through Parliament, will greenlight the construction of the memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens, which is restricted by existing Victorian legislation.

The bill is likely to face opposition by some peers in the House of Lords, who have argued that a Holocaust memorial is unlikely to stop anti-Semitism. A former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, Lord Alex Carlile, has said that given its location, the memorial was likely to be a “tempting” target for Islamic extremist and far-right terrorists.

The memorial project also includes the construction of a learning centre below ground to offer a “place of poignant reflection as well as a space to understand the history of the Holocaust and learn lessons for the future.”

“We will call out anti-Semitism for what it is: hatred pure and simple. And we will fight this with everything that we have got. Just as I fought to bring my party back from the abyss of anti-Semitism, I promise you I will do the same in leading the country,” Starmer said.

“So yes, we will build that National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre. And build it next to Parliament. Boldly, proudly, unapologetically,” he said.

The government pledge is part of its commitment to fight the “resurgence of anti-Semitism” in Britain.

A report by the Community Security Trust charity recorded 1,978 anti-Semitic incidents, taking place from January to June, more than double the number for the same period in 2023. The incidents involved abusive behaviour, threats, assault and damage, and desecration.

Responding to the report, Starmer called the rise of anti-Semitic incidents “deeply concerning.”

Next year will mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and the British liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Starmer has vowed to mark the dates and be “more ambitious than ever before” in fighting anti-Semitism.