IWM welcomes the foundation saying it is 'firmly committed' to ensure the planned exhibits do not clash with museum's
December 4, 2018 18:16
A high-profile rift over plans for the new £50 million Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre in Westminster has ended.
The UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation published a "mission statement" on Tuesday that said it was “firmly committed” to working with other institutions across the UK, including the Imperial War Museum’s (IWM) new Holocaust Galleries which are due to open in 2021.
Last year, the IWM urged the government to reconsider the planned Holocaust Memorial, which will be by parliament in Victoria Gardens, as it unveiled plans for its own Holocaust gallery space. It said two options would “divide the public offer” on learning about the Shoah.
But IWM director-general Diane Lees said on Tuesday: "We now welcome the opportunity to work closely with the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation on the development of its plans for its Memorial and Learning Centre.
“With the proposed Memorial and Learning Centre located less than a mile away from IWM London at Victoria Tower Gardens, both IWM and UKHMF will work together to present complementary narratives on learning about the Holocaust in order to avoid dividing the public offer.”
The design for the Memorial has been developed over the past year in consultation with Holocaust survivors, communities of a range of faiths and backgrounds and experts on matters from landscape design to Holocaust education.
Holocaust Educational Trust Chief Executive Karen Pollock said: “This mission statement released today reflects the UK’s commitment to honouring and remembering all those murdered by the Nazis and Britain’s connection to the Holocaust.
“By preserving the memory of the victims we can ensure that this and future generations are aware of the consequences when antisemitism, racism and prejudice go unchallenged, reminding us all to stand up to hate."
The final scheme, which was published on Tuesday and coincided with the mission statement, proposes a structure within Victoria Gardens and a courtyard space that leads to an underground space set aside for the exhibition on the Holocaust and its impact on Britain.
UK Holocaust Memorial co-chair Ed Balls said it would “stand as a national place of remembrance of the lives lost and the communities torn apart in the wake of decisions made in another parliament, not so far away in time or distance from our own".
He said: “There is no better place than Victoria Tower Gardens, just metres from our own Parliament, to remind ourselves of the value of democracy and the need to keep the lessons of history at the heart of our institutions and the decisions our elected politicians make every day.
“Holocaust learning and education is absolutely fundamental if we are to create engaged and vigilant citizens to hold their elected representatives to account. The UKHMF is firmly committed to working closely with the Imperial War Museum and leading organisations across the country to deliver this vital work.”
The IWM said it was working with the Foundation to ensure the learning centre's exhibition does not replicate its own plans for a its new Holocaust Galleries.
The IWM said it aimed to present the Shoah in the broader context of the Second World War.
Its statement confirmed: "Through our new galleries and learning and events suite at IWM London we will be able to better present our distinguished national Holocaust collection. With IWM’s long established plans for its new galleries and learning and events suite underway, we will work alongside the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation to prevent a divided public offer on learning about the Holocaust. “
UK Holocaust Memorial co-chair Lord Pickles said: “It is important to ensure that our examination of the past is honest and unblinking. We will properly explore aspects of the Holocaust that are less flattering to the United Kingdom.
“At the core of the proposed Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre is a commitment to learn from this darkest chapter in our history, to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to explore the universal lessons of the Holocaust as a reminder of where hatred, intolerance and prejudice can lead if left unchecked.”
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Theresa May told the House of Commons there was “no better place for the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre than right next to our Parliament”"
She stressed the project would teach “young people and others about man’s inhumanity to man.”
The PM, who also commended the work of the Holocaust Educational Trust, was responding to a question from Bob Blackman, the Tory MP, who spoke of the work of Holocaust survivor Hannah Lewis, who had addressed London students on Tuesday about the horrors of the Shoah.
In October, the JC reported one the most prominent critics of the memorial plans had accused supporters of the project of using “mob pressure” to “railroad” it through.
Crossbench peer Baroness Ruth Deech claimed an All-Party Parliamentary Group meeting was packed “with people who may never have taken an interest in Holocaust issues before but had clearly been assembled in order to block any variety of views.”
But Labour MP Ian Austin, the APPG's joint chair, rejected her claims.
After a vote, an overwhelming majority of the 50 MPs and Peers present at the meeting, a motion was passed that said: "The learning centre, which will examine the Holocaust through British eyes and examine subsequent genocides, is an exciting and important asset to the Gardens, which will be much improved physically by the initiative."