In the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington quietly removed from its website educational resources about American racism and canceled a workshop about the “fragility of democracy.”
The changes, which have not been previously reported, came as Trump cracked down on what he called “corrosive ideology” at the Smithsonian Institution, demanding a slew of alterations at the world’s largest museum network to more closely align its content with his worldview. They also coincided with the administration’s efforts to remove content related to diversity, equity and inclusion from federal websites.
Unlike his posture toward the Smithsonian, Trump has not publicly commented on the USHMM’s content or publicly called for any modifications. But two former museum employees who left amid the changes told POLITICO they believed the museum was altering its content preemptively, so as to not draw unwanted negative attention from the Trump administration. Both were granted anonymity due to fear of professional retaliation.
Not quite. Israel is predominantly populated by Jews of Middle Eastern or Eastern European descent who had nothing to do with the Holocaust. There are plenty of Holocaust survivors and their descendants, but Israel was built and remains predominantly shaped by people who didn’t experience the Holocaust. In fact, quite ironically, Israel basically stole and keeps stealing a lot of Holocaust survivors’ reparation money.
Learning this pleases me. Thank you. The idea that the victims’ families, at least, have not lost those lessons gives me some satisfaction that humanity hasn’t gone full on stupid.