'The world has learned nothing' – Swastikas displayed in Sweden as Israel prepares to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day

“The world has learned nothing!” Yosef Haddad wrote in exasperation. The Israeli Arab activist posted a picture on 𝕏 showing three flags hanging from a bridge in Sweden, with the following words:

“Tomorrow evening will mark the beginning of Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel.”

“80 years have passed since the Holocaust, and this week they hung Nazi flags in Sweden. Today, antisemitic demonstrations will be held across Europe, and we cannot ignore the support given by the UN and leading human rights organizations to the terrorist organization Hamas, who are the new Nazis!”

While, in theory, the world should be more informed about the Holocaust and the steps leading to it than ever before, enthusiasm for Hitler seems to be growing.

Copies of the book, Mein Kampf, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s manifesto, are easy to come by in the Palestinian Territories, and have been found by IDF soldiers in the course of duty in Gaza. 

Shortly after the Hamas atrocities and massacre of Oct. 7, 2023, a store opened bearing Hitler’s name in Gaza City. ​​

"The name of the shop is 'Hitler' and I like him because he was the most anti-Jewish person,” said Hijaz Abu Shanab while speaking to The Jerusalem Post. “I like the clothes and the name, it is fantastic."

Praise for Nazi ideology might be unsurprising in Gaza, but with influential voices such as Kanye West shamelessly posting messages like, 'I'm A Nazi” and I Love Hitler' on 𝕏, declaring he was going to “normalize talking about Hitler,” the floodgates have also been opened in the West.

Holocaust revisionist Ian Carroll was recently given a platform on the program Joe Rogan Experience, the most popular podcast in the world. Other influential figures, including Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens, have also encouraged audiences to question the historical facts. 

Last year, on Carlson's show, Darryl Cooper suggested that the genocide of millions was unintended and due to Hitler not being “prepared,” flying in the face of documented history. Meanwhile, Owens is peddling blood libels and antisemitic tropes, claiming that Judaism is a “pedophile-centric religion that believes in demons...[and] child sacrifice ...” according to the Anti-Defamation League.

There have always been Nazi sympathizers and Holocaust deniers, but adherents to the ideology seem to be multiplying, even in “civilized” countries like Sweden. 

As Holocaust Memorial Day approaches on Wednesday, Israel prepares to honor the memory of those who perished less than a century ago, and particularly the countless acts of Jewish heroism and sacrifice in the face of attempted annihilation. Yet, it is deeply troubling to see how little the world seems to have learned.