Comments made by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas concerning the causes for the Holocaust have drawn growing condemnation around the world.

Abbas also called the creation of Israel a European 'colonial project'

In one portion of his 90-minute televised speech to the Palestinian National Council a day earlier, Abbas blamed the behavior of European Jews for the Holocaust — wherein 6 million Jews were murdered by the Nazi regime. He added that his views were based on books written by Jewish authors.

"The conclusion of these books is that animosity toward Jews was not because of their religion, but because of their social behavior," he said. He added that such behaviors included money-lending and banking.

The 83-year-old also called the creation of Israel a European "colonial project aimed at planting foreign bodies in the region."

"But this does not mean we should uproot them. We should coexist with them on the basis of a two-state solution," he added.

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp exhibition focuses on the fate of children Against forgetting A high number of children were among the inmates of the concentration camp in Lower Saxony in northern Germany from 1943 to 1945. Their traumatic experiences are documented in a new special exhibition entitled "Children in the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp." Many of these children who survived were never able to talk about their traumatic stay there; others wrote books about their experiences.

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp exhibition focuses on the fate of children A victim's companion Lous Steenhuis was only three years old when she was brought from the Dutch camp Westenbork to the concentration camp Bergen-Belsen. Somebody had revealed her hiding place with foster parents. The little Jewish girl from Bussum, in the Netherlands, was completely alone in the camp, without her parents or other relatives. Her doll called "Mies" was the only one to accompany her.

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp exhibition focuses on the fate of children Two survivors Lous Steenhuis-Hoepelman, who is now 76 years old, finds her "Mies" rather ugly. But the doll was the only thing she had. The two of them have spent their lives together for 73 years now — and that odd doll provided support through the unimaginable terror she had to endure as a child.

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp exhibition focuses on the fate of children The most famous victim Anne Frank, author of the famous posthumously published diary, died in February 1945 in Bergen-Belsen when she was only 15 years old. Already in 1934, she and her family had fled from the Nazis to the Netherlands. When they occupied the country, Anne had to live in a hiding place. But somebody revealed it to the Nazis. Her diary is seen as one of the most outstanding documents of the era.

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp exhibition focuses on the fate of children Silent witnesses It's estimated that a total of 120,000 inmates were kept in Bergen-Belsen. When British troops liberated the camp they encountered roughly 60,000 inmates. Almost one out of four of them died after being liberated. A total of 50,000 inmates died there, among them roughly 600 children. Mass graves are silent witnesses of the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime.

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp exhibition focuses on the fate of children Taking care of young visitors The organizers of the memorial site are highly pleased about the fact that 20 survivors from all over the world came to see the exhibition "Children in the Concentration Camp Bergen-Belsen." Although horrible pictures of corpses are not among the items, the show shocks many people. That's why children should be well prepared before being confronted with it. Author: Klaus Krämer (ad)



'Grossly inaccurate'

The remarks prompted swift criticism on social media from Israeli, European and US officials, as well as an NGO and a Holocaust museum.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted Abbas's comments as more evidence of his anti-Semitism, saying it was time for the sentiment "to pass from the world."

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas tweeted: "We strictly oppose any relativization of the Holocaust. Germany alone bears responsibility for the most atrocious crime in human history. The memory thereof is a warning and obliges us to confront every form of anti-Semitism in the world."

The New York-based Anti-Defamation League condemned Abbas' remarks on Twitter, describing them as "anti-Semitic assertions."

The US Holocaust Memorial Museum also condemned his remarks, saying they were "grossly inaccurate." In their statement, the museum noted that the Nazi regime believed Germans were "racially superior" to Jews and viewed their presence as a threat.

US Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt said Abbas' comments were "very unfortunate, very distressing and terribly disheartening. Peace cannot be built on this kind of foundation."

Dan Shapiro, the former US ambassador to Israel under President Barack Obama, remarked: "It's over for Mahmoud Abbas. What a disgusting note to go out on."

Michael Oren, the deputy minister for diplomacy in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, sarcastically noted on Twitter: "Now there's a peace partner."

Abbas has previously faced criticism for his comments concerning the Holocaust. In a dissertation he wrote in the 1980s, Abbas relativized the Holocaust and argued that Zionist movements collaborated with Adolf Hitler's regime.

He later defended himself against accusations of Holocaust denial, saying in 2014 that the mass murder of Jewish people during the Holocaust was "the worst crime of modern history."

Jewish composers who died during the Holocaust but whose music lives on Erwin Schulhoff Born in Prague in 1894, Erwin Schulhoff was a protege of Antonin Dvorak. "He saw in Schulhoff the next big promise of the European musical scene," said Amit Weiner, who founded the project "Music in Times of Tragedy." His music combined many avant-garde styles with jazz." Schulhoff was a professor of music in Prague before he was murdered in 1942 in a concentration camp.

Jewish composers who died during the Holocaust but whose music lives on Gideon Klein The youngest Jewish composer murdered during the Holocaust, Gideon Klein was only 26 when he perished in the Fürstengrube sub-camp near Auschwitz. His oeuvre fuses Jewish themes with modern composition techniques. In 1940, he was offered a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music in London. "This could have saved his life, but he was not allowed to travel from Prague," explained Weiner.

Jewish composers who died during the Holocaust but whose music lives on Hans Krasa "I find it very interesting that Krasa's music is always so happy and optimistic. Even the music he wrote in Theresienstadt is very lively," said Weiner about the Czech composer and author of the children's opera "Brundibar," who died in 1944 in Auschwitz. "Even in such dark times and horrible conditions, he saw hope and was optimistic about the future."

Jewish composers who died during the Holocaust but whose music lives on Ilse Weber The Czech poet had published several books of fairy tales in German before being transported to Theresienstadt in 1942. Weber started writing songs when she worked in the camp's children's hospital, and her music survived only thanks to her husband Willi, who discovered her songs after the war. Ilse and their son, Tommy, were murdered in Auschwitz in 1944.

Jewish composers who died during the Holocaust but whose music lives on Mordechai Gebirtig "He was not a professional musician — in fact, he was a carpenter who did not even know how to read notes. All the songs he composed were written down by his friend, a clockmaker," said Weiner about Gebertig, who, despite being just an avid amateur, remains one of the most popular singer-songwriters in Israel. The Polish composer died in the Cracow ghetto in 1942.

Jewish composers who died during the Holocaust but whose music lives on Pavel Haas Prior to his deportation to Theresienstadt, Pavel Haas had written film scores and orchestrations but also destroyed much of his work. "He was very depressed at first, but composers such as Klein or Krasa encouraged him to keep on writing," said Weiner. Paradoxically, the work he created in Theresienstadt surpassed what he had done before the war. He was murdered in Auschwitz in 1944.

Jewish composers who died during the Holocaust but whose music lives on Viktor Ullmann "If he hadn't been imprisoned and later murdered in Auschwitz in 1944, I am sure he would have become one of the most important musical forces of the 20th century," said Weiner about the Austrian Jewish composer who had been appointed conductor of the Prague State Opera before the war. The three years he spent in Theresienestadt were paradoxically the most prolific years of his career. Author: Jan Tomes



rs/sms (AP, dpa)

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