First-Ever Holocaust Survivor-Driven Digital Campaign, NoDenyingIt
NEW YORK, July 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference), announced an online campaign to ensure the voices of Holocaust survivors are heard by Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. In the first-ever digital campaign driven by Holocaust survivors, the message to Zuckerberg is clear: "Holocaust denial posts on Facebook are hate speech and must be removed!" As one survivor put it, "They are calling us liars. We aren't liars. We are witnesses."
WHAT: First-ever digital campaign from Holocaust survivors protesting Holocaust denial posts on Facebook - NoDenyingIt
WHEN: Beginning July 29, each day - every day - a recorded message from this final generation of Holocaust survivors to Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg will be posted on Facebook, Instagram (owned by Facebook) and other social media platforms such as Twitter.
WHO: Holocaust survivors from around the world have recorded thirty-second messages to Mark Zuckerberg, including many notable survivors such as Serge Klarsfeld (famed Nazi hunter), Roman Kent (Auschwitz survivor, head of the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors), Eva Schloss (Anne Frank's stepsister), Charlotte Knobloch (Kristallnacht survivor) and others.
WHERE:
Follow our campaign on Facebook -- https://www.facebook.com/ClaimsConference/
See more survivor messages on our website -- http://claimscon.org/nodenyingit/
WHY: While there have been many calls and efforts to try to remove hate speech from Facebook, Holocaust denial has not been removed as Mark Zuckerberg refuses to classify it as hate speech; saying, "I don't think that they're intentionally getting it wrong." The Claims Conference, which advocates and secures compensation and social services funding for Holocaust survivors around the world, has argued that Holocaust denial is intentional and therefore a violation of Facebook's own community standards.
Excerpts from survivors' messages to Mark Zuckerberg
Eva Schloss, lives in the U.K.
"I was born in Vienna and had to flee from the Nazis. I ended up in Holland where I was arrested with my whole family and sent to Auschwitz death camp. There, only my mother and I survived. I lost all my family. Many, many family members. There is no denying it! Remove Holocaust denial from Facebook."
Roman Kent, lives in the U.S.
"Most of my family was murdered, as well as many of my friends…You must know that Holocaust denial is nothing short of hate dialogue. There is no denying it."
Eva Diamant Szepesi, lives in Germany
"I was deported from Hungary to Auschwitz in 1944 when I was 12 years old. My mother, my father and my little brother Thomas were murdered by the Nazis…This is my story, there is no denying it."
Please reach out to arrange:
- Interviews with survivors participating in the NoDenyingIt campaign
- Interviews with Claims Conference executives
- Links to survivors' messages addressing Mark Zuckerberg
About the Claims Conference: The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference), a nonprofit organization with offices in New York, Tel Aviv and Frankfurt, secures material compensation for Holocaust survivors around the world. Founded in 1951 by representatives of 23 major international Jewish organizations, the Claims Conference negotiates for and disburses funds to individuals and organizations and seeks the return of Jewish property stolen during the Holocaust. As a result of negotiations with the Claims Conference since 1952, the German government has paid more than $80 billion in indemnification to individuals for suffering and losses resulting from persecution by the Nazis. In 2020, the Claims Conference will distribute approximately $350 million in direct compensation to over 60,000 survivors in 83 countries and allocate approximately $610 million in grants to over 200 social service agencies worldwide that provide vital services for Holocaust survivors, such as homecare, food and medicine.
For more information, please visit: www.claimscon.org
