House of former Nazi Auschwitz commander to become center against antisemitism

Counter Extremism Project (CEP) CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace announced last month. the purchase the house of the infamous Nazi official Rudolph Höss who commanded the death camp Auschwitz in Poland during the Holocaust.

Approximately one million men, women and children were murdered in Auschwitz, the vast majority of whom were Jews.

U.S. entrepreneur and philanthropist Elliot Broidy, who co-led the fundraising effort for the Auschwitz Research Center on Hate, Extremism, and Radicalization (ARCHER) which will take over the building, explained the decision to transform this former house of evil into a center that combats antisemitism. 

“I cannot imagine a more symbolic form of justice for the millions of lives lost at the hands of the Nazis than turning what was once a breeding ground for evil into a space that fights against those very ideals,” Broidy stated. “And that starts with reclaiming the site by putting up a mezuzah,” he added. 

The infamous house was featured in the 2024 Oscar-winning movie 'The Zone of Interest.'

It was referred to as “House 88,” a Nazi code for “Heil Hitler” as the letter H is the 8th letter in the alphabet. While most Holocaust movies focus on the actual atrocities that the Nazis committed against the Jews, this movie stands out by focusing on Rudolph Höss and his family who lived in House 88. 

Wallace stressed that preserving the memory of the Holocaust is essential in order to combat current and future genocidal hatred against Jews and other groups. 

“Elie Wiesel rightly said that ‘we must never forget’ the Holocaust to ensure the end of such hate and to prevent another genocide,” Wallace assessed. “The ordinary house of the greatest mass murderer will now be converted into the extraordinary symbol of that fight."

Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski, the Polish Secretary of State emphasized the need to combat antisemitism in all its shapes and forms including anti-zionism that opposes the existence of the world’s only Jewish state. 

“We are delighted to support the work of the Auschwitz Research Center on Hate, Extremism and Radicalization. It is not enough to say, we remember. We have a responsibility to act against extremism and antisemitism. While we must never forget, we have to educate each generation to do much more to fight the hatred that is within our midst even if it is hypocritically called antizionism,” Bartoszewski stated. 

Last month ahead of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, European and Jewish leaders from around the world warned of the rising levels of global antisemitism following the Hamas-led attack on the Jewish state on Oct. 7, 2023.

Rabbi Menachem Margolin, European Jewish Association (EJA) chairman made a direct comparison between current antisemitism and the hatred against Jews that preceded the Holocaust murder of six million Jews. 

"The Holocaust was a result of hatred, incitement, ignorance, power and the silence of leaders. The current level of hatred in Europe is comparable to that which existed before the Holocaust, implying the potential for it to happen again if ignorance and silence persist,” Margolin warned during a gathering in the Polish city of Krakow, which is close to Auschwitz. 

The former French Prime Minister Manuel Valls stressed that Hamas seeks the destruction of the Jewish people. 

"Hamas are not freedom fighters; they seek the extermination of Jews. It is imperative that we combat them."