What is Neshama?
NESHAMA is a European initiative dedicated to ensuring that the memory of the Holocaust remains alive and meaningful for younger generations. Built within the framework of the European Union’s strategy to combat antisemitism and foster Jewish life, the project brings together students, educators, and remembrance institutions from across Europe around a shared educational and civic mission.
In a time when the last survivors of the Holocaust are passing away, NESHAMA offers a transnational and innovative way of transmitting memory through dialogue, learning, and direct engagement with places of remembrance. By training young ambassadors of remembrance, the project connects local histories to a broader European perspective and empowers participants to become active carriers of memory, tolerance, and democratic values.
The Network of European Youth for Holocaust Remembrance (NESHAMA) was created within the framework of the European Union Strategy on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life (2021–2030). Inspired by a French national initiative launched in 2015, the project is supported and funded by the European Union through the CERV programme as part of its policy to promote Holocaust remembrance and combat antisemitism.
An innovative trans-European approach to Holocaust memory transmission
In a context where the last survivors of the Holocaust are passing away, 80 years after the liberation of the Nazi camps, NESHAMA proposes an innovative and trans-European approach to transmitting the memory of the Holocaust to younger generations. The project develops a network of young European ambassadors committed to passing on Holocaust remembrance, fostering intergenerational dialogue, promoting Jewish culture, and strengthening connections between places of remembrance across Europe.
250 students, five countries, seven partner institutions
During its first phase, NESHAMA brings together nearly 250 high school students from five European countries, each partnered for one and a half years with an institution dedicated to Holocaust remembrance in their respective country. The network gathers seven institutions, both public (Ministries of Education) and private (memorial institutions), working together under the coordination of the Shoah Memorial (Paris, France), the lead and pioneering institution of the project.
Partner institutions
Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum (Poland)
Jewish Museum of Athens and the Greek Ministry of Education (Greece)
Jasenovac Memorial and the Croatian Ministry of Education (Croatia)
Langenstein-Zwieberge Memorial (Germany)
Shoah Memorial and the Memorial to the Martyrs of the Deportation (France)
A dual training programme: local, national and European levels
The young ambassadors benefit from a dual training programme at local, national, and European levels. At the local level, they explore the history of the Holocaust in their own country as well as Jewish history in their region, through workshops and visits organized by partner institutions. At the European level, they participate in online collective sessions combining theoretical courses and meetings with Holocaust survivors and witnesses. Two collective in-person gatherings mark the programme: one in Paris, in January 2026, and a second in March 2026 at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Poland, where ambassadors receive a diploma.
"Witnesses of the witnesses": a shared European mission
NESHAMA brings together students, teachers, and memorial institutions around a shared mission: to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive and to enable younger generations to become the "witnesses of the witnesses." By creating transnational synergies, the project highlights both the richness of Jewish history in Europe and the central European dimension of the Nazi extermination project.
A strengthening of the Neshama network in the coming years
Both a project and a growing network, NESHAMA aims to progressively expand across the European Union in the coming years, welcoming new partner organisations and countries into its community. Through this development, the project seeks to build a vibrant European network of young ambassadors committed to Holocaust remembrance, tolerance, and the fight against antisemitism and all forms of discrimination. By fostering cooperation across borders and encouraging the exchange of experiences and best practices, NESHAMA contributes to the development of a shared European culture of remembrance and active civic engagement.