In October police officers from Iceland participated in the new edition of our Understanding Evil training program about the Holocaust and combating hate crimes today.

Participants studied the long history of Jewish life in Oświęcim at the Jewish Museum and toured the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial where most of the local Jews were murdered in the Holocaust.

The program included analyzing the Nazi come to power and first laws which excluded Jews from daily life and ultimately paved the road to the mass murder.

Dr. Michał Bilewicz, a world-renowned expert on antisemitism explained the psychology of participation in genocide during a video lecture.

The seminar concluded with a module led by Icelandic police educators about investigating modern day hate crimes according to European guidelines developed by OSCE/ODIHR.