15/12/2025
YOUTH & WOMEN RIGHTS CARE INITIATIVE (partner of Youth for Human Rights International), in collaboration with LAW STUDENTS ASSOCIATION (LAWSA), EBSU Chapter, on 12th December 2025, held a special Lecture, to mark the 2025 International Human Rights Day. The Lecture held at the Faculty of Law, Ebonyi State University (EBSU) Abakaliki.
The Guest Lecturer, Barr (Mrs) Onyinyechi Chikwere (nee Ogah) started with a historical perspective of the holocaust. She disclosed that the holocaust was a deliberate, organized effort to destroy entire populations, driven by racist ideology and implemented through ghettos, forced labor, mass shootings, and industrialized killing in concentration and extermination camps. It was carried out by N**i Germany and its collaborators between 1933 and 1945, during which over six million Jews were murdered, along with millions of other groups the N**is considered “undesirable.”
She found that, after Germany lost the First World War in 1918, the nation was thrown into humiliation, economic crisis, and political instability. Many Germans, including Adolf Hi**er, refused to accept the defeat and instead looked for scapegoats. This gave rise to the Stab-in-the-Back Myth, the false claim that Germany did not lose on the battlefield but was betrayed by communists, socialists, and especially Jews. This myth fueled extreme antisemitism, deep nationalism, and anger toward minorities, and ultimately resulted in the Holocaust. She contended that, even today, extremist ideologies such as Neo-N**ism and Antisemitism (prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews or a group of people) continue to appear around the world, reminding us of the dangers of hatred, propaganda, and dehumanization.
The Lecturer explained that, education enhances dignity and promotes human rights in many ways, including but not limited to:
* Empowerment and autonomy;
* Critical thinking and values formation;
* Identity and self worth;
* Human Rights Awareness;
* Empathy and respect;
* Building a culture of peace;
* Building knowledge;
* Cultivating attitudes;
* Developing Skills;
* Empowering actions;
* Creating Rights Respecting environment.
In her conclusion, she posited that, the Holocaust teaches humanity one central lesson: societies collapse into violence when human dignity is denied, when prejudice is allowed to grow, and when people remain silent. But, education is one of the strongest tools we have to ensure that such horrors never happen again. In her words, "A society that invests in education for human dignity is a society that safeguards the future of its people."
After the Questions & Answers Session and sharing of the booklet on UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (donated by Youth for Human Rights International) to all participants, the event came to a successful end.
For the Lecture Material & further enquiries, call +234 702 565 7596 or email [email protected]
