ACCESS Newswire
16 Apr 2026, 06:33 GMT+10

OŚWIĘCIM, PL / ACCESS Newswire / April 15, 2026 / In the shadow of one of history's darkest sites, more than 120 senior law enforcement leaders gathered this week in Poland for a program with an urgent mandate to translate memory into action.

The seminar, titled 'Operationalizing Never Again Not On Our Watch 2026,' was hosted at the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation in Oświęcim, adjacent to the former Nazi death camp Auschwitz. Organized in partnership with the Rutgers University Miller Center on Policing and Community Resilience and the University of Virginia, the program brought together police leaders, policymakers and security officials from across the United States, Europe and beyond for an intensive period of study and discussion.

Among the highest-ranking participants were New Jersey State Police Acting Superintendent Jeanne Hengemuhle, New York Police Department Executive Director Amy E. Bishop, Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department Assistant Chief Tasha Bryant and Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superintendent Sanjaya Wijayakoon, alongside senior European leadership including German Police Union Federal Chairman Jochen Kopelke. Their presence underscored the program's reach into the upper ranks of global policing at a moment of heightened concern over extremism, antisemitism and other forms of hate.

For the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation, the convening reflects a broader educational mission that has, over the past decade, engaged tens of thousands of diplomats, military personnel, law enforcement officials and educators in Holocaust based training programs focused on tolerance, human rights and ethical leadership.

Participants spent time in Oświęcim combining historical study with professional dialogue. They toured the remains of the Auschwitz Birkenau camp complex, engaged in seminars on the role of state institutions in enabling atrocities and took part in discussions designed to connect those lessons to contemporary policing.

'Law enforcement officers hold immense authority and responsibility,' said Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation Director General Jack Simony. 'Our responsibility is to ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust are not confined to history but are actively shaping how today's leaders confront bigotry, hatred and the dehumanization of others.'

The program's structure reflects a growing emphasis on professional audiences particularly those entrusted with public authority. While Holocaust education has long focused on students and the general public, institutions like the Auschwitz Jewish Center have increasingly tailored their work to judges, diplomats and law enforcement officials, arguing that such groups play a decisive role in preventing hate and protecting vulnerable communities.

'Never Again is not a slogan it is a responsibility,' said Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation Chairman Simon Bergson. 'By bringing together leaders from across countries and disciplines we are building a community committed to recognizing warning signs and acting before prejudice and hatred escalate into violence.'

The delegation reflected that international scope. In addition to senior American officials, participants included police leaders and union representatives from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Estonia as well as officials from Canada, Kenya and Australia. Many hold positions that shape training standards, departmental policy and national policing strategy.