Portugal’s centrist/centre-right PSD/CDS-PP coalition government is maintaining international alignment with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). While the government fulfills operational and educational mandates, complete alignment remains an area of international debate.
In 2025, the Portuguese government officially recognized the educational and cultural projects of the Jewish Community of Porto as being of "Manifest Cultural Interest," specifically citing its critical contribution to meeting Portugal’s state obligations under the IHRA.
The Porto Holocaust Museum directly helps the Portuguese State fulfill its international obligations as a full member of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
The museum acts as a vital practical tool for the State to uphold the commitments of the 2000 Stockholm Declaration and the 2020 IHRA Ministerial Declaration across three core areas: advancing Holocaust education and youth engagement with mass school visits, combating antisemitism and Holocaust distortion, preserving historical memory and national archives, and documenting Portugal’s specific role.
The IHRA mandates that member states promote education about the Holocaust. The Porto Holocaust Museum welcomes over 50,000 students per year from Portuguese schools. This accounts for roughly 5% of Portugal's entire youth population. In addition, the museum actively organizes training courses and professional development resources for educators. This helps standardize and elevate how the Shoah is taught in Portuguese public and private schools.
Another fundamental pillar of the IHRA is fighting modern antisemitism, Holocaust denial, and historical revisionism. The museum combats this by presenting physical evidence, archival history, and survivor testimonies managed directly by descendants of Holocaust victims. The museum also forms part of a wider regional strategy to eliminate prejudice, partnering with entities like the Roman Catholic Diocese of Porto on charitable and educational initiatives.
The IHRA encourages countries to study their own history during WWII. The museum preserves and shares individual files, transit visas, and artifacts from the 100,000+ Jewish refugees who passed through Portugal to escape Nazi Europe. It also honors the Portuguese citizens recognized as righteous among the nations.
The Holocaust Museum of Oporto, the first and only Holocaust museum in the Iberian Peninsula, is directly managed and supervised by members of the local Jewish community who are children, grandchildren, and direct descendants of Holocaust victims.
