William Cooper honoured by Yad Vashem

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In December 2010, the International Institute for Holocaust Research at Yad Vashem announced the establishment of a new academic Chair, the Chair for the Study of Resistance during the Holocaust. The Chair was endowed to honour William Cooper, the Aboriginal activist who led a delegation of the Australian Aboriginal League in Melbourne to denounce the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany in December 1938, several weeks after the infamous Kristallnacht pogrom The protest is believed to be the only private protest against the Germans at that time.

The Chair, established with the support of the Australia Israel Cultural Exchange, will enable researchers to study resistance against Nazi Germany and its collaborators during the Holocaust.

Fifteen of William Cooper’s descendants, including his grandson, Uncle ‘Boydie’ Turner and his great grandson, Kevin Russell, were in Jerusalem for the event to mark the inauguration of the Chair. The Australian Foreign Minister, the Hon Kevin Rudd MP and the Israeli Minister for Education, Gideon Sa’ar MK, also attended.

The Jewish Holocaust Centre is immensely proud that we began the journey of honouring William Cooper almost a decade ago, following our discovery of his story. We are heartened to see that his courageous stand has received the respect it deserves.