The abrupt firing and replacement of 12 of President Biden’s appointed council members, which no president has done before, has been perceived by many as a partisan attack on the museum. Especially after White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, issued a statement saying, “President Trump looks forward to appointing new individuals who will not only continue to honor the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust, but who are also steadfast supporters of the State of Israel.”

Germans often take pride in the way the country has faced up to its past, a collective struggle known as Vergangenheitsbewältigung. It includes a commitment to keep alive the memory of the Holocaust, and to accept Germany’s sole and permanent responsibility for the murder of six million Jews.