BBC Apologizes for Omitting Jewish Victims in Holocaust Coverage

The British Broadcasting Corporation issued an apology on Wednesday for multiple instances in its coverage of International Holocaust Remembrance Day in which it failed to specify that the Nazi regime's six million victims were Jewish. The omissions occurred during broadcasts on January 27, the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp by Soviet forces in 1945, drawing sharp criticism from Jewish organizations and Holocaust educators.

In segments on BBC Breakfast, the Today programme on Radio 4, and other outlets, presenters referred to the victims simply as "six million people murdered by the Nazi regime" or, in some cases, "six million mostly Jewish people." For example, during a news bulletin on the Today programme, presenter Caroline Nicholls introduced the day's commemorations by stating that buildings across the UK would be illuminated "to commemorate the six million people murdered by the Nazi regime more than 80 years ago." Similar phrasing appeared in introductions by other presenters, including Jon Kay on BBC Breakfast and segments on international news channels.

A BBC spokesperson acknowledged the errors in a statement, saying,...