History tells us that the politics of the far right can flourish in a recession. Economic commentators often say the current downturn is the worst since the 1930s - when economic malaise and dissatisfaction caused by rising unemployment aided Hitler's advance to power in 1933. He soon turned his fury on Germany's Jewish population, enacting a series of measures aimed at marginalising Jews. This culminated in attacks on Jewish people and properties beginning on Kristallnacht, the "Night of the Broken Glass".
This week marks the anniversary of the Wannsee conference, the day in 1942 on which Reinhard Heydrich met senior SS officers and civil servants to agree on the organisation and implementation of the "final solution" - the murder of all European Jews. But not only Jews suffered at the hands of the Nazi regime: Roma and Sinti people, gay people, disabled people, Jehovah's Witnesses and political opponents all became victims.
The Holocaust may have ended over 60 years ago, but its lessons remain as relevant as ever. The theme of this year's Holocaust Memorial Day, on January 27 (marking the liberation of the Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau) is "Stand up to hatred". Recent months have seen a rise in hate crime in Britain. There is evidence of growing Islamophobia and antisemitism; the Jewish community have been particularly subjected to attacks following conflict in Gaza.
Faith groups are among those responding directly to hatred, working to bring communities together. Groups like the Council of Christians and Jews, the Interfaith Network and Faith Matters have consistently sought to increase interfaith dialogue and promote cohesion between communities.
Yet even today - in the week that a black president took power in the US - there are those who seek to divide us on the basis of race. The far right may win a seat in the European parliament elections taking place in Britain in June this year. It's horrifying that we now have on local councils around the country people who espouse racist views and fuel fear of "the other". These are groups who thrive on division and whose members propagate historical revisionism about the Holocaust to serve their racist agenda.
Against this backdrop, it is crucial that we step up our efforts to teach the values of citizenship and the importance of playing an active role in civil society and the democratic process. Holocaust education is one extremely effective way to ensure that future generations learn not just about the past, but where prejudice today can eventually lead.
The Holocaust Educational Trust (HET) was co-founded by Greville Janner and Merlyn Rees in 1988 to raise awareness and understanding of the Holocaust. One of our early achievements was to ensure that the Holocaust was included in the national curriculum. We now run programmes in schools across the country - arranging for Holocaust survivors to speak to students, providing educational resources and training teachers. And more than 5,000 students and teachers have taken part in our Lessons from Auschwitz project, which includes a one-day visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Holocaust education is a key tool in the fight against prejudice, intolerance and discrimination. This was a message promoted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and the Chief Rabbi, Jonathan Sacks, on an HET-organised visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau last November with a group of other faith leaders. Speaking to students at the site of the crematoria, the archbishop said: "In a world where it's possible for people to take monstrosity for granted as normal, as ordinary, you and I have to decide to be human - to decide that we're not going to take inhumanity for granted."
He is right. To stem the tide of hatred we must hold our humanity dear and express it by working together. When we foster an atmosphere of respectful and constructive dialogue, our shared interests quickly become apparent.
• Karen Pollock is the chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust