What is Holocaust denial?The American academic Deborah Lipstadt has described Holocaust denial as being "[..] an attack on history and knowledge. [..] Denial of the Holocaust is certainly a form of antisemitism. And, like antisemitism or any other form of prejudice, it is irrational and cannot be countered with the normal and natural forces of investigation, argument and debate" (Lipstadt, "Holocaust-denial and the Compelling Force of Reason," Patterns of Prejudice, Vol. 26, Nos. 1 & 2 (1992): 64). However, what are the central tenets of Holocaust denial propaganda? Whilst there exist differences between the claims of individual Holocaust deniers and Holocaust denial groups, the following claims are shared by the vast majority of them: 1. Holocaust deniers claim they do not 'deny' that many Jews died during the course of the Second World War; however, they question the number of Jews that did die and the methods by which they died. Holocaust deniers claim that far less than six million Jews died during the course of the Second World War - some claim that as few as 'only' a few thousand died. Furthermore, Holocaust deniers claim that the vast majority died through disease, Allied bombings, starvation and reprisals against partisans. Whilst most acknowledge mass shootings occurred behind the German eastern front, few will admit to a concerted Nazi policy to murder Jews. 2. No Holocaust denier acknowledges the existence of homicidal gas chambers used to murder victims, which were used as an integral part of a State-run policy aimed at exterminating European Jewry. It is this point that is of critical importance in defining exactly who can be classified as a Holocaust denier. For instance, Fredrick Toben of the Adelaide Institute described on February 14, 2002, his definition of the term 'Holocaust', which he rejects: "[..]the systematic state-ordered extermination of European Jewry - six million - mainly in homicidal gas chambers, in particular at Auschwitz concentration camp" (Toben, letter to Peter Wertheim, February 14, 2002). Furthermore, Holocaust deniers also claim that not only did the gas chambers not exist, they also were technically impossible according to the historical descriptions available. 'Evidence' supporting this claim includes pseudo-scientific reports such as those written by Fred Leuchter and Germar Rudolf. Another interpretation of this issue is espoused by Robert Faurisson, who states simply, "No Holes, No Holocaust", referring to the fact that, according to him, there are no holes present in the ruins of the gas chambers' ceilings, without which, Faurisson claims, the insertion of Zyklon B pellets into the gas chambers was not possible. Whilst Toben's definition of the Holocaust is very general and not totally accurate, it serves to highlight that both legitimate Holocaust historians and Holocaust deniers use essentially the same reference points in defining the Holocaust. As such, it is clear that there are essentially no disputes in its definition, and that Holocaust deniers do deny mainstream Holocaust historiography. 3. As the genocide of the Jews, as defined by mainstream historians, did not occur, the crimes committed by the Nazis were no worse than those committed by Allied forces. Indeed, Holocaust deniers claim that the Allies were responsible for committing far greater war atrocities, such as the bombing of Dresden and the expulsion of Germans from the eastern part of the country by the Soviet Union. The British Holocaust denier David Irving is one of many individuals who emphasise this point. For instance, during a speech in Toronto on November 8, 1990, he claimed that of the 100,000 people he claimed died in Auschwitz, 25,000 were killed by shooting or hanging, which "was a crime committed over four years". However, in Pforzheim, Irving stated, "twenty-five thousand people [were] killed in twenty-five minutes. [..] When you put things into perspective like that, of course, it diminishes their Holocaust - that word with a capital letter" (David Irving, speech at the Latvian Hall, Toronto, November 8, 1990). 4. The Holocaust, as defined by mainstream historians, is essentially an invention of Allied propaganda, which is dominated by Zionists. Furthermore, most Holocaust deniers also claim that this alleged propaganda lie is used by its proponents to extract as much money as possible from Germany and German companies for crimes that were not committed, often to financially support the Israeli state. Again, David Irving has written about this issue. In the preface he wrote for his edition of the Leuchter Report, Irving wrote that
[..] Such arguments are common to nearly every Holocaust denier. Other claims that some Holocaust deniers make include claims about the alleged inherent nature of Communism, or that Germany attacked the Soviet Union in June 1941 only as a pre-emptive strike against the imminent Soviet invasion, or that world Jewry declared war on Germany in 1933, and any measures taken by Germany against Jews were therefore retaliatory in nature. However, perhaps the single best way to describe the claims of Holocaust deniers and the activities in which they engage is to quote a Holocaust denier describing it himself. On April 20, 1994, Greg Raven, CEO of the Institute for Historical Review, wrote:
Says it all, doesn't it? |