Holocaust denial: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 20:25, 26 September 2023

Holocaust denial is the denial, downplaying or trivialisation of the Holocaust (the genocide of approximately 6 million Jews by Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1945). Holocaust deniers mainly argue that:

the deaths of Jews and members of other groups targeted by the Nazis was unintentional;
Nazi Germany only intended to deport or enslave the Jewish population of Europe rather than exterminate them.
Nazi massacres were actually carried out by the Soviet Red Army or NKVD;
Certain groups or figures (e.g. the German Wehrmacht or the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists) bear no responsibility in the Holocaust
The actual death toll of the Jewish Holocaust is much lower than 6 million, or
the Holocaust was an outright fabrication invented by the Allied Powers of World War II (and in particular the Soviet Union), who were led by a Jewish conspiracy.

Individuals who deny the Holocaust may not believe all of these arguments at the same time, however, as many of the arguments that they make (e.g. claiming that the death toll of the Holocaust is being exaggerated and claiming that the Holocaust was an outright fabrication) are contradictory.

In academic circles studying the Holocaust and its aftermath (which includes Jewish scholars), the Holocaust is considered such a unique event without equal that comparing the event to or equating the event with another massacre or genocide is also often considered a form of denial.^[1]

References

↑ “The Holocaust is not referred to simply as the “Nazi genocide,” but has its own names — Yiddish, der Khurbn, Hebrew, ha-Shoah, English, the Holocaust — to signify a unique event. It is more than a linguistic curiosity that postwar attempts by some Jewish groups to subsume the Holocaust as one of the historic massacres endured by the Jews that are mourned on Tíshebov (Tisha b’Av) failed, because of the virtually unanimous feeling among survivors that this one, in 20th-century Europe, was so very different, and intrinsically incomparable with even the primary ancient national catastrophes of destruction and exile.

The Holocaust cannot, must not, be subsumed — but that is precisely what the Double Genocide theory seeks to do.”

Dovid Katz (2017-11-22). "The "double genocide" theory" Jewish Currents.

[1] “The Holocaust is not referred to simply as the “Nazi genocide,” but has its own names — Yiddish, der Khurbn, Hebrew, ha-Shoah, English, the Holocaust — to signify a unique event. It is more than a linguistic curiosity that postwar attempts by some Jewish groups to subsume the Holocaust as one of the historic massacres endured by the Jews that are mourned on Tíshebov (Tisha b’Av) failed, because of the virtually unanimous feeling among survivors that this one, in 20th-century Europe, was so very different, and intrinsically incomparable with even the primary ancient national catastrophes of destruction and exile.

The Holocaust cannot, must not, be subsumed — but that is precisely what the Double Genocide theory seeks to do.”

Dovid Katz (2017-11-22). "The "double genocide" theory" Jewish Currents.

[1]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-'''Holocaust denial''' is the denial, downplaying or trivialisation of the [[Holocaust]] (the [[genocide]] of approximately 6 million [[Judaism|Jews]] by [[German Reich (1933–1945)|Nazi Germany]] from 1941 to 1945). Holocaust deniers argue that:
+'''Holocaust denial''' is the denial, downplaying or trivialisation of the [[Holocaust]] (the [[genocide]] of approximately 6 million [[Judaism|Jews]] by [[German Reich (1933–1945)|Nazi Germany]] from 1941 to 1945). Holocaust deniers mainly argue that:
-# the deaths of Jews and other victims was unintentional;
+# the deaths of Jews and members of other groups targeted by the Nazis was unintentional;
 # Nazi Germany only intended to deport or enslave the Jewish population of Europe rather than exterminate them.
 # Nazi massacres were actually carried out by the Soviet [[Workers' and Peasants' Red Army|Red Army]] or [[People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs|NKVD]];
@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 # the Holocaust was an outright fabrication invented by the [[Allies of World War II|Allied Powers]] of [[Second World War|World War II]] (and in particular the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Soviet Union]]), who were led by a Jewish [[Conspiracy theory|conspiracy]].
-Individuals who deny the Holocaust may not believe all of these arguments at the same time, however.
+Individuals who deny the Holocaust may not believe all of these arguments at the same time, however, as many of the arguments that they make (e.g. claiming that the death toll of the Holocaust is being exaggerated and claiming that the Holocaust was an outright fabrication) are contradictory.
 In academic circles studying the Holocaust and its aftermath (which includes Jewish scholars), the Holocaust is considered such a unique event without equal that comparing the event to or equating the event with another massacre or genocide is also often considered a form of denial.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Dovid Katz|newspaper=Jewish Currents|title=The "double genocide" theory|date=2017-11-22|url=https://jewishcurrents.org/the-double-genocide-theory|quote=The Holocaust is not referred to simply as the “Nazi genocide,” but has its own names — Yiddish, der Khurbn, Hebrew, ha-Shoah, English, the Holocaust — to signify a unique event. It is more than a linguistic curiosity that postwar attempts by some Jewish groups to subsume the Holocaust as one of the historic massacres endured by the Jews that are mourned on Tíshebov (Tisha b’Av) failed, because of the virtually unanimous feeling among survivors that this one, in 20th-century Europe, was so very different, and intrinsically incomparable with even the primary ancient national catastrophes of destruction and exile.