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'''Holocaust denial''' is the denial, downplaying, or trivialisation of the [[Holocaust]], that is, the industrialised [[Genocide|mass murder]] of around 6 million [[Judaism|Jews]] by [[German Reich (1933–1945)|Nazi Germany]] between 1941 and 1945. Holocaust deniers mainly argue that: | '''Holocaust denial''' is the denial, downplaying, or trivialisation of the [[Holocaust]], that is, the industrialised [[Genocide|mass murder]] of around 6 million [[Judaism|Jews]] by [[German Reich (1933–1945)|Nazi Germany]] between 1941 and 1945. Holocaust deniers mainly argue that: | ||
# The actual death toll of the Holocaust is much lower than the agreed-upon figure of 6 million; | # The actual death toll of the Holocaust is much lower than the largely agreed-upon figure of 6 million; | ||
# The deaths of millions of Jews from disease, exposure, and malnutrition (conditions imposed on them by the Nazis | # The deaths of millions of Jews from disease, exposure, and malnutrition (conditions imposed on them/exacerbated by the Nazis for the purpose of facilitating millions of deaths) was unintentional and the consequence of [[Allied bombing during World War II|Allied bombing of German transportation]]; | ||
# Nazi Germany only intended to deport/enslave the Jewish population of Europe rather than exterminate it; | # Nazi Germany only intended to deport/enslave the Jewish population of Europe rather than exterminate it; | ||
# Many Nazi crimes and atrocities were actually carried out by the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Soviet]] [[Workers' and Peasants' Red Army|Red Army]] and | # Many Nazi crimes and atrocities were actually carried out by the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Soviet]] [[Workers' and Peasants' Red Army|Red Army]] and [[People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs|NKVD]]; | ||
# Certain figures or organisations which directly participated in the Holocaust (e.g. the [[Schutzstaffel|SS]], the [[Wehrmacht]] and the [[Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists|OUN]]) bear no responsibility for it; and | |||
# Certain figures or organisations which directly participated in the Holocaust (e.g. the [[Wehrmacht]] and the [[Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists]]) bear no responsibility for it; | # The Holocaust was an outright fabrication, invented by the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] (who were supposedly led by a Jewish-[[Zionism|Zionist]] world [[Conspiracy theory|conspiracy]]) and in particular the Soviet Union, for the purposes of eliciting sympathy for Jews and creating a justification for the formation of the "[[State of Israel]]". | ||
# The Holocaust was an outright fabrication by the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] (who were led by a Jewish-[[Zionism|Zionist]] world [[Conspiracy theory|conspiracy]]) and in particular the Soviet Union, | |||
People who deny the Holocaust may not believe all of these arguments at once, as many of them (e.g. claiming that the Holocaust ''did'' happen but that the death toll is being exaggerated, and claiming that the Holocaust was an outright fabrication) are contradictory. | |||
In most (though not all) academic circles studying the Holocaust and its aftermath (which includes Jewish scholars), it is considered such a unique event—unparalleled in sheer scale, planning, and | In most (though not all) academic circles studying the Holocaust and its aftermath (which includes Jewish scholars), it is considered such a unique event—unparalleled in sheer scale, planning, and brutality—that comparing it to or equating it with other massacres or genocides is also considered a form of denial, as doing so may (intentionally or otherwise) make the Holocaust look less severe by comparison.<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. | ||
The Holocaust cannot, must not, be subsumed — but that is precisely what the Double Genocide theory seeks to do.}}</ref> | The Holocaust cannot, must not, be subsumed — but that is precisely what the Double Genocide theory seeks to do.}}</ref> | ||
Revision as of 08:10, 5 February 2024
Holocaust denial is the denial, downplaying, or trivialisation of the Holocaust, that is, the industrialised mass murder of around 6 million Jews by Nazi Germany between 1941 and 1945. Holocaust deniers mainly argue that:
- The actual death toll of the Holocaust is much lower than the largely agreed-upon figure of 6 million;
- The deaths of millions of Jews from disease, exposure, and malnutrition (conditions imposed on them/exacerbated by the Nazis for the purpose of facilitating millions of deaths) was unintentional and the consequence of Allied bombing of German transportation;
- Nazi Germany only intended to deport/enslave the Jewish population of Europe rather than exterminate it;
- Many Nazi crimes and atrocities were actually carried out by the Soviet Red Army and NKVD;
- Certain figures or organisations which directly participated in the Holocaust (e.g. the SS, the Wehrmacht and the OUN) bear no responsibility for it; and
- The Holocaust was an outright fabrication, invented by the Allies (who were supposedly led by a Jewish-Zionist world conspiracy) and in particular the Soviet Union, for the purposes of eliciting sympathy for Jews and creating a justification for the formation of the "State of Israel".
People who deny the Holocaust may not believe all of these arguments at once, as many of them (e.g. claiming that the Holocaust did happen but that the death toll is being exaggerated, and claiming that the Holocaust was an outright fabrication) are contradictory.
In most (though not all) academic circles studying the Holocaust and its aftermath (which includes Jewish scholars), it is considered such a unique event—unparalleled in sheer scale, planning, and brutality—that comparing it to or equating it with other massacres or genocides is also considered a form of denial, as doing so may (intentionally or otherwise) make the Holocaust look less severe by comparison.[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.