Propaganda denies Holocaust occurred

Published: Monday, August 24, 1998

Monday, August 24, 1998

HOLOCAUST: Revisionist groups try to disprove WWII genocide event

Fight the Lies of the Holocaust!" screamed the flyer on my car's windshield. I approached this interloper with caution, wondering who would abandon such a lovely piece of literature in the grimy expanse of the parking structure.

As I slowly pulled the flyer off of my car, I noticed that several other vehicles nearby also sported these nifty paper accessories. Who would fabricate stories about the Holocaust? (And how did these so-called lies motivate people to go out of their way to paper cars with these somewhat scary flyers?)

The flyer serves as an advertisement for two groups of Holocaust and Historical Revisionists groups, the Committee for Open Debate on the Holocaust (CODOH) and the Institute for Historical Review (IHR). (At least it wasn't another parking ticket.)

The both groups argue that many aspects of the Holocaust were altered from actual events. They seek to prove that: no homicidal gas chambers existed, some photos of concentration camps were doctored for propaganda purposes, there is no way to confirm that 6 million people died, and Hitler never gave orders to exterminate the Jews. (These points are a few of many others that Revisionists seek to cast doubt on.)

But who cares? It's only history.

I sat and pondered some of these Revisionist beliefs. In my feeble attempt to better understand this perspective, I tried to imagine what sort of thoughts run amuck through the minds of staunch Revisionists. (The following paragraphs are excerpts from the rather heated debate I had with myself.)

It appears that most people believe the Holocaust did happen sometime in the gray haze of the past. (But then again, at one time most people believed that the world was flat and that the earth was the center of the universe. Now we all know that earth is a spherical mass that revolves around Hollywood.)

How is it that 6 million people perished in concentration camps? (It seems absolutely insane, but most people agree with this figure.) The historical holocaust groups say that Hitler never wanted to rid the world of Jews but just wanted to deport them out of Europe. (So therefore, Hitler obviously isn't the totally heartless, but charming bastard history books say he was. I guess that means he isn't at the very bottom of Dante's multi-leveled hell.)

Imagine the nerve schools have to teach things to the contrary. It appears that we are living in a world that permits such blatant misrepresentations of the past. The "lies of the Holocaust" are trapped within the context of our history books. I found it odd that so many people have been duped into believing that such an absurd event as the Holocaust actually occurred.

History comes filtered by the prejudices of those who write it. For centuries, a eurocentric view monopolized the scene. ("The Trail of Tears"? That's just a little box in the section on Westward expansion in the United States.)

According to the Holocaust flyer, "so-called 'eyewitness' reports are contradictory, beyond imagination ... Plus why would the Nazis leave so many 'eyewitnesses' if all (the reported atrocities were) true?"

Somewhere in the dusty video library of my brain is a documentary of a Holocaust survivor who visited my eighth-grade class. She was slightly bent by old age and spoke English in a heavy accent. She recounted her tale of survival due to chance, timing and a haystack. When she neared the end of her presentation, she also showed the tattoo of her identification number on her forearm. It was not a matter of the Nazis allowing her to survive but that she had fought for her own survival and prevailed.

In bold print on the flyer is "The Truth must be Told!" Yes, it must be, but what is the truth and who determines what it is? Some Revisionists describe the Holocaust as a historical fraud and make assertions that certain things are clearly not fact, but they never provide any solid evidence.

They make claims to evidence, and they portray things in a certain light. Although they make disclaimers stating that they are not proponents of anti-semitism or racists agendas, the historical holocaust review organizations do admit to several such groups allying with them.

The end of the flyer makes appeals to justice and freedom of speech by using inspirational quotes. For example, Voltaire made a surprise appearance on this advertisement saying, "I may not agree with what you have to say; but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

Who can argue against that? It's written in our very own constitution. So, in my efforts to be open-minded, I decided to visit the CODOH's and IHR's websites to get a better understanding of their beliefs and arguments.

An interesting trend emerged while browsing these two Revisionist organization's webpages. These two groups seemed so focused on proving how technically improbable it was that the ovens could cremate so many bodies in such a short amount of time that they ignored the living evidence.

Is it possible that hundreds of thousands of Holocaust survivors collectively had one huge case of false memory syndrome? It doesn't seem likely.

The existence of such groups as the CODOH and the IHR are kind of comforting in a twisted, little way. It reminds us of the dangers of a society without freedom of speech such as the one conceived in the devious mind of George Orwell.

In my apathetic, teenage years, I read 1984. The oppressive, fascist regime in the book includes the Ministry of Truth, which is responsible for disseminating news, entertainment, education and the fine arts. Inherent within this society, thanks to this Ministry, is "the sacred principles of Ingsoc. Newspeak, doublethink, the mutability of the past."

In the novel, the past is continually altered to satisfy the needs of the regime at all times. People are erased, as are events that conflict with what Big Brother wants. What sort of agenda do Revisionists seek when they attack such historical events as the Holocaust? Is it just for the sake of preserving truth? Or is there some ulterior motive?

With all these questions, at least one thing is certain. Censorship of groups such as the Revisionists is not the answer. Denying the right to verbalize differing views puts us at the risk of living in a society where Big Brother is always watching and "Ignorance is Truth."

The truth likes to taunt us even in the form of flyers. One minute everything focuses and things become so clear, and the next moment, it's gone.

Julianne Sohn