Holocaust denial is based on nonsense. It attempts to deny either that Nazi crimes against Jews happened or that the number of Hitler's Jewish victims was far lower than six million. I would not count as Holocaust deniers those scholars who argue that a better accounting of Hitler's victims would put the number of murdered Jews at about four and a half million; these people are quibbling with quantity and not the qualitative judgment that the event was systematic mass murder and that could be characterized by the word
Holocaust. For my part, I've always used the the more widely accepted figure six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis. Nor is it Holocaust denial to point out that Jews were not the only victims of Hitler's maniacal hatred. The total number of noncombatants systematically murdered by the Nazis is about 11 million, including six million Jews. It doesn't change the fact that Jews were used as the focal point of Hitler's program of mass murder or that the figure of six million represents approximately two-thirds of the Jewish population of lands that came to be occupied by the Third Reich.
The Holocaust is a historical fact. To deny this fact is belittle Jewish suffering and therefore racist. It is also as foolish as denying the Earth is round and rotates on its axis as it revolves around the Sun.
Nevertheless, the summary of the Wyman Institute's report, quoted above, are examples of Holocaust denial that can be disputed. In one case, that of Prime Minister Mahathir, the summary flatly states that Mahathir's remarks do not constitute Holocaust denial; however, as the summary points out, Mahathir's no less anti-Semitic.
Other examples cited in the summary are those of notorious British Holocaust denier David Irving, former Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and former US Senator Mike Gravel.
That David Irving is a Holocaust denier is beyond dispute. I will not question the Institute's figures on the number of lectures he delivered in North America. However, Irving spends his time preaching to the choir. The report presents no evidence that Irving is gaining any new converts for his efforts. Has the number of Americans who deny the Holocaust significantly increased over the last several years? If this can be shown, can a correlation be drawn between that and an increase in Irving's speaking engagements? Unless those phenomena can be shown to be real, then there is no reason to do more to counter Irving than has been done for years: simply denounce him as a crackpot.
Mahmoud Abbas has been accused of Holocaust denial. It should be noted that Dr. Abbas denies this. This is from Abbas'
thumbnail biography on the BBC:
A highly intellectual man, Mahmoud Abbas studied law in Egypt before doing a doctorate in Moscow. He is the author of several books.
But some Jewish groups have criticised both his doctorate and the resulting book, The Other Side: the Secret Relationship Between Nazism and Zionism,
as works of Holocaust denial.
They claim he downplayed the number of victims and accused Jews of collaborating with the Nazis.
He denied that charge in an interview with the Israeli daily Haaretz
in May 2003.
Mahmoud Abbas, rejecting the charge of Holocaust denial
"I quoted an argument between historians in which various numbers of casualties were mentioned. One wrote there were 12 million victims and another wrote there were 800,000," he told the newspaper.
"I have no desire to argue with the figures. The Holocaust was a terrible, unforgivable crime against the Jewish nation, a crime against humanity that cannot be accepted by humankind," he said.
Personally, I haven't read any of Dr. Abbas' work on the Holocaust. It is possible that were I to do so, I might well come to the conclusion that he has denied the Holocaust. Meanwhile, I will note his defense of himself and regard the charge as disputed.
In any case, Dr. Abbas was invited to the White House in his capacity as PA Prime Minister and as a potential peace maker, not for his reputation as Holocaust denier, whether deserved or undeserved. Even if he is a Holocaust denier, his presence at the White House does not seem to have altered American policy with respect to Israel.
The case of former Senator Gravel is more troubling. A perusal of the website of
The Barnes Review shows TBR to be an organization dedicated to propagating anti-Semitism. What Senator Gravel was doing there in the first place and what he said in his address to organization would be points of interest in this matter. The Institute's report does nothing to answer these questions. It is puzzling that Senator Gravel, whose history shows no tendencies to Holocaust denial or anti-Semitism, would choose to associate with such a group.
In the body of the report, the Institute cites former Congressman Pete McCloskey address to Tikkun as an example of wider acceptance of Holocaust denial. The report cites a remark McCloskey once made to Mr. Irving at a panel of the
Institute of Historical Review group as evidence of Mr. McCloskey denying the Holocaust. While, like the case of Senator Gravel, McCloskey's very appearance before such a group is troubling, the report does not establish that McCloskey was aware of David Irving's position on the Holocaust when he made the remarks quoted. It might be noted that also on the panel was John Toland, author of a well-respected biography of Hitler and hardly a Holocaust denier.
Finally, the report cites as examples of rising Holocaust denial remarks made by the parents of a well-known Hollywood actor. There is nothing here to show that Mr. and Mrs. Gibson haven't always been anti-Semites or that the fact that they embrace such nonsense are causing others to consider their views more favorably.
Is Holocaust denial on the rise in North America? It would be a great concern if it were. However, there isn't much in this report that convinces me that this is the case.
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