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Holocaust denial is the claim that the genocide of Jews during World War II—usually referred to as the Holocaust^[1]—did not occur in the manner or to the extent described by current scholarship. Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction in whole or in part of an ethnic racial religious or national group PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as Scientific consensus is the collective judgement position and Opinion of the community of Scientists in a particular field of Science at a particular

Key elements of this claim are the rejection of any of the following: that the Nazi government had a policy of deliberately targeting Jews and people of Jewish ancestry for extermination as a people; that between five and seven million Jews^[1] were systematically killed by the Nazis and their allies; and that genocide was carried out at extermination camps using tools of mass murder, such as gas chambers. The, officially National Socialist German Workers' Party, ( abbreviated NSDAP) was a Political party in Germany between 1919 and 1945 PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction in whole or in part of an ethnic racial religious or national group Extermination camps were two types of facilities that Nazi Germany built during World War II for the systematic killing of millions of people in what has become This article deals with mass killings that are not considered Genocide. A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing consisting of a sealed chamber into which a Poisonous or Asphyxiant gas is introduced ^[2][3]

Holocaust deniers do not accept the term "denial" as an appropriate description of their point of view, and use the term Holocaust revisionism instead. For the critical reexamination of historical facts see Historical revisionism. ^[4] Scholars, however, prefer the term "denial" to differentiate Holocaust deniers from historical revisionists, who use established historical methodologies. Denialism is the term used to describe the position of governments political parties, business groups interest groups or individuals who reject propositions on which a For the denial and distortion of well-established historical facts see Historical revisionism (negationism. Methodology (also called manner) is defined as "the analysis of the principles of methods rules and postulates employed by a discipline" ^[5]

Most Holocaust denial claims imply, or openly state, that the Holocaust is a hoax arising out of a deliberate Jewish conspiracy to advance the interest of Jews at the expense of other peoples. A hoax is a deliberate attempt to Dupe, Deceive or trick an audience into believing or accepting that something is real when in fact it is not or that A Conspiracy is defined by law as an agreement by two or more persons to commit a crime fraud or other wrongful act ^[6] For this reason, Holocaust denial is generally considered to be an antisemitic^[7] conspiracy theory. Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism; also rarely known as judeophobia) is the Prejudice against or hostility A conspiracy theory attributes the ultimate cause of an event or chain of events (usually Political, Social or Historical events or the concealment ^[8] The methodologies of Holocaust deniers are often criticized as based on a predetermined conclusion that ignores extensive historical evidence to the contrary. ^[9]

Terminology: Holocaust denial or Holocaust revisionism?

The terms "Holocaust denier" and "Holocaust denial" are often objected to by the people to whom they are applied. These people typically prefer "revisionist" and "revisionism". ^[4] Scholars believe that term to be misleading, however. ^[5] While historical revisionism is the re-examination of accepted history, with an eye towards updating it with newly discovered, more accurate, or less-biased information, deniers seek evidence to support a preconceived theory, omitting substantial facts. For the denial and distortion of well-established historical facts see Historical revisionism (negationism. ^[10]

Historical revisionism is an academic approach that holds that a given slice of history, as it has been traditionally told, may not be entirely accurate, and should hence be revised accordingly. Historical revisionism in this sense is a well-accepted and mainstream part of history studies, and it is applied to the study of the Holocaust as new facts emerge and change our understanding of it. A very different process unfolds when someone proceeds from the premise that a major element of human history is simply inaccurate, and ignores or routinely minimizes evidence that conflicts with that premise. History done in this way is not revisionism, but denial. ^[11]

Because the term "revisionist" has become associated with Holocaust deniers, Holocaust historians today generally avoid using it to describe themselves, though they continue to study and revise opinions on aspects of the Holocaust. In the words of historian Donald Niewyk of Southern Methodist University:

"With the main features of the Holocaust clearly visible to all but the willfully blind, historians have turned their attention to aspects of the story for which the evidence is incomplete or ambiguous. Southern Methodist University ("SMU" is a private, Coeducational University in University Park, Texas (an enclave These are not minor matters by any means, but turn on such issues as Hitler's role in the event, Jewish responses to persecution, and reactions by onlookers both inside and outside Nazi-controlled Europe. "^[12]

Holocaust denial is sometimes referred to as "negationism", from the French term Le négationnisme, introduced by Henry Rousso. Henry Rousso (born 1954 in Cairo) is a contemporary French Historian specializing in World War II France ^[13] Negationists attempt to rewrite history by minimizing, denying or simply ignoring essential facts. For the critical reexamination of historical facts see Historical revisionism. According to Jacques Derrida

"Generally speaking, 'revisionism' in history is the attempt to critique established dogmas, a critique that can in no way be included in with the type of negationism that attempts to deny the reality of acknowledged facts. "^[14]

According to Koenraad Elst:

"Negationism means the denial of historical crimes against humanity. Koenraad Elst (born 7 August 1959) is a Belgian Writer and Orientalist (without institutional affiliation It is not a reinterpretation of known facts, but the denial of known facts. The term negationism has gained currency as the name of a movement to deny a specific crime against humanity, the Nazi genocide on the Jews in 1941-45, also known as the holocaust (Greek: fire sacrifice) or the Shoah (Hebrew: disaster). Negationism is mostly identified with the effort at re-writing history in such a way that the fact of the Holocaust is omitted. "^[15]

Examination of claims

Main article: Criticism of Holocaust denial

The three key claims of Holocaust deniers are:^[2][3]

• The Nazis had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews. Virtually all mainstream Historians reject the claims of Holocaust denial.
• Nazis did not use gas chambers to mass murder Jews. A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing consisting of a sealed chamber into which a Poisonous or Asphyxiant gas is introduced
• The figure of 5 to 7 million Jewish deaths is a gross exaggeration, and the actual number is an order of magnitude lower. An order of magnitude is the class of scale or magnitude of any amount where each class contains values of a fixed ratio to the class preceding it

Other claims include the following:

• Stories of the Holocaust were a myth initially created by the Allies of World War II to demonize Germans. The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis powers during the Second World War. ^[3] Jews spread this myth as part of a grander plot intended to enable the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, and now to garner continuing support for the state of Israel. Palestine is a name which has been widely used since Roman times to refer to the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. ^[16]
• Documentary evidence of the Holocaust, from photographs to the Diary of Anne Frank, is fabricated. The Diary of a Young Girl is a book based on the extracts from a Diary written by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family ^[3]
• Survivor testimonies are filled with errors and inconsistencies, and are thus unreliable. ^[3]
• Nazi confessions of war crimes were extracted through torture. ^[3]
• The Nazi treatment of Jews was no different from what the Allies did to their enemies in World War II. In general allies are people groups or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose ^[17]

Holocaust denial is widely viewed as failing to adhere to rules for the treatment of evidence, principles that mainstream historians (as well as scholars in other fields) regard as basic to rational inquiry. Rules of evidence govern whether when how and for what purpose proof of a case may be placed before a Trier of fact for consideration Reason involves the ability to think understand and draw Conclusions in an Abstract way as in Human thinking ^[18] The prevailing — and indeed virtually unanimous — consensus of mainstream scholars is that the evidence given by survivors, eyewitnesses, and contemporary historical accounts is overwhelming; that this evidence proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the Holocaust occurred; and that it occurred as these sources say it occurred.

The Holocaust was well-documented by the extremely bureaucratic German government itself. Bureaucracy is the structure and set of regulations in place to control activity usually in large organizations and government ^[19][20] It was further witnessed by the Allied forces who entered Germany and its associated Axis states towards the end of World War II. In general allies are people groups or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose The Axis powers also known as the Axis alliance Axis nations Axis countries or sometimes just the Axis were those Countries World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Among the evidence produced was film and stills that showed the existence of prisoner camps, as well as the testimony of those freed when the camps were entered. The Holocaust was a massive undertaking that lasted for years and was implemented across several countries, with its own command and control infrastructure, a bureaucracy that left a large trail of documentation. Command and control can be defined as the exercise of Authority and Direction by a properly designated Commander over assigned and attached Forces Infrastructure typically refers to the technical structures that support a society such as Roads Water supply, Wastewater, Power grids Although Nazi officials made attempts to destroy evidence of the Holocaust when it became evident that their defeat was imminent, substantial documentation remained. After the Nazi defeat, many documents were recovered, including numerous reports written by the Nazis about the number of Jews killed, records of train shipments of Jews to the camps, orders for tons of cyanide and other poisons, and large numbers of photographs and films of the camps and their victims. A train is a connected series of vehicles that move along a track ( Permanent way) to transport freight or passengers from one place to another PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ A cyanide is any Chemical compound that contains the cyano group (C≡N which consists of a Carbon Atom triple-bonded to a In the context of Biology, poisons are substances that can cause damage, Illness, or Death to Organisms usually by Many thousands of not-yet-decomposed bodies were found in mass graves located near facilities that were indisputably concentration camps. A mass grave is a grave containing multiple usually unidentified human corpses See also List of Nazi-German concentration camps, Extermination camp Prior to and during World War II, Nazi Germany under Hitler maintained Thousands of interviews with survivors, perpetrators, and bystanders added to the massive level of documentation that attended the Holocaust. A diary written by German anti-Nazi Friedrich Kellner attests that some atrocities, such as the murder of Jews at gunpoint, were indeed committed by German soldiers, but also illustrates that an awareness of such crimes was present among some German anti-Nazis. ( February 1, 1885 &ndash November 4, 1970) was a mid-level official in Germany who worked as a justice inspector in Mainz and

According to researchers Michael Shermer and Alex Grobman, there is a "convergence of evidence" that proves that the Holocaust happened. Michael Brand Shermer (born September 8, 1954 in Glendale California) is an American science writer historian of science founder of The Skeptics This evidence includes:^[21]

Much of the controversy surrounding the claims of Holocaust deniers centers on the methods used to present arguments that the Holocaust allegedly never happened as commonly accepted. Extermination camps were two types of facilities that Nazi Germany built during World War II for the systematic killing of millions of people in what has become Numerous accounts have been given by Holocaust deniers (including evidence presented in court cases) of claimed "facts" and "evidence"; however, independent research has shown these claims to be based upon flawed research, biased statements, or even deliberately falsified evidence. Opponents of Holocaust denial have compiled detailed accounts of numerous instances where this evidence has been altered or manufactured (see Nizkor Project and David Irving). The Nizkor Project ( Hebrew: נִזְכּוֹר we will remember) is an ongoing Internet -based project run by Ken McVay which is dedicated David John Cawdell Irving (born 24 March 1938 is a British writer specializing in the Military history of World War II. Evidence presented by Holocaust deniers has consistently failed to stand up to scrutiny in courts of law (see Fred A. Leuchter), further calling into question its veracity. Frederick A (Fred Leuchter Jr (born 1943 is an American execution technician who rose to controversy for his Testimony in defense of Holocaust

History and development

Early examples

The first Holocaust deniers were the Nazis themselves. Historians have documented evidence that Heinrich Himmler instructed his camp commandants to destroy records, crematoria and other signs of mass extermination, as Germany's defeat became imminent and the Nazi leaders realized they would most likely be captured and brought to trial. Heinrich Luitpold Himmler ( 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945 was a Nazi German politician and head of the Schutzstaffel (SS. Following the end of World War II, many of the former leaders of the SS left Germany and began using their propaganda skills to defend their actions (or, their critics contended, to rewrite history). The ( German for "Protective Squadron" abbreviated SS - or ( Runic)- was a major Nazi organization under Adolf Hitler and the Propaganda is a concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behaviors of large numbers of people Denial materials began to appear shortly after the war. ^[22]

Harry Elmer Barnes

Harry Elmer Barnes, an American, was at one time a mainstream historian with liberal credentials; he assumed a Holocaust-denial stance in the later years of his life. Harry Elmer Barnes ( 15 June 1889 – 25 August 1968) was a prominent American Historian in the 20th century Between World War I and World War II, Barnes became well known as an anti-war writer and a leader in the historical revisionism movement. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The term anti-war usually refers to the opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. Following World War II, he became convinced that allegations made against Germany and Japan, including the Holocaust, were wartime propaganda used to justify U. S. involvement in WWII.

Following the example of Barnes, a few other early libertarian writers also concerned with anti-war historical revisionism began to take a Holocaust-denial stance, including James J. Martin. James J Martin ( September 18, 1916 &ndash April 4, 2004) was an American Historian. Most libertarians, however—even those who otherwise hold Barnes' writings in high regard—reject his Holocaust denial. ^[23] Barnes' name has since been appropriated by some modern Holocaust deniers in an attempt to lend credibility to their cause, most notably Willis Carto. Willis Allison Carto ( July 17, 1926) is a longtime figure on the far right wing of American politics

The beginnings of the modern denial movement

The KKK: Nazi salute and Holocaust denial

A prominent early Holocaust denier was the American historian David Hoggan, whose 1961 book Der Erzwungene Krieg (The Forced War), though primarily concerned with the origins of World War II, also down-played or justified the effects of Nazi antisemitic measures in the pre-1939 period. Ku Klux Klan ( KKK) is the name of several past and present secret domestic terrorist organizations in the United States, generally in the southern states that are David Leslie Hoggan ( March 23, 1923 &ndash August 7, 1988) was an American historian author of The Forced War When Peaceful World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism; also rarely known as judeophobia) is the Prejudice against or hostility Subsequently, Hoggan wrote one of the first books denying the Holocaust in 1969 entitled The Myth of the Six Million, which was published by the Noontide Press, a small Los Angeles publisher specializing in antisemitic literature. Noontide Press is an American publishing entity which publishes among other racist and antisemitic titles the Protocols of Zion, as well as the ^[24] Hoggan became one of the early stars of the Holocaust denial movement, because he had a number of university professorships.

The next denier of note was French historian Paul Rassinier who published The Drama of the European Jews in 1964. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Paul Rassinier (1906-1967 Rassinier was himself a concentration camp survivor (imprisoned in Buchenwald for his having helped French Jews escape the Nazis), and modern-day deniers continue to cite his works as scholarly research that questions the accepted facts of the Holocaust. Buchenwald concentration camp (German Konzentrationslager or 'KZ' Buchenwald) was a Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg (Etter Mountain near Mainstream historians point out that since Buchenwald was not a mass extermination camp, it would have been impossible for him to witness any gassings. Critics argued that Rassinier did not cite evidence for his claims and ignored information that contradicted his assertions; he nevertheless remains influential in Holocaust denial circles for being one of the first deniers to propose that a vast Zionist/Allied/Soviet conspiracy faked the Holocaust, a theme that would be picked up in later years by other authors. ^[25]

The Holocaust denial movement further grew with the publication of Arthur Butz's The Hoax of the Twentieth Century: The case against the presumed extermination of European Jewry in 1976; and David Irving's Hitler's War in 1977. Arthur R Butz (born 1933 in New York City) is an American and an associate professor of Electrical engineering at Northwestern University, where he has The Hoax of the Twentieth Century The Case Against the Presumed Extermination of European Jewry is a book by Arthur R David John Cawdell Irving (born 24 March 1938 is a British writer specializing in the Military history of World War II. Hitler's War is a history book by David Irving. It describes the Second World War from the point of view of Adolf Hitler. These books brought other similarly inclined individuals into the fold. ^[26] In December 1978 and January 1979, Robert Faurisson, a French professor of literature at the University of Lyon, wrote two letters to Le Monde claiming that the gas chambers used by the Nazis to exterminate the Jews did not exist. Robert Faurisson (born January 25, 1929) is a French former professor of literature at the University of Lyon and a Holocaust denier This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The University of Lyon ( Université de Lyon) located in Lyon, France, is a center for higher education and research comprising 16 institutions of higher Le Monde (The World is a A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing consisting of a sealed chamber into which a Poisonous or Asphyxiant gas is introduced A colleague of Faurisson, Jean-Claude Pressac, who was initially a Holocaust denier like Faurisson, later became convinced of the Holocaust's evidence while investigating documents at Auschwitz in 1979. Jean-Claude Pressac (1944 - July 23 2003 was a French Chemist and Pharmacist who became a published authority on the Holocaust of World "Auschwitz" redirects here For the town see Oświęcim Auschwitz-Birkenau () was the largest of Nazi Germany He published his conclusions along with much of the underlying evidence in his 1989 book, Auschwitz: Technique and operation of the gas chambers. ^[27]

Institute for Historical Review

In 1978 the Institute for Historical Review (IHR) was founded by Willis Carto as an organization dedicated to publicly challenging the "myth of the Holocaust. The Institute for Historical Review (IHR, founded in 1978, is an American Holocaust denial organization that describes itself as a "public-interest Willis Allison Carto ( July 17, 1926) is a longtime figure on the far right wing of American politics " The IHR sought from the beginning to attempt to establish itself within the broad tradition of historical revisionism, by soliciting token supporters who were not from a neo-Nazi background such as James J. Martin and Samuel Edward Konkin III, and by promoting the writings of French socialist Paul Rassinier and American anti-war historian Harry Elmer Barnes to attempt to show that Holocaust denial had a broader base of support besides just neo-Nazis. Samuel Edward Konkin III (aka SEK3) ( July 8, 1947 - February 23, 2004) was the author of The New Libertarian Manifesto The IHR brought most of Barnes' writings, which had been out of print since his death, back into print. While IHR included articles on other topics and sold books by mainstream historians in its catalog, the majority of material published and distributed by IHR was devoted to questioning the facts surrounding the Holocaust. ^[28]

The IHR became one of the most important organizations devoted to Holocaust denial. In recent years the IHR underwent an internal power struggle which ousted Willis Carto. Under the subsequent leadership of Mark Weber, the IHR has taken on an even more explicit neo-Nazi orientation than it had under Carto. Carto went on to found the Barnes Review magazine after his ouster from IHR, a magazine which is also devoted to Holocaust denial. The Barnes Review is a bi-monthly magazine founded in 1994 by Willis Carto, dedicated to Historical revisionism such as Holocaust denial.

In recent published articles, volunteer organizations monitoring hate groups have stated that Holocaust denial groups, such as the IHR, have been having difficulty finding supporters (and especially financial sponsors) in the United States. As a result, spokespersons for the IHR and other denial groups have been traveling to the Middle East in an attempt to forge closer ties with extremist groups there. The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. IHR spokespersons have been reported to have met with persons suspected of involvement with terrorist groups. Terrorism is the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion ^[29]

In an "About the IHR" statement on their website, the IHR states that "The Institute does not 'deny the Holocaust'. "^[30] The IHR journal, however, states:

"There is no dispute over the fact that large numbers of Jews were deported to concentration camps and ghettos, or that many Jews died or were killed during World War II. Revisionist scholars have presented evidence, which "exterminationists" have not been able to refute, showing that there was no German program to exterminate Europe's Jews, and that the estimate of six million Jewish wartime dead is an irresponsible exaggeration. The Holocaust — the alleged extermination of some six million Jews (most of them by gassing) — is a hoax and should be recognized as such by Christians and all informed, honest and truthful men everywhere. "^[31]

Commentators and historians have noted the misleading nature of statements by the IHR that they are not Holocaust deniers. Paul Rauber, a senior editor for the Sierra Club Magazine, writes that:

"The question [of whether the IHR denies the Holocaust] appears to turn on IHR's Humpty-Dumpty word game with the word Holocaust. Paul Rauber is a Senior Editor at the Sierra Club magazine an American environmental organization founded by Conservationist pioneer John Muir According to Mark Weber, associate editor of the IHR's Journal of Historical Review [now Director of the IHR], "If by the 'Holocaust' you mean the political persecution of Jews, some scattered killings, if you mean a cruel thing that happened, no one denies that. But if one says that the 'Holocaust' means the systematic extermination of six to eight millions Jews in concentration camps, that's what we think there's not evidence for. " That is, IHR doesn't deny that the Holocaust happened; they just deny that the word 'Holocaust' means what people customarily use it for. "^[32]

According to British historian of Germany Richard J. Evans:

"Like many individual Holocaust deniers, the Institute as a body denied that it was involved in Holocaust denial. Professor Richard Evans (born 1947 is a British Historian of Germany. It called this a 'smear' which was 'completely at variance with the facts' because 'revisionist scholars' such as Faurisson, Butz 'and bestselling British historian David Irving acknowledge that hundreds of thousands of Jews were killed and otherwise perished during the Second World War as a direct and indirect result of the harsh anti-Jewish policies of Germany and its allies'. But the concession that a relatively small number of Jews were killed was routinely used by Holocaust deniers to distract attention from the far more important fact of their refusal to admit that the figure ran into the millions, and that a large proportion of these victims were systematically murdered by gassing as well as by shooting. "^[33]

Bradley Smith and CODOH

In 1987, Bradley R. Smith founded a group called the Committee for Open Debate on the Holocaust. ^[34] He is former media director of the Institute for Historical Review. In the United States, CODOH has repeatedly tried to place newspaper ads questioning whether the Holocaust happened, especially in college campus newspapers. ^[35] These ads typically cause a stir on each campus, whether or not they are actually run in the campus newspaper. Some newspapers have accepted the ads, some have rejected them. ^[36] No matter which decision the editors make, most papers run an editorial defending their decision either on free speech grounds or on the grounds that Smith's views are repugnant and rightfully kept out of the newspaper. Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without Censorship or Limitation. During the early 1990s, CODOH's ad campaign attracted national controversy after many campus newspapers accepted the ads. Since 2000, CODOH's newspaper ad campaign has fallen into inactivity because most campus papers (with a few exceptions) reject the ads as a matter of course. Attempts to place the ads no longer generate the controversy they once did. Bradley Smith has more recently sought other avenues to promote Holocaust denial with little success. In June 2007, the film "El Gran Tabu" ("The Great Taboo") by Bradley R. Smith was presented at the festival "Corto Creativo 07" in Mexico. ^[37]

James Keegstra

For more details on this topic, see R. v. Keegstra. R v Keegstra, 3 SCR 697 is a landmark Freedom of expression decision of the Supreme Court of Canada where the Court upheld the Criminal Code

In 1984, James Keegstra, a Canadian high-school teacher, was charged with denying the Holocaust and making antisemitic claims in his classroom as part of the course material. James "Jim" Keegstra is a figure on the far-right of Canadian politics and former public school teacher Keegstra and his lawyer, Doug Christie, argued that the section of the Criminal Code of Canada (now section 319{2}), is an infringement of the Charter of Rights (section 9{b}). Douglas Hewson Christie Jr, known as Doug Christie, (b April 1946 is a Canadian lawyer and far-right political activist based in Victoria, The Criminal Code of Canada (long title An Act respecting the criminal law, R The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (also known as The Charter of Rights and Freedoms or simply the Charter) is a Bill of rights entrenched in the The case was appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada, where it was decided that the law he was convicted under did infringe on his freedom of expression, but it was a justified infringement. The Supreme Court of Canada ( French: Cour suprême du Canada) is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeal in the Canadian R v Keegstra, 3 SCR 697 is a landmark Freedom of expression decision of the Supreme Court of Canada where the Court upheld the Criminal Code Keegstra was convicted, and fired from his job. ^[38]

The Zündel trials

Did Six Million Really Die? by Richard Harwood (also known as Richard Verrall). Did Six Million Really Die? is a Holocaust denial booklet written by British National Front member Richard Verrall, under the name Richard Richard Verrall (born 1948 is a National Front member and edited its magazine Spearhead from 1976 to 1980 The Supreme Court of Canada found in 1992 that the book "misrepresented the work of historians, misquoted witnesses, fabricated evidence, and cited non-existent authorities. "

Former Canadian resident Ernst Zündel operated a small-press publishing house called Samisdat Publishing, which published and distributed Holocaust-denial material such as Did Six Million Really Die? by Richard Harwood (a. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Ernst Christof Friedrich Zündel (born April 24 1939 in Bad Wildbad) is a German Neo-Nazi, Holocaust denier and Pamphleteer who was jailed several Did Six Million Really Die? is a Holocaust denial booklet written by British National Front member Richard Verrall, under the name Richard k. a. Richard Verrall - a British neo-Nazi leader). Richard Verrall (born 1948 is a National Front member and edited its magazine Spearhead from 1976 to 1980 In 1985, he was tried and convicted under a "false news" law and sentenced to 15 months imprisonment by an Ontario court for "disseminating and publishing material denying the Holocaust. Ontario (ɒnˈtɛrioʊ is a province located in the central part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest after Quebec " Zündel gained considerable notoriety after this conviction, and a number of free-speech activists stepped forward to defend his right to publish his opinion. His conviction was overturned in 1992 when the Supreme Court of Canada declared the "false news" law unconstitutional. ^[39]

Zündel has a Website, web-mastered by his wife Ingrid, which publicizes his viewpoints. ^[40] In January 2002, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal delivered a ruling in a complaint involving his website, in which it was found to be contravening the Canadian Human Rights Act. The Canadian Human Rights Commission is a quasi-judicial body that was established in 1977 by the government The Canadian Human Rights Act is a Statute originally passed by the Government of Canada in 1977 with the express goal of extending the law to ensure The court ordered Zündel to cease communicating hate messages. In February 2003, the American INS arrested him in Tennessee, USA, on an immigration violations matter, and few days later, Zündel was sent back to Canada, where he tried to gain refugee status. The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service ( INS) was a part of the United States Department of Justice and handled legal and illegal Immigration Tennessee ( is a state located in the Southern United States. Zündel remained in prison until March 1, 2005, when he was deported to Germany and prosecuted for disseminating hate propaganda. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. On February 15, 2007, Zündel was convicted on 14 counts of incitement under Germany's Volksverhetzung law, which bans the incitement of hatred against a minority of the population, and given the maximum sentence of five years in prison. Volksverhetzung ( German: "stirring up the populace" "agitation of the people" is a concept in German criminal law that bans the incitement of hatred against ^[41]

Ken McVay and alt. revisionism

In the mid-1990s, the popularity of the Internet brought new international exposure to many organizations, including Holocaust deniers and other groups. The Internet is a global system of interconnected Computer networks A number of authority figures stated publicly that the Internet allowed hate groups to introduce their messages to a widespread audience, and it was feared that Holocaust denial would gain in popularity as a result. A hate group is an organized group or movement that advocates Hate, Hostility, or Violence towards members of a race ethnicity religion gender sexual However, this was not the case, largely due to the efforts of Ken McVay and the participants in the Usenet newsgroup alt. Kenneth McVay, aka Ken McVay OBC (b ca 1940 a Canadian - American dual citizen is an Internet activist against Holocaust Usenet, a Portmanteau of "user" and "network" is a world-wide distributed Internet discussion system revisionism.

McVay, a Canadian resident, was disturbed by the efforts of organizations like the Simon Wiesenthal Center to suppress the speech of the Holocaust deniers. The Simon Wiesenthal Center (often abbreviated SWC) with headquarters in Los Angeles On alt. revisionism he began a campaign of "truth, fact, and evidence," working with other participants on the newsgroup to uncover factual information about the Holocaust and counter the arguments of the deniers by proving them to be based upon misleading evidence, false statements, and outright lies. He founded the Nizkor Project to expose the activities of the Holocaust deniers, who responded to McVay with personal attacks and slander. The Nizkor Project ( Hebrew: נִזְכּוֹר we will remember) is an ongoing Internet -based project run by Ken McVay which is dedicated McVay received a number of death threats, and the Nizkor Project soon became the number-one online foe of many Holocaust deniers.

Book cover: Denying The Holocaust.

David Irving and the Lipstadt libel case

In 1998, the British author^[42] David Irving filed suit against American author Deborah Lipstadt and her publisher Penguin Books, claiming that Lipstadt had libeled him in her book Denying the Holocaust. David John Cawdell Irving (born 24 March 1938 is a British writer specializing in the Military history of World War II. Deborah Esther Lipstadt (born March 18 1947 New York City) is an American Historian and author of the book Denying the Holocaust. Penguin Books is a British Publisher founded in 1935 by Allen Lane. The statements made by Lipstadt included the accusation that Irving deliberately misrepresented evidence to conform to his ideological viewpoint. Under English libel law, which seeks primarily to protect the reputation of an individual, Lipstadt and her publisher bore the full burden of demonstrating that they had not shown "reckless disregard" for the truth (as would be required in an American courtroom), and also that the statements made were either true or that there was sufficient reason to believe them so. In other words, under British law, Lipstadt and her publisher had to prove that Irving had denied the Holocaust, and that the Holocaust had, in fact, happened. ^[43]

Lipstadt and Penguin hired British lawyer Anthony Julius and Cambridge historian Richard J. Evans to present her case. Anthony Julius (born 1956 is a prominent British lawyer and academic best known for his actions on behalf of Diana Princess of Wales and Deborah Lipstadt. Professor Richard Evans (born 1947 is a British Historian of Germany. Evans spent two years examining Irving's work, and presented evidence of Irving's misrepresentations, including evidence that Irving had knowingly used forged documents as source material. The judge in the case, Mr Justice Gray, was ultimately persuaded by the evidence presented by Evans and others, and delivered a long and decisive verdict in favor of Lipstadt that referred to Irving as a "Holocaust denier" and "right-wing pro-Nazi polemicist," and confirmed the accusations of Lipstadt and Evans. A judge, or justice, is an Official who presides over a Court of law Polemics (pəˈlɛmɪks/ /poʊ- is the practice of disputing or controverting religious, philosophical, or political matters ^[44]

In 2006, Irving pleaded guilty to the charge of denying the Holocaust in Austria, where Holocaust denial is a crime and where an arrest warrant was issued based on speeches he made in 1989. ---- Guilt is the Fact, state or Verdict (by a Court or other Tribunal) of an Offence, Crime, Violation Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich Irving knew that the warrant had been issued and that he was banned from Austria, but chose to go to Austria anyway. After he was arrested, Irving claimed in his plea that he changed his opinions on the Holocaust, "I said that then based on my knowledge at the time, but by 1991 when I came across the Eichmann papers, I wasn't saying that anymore and I wouldn't say that now," Irving told the court. "The Nazis did murder millions of Jews. " Upon hearing of Irving's sentence, Lipstadt said, "I am not happy when censorship wins, and I don't believe in winning battles via censorship… The way of fighting Holocaust deniers is with history and with truth. Censorship is the suppression of speech or deletion of communicative material which may be considered objectionable harmful or sensitive as determined by a censor "^[45]

Recent developments and trends

In France, Holocaust denial has become more prominent in the 1990s as "negationism," though the movement has existed in ultra-left French politics since at least the sixties, led by figures such as Pierre Guillaume (who was involved in the bookshop La Vieille Taupe during the 1960s). Pierre Guillaume was the founder of the Paris book shop La Vieille Taupe in 1965 and later the negationist publishing house of the same name La Vieille Taupe is a publishing house in Paris known for Antisemitic and Holocaust denial literature Recently, elements of the extreme far left and extreme far right in France have begun to build on each others' negationist arguments, which often span beyond the Holocaust to cover a range of antisemitic views, incorporating Marxist critiques of "Jewish capitalists," attempts to tie the Holocaust to the Biblical massacre of the Canaanites, critiques of Zionism and other material fanning what has been called a "conspiratorial Judeo-phobia" designed to legitimize and "banalize" antisemitism. Canaanites redirects here For the 1940s social and political movement in Israel, see Canaanites (movement. ^[46]

In Belgium in 2001, Roeland Raes, the ideologue and vice-president of one of the country's largest political parties, the Vlaams Belang (formerly named Vlaams Blok, Flemish Bloc), gave an interview on Dutch TV where he cast doubt over the number of Jews murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those Roeland Raes ( Ghent, 4 September 1934) is a Belgian politician a former senator for and vice president of the political party ' Vlaams Blok Vlaams Belang ( English: Flemish Interest) is an anti-immigration right-wing Political party in the Flemish Community of Belgium The Vlaams Blok ( VB, English: Flemish Bloc) was a Belgian Secessionist Political party which advocated anti-immigration PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as In the same interview he questioned the scale of the Nazis' use of gas chambers and the authenticity of Anne Frank's diary. A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing consisting of a sealed chamber into which a Poisonous or Asphyxiant gas is introduced Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank ( (12 June 1929 – early March 1945 was a Jewish girl born in the city of Frankfurt am Main in Weimar Germany In response to the media assault following the interview, Raes was forced to resign his position but vowed to remain active within the party. ^[47] Three years later, the Vlaams Blok was convicted of racism and chose to disband. Immediately afterwards, it legally reformed under the new name Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) with the same leaders and the same membership. ^[48]

Accusations of a Zionist conspiracy

Since 1960s, the Soviet Union promoted the allegation of secret ties between the Nazis and the Zionist leadership, under the doctrine of Zionology. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Zionology ( Russian language: сионология sionologiya) also called Soviet Anti-Zionism, was a doctrine promulgated in the Soviet The thesis of 1982 doctoral dissertation of Mahmoud Abbas, a co-founder of Fatah and one of the leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization, who earned his Ph. Mahmoud Abbas (محمود عباس (born March 26, 1935) also known by the kunya Abu Mazen (ابو مازن was elected President Fatah (فتح literally opening, is a reverse Acronym from the Arabic name Harakat al-Tahrir al-Watani al-Filastini (حركة التحرير The Palestine Liberation Organization ( PLO) (منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية or Munazzamat al-Tahrir al-Filastiniyyah) is a political and paramilitary D. in history at the Moscow State Institute of Oriental Studies with Yevgeny Primakov being his thesis advisor, was "The Secret Connection between the Nazis and the Leaders of the Zionist Movement"^[49][50] In his 1983 book The Other Face: The Secret Connection Between the Nazis and the Zionist Movement, based on the dissertation, Abbas wrote:

In his March, 2006 interview with Haaretz Abbas stated:

Holocaust Denial in Arab Nations

Denials of the Holocaust have been regularly promoted by various Arab leaders and in various media throughout the Middle East. The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. ^[55] Newspapers funded by the Saudi Arabian government routinely deny the existence of the Holocaust, or downplay its significance. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA ( المملكة العربية السعودية, al-Mamlaka al-ʻArabiyya as-Suʻūdiyya) or Suudi Individuals from the Syrian government, as well as the Palestinian political group Hamas have recently published Holocaust denial statements. Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية Palestinian people or Palestinians ( الشعب الفلسطيني, ash-sha`b al-filasTīni; الفلسطينيون, al-filasTīnīyyūn Ḥamas (ar حركة حماس acronym ar حركة المقاومة ^[56]

Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, wrote a doctoral thesis in 1982 entitled "The Secret Connection between the Nazis and the Leaders of the Zionist Movement". Mahmoud Abbas (محمود عباس (born March 26, 1935) also known by the kunya Abu Mazen (ابو مازن was elected President Although he has since called the Holocaust, "a terrible, unforgivable crime against the Jewish nation", his book inspired others to publish revisionist views claiming that Jewish people collaborated with the Nazis. In August 2002, the Zayed Center for Coordination and Follow-up, an Arab League think-tank whose Chairman, Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahayan, served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, promoted a Holocaust denial symposium in Abu Dhabi. The Arab League ( الجامعة العربية) officially called the League of Arab States ( جامعة الدول العربية ^[57] Hamas leaders have also promoted Holocaust denial; Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi held that the Holocaust never occurred, that Zionists were behind the action of Nazis, and that Zionists funded Nazism. Ḥamas (ar حركة حماس acronym ar حركة المقاومة Dr Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi (عبدالعزيز الرنتيسي ( October 23, 1947 – was the co-founder of the militant Palestinian Islamist organization History of Zionism|Timeline of Zionism|World Zionist Organization|Zionist political violence Zionism is an international political movement that originally supported the A press release by Hamas in April 2000 decried "the so-called Holocaust, which is an alleged and invented story with no basis"^[58]

Holocaust denial has also been resisted by prominent intellectual figures in the Arab world; in 2001, an outcry led by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, Lebanese writer Elias Khoury and others brought about the cancellation of a conference the Holocaust denial organization Institute for Historical Review had planned to hold in Beirut. Mahmoud Darwish ( 13 March 1941 &ndash 9 August 2008) was a respected Palestinian poet and author who won numerous awards for Elias Khoury (الياس خوري (born 12 July 1948, Beirut) is a Lebanese novelist playwright and critic ^[59]

Iranian President Ahmadinejad

Main article: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Israel

Holocaust denial is relatively new to the Middle East, as Kenneth Jacobson, assistant national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said in an interview with Haaretz: "Adopting the theories of Holocaust denial of Western scholars is a relatively new phenomenon in the Muslim world. During his presidency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 's speeches and statements have contributed to increased tensions between Iran and Israel, and between Iran and several The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. The Anti-Defamation League ( ADL) is an Interest group founded in 1913 by B'nai B'rith in the United States whose stated aim is "to stop (הארץ "The land" referring to the Land of Israel) founded in 1918 is Israel 's oldest Daily newspaper. The accepted attitude had been to say that whereas it was true the Holocaust had taken place, the Palestinians should not have to pay the price. A look at Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's statements shows that he has mixed the two approaches. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (محمود احمدی‌نژاد; born October 28, 1956) is the sixth and current President of the Islamic Republic of Iran "^[60]

In a December 2005 speech, Ahmadinejad said that the Holocaust was a fairy tale that had been promoted to protect Israel, ramping up his rhetoric and triggering a fresh wave of international denunciation. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. He said,

He also called for Israel to be relocated to Germany, or Austria, arguing it was these nations that persecuted the Jews, so they ought to bear the responsibility, not Palestinians forsaking their land to form a nation of Israel. He also suggested relocating Israeli Jews to the United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the ^[61]

The remarks immediately provoked a blaze of international controversy as well as swift condemnation from government officials in Israel, Europe, and the United States. All six political parties in the German parliament signed a joint resolution condemning this Holocaust denial. ^[62]

Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal described Ahmadinejad's comments as "courageous" and stated that ". Ḥamas (ar حركة حماس acronym ar حركة المقاومة Khaled Mashal, also known as Khaled Mashaal or Khalid Mish'al (خالد مشعل (b . . Muslim people will defend Iran because it voices what they have in their hearts, in particular the Palestinian people. "^[63] In the United States, the Muslim Public Affairs Council condemned Ahmadinejad's remarks. This article is about the US organisation headquartered in Los Angeles ^[64]

On April 24, 2006, Ahmadinejad demanded a free evaluation of the real extent of the Holocaust "in order to find the ultimate truth. "

In a May 30, 2006 interview with Der Spiegel, Ahmadinejad again questioned the Holocaust several times, insisting there were "two opinions" on it. Der Spiegel (pronounced /deːɐ ˈʃpiːɡəl/ German for "The Mirror" is a German weekly Magazine, published in Hamburg When asked if the Holocaust was a myth, he responded "I will only accept something as truth if I am actually convinced of it". ^[65]

Some of Ahmadinejad's supporters even propose an alternative genocide. Based on the story reported in the Book of Esther, Iranian author and conspiracy theorist Nasser Pourpirar claims that Purim was the original Holocaust during which Jews exterminated all the original people of what is now Iran and Iraq. The Book of Esther is a book of the Tanakh ( Hebrew Bible) and of the Old Testament. Nasser Pourpirar, (ناصر پورپیرار (Pen name Naria,(previous name Naser Bana-Konanadeh) is an Iranian writer revisionist, and Purim ( Hebrew: פורים Pûrîm " lots " related to Akkadian pūru) is a Jewish holiday that commemorates For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. He further claims that pre-15th century AD Iranian history is a Jewish fabrication to cover up that genocide in 6th century BC.

On December 11, 2006, the "International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust" opened to widespread condemnation. The International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust was a two-day conference that opened on December 11, 2006, in Tehran, Iran ^[66] The conference, called for by and held at the behest of Ahmadinejad,^[67] was widely described as a "Holocaust denial conference" or a "meeting of Holocaust deniers",^[68] though Iran insisted it was not a Holocaust denial conference. ^[69] A few months before it opened, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi stated: "The Holocaust is not a sacred issue that one can't touch. I have visited the Nazi camps in Eastern Europe. I think it is exaggerated. "^[70]

Ali Akbar Velayati, the representative of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, when asked in an interview "do you think the Holocaust ever happened?" answered "Yes it did. Dr Ali Akbar Velayati (علی‌اکبر ولایتی born June 25, 1945 in Shemiran) is an Iranian politician and a former Pediatrician (fa علی حسینی خامنه‌ای born 17 July 1939 also known as Ali Khamenei, is an Iranian Azeri politician and cleric "^[71] The same view was echoed by Javad Zarif, Iran's representative to the United Nations, on February 13, 2007, when he said "the Genocide of the Jews did happen, and it should not happen again. Dr Mohammad Javad Zarif (محمد جواد ظریف (b 8 January, 1960) is a former Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security "^[72]

Reactions to Holocaust denial

Since the aim of Holocaust deniers is to prove that the Holocaust did not happen as commonly conceived, there has been substantial debate on the right way to respond to deniers. Three schools of thought have evolved to deal with them.

Many scholars refuse to engage Holocaust deniers or their arguments at all, feeling that in so doing they would give Holocaust deniers unwarranted legitimacy. ^[73]

A second group of scholars, typified by historian Deborah Lipstadt, have tried to raise awareness of the methods and motivations of Holocaust denial, while trying not to legitimize the deniers themselves. Deborah Esther Lipstadt (born March 18 1947 New York City) is an American Historian and author of the book Denying the Holocaust. Lipstadt explained her goals:

"We need not waste time or effort answering the deniers' contentions. It would be never-ending to respond to arguments posed by those who freely falsify findings, quote out of context and simply dismiss reams of testimony. Unlike true scholars, they have little, if any, respect for data or evidence. Their commitment is to an ideology and their 'findings' are shaped to support it. "^[74]

A third group, typified by the Nizkor Project, responds by confronting Holocaust denial head-on. The Nizkor Project ( Hebrew: נִזְכּוֹר we will remember) is an ongoing Internet -based project run by Ken McVay which is dedicated They address the arguments and claims made by Holocaust denial groups by pointing out the errors of their evidence. ^[75]

A number of public figures and scholars have spoken out against Holocaust denial. Dr. William Shulman, director of the Holocaust Research Center, described the denial "…as if these people [in the Holocaust] were killed twice",^[76] a sentiment echoed by literary theorist Jean Baudrillard, who argued that "Forgetting the extermination is part of the extermination itself. Jean Baudrillard ( July 29, 1929   – March 6, 2007) (ʒɑ̃ bo "^[77] In 2006, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said: "Remembering is a necessary rebuke to those who say the Holocaust never happened or has been exaggerated. Kofi Atta Annan, GCMG (born 8 April 1938 is a Ghanaian Diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations Holocaust denial is the work of bigots; we must reject their false claims whenever, wherever and by whomever they are made. "^[78] Holocaust survivor and Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel calls the Holocaust "the most documented tragedy in recorded history. Elie Wiesel (born Eliezer Wiesel on September 30 1928 in Sighetu Marmaţiei, Romania) is a Jewish writer professor political activist Recorded history can be defined as History that has been written down or recorded by the use of Language, whereas History is a more general term referring Never before has a tragedy elicited so much witness from the killers, from the victims and even from the bystanders—millions of pieces here in the museum what you have, all other museums, archives in the thousands, in the millions. "^[79] He made a similar statement on a special edition of the The Oprah Winfrey Show after his final trip to Auschwitz, along with host Oprah Winfrey. The Oprah Winfrey Show is a United States syndicated Talk show, hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey, and is the highest-rated "Auschwitz" redirects here For the town see Oświęcim Auschwitz-Birkenau () was the largest of Nazi Germany Oprah Gail Winfrey (born January 29 1954 often referred to simply as Oprah, is an American

In January 2007, the United Nations General Assembly condemned "without reservation any denial of the Holocaust", though Iran disassociated itself from the resolution. Membership For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly see General Assembly members For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. ^[80]

Laws against Holocaust denial

Main article: Laws against Holocaust denial

Holocaust denial is explicitly or implicitly illegal in 13 countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Israel, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Switzerland. Holocaust denial is illegal in a number of European countries The Netherlands and Italy have recently considered legislation but rejected such proposals in 2006 and 2007 respectively. Slovakia made Holocaust denial a crime in late 2001 but repealed the legislation in May 2005. Spain decriminalized Holocaust denial in October 2007. ^[81] Italy rejected a draft Holocaust denial law proposing a prison sentence of up to four years in 2007, the Netherlands rejected a draft law proposing a maximum sentence of one year in 2006 and before this the United Kingdom twice rejected a Holocaust denial law. Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Ireland also have rejected Holocaust denial legislation.

Many countries also have broader laws against libel or inciting racial hatred, as do a number of countries that do not specifically have laws against Holocaust denial, such as Canada and the United Kingdom. The Council of Europe's 2003 Additional Protocol to the Convention on cybercrime, concerning the criminalisation of acts of a racist and xenophobic nature committed through computer systems includes an article 6 titled Denial, gross minimisation, approval or justification of genocide or crimes against humanity, though this does not have the status of law. The Committee of Ministers is the Council of Europe 's highest decision-making body Additional Protocol to the Convention on cybercrime is an additional to the Council of Europe Cybercrime Convention, addressing materials and "acts of racist

Of the countries that ban Holocaust denial, a number (Austria, Germany and Romania) were among the perpetrators of the Holocaust, and many of these also ban other elements associated with Nazism, such as Nazi symbols. The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as Additionally, scholars have pointed out that countries that specifically ban Holocaust denial generally have legal systems that limit speech in other ways, such as banning hate speech. Hate speech is a term for speech intended to degrade intimidate or incite violence or prejudicial action against a person or group of people based on their race, Gender In the words of D. Guttenplan, this is a split between the "common law countries of the United states, Ireland and many British Commonwealth, countries from the civil law countries of continental Europe and Scotland. Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive In civil law countries the law is generally more proscriptive. Civil law or Romano-Germanic law or Continental law is the predominant system of law in the world. Also under the civil law regime the judge acts more as an inquisitor, gathering and presenting evidence as well as interpreting it". ^[82]

Many Holocaust deniers feel their work should be protected by a universal right to free speech, and see these laws as a confirmation of their own beliefs, arguing that truth does not need to be legally enforced. Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without Censorship or Limitation. The argument that laws punishing Holocaust denial are incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights have been rejected by institutions of the Council of Europe (the European Commission of Human Rights,^[83] the European Court of Human Rights^[84]) and also by the United Nations Human Rights Committee. The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (also called the "European Convention on Human Rights" and "ECHR" was adopted under the The Universal Declaration of Human Rights ( UDHR) is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly ( 10 December 1948 at Palais The Council of Europe (Conseil de l'Europe is the oldest International organisation working towards European integration, being founded in 1949 European Commission of Human Rights was a special Tribunal. From 1954 to the entry into force of Protocol 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, individuals The European Court of Human Rights ( ECtHR) (Cour européenne des droits de l’homme in Strasbourg was established under the European Convention on Human Rights The Human Rights Committee is a United Nations body of 18 experts that meets three times a year to consider the five-yearly reports submitted by UN member states on their compliance ^[85]

Some people who do not deny that the Holocaust occurred nevertheless oppose such restrictions of free speech, including, despite her legal battle with David Irving, Deborah Lipstadt. Historians who oppose such laws include Raul Hilberg, Richard J. Evans and Pierre Vidal-Naquet. Raul Hilberg ( June 2, 1926 - August 4, 2007) was an Austrian -born American political scientist and Historian Professor Richard Evans (born 1947 is a British Historian of Germany. Pierre Emmanuel Vidal-Naquet ( July 23 1930 &ndash July 29, 2006) was a French Historian who began teaching at the Other prominent opponents of the laws are Timothy Garton Ash,^[86] Christopher Hitchens, Peter Singer,^[87] and Noam Chomsky. Timothy Garton Ash CMG, (born 12 July, 1955) is the British author of eight books of political writing or ‘history of the present’ which Christopher Eric Hitchens (born April 13, 1949) is a British Author, Journalist, Literary critic and American Peter Albert David Singer (born July 6, 1946 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) is an Australian philosopher. Avram Noam Chomsky (noʊm ˈtʃɑmski born December 7 1928 is an American linguist, Philosopher, cognitive scientist, Political An uproar resulted when Serge Thion used one of Chomsky's essays without explicit permission as a foreword to a book of Holocaust denial essays (see Faurisson affair). Serge Thion (born 1942 is a controversial French sociologist known for his Holocaust denial. The Faurisson affair is a term given to an academic controversy in the wake of a book by Robert Faurisson, a Holocaust denier.

In the United States, Holocaust denial is protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme Law of the United States.

European Union

The European Union's executive Commission proposed a European Union wide anti-racism xenophobia law in 2001, which included the criminalizing denial of the Holocaust. The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive branch of the European Union. On July 15, 1996, the Council of the European Union adopted the Joint action/96/443/JHA concerning action to combat racism and xenophobia. Events 1099 - First Crusade: Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) The Council of the European Union is the principal decision making institution in the European Union (EU ^[88][89] During the German presidency there was an attempt to extend this ban. ^[90] Full implementation was blocked by Britain and the Nordic countries because of the need to balance the restrictions of voicing racist opinions against the freedom of expression. ^[91] As a result a compromise has been reached within the EU and while the EU has not prohibited Holocaust denial outright, a maximum term of three years in jail is optionally available to all member nations for "denying or grossly trivializing crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. "^[92][93]

Other genocide denials

Main article: Genocide denial

Other acts of genocide have met similar attempts to deny and minimize, most notably the Armenian Genocide and the Pontic Greek Genocide, which is denied by the Turkish Government, but also the Rwanda genocide, Srebrenica massacre and the Ukrainian famine. Genocide denial occurs when an otherwise accepted act of Genocide is met with attempts to deny the occurrence and minimize the scale or death toll During World War I and its aftermath (1914-1923 the Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass killing of hundreds of thousands of Rwanda 's minority Tutsis and the moderates of its Hutu majority The Srebrenica Massacre, also known as Srebrenica Genocide, was the July 1995 killing of an estimated 8000 Bosniak men and boys in the region of Srebrenica The Holodomor (Голодомор is the famine that took place in Soviet Ukraine during the 1932-1933 agricultural season Gregory H. Stanton, formerly of the US State Department and the founder of Genocide Watch, lists denial as the final stage of a genocide development: "Denial is the eighth stage that always follows a genocide. It is among the surest indicators of further genocidal massacres. The perpetrators of genocide dig up the mass graves, burn the bodies, try to cover up the evidence and intimidate the witnesses. They deny that they committed any crimes, and often blame what happened on the victims. "^[94]

Notable Holocaust deniers

Notes

References

External links

Examples of websites denying the Holocaust or parts thereof

• Institute for Historical Review A leading Holocaust denial organization
• CODOH Bradley R. Smith's Committee for Open Debate on the Holocaust
• VHO Vrij Historisch Onderzoek (Dutch for "Free Historical Research")
• David Irving's Action Report, Website of David Irving
• The Zundelsite, Website of Ernst Zündel
• World War II Revisionist FAQ from the website of Michael Hoffman II

Reports on and criticisms of Holocaust denial

• The Nizkor Project — responses to Holocaust denial
• The Holocaust History Project — documents and essays on the Holocaust and its denial
• Holocaust Controversies Blog — A blog dedicated to criticising Holocaust denial claims. Holocaust denial is the claim that the Genocide of Jews during World War II —usually referred to as The Holocaust —did not occur in the David John Cawdell Irving (born 24 March 1938 is a British writer specializing in the Military history of World War II. Ernst Christof Friedrich Zündel (born April 24 1939 in Bad Wildbad) is a German Neo-Nazi, Holocaust denier and Pamphleteer who was jailed several Michael Anthony Hoffman II, (born 1954 New York) is an American historian and writer
• Fighting Holocaust Denial
• Holocaust Denial: An Online Guide to Exposing and Combating Anti-Semitic Propaganda Published by the Anti-Defamation League
• False Prophets, Fake Skeptics: Holocaust denial in our time - by Hajime Tokuno, discusses the style of arguments used by Holocaust deniers
• Holocaust Denial on Trial, Documents and resources relating to the David Irving vs. The Anti-Defamation League ( ADL) is an Interest group founded in 1913 by B'nai B'rith in the United States whose stated aim is "to stop The New England Skeptical Society (NESS is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to promoting science and reason Penguin Books and Deborah Lipstadt trial
• History on Trial, the blog of Deborah Lipstadt
• Open Directory Project: Holocaust Denial: Opposing Views
• "No Planes and No Gas Chambers" How Holocaust deniers push hoaxes to sabotage the 9/11 Truth Movement
• The Jerusalem Post reporting on Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss visit to Iran, supporting their denial of the Holocaust.
• Holocaust Denial: A Global Survey - 2004 by Alex Grobman & Rafael Medoff at The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies. Deborah Esther Lipstadt (born March 18 1947 New York City) is an American Historian and author of the book Denying the Holocaust. Deborah Esther Lipstadt (born March 18 1947 New York City) is an American Historian and author of the book Denying the Holocaust. The 9/11 Truth Movement is the name adopted by organizations and individuals that question the mainstream account of the September 11 attacks against the United Also available: 2003 Survey
• A New Form of Holocaust Denial
• Palestinian Holocaust Denial at ICT. April 22, 2000.
• PA Holocaust Denial Written and Compiled by Itamar Marcus, also Holocaust Denial. TV Archives at Palestinian Media Watch
• Revisionist Photos: An artist's attempt to show the damage caused by Holocaust denial by digitally removing evidence of the Holocaust from historic photos.
• Memri TV The Holocaust Cartoon contest on Memri TV Iran, denying the Holocaust had happened. Mentions Robert Faurisson's work.
• Defending History - an interview with Prof. Deborah E. Lipstadt on Holocaust denial
• Iran Holocaust Denial - Rewriting history to suit their political ends Showcasing moral contempt and opportunities to take action
• Holocaust denial as a tool of Iranian policy, Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special Studies (C. S. S). December 25, 2006.
• An open letter by a group of Iranian academics, writers, and artists regarding the Tehran Conference on Holocaust Denial Scroll down for English text and signatures.
• Holocaust Denial & The Big Lie

Audio testimony of Holocaust survivors

• Audio Testimony of Dr. Walter Ziffer, Recorded April 11, 2004 Dr. Walter Ziffer, the last Holocaust survivor in Asheville, North Carolina as of April 11, 2004, discusses his internment in several camps, as well as the idea of Holocaust revisionism.

Holocaust denial as state policy

• What Is Behind Iran's Advocacy Of Holocaust Denial?,
• Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism - The Iranian case
• Germany Moves to Silence Holocaust Deniers Across Europe
• Germany's Pursuit of Holocaust Denial Resolution Hits Skids
• German Holocaust Denial Case Proceeds as EU Moves on a Ban