When going through the public education system, it is inevitable for students to learn about the Holocaust. The Holocaust is a historical event that is ingrained into the memories of our young minds, showing the atrocities of a section of time in history. But even with all the facts and evidence, there are people in present time that deny the Holocaust ever happened. Holocaust denial was made possible by the tactic of Hitler keeping the persecution of Jews a secret and not well known. The strategic handling of information about the Holocaust during the time of the persecution of the Jews made it possible for people to deny the Holocaust today. The masking of the events of the Holocaust was made possible through Nazi policy, the destruction of evidence, the discretion of Hitler, and the psychological disbelief of the public.
Holocaust deniers ignore the overwhelming evidence of the event and insist that the Holocaust is a myth that was created by the Allies, the Soviet communists, and the Jews for their own agendas (Gottfried & Alcorn, 2001, pp. 745-6). The warped logic the deniers formulated was that the Allies needed the “Holocaust myth” to justify their occupation of Germany in 1945 and the persecution of Nazi defendants. Holocaust deniers also claim that Jews needed the “Holocaust myth” to extract huge payments in restitution from Germany and to justify the establishment of the State of Israel (Gottfried & Alcorn, 2001, pp. 745-6). The belief of the deniers asserts that if they can discredit one fact about the Holocaust, the whole history of the event can be discredited as well (Gottfried & Alcorn, 2001, pp. 745-6). But how can a whole history of events, with physical evidence and survivors to add credibility to the bit of history, be discredited at all?
Nazi policy went through a lot to facilitate denial of the Holocaust even as the killing operation unfolded across German-occupied Europe during World War II. The Holocaust was a state secret in Nazi Germany and the Germans wrote down as little as possible ("Combating Holocaust Denial: Origins of Holocaust Denial", pp. 1). Most of the killing orders of the Jews were verbal, particularly at the highest levels of command. Hitler's order to kill Jews was issued only on a need-to-know basis, and the Nazi leaders generally avoided detailed planning of killing operations, preferring to proceed in a systematic but often improvised manner ("Combating Holocaust Denial: Origins of Holocaust Denial", pp. 1).
The surviving records of Auschwitz transports and killings are considerable, despite the efforts by retreating Germans to destroy all incriminating evidence before the camp's liberation (Reich, 1993). The Germans destroyed most documentation that did exist before the end of the war. The documents that survived and related directly to the killing program were virtually all classified and stamped “Geheime Reichssache” (Top Secret), requiring special handling and destruction to prevent capture by the enemy ("Combating Holocaust Denial: Origins of Holocaust Denial", pp. 1).
In order to hide the killing operation as much as possible, Hitler ordered that the killings not be spoken of directly in German documentation or in public statements. Instead, the Germans used code names and neutral-sounding terms for the killing process ("Combating Holocaust Denial: Origins of Holocaust Denial", pp. 2). Both at the time and later, such euphemisms impeded a clear understanding of what the Nazis were doing. This was partly to facilitate the killing process by keeping the victims in the dark about their fate as long as possible("Combating Holocaust Denial: Origins of Holocaust Denial", pp. 2). Widespread Jewish resistance was only possible once Jews understood that Nazi policy was to kill all of them. Euphemistic language aided secrecy since only those who knew the “real” meaning of the words would understand the deeper meaning of public statements or accurately interpret the written document regarding the matter ("Combating Holocaust Denial: Origins of Holocaust Denial", pp. 2).
Despite Nazi efforts to keep secret the unfolding Holocaust, information did leak out. The perpetrators themselves talked about what they were doing. Occasionally, survivors of mass killing operations bore witness to the killing program (Evans, 2001). Both Jewish and Polish underground organizations made great efforts to let the outside world know what the Germans were doing in eastern Europe (Evans, 2001). The information was sometimes incomplete, contradictory, and inaccurate in some of the specific details, but the general policy and pattern of events were clear by the second half of 1942 (Evans, 2001).
However, the psychological barriers to accepting the existence of the Nazi killing program were considerable. The Holocaust was unprecedented and irrational. It was inconceivable that an advanced industrial nation would mobilize its resources to kill millions of peaceful civilians, including women and children, the elderly, and the very young ("Combating Holocaust Denial: Origins of Holocaust Denial", pp. 2). In doing so, the Nazis often acted contrary to German economic and military interests. For example, they intensified the killing operation, killing skilled Jewish laborers even while labor shortages threatened to undermine the German war effort ("Combating Holocaust Denial: Origins of Holocaust Denial", pp. 2).
Holocaust deniers want to debate the very existence of the Holocaust as a historical event. While the Second World War was still underway, the Nazis has already formed a contingency plan that in case of defeat they would carry out the total destruction of German records. The contingency plan coupled with Hitler's ability to keep the Holocaust out of the public eye allowed the possibility for the Holocaust to be denied. The question that allows the slightest doubt about if the Holocaust happened sprouts from: "How could 11 million people be killed an the world was so blind to the matter?" It is shocking to try and comprehend the number of people that were killed and how little the matter was publicized. Hitler's ability to only convey death orders through word of mouth, the German's contingency plan, and the death of Jews who witnessed the atrocities, allow suspicion to take root about what events actually took place.
Combating Holocaust Denial: Origins of Holocaust Denial. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22,
2018, from https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007273
Evans, Richard J. Lying About Hitler: History, Holocaust, and the David Irving Trial.
New York: Basic Books, 2001
Gottfried, Ted. Deniers of the Holocaust: Who They Are, What They Do, Why They Do It.
Brookfield, CT: Twenty-First Century Books, 2001. pp.745-746.
Holocaust Deniers and Public Misinformation. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2018, from
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007272
Lipstadt, Deborah. Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory. New
York: Free Press, 1993.
Reich, Walter. Erasing the Holocaust. (1993, July 10). Retrieved February 22, 2018, from
http://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/11/books/erasing-the-holocaust.html?pagewanted=all
Holocaust deniers ignore the overwhelming evidence of the event and insist that the Holocaust is a myth that was created by the Allies, the Soviet communists, and the Jews for their own agendas (Gottfried & Alcorn, 2001, pp. 745-6). The warped logic the deniers formulated was that the Allies needed the “Holocaust myth” to justify their occupation of Germany in 1945 and the persecution of Nazi defendants. Holocaust deniers also claim that Jews needed the “Holocaust myth” to extract huge payments in restitution from Germany and to justify the establishment of the State of Israel (Gottfried & Alcorn, 2001, pp. 745-6). The belief of the deniers asserts that if they can discredit one fact about the Holocaust, the whole history of the event can be discredited as well (Gottfried & Alcorn, 2001, pp. 745-6). But how can a whole history of events, with physical evidence and survivors to add credibility to the bit of history, be discredited at all?
Nazi policy went through a lot to facilitate denial of the Holocaust even as the killing operation unfolded across German-occupied Europe during World War II. The Holocaust was a state secret in Nazi Germany and the Germans wrote down as little as possible ("Combating Holocaust Denial: Origins of Holocaust Denial", pp. 1). Most of the killing orders of the Jews were verbal, particularly at the highest levels of command. Hitler's order to kill Jews was issued only on a need-to-know basis, and the Nazi leaders generally avoided detailed planning of killing operations, preferring to proceed in a systematic but often improvised manner ("Combating Holocaust Denial: Origins of Holocaust Denial", pp. 1).
The surviving records of Auschwitz transports and killings are considerable, despite the efforts by retreating Germans to destroy all incriminating evidence before the camp's liberation (Reich, 1993). The Germans destroyed most documentation that did exist before the end of the war. The documents that survived and related directly to the killing program were virtually all classified and stamped “Geheime Reichssache” (Top Secret), requiring special handling and destruction to prevent capture by the enemy ("Combating Holocaust Denial: Origins of Holocaust Denial", pp. 1).
In order to hide the killing operation as much as possible, Hitler ordered that the killings not be spoken of directly in German documentation or in public statements. Instead, the Germans used code names and neutral-sounding terms for the killing process ("Combating Holocaust Denial: Origins of Holocaust Denial", pp. 2). Both at the time and later, such euphemisms impeded a clear understanding of what the Nazis were doing. This was partly to facilitate the killing process by keeping the victims in the dark about their fate as long as possible("Combating Holocaust Denial: Origins of Holocaust Denial", pp. 2). Widespread Jewish resistance was only possible once Jews understood that Nazi policy was to kill all of them. Euphemistic language aided secrecy since only those who knew the “real” meaning of the words would understand the deeper meaning of public statements or accurately interpret the written document regarding the matter ("Combating Holocaust Denial: Origins of Holocaust Denial", pp. 2).
Despite Nazi efforts to keep secret the unfolding Holocaust, information did leak out. The perpetrators themselves talked about what they were doing. Occasionally, survivors of mass killing operations bore witness to the killing program (Evans, 2001). Both Jewish and Polish underground organizations made great efforts to let the outside world know what the Germans were doing in eastern Europe (Evans, 2001). The information was sometimes incomplete, contradictory, and inaccurate in some of the specific details, but the general policy and pattern of events were clear by the second half of 1942 (Evans, 2001).
However, the psychological barriers to accepting the existence of the Nazi killing program were considerable. The Holocaust was unprecedented and irrational. It was inconceivable that an advanced industrial nation would mobilize its resources to kill millions of peaceful civilians, including women and children, the elderly, and the very young ("Combating Holocaust Denial: Origins of Holocaust Denial", pp. 2). In doing so, the Nazis often acted contrary to German economic and military interests. For example, they intensified the killing operation, killing skilled Jewish laborers even while labor shortages threatened to undermine the German war effort ("Combating Holocaust Denial: Origins of Holocaust Denial", pp. 2).
Holocaust deniers want to debate the very existence of the Holocaust as a historical event. While the Second World War was still underway, the Nazis has already formed a contingency plan that in case of defeat they would carry out the total destruction of German records. The contingency plan coupled with Hitler's ability to keep the Holocaust out of the public eye allowed the possibility for the Holocaust to be denied. The question that allows the slightest doubt about if the Holocaust happened sprouts from: "How could 11 million people be killed an the world was so blind to the matter?" It is shocking to try and comprehend the number of people that were killed and how little the matter was publicized. Hitler's ability to only convey death orders through word of mouth, the German's contingency plan, and the death of Jews who witnessed the atrocities, allow suspicion to take root about what events actually took place.
Bibliography
Combating Holocaust Denial: Origins of Holocaust Denial. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22,
2018, from https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007273
Evans, Richard J. Lying About Hitler: History, Holocaust, and the David Irving Trial.
New York: Basic Books, 2001
Gottfried, Ted. Deniers of the Holocaust: Who They Are, What They Do, Why They Do It.
Brookfield, CT: Twenty-First Century Books, 2001. pp.745-746.
Holocaust Deniers and Public Misinformation. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2018, from
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007272
Lipstadt, Deborah. Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory. New
York: Free Press, 1993.
Reich, Walter. Erasing the Holocaust. (1993, July 10). Retrieved February 22, 2018, from
http://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/11/books/erasing-the-holocaust.html?pagewanted=all
Hi Zoe,
ReplyDeleteI can see where you are going with this essay. You clearly understand the material and ideas presented. This is good. In terms of writing style, (and I say this because I want you to become a better writer) try to integrate the quotes you use from the research with your explanation of the quotes themselves. Most of the quotes are left at the end of the paragraphs. By integrating your quotes more in the next blog posting, it will improve your writing tremendously. Writing is an art, and takes practice. I'm a senior and still have a lot to learn.
Lastly, I wish to leave you with a final question for you to think about.How does holocaust denial play out today?
-Dan
Hi Dan,
ReplyDeleteIn regards to your question, I think how holocaust denial play out today could be a whole essay in itself. Here I was really just trying to explore the basis of Holocaust Denier's argument and relate it to the events of the holocaust. I'm hoping that my basis was clear of what I was trying to do, and that my argument that the discretion of Hitler and the lack of knowledge of the outside world let the Holocaust take place and happen for as long as it did.
Hey Zoe,
ReplyDeleteYour introductory paragraph opens up with modern education about the Holocaust. Your observation about Holocaust denial is spot on, but I think it's also important to note that we do not learn the whole story in school. Not sure if you would really need to add this to your essay but it just got me thinking! I loved one of your later paragraphs about the psychological effects. Adding psychology into the discussion of the Holocaust, or in even broader discussions like terrorism, can offer a fresh perspective. Great essay!
Zoe,
ReplyDeleteOverall I enjoyed reading your essay and really liked that you took the course material we have learned in a new and interesting direction! I also liked your paragraph about the psychological barriers to accepting the Holocaust. I don't think that this aspect of the argument receives a lot of attention when examining Holocaust deniers on the whole, but clearly this was and continues to be an integral part of the mindset.
My one overarching question, much like Dan's, would be: do you think there are any similar instances today where this mindset of denying a major atrocity could attract followers? With the 24 hour news cycle and presence of social media, events such as the Holocaust would certainly circulate much faster in our society today. So, do you believe is there a possibility that denying unforeseen atrocities could continue to occur to the extent it previously has?