Why Would Anyone Deny The Holocaust?
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad chose to commemorate Quds Day on Friday, September 18, by expressing his usual doubts as to whether the Holocaust really happened. He stated that the Holocaust was used as a false pretext for occupying Palestinian lands. And he is quoted as questioning, “If the Holocaust was a real event, why don’t they allow research on it to clear up the facts?”
To this last question, I would respectfully ask, “Who are ‘they,’ who are not allowing research to take place?” In addition, “What would the disallowed research show, if ‘they’ allowed it to take place?” Tell me if I am mistaken, but to the best of my knowledge, thousands of books have been written about the Holocaust, by researchers of diverse religious affiliations and backgrounds. Did anyone put a gun to their head as to what they could delve into, and what they should leave alone? Is there some sort of Holocaust Research Police that I don’t know about?
Ahmadinejad is not a stupid man. He has read the books, and seen the movies, and the pictures of the thousands of barracks which housed the Jews, and others as well, on their way to the gas chambers. He has seen photos of the piles of clothing, and shoes, and eyeglasses, and all the sundry possessions of the people who were once living, and who had their lives cut short by the brutality of the Nazis. So why bother denying such incontrovertible facts of history?
Ahmadinejad denies the Holocaust because in his mind such denial serves a purpose. But to what purpose? Perhaps his denial evokes condemnation from the West, and such condemnation can be used to burnish his reputation for defiance against the “tyranny” of the West? Perhaps his denials and his hatred of Israel can be used to divert attention away from his government’s failed policies, and can inspire support among the masses? Perhaps his fiery words can help to justify Iran’s race to become a nuclear power? Perhaps his verbal attacks embolden Iran’s proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, for further attacks against the Jewish State?
No doubt Ahmadinejad’s Holocaust denials serve their purpose, at least in his mind, but there is also a price to be paid for such claims. When you deny the Holocaust, knowing full well that it took place, you deny yourself, because you are willing to predicate your views on the basis of a lie. So if you are willing to lie to yourself in such a brazen way, then who are you when you look in the mirror?
In addition, when you deny the Holocaust, you deny your own people, because you are willing to lie to them, and to lead them on the basis of the lies you tell. How can you claim to respect your people when you lead them on the basis of a lie?
And finally, when you deny the Holocaust, you deny the future of your nation. For a nation to lift itself up from poverty, and to come to terms with the competitive realities of a global economy, it must first come to terms with the truth, and make changes based on an accurate assessment of its condition. How can you come to terms with the truth when you are willing to sweep away the suffering and killing of millions, in the name of propaganda and short-sighted self-interest?
Ahmadinejad may have his reasons for denying the Holocaust, but he should question, in his own mind, whether his reasons justify the consequences. He betrays himself, his people, and the future of his nation, by clinging to his fantasies. The lies he tells are the lies which hold his people back. He speaks for calculation’s sake, but on this score at least, he has miscalculated grossly.
To this last question, I would respectfully ask, “Who are ‘they,’ who are not allowing research to take place?” In addition, “What would the disallowed research show, if ‘they’ allowed it to take place?” Tell me if I am mistaken, but to the best of my knowledge, thousands of books have been written about the Holocaust, by researchers of diverse religious affiliations and backgrounds. Did anyone put a gun to their head as to what they could delve into, and what they should leave alone? Is there some sort of Holocaust Research Police that I don’t know about?
Ahmadinejad is not a stupid man. He has read the books, and seen the movies, and the pictures of the thousands of barracks which housed the Jews, and others as well, on their way to the gas chambers. He has seen photos of the piles of clothing, and shoes, and eyeglasses, and all the sundry possessions of the people who were once living, and who had their lives cut short by the brutality of the Nazis. So why bother denying such incontrovertible facts of history?
Ahmadinejad denies the Holocaust because in his mind such denial serves a purpose. But to what purpose? Perhaps his denial evokes condemnation from the West, and such condemnation can be used to burnish his reputation for defiance against the “tyranny” of the West? Perhaps his denials and his hatred of Israel can be used to divert attention away from his government’s failed policies, and can inspire support among the masses? Perhaps his fiery words can help to justify Iran’s race to become a nuclear power? Perhaps his verbal attacks embolden Iran’s proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, for further attacks against the Jewish State?
No doubt Ahmadinejad’s Holocaust denials serve their purpose, at least in his mind, but there is also a price to be paid for such claims. When you deny the Holocaust, knowing full well that it took place, you deny yourself, because you are willing to predicate your views on the basis of a lie. So if you are willing to lie to yourself in such a brazen way, then who are you when you look in the mirror?
In addition, when you deny the Holocaust, you deny your own people, because you are willing to lie to them, and to lead them on the basis of the lies you tell. How can you claim to respect your people when you lead them on the basis of a lie?
And finally, when you deny the Holocaust, you deny the future of your nation. For a nation to lift itself up from poverty, and to come to terms with the competitive realities of a global economy, it must first come to terms with the truth, and make changes based on an accurate assessment of its condition. How can you come to terms with the truth when you are willing to sweep away the suffering and killing of millions, in the name of propaganda and short-sighted self-interest?
Ahmadinejad may have his reasons for denying the Holocaust, but he should question, in his own mind, whether his reasons justify the consequences. He betrays himself, his people, and the future of his nation, by clinging to his fantasies. The lies he tells are the lies which hold his people back. He speaks for calculation’s sake, but on this score at least, he has miscalculated grossly.
Comment
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Comment by Comdr * LightSpeed * on June 18, 2010 at 4:37pm
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"The past is a good place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there."
~author unknown
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Comment by Apolonia on November 24, 2009 at 12:17pm
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I reminded some history about holocaust there: http://www.ipeace.me/group/ipeace/forum/topics/jan-karski-a-silent-.... Maybe it will be interesting for you also...
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Comment by Christine Quelch on November 24, 2009 at 10:59am
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Hello Irina,
Are you saying that Norma is not welcome in other countries because she is Lebanese ? I find this hard to believe.
We have a substantial Lebanese community in Australia, and I have never heard of any of their women having any problems of this kind. My best friend from my teenage years had a Lebanese Dad. He was very charming, cooked wonderful food, and had a magnificent garden. I remember 2 other Lebanese families from that time, and I know they were welcome whereever they went. So I would very much like to know what Norma’s problem is.
Of course German people are welcome everywhere these days, but this is not what the situation was in the 1950’s, or even in the 1960’s, and I am a very surprised that no one in your family has ever thought to mention to you about the treatment handed out to Germans in Europe, in the aftermath of WW2.
Back in the mid 1960’s, my father had many friends, and one of them was a Yugoslav, who had a great love of Mercedes-Benz cars. This Yugoslav decided to buy his dream car. In those days, it was cheaper to buy a Mercedes in Germany, and ship it back to Australia. He did this, and had a wonderful, very exciting time travelling through a number of European countries, in his brand new car. You have no idea how exotic Europe is to someone who has only lived in Australia.
As my father’s friend travelled through Europe, he repeatedly encountered people being outrageously rude, usually when he was driving. On one occasion, after visiting a friend, he found he could not leave his friend’s place, because someone had parked their car across the driveway, blocking him from the road. There were no other cars parked in the street, so this Yugoslav was completely mystified as to what was going on.
I don’t remember what country he was in, but one day he was in a pub or cafe having his lunch and chatting with the other patrons, and he told them that everything about Europe was wonderful except for people’s poor attitude on the road. The other folk in the pub/cafe said no, no, everyone is very polite on the road. As he was leaving the cafe, some of the cafe people came over to have a look at his new car, and when they saw his number plates, they said, ‘Oh now we see why you are having all this trouble. It is because you have German number plates on your car. Get the car registered again, in another country (not Germany), and you will have no more problems’. He had the car registered again, and our Yugoslav friend had no more experiences of road rudeness. This all happened 20 years after the end of WW2.
If you do not believe me, talk with the old people of Germany, they will confirm all this, and probably enjoy telling you about the way life used to be.
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Norma,
Why are you obsessing with denial of the holocaust and yet, at the same time, failing to recognize that a number of genocides have occurred since The Holocaust, many of them passing almost unnoticed ?
To attach the status of being ‘special’ to any one holocaust over another holocaust, is to fail to understand the origins of every genocide. It is the very idea that one race is more ‘special’ than another that is the CAUSE of every holocaust.
Norma, you are from Lebanon, where the massacre of Sabra and Shatila occurred in 1982. In any other democratic country there would have been a proper investigation, and there would now be a memorial with the name of everyone who was murdered on it.
There is no Lebanese police evidence of what happened, so now we have disputes over the number of people killed. What kind of country allows things like this to happen ?
If you are Lebanese, you have a responsibility to demand that nothing like that massacre ever occur again on Lebanese soil. You also have a responsibility to ensure a proper memorial is built to these defenceless people who were slaughtered within the borders of your own country. Your children need to be educated about what happened, in order to prevent the possibility of any repetition ever, in Lebanon.
It is not much good crying about The Holocaust in a Dutch museum, if you clear forget to notice what is happening today in your own country.
You know that the people in The Holocaust were killed because they were Jewish, is it not possible that the people at Sabra were killed because they were Palestinian ?
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Comment by Norma Fares on November 21, 2009 at 7:51pm
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Those peoples who think they need the support of Jews, claim to "please Jews" -- term used by i.e. the ex-manager of MBN/Alhurra channel who once spoke proudly , in a few minutes gathering , about his achievement made --not in or for the American-non-profit-channel-- but for making a ["Jew"] employee forget about her religion!? -- Those would show compassion or even cry for the Holocaust!?
Those peoples who have a certain political agenda or have a typical Arab-Islamic mindset i.e. Arab-Islamic-dictator-regimes, they embark the Holocaust denial track.
Those journalists/educators who might be teaching a pure technique thing i.e. newspaper's print would allow themselves to create and impose on their students a corner to express their denial of the Holocaust!?
Isn't HIGH time to take the Holocaust --one of the most barbaric genocide in Humankind history-- out from those sick minds and manipulators?
Denying the Holocaust is denying the 6 million people who died out of atrocity and humiliation because they are Jews. That's a fact.
Glorifying the Holocaust deniers is an incitement to make it happen again. Isn't it?
“You know, when I visited the Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam, I cried. O…God it so barbaric,” a young Muslim Palestinian, ex-colleague at Orbit-Rome, said to me.
Isn't HIGH time to mark any Holocaust denial as a crime?
Isn't HIGH time to point all the Holocaust deniers as criminals?
Feeling [and NOT only showing] regret for and compassion with the Holocaust victims and survivors is not --and shouldn't be-- to please Jews but to please Humanity... to “never again” to any human being.
If it’s not yesterday…today…now, when is it the right time?
Isn’t HIGH time?
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Why are we talking about strange people who want to deny the very obvious fact that there was a Jewish holocaust ? This has nothing to do with peace or reconciliation. (Unless, you want to examine how such people become leaders, which does not look like the purpose of this blog.)
Ahmadinejad is not the only one to be into genocide denial.
Let’s look at Bernard Lewis. He is a Jew who has chosen to deny that there was an Armenian genocide. Lewis is a British academic. Interestingly, he has received financial support from Turkey. It is hard to believe that anyone would compromise their intellectual integrity for a small financial gain, but there it is, he did it.
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