Addressing Holocaust Denial, Distortion and Trivialization
Teaching Aid 6 1. Increasing Knowledge about Jews and Judaism 2. Overcoming Unconscious Biases 3. Addressing Anti-Semitic Stereotypes and Prejudice 4. Challenging Conspiracy Theories 5. Teaching about Anti-Semitism through Holocaust Education 6. Addressing Holocaust Denial, Distortion and Trivialization 7. Anti-Semitism and National Memory Discourse 8. Dealing with Anti-Semitic Incidents 9. Dealing with Online Anti-Semitism 10. Anti-Semitism and the Situation in the Middle East Addressing Holocaust Denial, Distortion and Trivialization
Teachers in the OSCE region Sometimes, for example, where The purpose of this teaching aid is have reported encountering the Holocaust is not explored to provide a better understanding anti-Semitic ideas when teaching fully as part of the school cur- of these expressions of anti-Sem- about the Holocaust.1 Anti-Semi- riculum, young people may dis- itism and to support teachers in tism exists today as prejudice in tort the Holocaust in ignorance countering the following: which Jews are confronted with of the historical facts, or they hostility and treated as inhu- may deny it as a form of ado- • resistance to lessons about and man, or as an out-group. It can lescent provocation or rejec- from the Holocaust; be manifested in individuals as tion of an established narra- attitudes, in culture and various tive. Whatever lies behind • misinformation about the Hol- forms of expression.2 Anti-Se- Holocaust denial and distor- ocaust among students; and mitic sentiments can fuel resist- tion, it is often accompanied by ance to the topic of the Holocaust or promotes classic anti-Semit- • incongruous or flawed parallels and may manifest as denial, dis- ic themes, such as accusations made between what the Jews tortion or trivialization of his- of greed, power, deceptiveness experienced during the Holo- torical facts. and criminality. caust and how other groups are suffering or have suffered.
1 M. Eckmann, S. Doyle and J. Ambrosewicz-Jacobs, J. (eds.), Research in Teaching and Learning About the Holocaust: A Dialogue Beyond Borders (Berlin: Metropole Verlag, 2017), p. 233,
1 In 2013, the member countries of the International ocide of the Jews is an effort to exonerate National Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) agreed on Socialism and antisemitism from guilt or responsi- a Working Definition of Holocaust Denial and Distortion: bility in the genocide of the Jewish people. Forms of Holocaust denial also include blaming the Jews “Holocaust denial is discourse and propaganda that for either exaggerating or creating the Shoah for deny the historical reality and the extent of the exter- political or financial gain as if the Shoah itself was mination of the Jews by the Nazis and their accom- the result of a conspiracy plotted by the Jews. In plices during World War II, known as the Holocaust this, the goal is to make the Jews culpable and an- or the Shoah. Holocaust denial refers specifically to tisemitism once again legitimate. any attempt to claim that the Holocaust/Shoah did not take place. The goals of Holocaust denial often are the rehabili- tation of an explicit antisemitism and the promotion Holocaust denial may include publicly denying or call- of political ideologies and conditions suitable for the ing into doubt the use of principal mechanisms of advent of the very type of event it denies.” destruction (such as gas chambers, mass shooting, starvation and torture) or the intentionality of the gen- Source: For the full definition see IHRA’s “Working ocide of the Jewish people. Definition of Holocaust Denial and Distortion”, adopt- ed on 10 October, 2013, at: Holocaust denial in its various forms is an expres-
Background
The following terms are frequent- During World War II, the Nazis The process of coming to terms ly used to describe the methods of and their allies started to pro- with the Holocaust has, in some Holocaust denial or distortion: mote the idea that the genocide countries, resulted in what has of Jews was not happening, that been defined as “secondary • Historical revisionism: advo- the gas chambers did not exist anti-Semitism”, which refers to cating a review of a certain and that the number of Jewish the notion that the very pres- interpretation of historical victims was much lower than six ence of Jews reminds others events based on new evidence million. This type of Holocaust of the Holocaust and thereby or information.3 denial or “negationism” contin- evokes feelings of guilt about ues today, and aims to present it, for which Jews are blamed.5 • Historical “negationism” or the Nazi regime and its collabo- Secondary antisemitism allows denial: denying that an event rators in a favourable light and speakers to express anti-Semit- took place, or downplaying its erase any memory of the horrors ic sentiments indirectly and is scale and impact.4 that occurred. usually considered a reaction to
3 Ronald J. Berger, Fathoming the Holocaust: A Social Problems Approach (Aldine Transaction, 2002), p. 154. 4 Some historians of the Holocaust have noted that Holocaust denial often masquerades as revisionism – a legitimate form of histor- ical critique. See: Omer Bartov, “Introduction” in Omer Bartov (ed.), The Holocaust: Origins, Implementation, and Aftermath (Rout- ledge, 2000), pp. 10-12. 5 Peter Schönbach, Reaktionen auf die antisemitische Welle im Winter 1959/60 (Frankfurt am Main: Europäische Verlagsanstalt, 1961), p. 80.
2 For a timeline of Holocaust denial, see: “Holocaust Deni- al: Key Dates”, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,
feelings of guilt that challenge suffering during the war. This establishment” movement that one’s sense of a positive nation- is also the aim of efforts to triv- aims to mobilize youth through al identity. ialize what happened. It can be popular culture. For example, motivated by hatred of Jews or a French “comedian” has used Furthermore, processes of his- victimhood competition, and a narrative whereby Jews and torical revisionism can some- builds on the claim that the Hol- Israel are depicted as the dev- times omit or manipulate facts ocaust was invented or exagger- il manipulating the “system”, in order to serve certain narra- ated by Jews as part of a plot to and who must be resisted. This tives of national identity that advance Jewish interests. There is a common and long-stand- are more psychologically com- are conspiracy theories circu- ing anti-Semitic trope.6 Adher- fortable or politically expe- lating that claim that the “hoax” ence to these ideas is symbol- dient. However, denying that of the Holocaust was created to ized by a hand gesture called there were those who collabo- benefit or advance the inter- rated with the Nazis is a distor- ests of the state of Israel, an idea tion of the facts and dishonours often instrumentalized with- the memory of the six million in anti-Zionist discourse. Hol- For the main sources of infor- Jews who were killed during the ocaust deniers depend on, and mation about the Holocaust Holocaust. reinforce, anti-Semitic ideas. used during the trials of Nazi perpetrators after the war, In many cases, the aim of Hol- Holocaust denial takes many see: “Evidence from the Hol- ocaust denial is to challenge forms and, in some cases, can ocaust”, United States Holo- the history of Jewish people’s be seen as part of an “anti- caust Memorial Museum, https://encyclopedia.ushmm. org/content/en/article/ “The primary motivation for most deniers is anti-Semitism, and for combating-holocaust- them the Holocaust is an infuriatingly inconvenient fact of history.” denial-evidence-of-the- Source: Walter Reich, “Erasing the Holocaust”, The New York holocaust-presented-at- Times, 11 July 1993. nuremberg?series=20792
6 These actions led to convictions in Belgium in relation to anti-Semitic speech and in France in relation to incitement to racial hatred under the 1990 Gayssot Act.
3 the “quenelle”, which is circu- as to whether speech should be for both educators and students lated in photos through social criminalized, denial of the Holo- to acquire skills that allow them media and often in front of Hol- caust is a criminal offence in sev- to articulate concise answers ocaust memorial or Jewish reli- eral OSCE participating States.8 and refute denial claims when gious sites.7 they encounter them. Effective education about the The murder of six million Jews Holocaust should enable stu- It may be counterproductive during the Holocaust is the most dents to identify and reject in many settings to emphasize widely documented genocide in messages of denial and distor- victim suffering in an effort to history. During the course of the tion of historical facts. Educa- evoke sympathetic reactions Holocaust, the Nazis and their tors should discuss the motiva- and reduce prejudice.9 Teach- allies kept meticulous records, tions behind using Holocaust ers can help minimize the risk including hundreds of millions of denial as a propaganda tool. of secondary anti-Semitism by pages of documentation that out- This is essential because Holo- teaching about the Holocaust lined the planning and execution caust deniers spread falsehoods in a non-accusatory manner of this atrocity. There is also a vast and misinformation that can and empowering learners to amount of film and photographic appear reasonable to an unin- actively address contemporary documentation of the aftermath formed reader. It is important anti-Semitism. of the Holocaust, including the liberation of the concentration camps, mass graves being uncov- ered, innumerable eyewitness UN General Assembly Resolution 61/255: accounts and testimonials from “1. Condemns without any reservation any denial of the Holocaust; Holocaust survivors. 2. Urges all Member States unreservedly to reject any denial of the Holocaust as a historical event, either in full or in part, or any Despite this extensive documen- activities to this end.” tation, Holocaust denial persists today. It is frequently used to Source: UN General Assembly, Resolution adopted by the UN General attract new followers to neo-Na- Assembly on Holocaust denial, on 26 January 2007, A/RES/61/255, zi or other extremist movements.
7 Sometimes called an inverted Nazi salute, this gesture became an international news story in 2013, experiencing a surge in interest on Google, after several high-profile professional athletes used it (see: “Quenelle”, Google Trends,
4 Classroom Strategies for Addressing Holocaust Denial
Regardless of the nature of Hol- It is vitally important to falling outside what Nazis con- ocaust denial, distortion or triv- acknowledge all victims of sidered to be “normal” soci- ialization that may surface in the Nazi atrocities. There were ety). They were targeted on the classroom, teachers have many victims, each with their racial grounds and subjected to a responsibility and opportuni- own distinct and terrifying internment, deportation, forced ty to address this complex top- experience. It is helpful to make labour, shootings and sent to ic. Teachers need to strategical- clear from the beginning who death camps, in what became ly consider their pedagogical was persecuted under Nation- the Roma genocide. Their fate approach to ensure that it has al Socialism and why, and to closely paralleled that of the the potential to transform any include reference to the dif- Jewish people.11 resistance to the subject from ferent groups in your teaching students into an appreciation about this period.10 Poles, and the Slavic and for the lessons that this collec- so-called Asiatic peoples of the tive trauma in modern history The Nazi ideology was vio- Soviet Union were also consid- can offer society today. lent and toxic, mostly notably ered “racially inferior”. Their defined by its theory of race in intellectual, cultural and politi- The following section provides which the German “Aryan” race cal elites were targeted for mass some pedagogical tools to sup- was considered superior to all murder. During the winter of port teachers in their efforts to others and in need of protec- 1941-1942, around two-million address this complex issue. tion from so-called “biological Soviet prisoners of war died due threats”. to the dire conditions they were What to do if … ? intentionally being kept under.12 In line with the Nazi “racial the- Under Nazi occupation, Poles …someone remarks, “But […] ory”, the Roma and Sinti were were subjected to forced labour, group was just as much a vic- considered to be racially infe- deportation and incarceration tim of the Nazis as the Jews”? rior, and seen as “asocials” (i.e., in concentration camps.13
10 The workshop “Nazi Ideology and Victims of the Holocaust and Nazi Persecution” led by Dr. William Frederick Meinecke, Jr., available on the website of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, emphasizes the primacy of the Jews as victims of Nazi terror, discusses Nazi intent, and explains how and why additional groups were targeted, https://www.ushmm.org/educators/online- workshop/guest-lecture-nazi-ideology-and-victims/overview. 11 United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, “Genocide of European Roma (Gypsies), 1939-1945”,
5 Institutionalized people with Understanding what might be their ancestors, and perhaps disabilities, children included, behind a person’s refusal or even to open up a conversation were targeted for mass murder resistance to acknowledging the within the family about their in Nazi Germany.14 Homosex- extent of the horrors suffered by experiences. If their family uals, Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Jews in the Holocaust will migrated to Europe from anoth- so-called “asocials,” as well as help you to respond effectively er region of the world, ask about real or perceived repeat crim- in this situation. Possible rea- how their family might have inal offenders were persecuted sons are outlined in the follow- fared under the Nazis. Would and incarcerated in concentra- ing paragraphs, alongside sug- they have been perceived and tion camps, very often resulting gested responses: protected as part of the “supe- in death. Real or perceived polit- rior race”? ical opponents were also perse- A need for recognition of the suf- cuted, interned in concentration fering experienced by their own Resistance to perceiving Jews as camps or murdered.15 family or people victims because of a perception of or attachment to the idea of Jews Jews were singularly targeted It is possible that this response as persecutors by the Nazis and their allies for is informed by anger, frustra- systematic and deliberate physi- tion or resentment at what is Try to understand what is at the cal annihilation. The Nazis used perceived as insufficient recog- core of this resistance: the code term “Final Solution” nition of the suffering experi- to refer to these extermination enced by another victim group. • Is this resistance linked to plans that ultimately aimed for Recognizing the many victims information, possibly over- the annihilation of all Europe- of Nazi ideology can make stu- simplified or biased, about an Jews.16 Jews were classified dents more open to empathy historical or contemporary by the Nazis as the priority “ene- with the Jewish people for the circumstances? my.” The Nazis and their allies severity of what they experi- succeeded in killing two thirds enced during this period. • Could it be influenced by, or of all European Jews, including even have roots in, anti-Semit- over a million Jewish children.17 Consider asking students to ic prejudice, such as conspira- These ideological aspects make research their own family back- cy theories? the Holocaust a unique, unprec- ground from the time of World edented and unparalleled event War II. Ask them to reflect on This will help you determine the in modern history. the wartime reality faced by best approach. You may need to:
14 United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, “’Euthanasia’ Killings”:
6 For more information, see ODIHR’s teaching aids no. 3 and no. 4. “Addressing Anti-Semitic Stereotypes and Prejudice” and “Chal- lenging Conspiracy Theories”.
• Explain how the Holocaust experienced by many people to destroy, in whole or in part, affected Jews and deconstruct and groups of people around the a national, ethnical, racial or any anti-Semitic prejudices. world. religious group:
• Provide more comprehensive Without minimizing the strug- • Killing members of the group; and accurate information gles of any other people or group, about a particular circum- it is equally important to convey • Causing serious bodily or stance in which Jews are per- that the Holocaust is an unparal- mental harm to members of ceived to be oppressors. leled event in history for the rea- the group; sons mentioned above. Factual accounts of the atroci- • Deliberately inflicting on the ties are difficult to digest, and Additionally, understanding group conditions of life calcu- should be delivered to students the specific elements of the lated to bring about its physical at levels of details appropriate definition and the origin of the destruction in whole or in part; for their age and maturity. term “genocide” is also helpful in explaining the magnitude of • Imposing measures intended …someone says that the suf- the Holocaust when it is being to prevent births within the fering of Jews during the Holo- compared with other types of group; and caust is the same as the suffer- human rights violations. The ing of other people or group of term was coined in 1943 by the • Forcibly transferring children people whose rights are being Polish Jewish lawyer, Raph- of the group to another group.18 infringed upon today? ael Lemkin, who combined the Greek word “genos” (race …someone says, “Hitler should Students’ empathy for a group of or tribe) with the Latin word have finished the job”? people who are suffering injustice “cide” (to kill). Lemkin’s efforts and human rights violations can paved the way to the adoption This statement may be reveal- sometimes lead them to compare of the UN Convention on Geno- ing more extreme anti-Semi- contemporary human rights vio- cide in December 1948, which tism, or it may have been said lations and injustice to the Holo- came into effect in January as a provocation in class, to get caust. It is important to recognize 1951. In the Convention, geno- attention. The response to it this empathy and acknowl- cide means any of the follow- should be shaped by the motiva- edge what can be atrocities ing acts committed with intent tion and influences driving the
18 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Article II (9 December 1948),
7 Activity standing of what the Jewish presence has meant Spend some time with the class looking at how for Europe’s development over hundreds of years Jews took part in different parts of life in your town, can help students to appreciate the significance country or in Europe throughout the ages – before of the loss of two-thirds of Europe’s Jewish pop- the Holocaust and after it. Developing an under- ulation in the 20th century.
statement. It could be inform- this case, let the class know that If a student in the class express- ative to explore the statement statements like these, which dis- es opinions that distort or triv- further, while taking care not respect victims, or call for vio- ialize the reality of the Holo- to give extremist views a cred- lence against any group of peo- caust, use her or his opinion as ible voice in class, by asking ple, will not be tolerated. The a “teachable moment”. With- what would be gained in such statement, and other students’ out putting the student on the a world? Most likely, exposing reaction to it, can be an indica- defence, try to understand her the student’s reasoning behind tion that a deliberate and phased or his source of information. It this statement will show it to approach is needed to address may be that the student is oper- be flawed, but the answers will anti-Semitism in the classroom. ating from her or his own fam- help you to determine how deep- Try to have a private conversa- ily history of suffering or per- ly rooted this person’s belief is tion with this student to better secution. in a particular ideology, polit- understand what underpins her ical agenda or prejudice. Once or his beliefs. In certain OSCE An educational approach, per- you have more clarity as to the countries, it may be necessary haps in co-ordination with underlying causes of this state- for the student(s) to be made family, social workers or other ment, it will be easier to decide aware that some forms of hate members of the school’s staff, what kind of follow-up would be speech or denial of the Holocaust may be sufficient if the student: most appropriate. are forbidden by law. • is open to other views; You may also decide that it is …a student insists that the • appears to have superficial most appropriate not to give reality of the Holocaust is knowledge; and the student an opportunity to somehow different, e.g., few- • has a range of friends who expand on her or his views. In er people were killed? hold different viewpoints.
Try to identify what is at stake It is important to understand the source of information or inspiration for the student when he or she for a student’s expression of Holocaust distortion, trivialization or de- insists on minimizing or deny- nial, as it may also indicate an exposure to, or involvement in extrem- ing the facts of the Holocaust. ist activities. If this is the case, it is better to address the problem How would recognizing the early on to prevent any further escalation, such as violent behaviour. experience of the Jewish peo- You may want to consult with a relevant contact point or specialist ple challenge the student’s life in extremism in your school or district for advice on which indicators or worldview? are serious and which are less cause for concern.
8 Resources and Materials for Further Reading
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alli- Genocide Watch is an excellent online resource ance (IHRA) offers several sets of educational for understanding genocides past and present: resources. See: “Educational Materials”, IHRA, www.genocidewatch.org. www.holocaustremembrance.com/index.php/ educational-materials. Echoes and Reflections provides extensive down- loadable curricular resources and online learn- To find your nearest Holocaust resource organ- ing opportunities: ization, memorial site or museum, see also the www.echoesandreflections.org. IHRA International Directory: https://www.holocaustremembrance.com/ The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum itfdirectory/organization. website offers online workshops on “Teaching about the Holocaust”, “Nazi Ideology and Victims ODIHR offers several teaching guidelines and of the Holocaust and Nazi Persecution”, and “Per- resources for addressing anti-Semitism through sonal Testimony”, as well as numerous lesson plans Holocaust education including Education on the for teachers and an annotated Glossary of Neo-Na- Holocaust and on Anti-Semitism: An Overview and zi and White Supremacist Terms and Symbol, see: Analysis of Educational Approaches (Warsaw: www.ushmm.org/educators/online-workshop; OACE/ODIHR, 2005), www.ushmm.org/educators/lesson-plans; and www.osce.org/odihr/18818. www.ushmm.org/confront-antisemitism/origins- of-neo-nazi-and-white-supremacist-terms-and- For books providing background on Holocaust symbols. denial, see: Mémorial de la Shoah provides numerous resourc- Deborah E. Lipstadt, Denying The Holocaust: The es for educators, including a Multimedia Encyclo- Growing Assault on Truth and Memory (New York: pedia and Frequently Asked Questions for prima- The Free Press, 1994); and ry and secondary school teachers, see: www.memorialdelashoah.org/en/education- Pierre Vidal-Naquet, Assassins Of Memory: Essays training/references-for-teachers.html. on the Denial of the Holocaust, translated by Jef- frey Mehlman (New York: Columbia University The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Museum Press, 1992). website offers many resources, including down- loadable publications and an extensive series Yad Vashem provides the largest repository of of e-learning courses: www.auschwitz.org; and information on the Holocaust, including easy http://auschwitz.org/en/education. access to digital collections, e-learning for pro- fessionals, a database of Shoah victims’ names and a wealth of historical information in sever- al languages: www.yadvashem.org. 9