Distortion In The Holocaust
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The
International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), until January 2013 known as the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research or ITF, is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1998 wh ...
, composed of experts and historians from around the world, came out with an article addressing
Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
distortion. It says, "Distortion of the Holocaust is rhetoric, written work, or other media that excuse, minimize, or misrepresent the known historical record". Not all Holocaust distortion is done intentionally. Some may make uneducated remarks leading to further distortion. However, the half truths that Holocaust distortion creates can lead to
antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
.


When it began

According to the
International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), until January 2013 known as the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research or ITF, is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1998 wh ...
(IHRA), Holocaust distortion began with the Holocaust itself. The Nazis and their collaborators were destroying evidence of their atrocities, along with the manipulation of images and the spread of
false information Misinformation is incorrect or misleading information. Misinformation and disinformation are not interchangeable terms: misinformation can exist with or without specific malicious intent, whereas disinformation is distinct in that the information ...
to conceal their crimes and deceive the international community. An instance of this manipulation is the
Nazi propaganda Propaganda was a tool of the Nazi Party in Germany from its earliest days to the end of the regime in May 1945 at the end of World War II. As the party gained power, the scope and efficacy of its propaganda grew and permeated an increasing amou ...
that deceived the Danish and
International Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a aid agency, humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of Law of ...
during their visit to the
Theresienstadt ghetto Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination c ...
in 1944. The Nazis carefully masked the distressing living conditions within the ghetto, presenting a facade of normalcy that misled the visiting representatives, who unfortunately overlooked the few distress signals they encountered.


Definition

Holocaust distortion is similar to
Holocaust denial Historical negationism, Denial of the Holocaust is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that asserts that the genocide of Jews by the Nazi Party, Nazis is a fabrication or exaggeration. It includes making one or more of the following false claims: ...
. However, instead of denial of historical facts, distortion is more subtle. A professor of history at the
University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...
,
Jan Grabowski Jan Zbigniew Grabowski (born June 24, 1962) is a Polish-Canadian professor of history at the University of Ottawa, specializing in Jewish–Polish relations in German-occupied Poland during World War II and the Holocaust in Poland.
says, “Unlike Holocaust deniers, people and institutions engaging in Holocaust distortion do not deny the
fact A fact is a truth, true data, datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance. Standard reference works are often used to Fact-checking, check facts. Science, Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful observation or measurement by ...
uality of the Jewish catastrophe. They just deny that their
nation A nation is a type of social organization where a collective Identity (social science), identity, a national identity, has emerged from a combination of shared features across a given population, such as language, history, ethnicity, culture, t ...
, or their
ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...
had anything to do with the fact”. Another definition that Ben Cohen, a writer for 
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
affairs and Middle Eastern politics, gives another definition for Holocaust distortion is "the practice of rewriting Holocaust history to suit contemporary political imperatives." With the rise of social media, and other forms of digital media, Holocaust distortion, and the false information that comes with it, has become much more common. It is able to spread much more rapidly than in years past.


Different forms

The Holocaust
Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...
shares the different forms of Holocaust distortion. * Minimizing in any way the
Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
(number of victims, efforts, and roles of collaborators and allies of
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
) * Any attempt to obscure responsibilities for crimes of the Holocaust * Blaming Jews for the Holocaust * Casting the Holocaust as a positive historical event * Accusing Jews of "using" the Holocaust for some manner of gain. * Use of the term "Holocaust" to refer to events or concepts that are not related to the
genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...
of
European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...
and
North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
n Jewry by Nazi Germany and its collaborators. * State-sponsored manipulation of Holocaust history to sow political discord within or outside a country's borders. * Trivializing or honoring the historical legacies of people or organizations complicit in the crimes of the Holocaust. * Using imagery and language associated with the
Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
for political, ideological, or commercial purposes unrelated to this history in online and offline forums.
Juliane Wetzel Juliane Wetzel (born 1957 in Munich) is a German historian. Wetzel is a senior researcher at the Centre for Research on Antisemitism, Technische Universität Berlin.Bergmann, Werner & Wetzel, Juliane. nbsp;, Center for Research on Antisemitism, ...
, Chair of the IHRA's Committee on Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial, says, "Holocaust distortion focuses, for example, on exaggerating the number of rescuers and
whitewashing Whitewash is a paint-like covering of hydrated lime or a cheap white paint. Whitewash or whitewashing may also refer to: Racist practices * Whitewashing (beauty), modifying the skin tones of photographs of nonwhite people in mass media * Whitew ...
or glorifying collaborators. Sometimes it is even used to raise awareness of different issues without having intended to minimize the Holocaust, but rather to bring attention to the respective issue."


Events and examples

Holocaust distortion is exemplified by countries denying their institutions' and citizens' roles in the
genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...
of Jews.
Jan Grabowski Jan Zbigniew Grabowski (born June 24, 1962) is a Polish-Canadian professor of history at the University of Ottawa, specializing in Jewish–Polish relations in German-occupied Poland during World War II and the Holocaust in Poland.
highlighted an event at the Treblinka railway station in November 2021 where a monument honored Jan Maletka, a Polish railroad worker allegedly killed for trying to provide water to Jews on a
Holocaust train Holocaust trains were railway transports run by the ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'' and other European railways under the control of Nazi Germany and its allies, for the purpose of forcible deportation of the Jews, as well as other victims of the Holo ...
, was unveiled. Both the memorial, and speech of Magdalena Gawin, the Polish deputy minister of Culture, focused on one Polish man, neglecting the larger tragedy of 925,000 Jews murdered in nearby
Treblinka extermination camp Treblinka () was the second-deadliest extermination camp to be built and operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the village of Treblinka in what is now the Mas ...
. Grabowski also emphasized another distortion of history, pointing out Gawin's omission of the locals' greed in profiting from selling water to dehydrated Jews in Holocaust trains. Another instance of Holocaust distortion takes place in
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
. In Hungary, over 400,000 Jews were deported to
concentration camps A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploit ...
. There is still a very high Jewish population in Hungary because of the Jews that were able to hide and escape. In an article written by Henriet Kovács and Ursula K. Mindler-Steiner, historians on Politics in
Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...
wrote an article on how the
Hungarian government The Government of Hungary () exercises executive (government), executive power in Hungary. It is led by the Prime Minister of Hungary, Prime Minister, and is composed of various ministers. It is the principal organ of public administration. The Pr ...
has tried to cover up their wrongs of the past. “…the Hungarian government has been trying to improve the country’s image. The year 2014 was designated the Holocaust Memorial Year. In this way, the government tried to “ exculpate” itself internationally from accusations that it was not fighting anti-Semitism sufficiently.” In order to cover up the horrible part Hungary played, the government created a year dedicated to Jews as well as
memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...
s instead of acknowledging what had happened. In “Forgetting the Führer: the Recent History of the Holocaust Denial Movement in Germany,” it goes over key people that have been leaders in the spread of misinformation of the Holocaust. One it specifically talks about is the German Ernest Zundel has contributed to the distribution of false information to over 41 countries.


Efforts to combat it

Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld Manfred Gerstenfeld (; 1937 – 25 February 2021) was an Austrian-born Israeli author and chairman of the steering committee of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. He founded and directed the center's post-Holocaust and anti-Semitism program ...
is emeritus chairman (2000–2012) of the
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs The Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA), formerly the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA), is an Israeli think tank specializing in public diplomacy and foreign policy founded in 1976. JCPA publishes the biennial jo ...
, and has won numerous awards for his work. Gerstenfeld has written many books, one of them being titled, ''The Abuse of Holocaust Memory: Distortions and Responses''. Gerstenfeld talks about how holocaust distortion is to be prevented. "Preserving Holocaust memory correctly requires
documentation Documentation is any communicable material that is used to describe, explain or instruct regarding some attributes of an object, system or procedure, such as its parts, assembly, installation, maintenance, and use. As a form of knowledge managem ...
; education; the establishment of
monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...
s, museums, and memorials,
ceremonies A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin . Religious and civil (secular) ceremoni ...
and remembrance days; as well as commemorative projects.
Legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred ...
and art are other spheres that have made important contributions." Creating more memorials to honor what truly happened as well as enforcing correct education about the holocaust can not only combat the distortion that has already happened, but help to prevent further distortions as well. Holocaust distortion is being recognised in many countries. Professor Michael J. Bazyler, who is a Research Fellow International Institute for Holocaust Studies, as well as a professor of law in Whittier Law School California. He wrote an article that mentions the new laws created since Holocaust distortion and denial have been brought to light. Section 130 of the
German Penal Code ''Strafgesetzbuch'' (, literally "penal law book"), abbreviated to ''StGB'', is the German penal code. History In Germany the ''Strafgesetzbuch'' goes back to the Penal Code of the German Empire passed in the year 1871 on May 15 in Reichst ...
prohibits denial or playing down of the genocide committed under the National
Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
regime (§ 130.3), including through dissemination of publications (§ 130.4). This includes public denial or gross trivialization of international crimes, especially genocide/the Holocaust. In 1994, Holocaust denial became a criminal offense under a general anti-incitement law. The law states that incitement, denial, approval of
Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...
,
trivialization Trivialization or trivialisation may refer to: * Trivialization (mathematics), a trivialization of a fiber bundle * Trivialization (psychology), a form of minimization, a cognitive distortion {{disambiguation ...
or approval, in public or in an assembly, of actions of the National Socialist regime, is a criminal offense. The 1994 amendment increased the penalty to up to five years imprisonment. It also extended the ban on Nazi symbols and anything that might resemble Nazi slogans.” Germany is putting laws into place that help to combat Holocaust distortion, along with any other countries. In order to keep false information from spreading, penalties, fines, and jail time is being enforced. The Holocaust Alliance hosts many
dialogue Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American and British English spelling differences, American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literature, literary and theatrical form that depicts suc ...
s for teachers and educators in order to counter holocaust distortion.{{Cite web , date=2023-04-21 , title=Teachers and the future of Holocaust education: Hosting cross-border educational dialogues to counter Holocaust distortion , url=https://www.holocaustremembrance.com/news-archive/holocaust-starting-point-education , access-date=2023-08-10 , publisher=IHRA , language=en There are also many
seminar A seminar is a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some part ...
s that are being held for teachers and educators about holocaust education. These seminars are meant to help educators share the correct facts about the holocaust, in order to try and prevent further distortions from happening. These seminars share information that is not commonly taught in classrooms, as well as busting
myth Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
s about the holocaust.


See also

*
Holocaust denial Historical negationism, Denial of the Holocaust is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that asserts that the genocide of Jews by the Nazi Party, Nazis is a fabrication or exaggeration. It includes making one or more of the following false claims: ...
*
Antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
* Nazi slogans *
Concentration camps A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploit ...
*
Theresienstadt Ghetto Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination c ...
*
International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), until January 2013 known as the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research or ITF, is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1998 wh ...


References


Further reading

* “Creating a “Usable” Past: On Holocaust Denial and Distortion” by Yehuda Bauer Https://doi:10.1080/23739770.2020.1805916 * ‘The Jews are our Misfortune!’ Contemporary antisemitism as a hydra-headed phenomenon" by Ben Cohen https://doi:10.1080/13537121.2023.2162254 * “The Abuse of Holocaust Memory. Distortions and Responses.” by Manfred Gerstenfeld https://doi.org/10.1163/157007310793352223
"The New Wave of Holocaust Revisionism." by Jan Grabowski

“What is Holocaust distortion and why is it a problem?” by International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance

"Hungary and the Distortion of Holocaust History: The Hungarian Holocaust Memorial Year 2014" by Henriet Kovács and Ursula K.Mindler-Steiner
* “Forgetting the Führer: the Recent History of the Holocaust Denial Movement in Germany.” by Anthony Long https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8497.00253
“A Brief History of Holocaust Denial and Distortion.” by International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance

“Teachers and the Future of Holocaust Education: Hosting Cross-Border Educational Dialogues to Counter Holocaust Distortion.”
*

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