Holocaust Denial

Since the mass genocide of more than 6 million Jews during World War II, there have been conspiracy theorists and anti-Semitists who rebuke the entire idea that such a thing even happened. In the mid-20^th century, they were few and far between. Today, there has become a much more cohesive movement towards Holocaust denial by those who are attempting to negate the facts of this historical event to prove that such a thing never happened. Even more are attempting to distort the facts since a complete denial doesn't seem logical or possible given all of the historical evidence of what happened during Adolf Hitler's reign over Germany.

For example, some people will claim that the statistics on how many people died are exaggerated, that the deaths in camps were only a result of starvation or disease rather than outright murder, and even that Anne Frank's diary is a forgery. Considering that the Holocaust is one of the most accurately documented events in modern history, denial is basically outlandish and motivated by hate in many cases. People usually are trying to build on the claim that this event was created or exaggerated by the Jews to help advance their own interests or power in the world.

This viewpoint of Holocaust denial based on hatred or distaste for Jews is the perpetuation of long-standing stereotypes that are founded in Anti-Semitism, which is exactly what laid the foundation for the beginning of the Holocaust in the first place. There are a lot of different reasons that people deny or distort the Holocaust. Like all propaganda, there are usually goals or means behind people's stories. People often are trying to:

-Plant seeds of doubt in others' minds

-Draw attention to certain views or issues

-Undermine the State of Israel (as some view this to be compensation for the Jews suffering in the Holocaust)

-Reduce the perceived sympathy of the public

While the U.S. has freedom of speech and there isn't really anything legally wrong with this type of denial or distortion, other countries aren't so free and willing to listen. In many countries, especially where parts of the Holocaust took place or affected lives, there are hate laws in place that criminalize the open denial of the Holocaust or any hate speech related to the event. Nonetheless, it does still happen. It has become increasingly difficult to uphold the integrity of the Holocaust as a historical event on a global scale with these challenges and varying laws on hate speech and denial, but it is an ongoing battle.