Denying the Holocaust
by Brian Freedman
Would you believe someone if he told you there were no gas chambers in Auschwitz? What if he told you that he was a historian? This month, the Holocaust Awareness Council is partnering with Deborah Lipstadt, the famed speaker, author, and professor at Emory, to combat Holocaust Denial on Ohio State’s campus. Holocaust Denial is the act of denying, in whole or in part, the genocide of the European Jews during the Second World War. Deniers often will refer to the Holocaust as the "Holocaust Hoax.” The tactics used for denying the Holocaust range from rejection of gas chambers to denying the total number of lives lost at the hands of Nazi Germany.
The event is titled "Combating Holocaust Denial with Deborah Lipstadt." Professor Lipstadt is a historian who works on understanding and deconstructing Holocaust Denial. In her book, Denying the Holocaust, Deborah Lipstadt exposes the tactics used by Holocaust deniers while simultaneously debunking those claims. David Irving subsequently sued her in the British Court system for libel; to which she won by proving that Holocaust denial is a deliberate distortion of proven historical evidence. Now, she travels the country talking about the case, Holocaust Denial, antisemitism, and free speech. She believes very strongly in society’s responsibility to counter Holocaust Denial through free speech, not legislation.
The Holocaust Awareness Council is partnering with OSU Hillel, the Melton Center for Jewish Studies, and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies to focus on educating college students on Holocaust denial. These claims have been made more frequently as those who witnessed and survived the atrocities fade from public life.
With only five U.S. States requiring Holocaust education in their K-12 curriculum, many young adults have not been given a formal education on the Holocaust or other genocides, and may never know that denial of such events exist. Matt Goldish, Director of the Melton Center for Jewish Studies, asserts, “The issue of Holocaust denial is not just a Jewish issue. It is part of an age-old attempt to rewrite history to fit an agenda. We see numerous examples of this tendentious falsification of the past operating in our world. It concerns Armenians, Kurds, Sufis, Falun Gong, and many other groups whose history has been manipulated for political purposes. In truth, such falsity should be of concern to everyone.”
Would you believe someone if he told you there were no gas chambers in Auschwitz? What if he told you that he was a historian? This month, the Holocaust Awareness Council is partnering with Deborah Lipstadt, the famed speaker, author, and professor at Emory, to combat Holocaust Denial on Ohio State’s campus. Holocaust Denial is the act of denying, in whole or in part, the genocide of the European Jews during the Second World War. Deniers often will refer to the Holocaust as the "Holocaust Hoax.” The tactics used for denying the Holocaust range from rejection of gas chambers to denying the total number of lives lost at the hands of Nazi Germany.
The event is titled "Combating Holocaust Denial with Deborah Lipstadt." Professor Lipstadt is a historian who works on understanding and deconstructing Holocaust Denial. In her book, Denying the Holocaust, Deborah Lipstadt exposes the tactics used by Holocaust deniers while simultaneously debunking those claims. David Irving subsequently sued her in the British Court system for libel; to which she won by proving that Holocaust denial is a deliberate distortion of proven historical evidence. Now, she travels the country talking about the case, Holocaust Denial, antisemitism, and free speech. She believes very strongly in society’s responsibility to counter Holocaust Denial through free speech, not legislation.
The Holocaust Awareness Council is partnering with OSU Hillel, the Melton Center for Jewish Studies, and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies to focus on educating college students on Holocaust denial. These claims have been made more frequently as those who witnessed and survived the atrocities fade from public life.
With only five U.S. States requiring Holocaust education in their K-12 curriculum, many young adults have not been given a formal education on the Holocaust or other genocides, and may never know that denial of such events exist. Matt Goldish, Director of the Melton Center for Jewish Studies, asserts, “The issue of Holocaust denial is not just a Jewish issue. It is part of an age-old attempt to rewrite history to fit an agenda. We see numerous examples of this tendentious falsification of the past operating in our world. It concerns Armenians, Kurds, Sufis, Falun Gong, and many other groups whose history has been manipulated for political purposes. In truth, such falsity should be of concern to everyone.”
Mary Giardina, President of the Holocaust Awareness Council, has felt the need to act for years, “I first learned about Holocaust Denial when I was 16, but was never directly faced with the issue until about a year and a half ago. Students in the school where I did a teaching field placement honestly believe that the Holocaust is a lie. In 2011, a student group distributed pamphlets on Ohio State's campus saying that Jews collaborated with Nazis just to get the land of Israel. Ever since, I have felt overwhelmingly compelled to do something about it. I hope that people will realize that "Holocaust Denial" does not just mean denying the Holocaust in its entirety. It is a very complex and dangerous issue, fueled by antisemitism. Deniers are smart, but we must be smarter.”
Deborah Lipstadt will be speaking on Tuesday April 24, 2012 in the OSU Hillel Auditorium located at 46 East 16th Avenue (the corner of 16th and Pearl Alley). The doors open at 6pm with Deborah Lipstadt speaking at 6:30pm. Tickets are free for all OSU students with BuckID. Deborah Lipstadt is the capstone speaker to conclude the campus-wide Holocaust Awareness Week. For more information on the other events happening this week, go to the Holocaust Awareness Week tab on our webpage. Use the contact page for questions or concerns. |