The Holocaust: Let's Hear Both Sides

	Institute for Historical Review

The Holocaust: Let's hear both sides

by Mark = Weber=20

Nearly everyone has heard that the Germans killed some six = million Jews=20 in Europe during the Second World War. American television, motion = pictures, newspapers and magazines hammer away on this theme. In=20 Washington, DC, an enormous official Holocaust Museum has been = built.

Scholars Challenge Holocaust Story

During the past decade, though, more and more "revisionist" = historians,=20 including respected scholars such as Dr. Arthur Butz of = Northwestern=20 University, Prof. Robert Faurisson of the University of Lyon in = France and=20 best-selling British historian David Irving, have been challenging = the=20 widely-accepted extermination story.

They do not dispute the fact that large numbers of Jews were = deported=20 to concentration camps and ghettos, or that many Jews died or were = killed=20 during the Second World War. Revisionist scholars have, however, = presented=20 considerable evidence to show that there was no German program to=20 exterminate Europe's Jews, that numerous claims of mass killings = in "gas=20 chambers" are false, and that the estimate of six million Jewish = wartime=20 dead is an irresponsible exaggeration.

Many Holocaust Claims Abandoned

Revisionists point out that the Holocaust story has changed = quite a lot=20 over the years. Many extermination claims that were once widely = accepted=20 have been quietly dropped in recent years.

At one time it was alleged that the Germans gassed Jews at = Dachau,=20 Buchenwald and other concentration camps in Germany proper. That = part of=20 the extermination story proved so untenable that it was abandoned = more=20 than 20 years ago.

No serious historian now supports the once supposedly proven = story of=20 "extermination camps" in the territory of the old German Reich. = Even famed=20 "Nazi hunter" Simon Wiesenthal has acknowledged that "there were = no=20 extermination camps on German soil." (note 1)

Prominent Holocaust historians now claim that masses of Jews = were=20 gassed at just six camps in what is now Poland: Auschwitz, = Majdanek,=20 Treblinka, Sobibor, Chelmno and Belzec. However, the "evidence" = presented=20 for "gassings" at these six camps is not qualitatively different = than the=20 "evidence" for alleged "gassings" at the camps in Germany = proper.

At the great Nuremberg trial of 1945-1946 and during the = decades=20 following the end of the Second World War, Auschwitz (especially=20 Auschwitz-Birkenau) and Majdanek (Lublin) were generally regarded = as the=20 most important "death camps." For example, the Allies alleged at = Nuremberg=20 that the Germans killed four million at Auschwitz and another 1.5 = million=20 at Majdanek. Today, no reputable historian accepts these fantastic = figures.

In addition, more and more striking evidence has been presented = in=20 recent years that simply cannot be reconciled with the allegations = of mass=20 exterminations at these camps. For example, detailed aerial = reconnaissance=20 photographs taken of Auschwitz-Birkenau on several random days in = 1944=20 (during the height of the alleged extermination period there) were = made=20 public by the CIA in 1979. They show no trace of the piles of = corpses,=20 smoking chimneys and masses of Jews awaiting death, all of which = have been=20 alleged and would have been clearly visible if Auschwitz had = indeed been=20 an extermination center.

We now also know that the postwar "confession" of Auschwitz = commandant=20 Rudolf H=F6ss, which is a crucial part of the Holocaust = extermination story,=20 is a false statement that was obtained by torture. (note 2)

Other Absurd Holocaust Claims

At one time it was also seriously claimed that the Germans = exterminated=20 Jews with electricity and steam, and that they manufactured soap = from=20 Jewish corpses. For example, at Nuremberg the United States = charged that=20 the Germans killed Jews at Treblinka, not in gas chambers, as is = now=20 claimed, but by steaming them to death in "steam chambers." (note = 3)

Such bizarre stories have also been quietly abandoned in recent = years.

Disease Claimed Many Inmates

The Holocaust extermination story is superficially plausible. = Everyone=20 has seen the horrific photos of dead and dying inmates taken at=20 Bergen-Belsen, Nordhausen and other concentration camps when they = were=20 liberated by British and American forces in the final weeks of the = war in=20 Europe. These unfortunate people were victims, not of an = extermination=20 program, but of disease and malnutrition brought on by the = complete=20 collapse of Germany in the final months of the war. Indeed, if = there had=20 been an extermination program, the Jews found by Allied forces at = the end=20 of the war would have long since been killed.

In the face of the advancing Soviet forces, large numbers of = Jews were=20 evacuated during the final months of the war from eastern camps = and=20 ghettos to the remaining camps in western Germany. These camps = quickly=20 became terribly overcrowded, which severely hampered efforts to = prevent=20 the spread of epidemics. Furthermore, the breakdown of the German=20 transportation system made it impossible to supply adequate food = and=20 medicine to the camps.

Captured German Documents

At the end of the Second World War, the Allies confiscated a = tremendous=20 quantity of German documents dealing with Germany's wartime Jewish = policy,=20 which was sometimes officially referred to as the "final = solution." But=20 not a single German document has ever been found which even refers = to an=20 extermination program. To the contrary, the documents clearly show = that=20 the German "final solution" policy was one of emigration and = deportation,=20 not extermination.

Consider, for example, the confidential German Foreign Office=20 memorandum of August 21, 1942. (note 4) "The present war gives = Germany the=20 opportunity and also the duty of solving the Jewish problem in = Europe,"=20 the memorandum notes. The policy "to promote the evacuation of the = Jews=20 [from Europe] in closest cooperation with the agencies of the = Reichsf=FChrer=20 SS [Himmler] is still in force." The memo noted that "the number = of Jews=20 deported in this way to the East did not suffice to cover the = labor=20 needs."

The document quotes German Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop as = saying=20 that "at the end of this war, all Jews would have to leave Europe. = This=20 was an unalterable decision of the F=FChrer [Hitler] and also the = only way=20 to master this problem, as only a global and comprehensive = solution could=20 be applied and individual measures would not help very much."

The memorandum concludes by stating that the "deportations [of = Jews to=20 the East] are a further step on the way of the total solution ... = The=20 deportation to the [Polish] General Government is a temporary = measure. The=20 Jews will be moved on further to the occupied [Soviet] eastern = territories=20 as soon as the technical conditions for it are given."

This unambiguous document, and others like it, are routinely = suppressed=20 or ignored by those who uphold the Holocaust extermination = story.

Unreliable Testimony

Holocaust historians rely heavily on so-called "survivor = testimony" to=20 support the extermination story. But such "evidence" is = notoriously=20 unreliable. As one Jewish historian has pointed out, "most of the = memoirs=20 and reports [of "Holocaust survivors"] are full of preposterous = verbosity,=20 graphomanic exaggeration, dramatic effects, overestimated = self-inflation,=20 dilettante philosophizing, would-be lyricism, unchecked rumors, = bias,=20 partisan attacks and apologies." (note 5)

Hitler and the 'Final Solution'

There is no documentary evidence that Adolf Hitler ever gave an = order=20 to exterminate the Jews, or that he knew of any extermination = program.=20 Instead, the record shows that the German leader wanted the Jews = to leave=20 Europe, by emigration if possible and by deportation if = necessary.

A document found after the war in the files of the Reich = Ministry of=20 Justice records his thinking on the Jews. In the spring of 1942, = State=20 Secretary Schlegelberger noted in a memorandum that Hitler's Chief = of=20 Chancellery, Dr. Hans Lammers, had informed him: "The F=FChrer has = repeatedly declared to him [Lammers] that he wants to see the = solution of=20 the Jewish problem postponed until after the war is over." (note = 6)

And on July 24, 1942, Hitler emphasized his determination to = remove all=20 Jews from Europe after the war: "The Jews are interested in Europe = for=20 economic reasons, but Europe must reject them, if only out of=20 self-interest, because the Jews are racially tougher. After this = war is=20 over, I will rigorously hold to the view ... that the Jews will = have to=20 leave and emigrate to Madagascar or some other Jewish national = state."=20 (note 7)

Himmler's SS and the Camps

Jews were an important part of Germany's wartime labor force, = and it=20 was in Germany's interest to keep them alive.

The head of the SS camp administration office sent a directive = dated=20 Dec. 28, 1942, to every concentration camp, including Auschwitz. = It=20 sharply criticized the high death rate of inmates due to disease, = and=20 ordered that "camp physicians must use all means at their disposal = to=20 significantly reduce the death rate in the various camps." = Furthermore, it=20 ordered: "The camp doctors must supervise more often than in the = past the=20 nutrition of the prisoners and, in cooperation with the = administration,=20 submit improvement recommendations to the camp commandants ... The = camp=20 doctors are to see to it that the working conditions at the = various labor=20 places are improved as much as possible."

Finally, the directive stressed that "The Reichsf=FChrer SS = [Himmler] has=20 ordered that the death rate absolutely must be reduced." (note = 8)

The head of the SS department that supervised the concentration = camps,=20 Richard Gluecks, sent a circular letter to each camp commandant = dated=20 January 20, 1943. In it he ordered: "As I have already pointed = out, every=20 means must be used to lower the death rate in the camp." (note = 9)

Six Million?

There is no real evidence for the incessantly repeated claim = that the=20 Germans exterminated six million Jews. It is clear, though, that = millions=20 of Jews "survived" German rule during the Second World War, = including many=20 who were interned in Auschwitz and other so-called "extermination = camps."=20 This fact alone should raise serious doubts about the = extermination=20 story.

A leading newspaper of neutral Switzerland, the daily = Baseler=20 Nachrichten, carefully estimated in June 1946 that no more = than 1.5=20 million European Jews could have perished under German rule during = the=20 war. (note 10)

One-Sided 'Holocaustomania'

Even after more than 40 years, the stream of Holocaust films = and books=20 shows no sign of diminishing.

This relentless media campaign, which Jewish historian Alfred=20 Lilienthal calls "Holocaustomania," portrays the fate of the Jews = during=20 the Second World War as the central event of history. There is no = end to=20 the heavy-handed motion pictures, the simplistic television = specials, the=20 vindictive hunt for "Nazi war criminals," the one-sided = "educational=20 courses," and the self-righteous appearances by politicians and=20 celebrities at Holocaust "memorial services."

Britain's chief rabbi, Immanuel Jakobovits, has accurately = described=20 the Holocaust campaign as "an entire industry, with handsome = profits for=20 writers, researchers, film-makers, monument builders, muse-um = planners and=20 even politicians." He added that some rabbis and theologians are = "partners=20 in this big business." (note 11)

Non-Jewish victims just don't merit the same concern. For = example,=20 there are no American memorials, "study centers," or annual = observances=20 for Stalin's victims, who vastly outnumber Hitler's.

Who Benefits?

The perpetual Holocaust media blitz is routinely used to = justify=20 enormous American support for Israel and to excuse otherwise = inexcusable=20 Israeli policies, even when they conflict with American = interests.

The sophisticated and well-financed Holocaust media campaign is = crucially important to the interests of Israel, which owes its = existence=20 to massive annual subsidies from American taxpayers. As Prof. W.D. = Rubinstein of Australia has candidly acknowledged: "If the = Holocaust can=20 be shown to be a =D4Zionist myth,' the strongest of all weapons in = Israel's=20 propaganda armory collapses." (note 12)

Jewish history teacher Paula Hyman of Columbia University has = observed:=20 "With regard to Israel, the Holocaust may be used to forestall = political=20 criticism and suppress debate; it reinforces the sense of Jews as = an=20 eternally beleaguered people who can rely for their defense only = upon=20 themselves. The invocation of the suffering endured by the Jews = under the=20 Nazis often takes the place of rational argument, and is expected = to=20 convince doubters of the legitimacy of current Israeli government = policy."=20 (note 13)

One major reason that the Holocaust story has proven so durable = is that=20 the governments of the major powers also have a vested interest in = maintaining it. The victorious powers of the Second World War -- = the=20 United States, Soviet Russia and Britain -- have a stake in = portraying the=20 defeated Hitler regime as negatively as possible. The more evil = and=20 satanic the Hitler regime appears, the more noble and justified = seems the=20 Allied cause.

For many Jews, the Holocaust has become both a flourishing = business and=20 a kind of new religion, as noted Jewish author and newspaper = publisher=20 Jacobo Timerman points out in his book, The Longest = War. He=20 reports that many Israelis, using the word Shoah, which is Hebrew = for=20 Holocaust, joke that "There's no business like Shoah business." = (note=20 14)

The Holocaust media campaign portrays Jews as totally innocent = victims,=20 and non-Jews as morally retarded and unreliable beings who can = easily turn=20 into murderous Nazis under the right circumstances. This = self-serving but=20 distorted portrayal is meant to strengthen Jewish group solidarity = and=20 self-awareness.

A key lesson of the Holocaust story for Jews is that non-Jews = are never=20 completely trustworthy. If a people as cultured and as educated as = the=20 Germans could turn against the Jews, so the thinking goes, than = surely no=20 non-Jewish nation can ever be completely trusted. The Holocaust = message is=20 thus one of contempt for humanity.

Holocaust Hatemongering

The Holocaust story is sometimes used to promote hatred and = hostility,=20 particularly against the German people as a whole, eastern = Europeans and=20 the leadership of the Roman Catholic church.

The well-known Jewish writer, Elie Wiesel, is a former = Auschwitz inmate=20 who served as chairman of the official U.S. Holocaust Memorial = Council. He=20 received the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize. This dedicated Zionist wrote = in his=20 book, Legends of Our Time: "Every Jew, somewhere in = his=20 being, should set apart a zone of hate -- healthy, virile hate -- = for what=20 the German personifies and for what persists in the German." (note = 15)

Let Both Sides Be Heard

As even defenders of the orthodox extermination story concede,=20 skepticism about the Holocaust story has grown dramatically in = recent=20 years.

Responding to this trend, officials in some countries -- = including=20 France and Israel -- have made it a crime to challenge the = Holocaust=20 story. Revisionists in France and Germany have been heavily fined = for=20 their views. Teachers in the United States and elsewhere have been = summarily dismissed from their positions for daring to doubt the = Holocaust=20 story. Criminal thugs have brutally attacked prominent Holocaust=20 revisionists; one was even killed for his views.

In spite of desperate restrictions on free speech, frantic = media=20 attacks against those who "deny the Holocaust," a seemingly = perpetual=20 Holocaust media campaign, and even physical attacks, considerable = headway=20 is being made. More and more thoughtful people in the United = States and=20 around the world are willing to express doubts about at least some = of the=20 more sensational Holocaust claims.

Summary

The Holocaust extermination story is breaking down as = suppressed=20 evidence becomes better known, and as more people become aware of = the=20 facts about what is certainly the most hyped and politicized = chapter of=20 modern history.

Artificially maintaining the hatreds and passions of the past = prevents=20 genuine reconciliation and lasting peace.

Revisionism promotes historical awareness and international=20 understanding. That's why the work of the Institute for Historical = Review=20 is so important and deserves your support.

Notes

Books and Bookmen, London, April 1975, p. 5, = and in=20 Stars and Stripes (Europe), Jan. 24, 1993, p. 14.=20
Ruper Butler, Legions of Death (England: 1983), = pp.=20 235-237, and R. Faurisson, Journal of Historical = Review,=20 Winter 1986-87, pp. 389-403.=20
Nuremberg document PS-3311 (USA-293). IMT blue series, Vol. = 32, pp.=20 153-158; IMT, Vol. 3, pp. 566- 568.; NMT green series, Vol. 5, = pp. 1133,=20 1134.=20
Nuremberg document NG-2586-J. NMT green series, Vol. 13, pp. = 243-249.=20
Samuel Gringauz in Jewish Social Studies (New = York),=20 January 1950, Vol. 12, p. 65.=20
Nuremberg document PS-4025. D. Irving, G=F6ring: A=20 Biography (New York: 1989), p. 349.=20
H. Picker, Hitlers Tischgesprche im F=FChrerhaupt=20 quartier (Stuttgart: 1976), p. 456.=20
Nuremberg document PS-2171, Annex 2; NC and A red series, = Vol. 4,=20 pp. 833-834.=20
Nuremberg document NO-1523; NMT green series, Vol. 5, pp. = 372-373.=20
Baseler Nachrichten, June 13, 1946, p. 2.=20
H. Shapiro, "Jakobovits," Jerusalem Post = (Israel), Nov.=20 26, 1987, p. 1.=20
Quadrant (Australia), Sept. 1979, p. 27.=20
New York Times Magazine, Sept. 14, 1980, p. 79. =
The Longest War (New York: Vintage, 1982), p. = 15.=20
Legends of Our Time (New York: Schocken Books, = 1982),=20 chap. 12, p. 142.

Institute for Historical Review