As we mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, let us start with some good news: Holocaust denial has become a marginal phenomenon. It can still be seen on the radical fringes on social media, but no self-respecting political leader, intellectual, or opinion shaper would claim that the gas chambers never existed. Now to the bad news: Holocaust distortion and trivialization are commonplace around the world, even in the mainstream.
Those engaging in Holocaust distortion, as opposed to denial, admit that the Holocaust happened, but invent mendacious historical narratives that include manipulation of facts and are aimed at serving problematic agendas and providing legitimacy for crimes past and present.
These narratives often receive public support due to public ignorance and because they align with existing prejudices. Such processes are well funded and are coordinated, sometimes by governments or civil society forces. We have seen in several countries in recent years a "national rebranding." One expression of this process is the redefinition of the state as a heroic community of anti-Nazi resistance and saviors of Jews in the Holocaust.
The distorters rely on the fact that there were cases where Jews were saved and there were acts of resistance in their respective countries, and they inflate these while playing down the role played by many of their leaders, citizens, and institutions in the murderous persecution of their Jewish citizens. However, the enormous scale of the horrors of the Holocaust would not have been possible without the collaboration of locals with Nazi Germany. Any argument denying this is mendacious and distorts history.
The attempt by governments to "legislate" historical narratives is not new, but they have in recent times become far more prominent. The law in some countries today criminalizes "offending the national honor" by mentioning local collaboration with the Nazis in the persecution and murder of Jews. In other countries, the law blurs the ethnic identity of Jews – the victims of industrial genocide. Various regimes now glorify as heroes patriotic historical figures despite their role in the persecution and murder of Jews. The distorted promotion of flawed figures as role models does not auger well for the future of these countries.
As a result of these processes, expert historians have been delegitimized and even placed on trial. Students in these societies are afraid to engage in Holocaust studies which could prove problematic to their future professional careers and even lead to them being persecuted. In fact, Holocaust distortion can be more damaging and destructive to Holocaust memory than Holocaust denial, because it makes rejection of historical truth easier to swallow.
Today, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, when many around the world focus their attention on the legacy of the Holocaust, it is incumbent on the international community to double its efforts to expand evidence-based independent Holocaust research and instruction. The Holocaust is a unique event, that is unprecedented and unparalleled in history. However, it is of great relevance to critical issues such as genocides and other horrors, in that it can be used for comparison to mine valuable insights.
Historical accuracy is crucial; we cannot compromise. First and foremost, we owe this to the Jewish men, women, and children, murdered in the ghettos, in the concentration and death camps, and in the killing fields, after first being starved and enslaved before being murdered by the Nazis and their helpers. No less important is the documentation of the acts committed by the perpetrators of these crimes or those who were partners to these crimes, and must take responsibility.
