The Holocaust?

Iran hosted a meeting bringing together many leading doubters of the Holocaust. This sad group disputes the historical record that millions of Jews were killed in the Nazi death camps.

The evidence of the Jewish Holocaust is overwhelming. One must believe either (1) the massive evidence from many diverse and seemingly unimpeachable sources or (2) it is a vast conspiracy. Have the conspiracy theorists ever presented a plausible motive? Justifying the formation of a Jewish state (Israel) isn't logical because the conspiracy must include non-Zionists and even anti-Zionists.

I once talked with an old man who believed the Jews were not killed but rather died in the camps from typhus, which actually is a scourge of overcrowded and underfed populations. The experience was particularly disturbing because he was clearly very intelligent and educated. He never claimed personal experience that countered the historical record, though naturally I wonder what he did in the war. He did not present a motive for the conspiracy and, after a spirited (albeit increasingly uncomfortable) half hour of conversation, the remainder of the 7 hour flight was silent.

I have visited Dachau and Auschwitz, two of the most notorious death camps. It is a numbing and challenging experience: numbing because the depth of the horror is unfathomable and challenging because the scale of the process demonstrates our human capacity to systematize and normalize even the most loathsome behavior.

Let us never forget the millions of Jews killed in the Holocaust. And let us also remember the many non-Jews killed because they were political opponents, homosexuals, gypsies, or because their homes were designated as “living room” (lebensraum) for Nazis. We naturally sympathize and identify with the victims. However, most importantly, we must guard against the stereotyping and vilification that led people like us to commit or tolerate these horrors.