8 November
1998
Denying the Holocaust is dangerous for society
By Lucas Neece I support The University
Daily Kansan's decision to run an advertisement from the
Committee for the Open Debate of the Holocaust (CODOH).
However, those of us who know the truth about the Holocaust
must respond. That is our responsibility as members of a
society that places such a high value on free speech.
To evaluate the claims
of the CODOH, I went
to the organization's Web site (http://www.codoh.com). Not only
does the site propound upon this idea that gas chambers were never
used, it puts forth the idea that Hitler wasn't planning the extinction
of the Jewish people. The Final Solution was - according
to the site - a phrase invented since his
suicide. What were all the Nazi concentration
camps for according to CODOH? It was simply a misuse of power,
a utilization of slave labor. Genocide did not occur during World
War II.
I've stood in a gas
chamber in Auschwitz. I've seen part of the crematories. I spoke
with a man who, as a young man, was forced to do hard labor around
the camps because he was Polish. His aunt, a nurse in the S.S. Hospitals,
tried to call attention to the horrible "experiments" they were
performing. She sent out X-rays from the hospitals, evidence
of the Nazi crimes against humanity.
I've read the diary of one of the S.S. men in charge of
Auschwitz. There is no question in my mind that this atrocity
was indeed a planned genocide.
I'm confused about what
the CODOH hopes an open debate will bring. Germany has been made
stronger by admitting its responsibility for the Holocaust and in
seeking to make some sort of reparation. By accepting the guilt,
and seeking forgiveness, rather than attempting to explain things
away, they have made progress. Certainly, an "enlightened" understanding
of the Holocaust - by CODOH standards - benefits neither those who
died nor the survivors and their children. Nobody involved in the
Holocaust profits from a debate on the "genocide question."
The only reason that
I can come up with for the CODOH to "foster open debate on the Holocaust"
is that perhaps, it wants to promote the idea that the
Holocaust didn't happen. That's fine. Its members have the
right in America to believe whatever they choose. But we have
a responsibility to evaluate its claims and speak truth. We
must understand the repercussions of denying that the
Holocaust occurred. It is my fear that we will forget what
genocide looks like and that we, as humanity, will fail again.
Hitler's Germany labeled
the Jews, the handicapped and infirm, gays, the elderly, Gypsies,
and people from all around Europe who worked to save lives, as obstacles
to the perfect society.
This is a sincere and thoughtful
letter, of a certain kind. There are many observations in it that can
led to an interesting exchange.