It’s an argument that I’ve seen even people who believe in free speech make.
Well I believe in free speech and I believe that Holocaust denial should be crime. How do I reconcile the two? Because Holocaust denial isn’t about free speech.
Let’s start with a simple premise. No one should be allowed to knowingly, and with intention, say things that they know will cause harm to others. Pretty much the reason we have defamation laws.
But note the keywords here: knowingly and intentionally.
If someone says they don’t believe the Holocaust happened, how do we know that they are knowingly and intentionally trying to cause harm?
Because if anything the Nazis were meticulous and obsessive record keepers. The Holocaust is one of the most documented crimes in human history. There are photographs, films, architectural plans, train schedules, eyewitness reports, survivor testimonies and even the words of Nazi leaders themselves.
Here are some key facts:
Let’s start with a simple premise. No one should be allowed to knowingly, and with intention, say things that they know will cause harm to others. Pretty much the reason we have defamation laws.
But note the keywords here: knowingly and intentionally.
If someone says they don’t believe the Holocaust happened, how do we know that they are knowingly and intentionally trying to cause harm?
Because if anything the Nazis were meticulous and obsessive record keepers. The Holocaust is one of the most documented crimes in human history. There are photographs, films, architectural plans, train schedules, eyewitness reports, survivor testimonies and even the words of Nazi leaders themselves.
Here are some key facts:
• Around six million Jews were systematically murdered between 1941–1945.
• The killings took place through ghettos, mass shootings, forced labor, starvation policies and industrialised extermination camps like Auschwitz, Treblinka and Sobibor.
• The Nazis left behind train manifests, camp blueprints and even invoices for materials such as Zyklon B gas.
• After the war the Nuremberg Trials presented mountains of evidence – much of it from German military records themselves.
• Thousands of survivors and liberators gave testimony under oath – their accounts are consistent and corroborated by physical evidence.
In fact, the Holocaust stands apart from most other events in modern history because of the sheer volume and diversity of evidence. It isn’t a matter of interpretation or rumour – we have official orders, logistical paperwork, physical remnants of camps and consistent eyewitness accounts from all sides: victims, perpetrators and liberators alike. There are very few events in history that are as airtight in their proof.
So if someone says that they’ve studied the Holocaust and there’s no doubt it didn’t happened or has been greatly exaggerated, then they are lying. It’s not merely making a mistake – they are rejecting one of the most thoroughly proven historical events in existence.
And if they actually believe what they are saying, they haven’t actually studied the Holocaust and so they’re still lying.
Or to put it another way, at best, they are choosing to ignore overwhelming evidence – and, at worst, they are deliberately spreading lies for anti-Semitic purposes.
This is why Holocaust denial is not about free speech and should be a crime. Holocaust denial should be treated for what it is: a deliberate falsehood with the sole goal to cause harm and sow hatred. And beyond the lies themselves, Holocaust denial actively fuels present‑day anti-Semitism and extremism.
So the next time you see some neo-Nazi on X ranting on about how the Holocaust never happened, you can rip them a new one.
And tell them I sent you.
Kevin is a Libertarian and pragmatic anarchist. His favourite saying: “There but for the grace of God go I.” This article was first published HERE
11 comments:
When I visited Dachau in Germany, you could just sense that something was wrong. You know that warning feeling you sometimes get in your stomach?. I remember it was a sunny blue sky day and the grounds were well kept. Only the foundations remained where the barracks once were so it didn't look that ominous. But there were no birds singing in the trees on the grounds. When I tried to walk into the crematorium building, my legs went heavy and I could not walk up.the stairs. So I juat turned and ran out of the grounds because I was so creeped out. That has never happened to me anywhere else. So my challenge to the holocaust deniers is to go to the concentration camps and see for yourselves.
The premis for this column bears a striking resemblance to a certain byproduct of the male of the bovine species.
Free speech is free speech regardless of whether that speech is based on facts or fiction.
Free speech except for ............ isn't!
when i went to dachau i bought the tee-shirt with-'I went to dachau and all i got was this lousy shirt'.
Anon 9.42 is worthy only to illustrate Mark Twain's famous aphorism that It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.
I have received submissions targeting the historical events in question but will not be letting those through if they are critical of the official narrative as we then open ourselves up to legal action.
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There are still plenty of fruit loops who believe nonsense despite facts, evidence and proof otherwise.
However, is being stupid now going to be a crime?
Moon landing deniers? Flat earth proponents? Big foot or Nessie witnesses? People who believe in Taniwhas? Fairy's? Santa? Those who believe "real Marxism" has not been tried?
I visited Dachau in 1977 and also noticed the lack of birds anywhere near it. My girlfriend at the time got to the entrance and refused to go any further, she had a very bad feeling about it. I did enter the crematorium, maybe it was my imagination, but the smell of death remained. The village was nearby, but apparently no one living there had any idea what was going on.
And we can't have historically documented facts getting in the way of the "official" narrative now, can we.
I would say in reference to 9.42 am how would they feel if more recent circumstances were targeted with the manipulation of truth. I can think of Chris Hipkins' recent assertion that the Covid vaccine was never mandatory. Such a manipulation of truth could soon lead to further assertions that travel was never restricted, lockdowns were voluntary.
I disagree. Stating that the Holocaust did not happen is not the same as 'I don't believe it happend'. The first is making a claim, while the second id expressing an opinion that I believe.
As mentioned above, expressing an opinion no matter how stupid ought not to be considered a crime...but be prepared for harsh criticism and scorn
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