Underground Knowledge — A discussion group discussion

Excerpt from DEBUNKING HOLOCAUST DENIAL THEORIES: Two Non-Jews Affirm the Historicity of the Nazi Genocide:

“Never forget” is the collective plea of Holocaust survivors. And in the first few decades after WW2 ended, it really did seem as if humanity would always remember, and perhaps even learn from, the Nazi genocide so that future atrocities may be prevented.

Unfortunately, the historicity of the Holocaust has been undermined and chipped away at by the exact same sinister forces that created the genocide in the first place: racists, religious bigots and the most paranoid type of conspiracy theorists who, together, are uniting – often unwittingly – to form a new wave of anti-Semitism that will not willingly accept the obvious facts of the past.

This chipping away (at the truth) began slowly and insidiously – much like the Holocaust itself – but sadly, and worryingly, it is gathering pace.

A May, 2014 article in The Atlantic, headlined “The World Is Full of Holocaust Deniers,” exposed some shocking statistics when it advised readers, “A new survey suggests that many Asians, Africans, Middle Easterners, young people, Muslims, and Hindus believe that facts about the genocide have been distorted.”

The Atlantic columnist refers to a study conducted by First International Resources, which revealed that only “a third of the world's population believe the genocide has been accurately described in historical accounts. Some said they thought the number of people who died has been exaggerated; others said they believe it's a myth. Thirty percent of respondents said it's probably true that ‘Jews still talk too much about what happened to them in the Holocaust’.”

The article continues, “Seventy years after the liberation of Auschwitz, two-thirds of the world's population don't know the Holocaust happened—or they deny it. These beliefs follow some unexpected patterns, too. The Middle East and North Africa had the largest percentage of doubters, with only 8 percent of respondents reporting that they had heard of the genocide and believed descriptions of it were accurate. But only 12 percent of respondents in sub-Saharan Africa said the same, and only 23 percent in Asia. People in these groups were likely to say they believed the number of deaths has been exaggerated—just over half of Middle Easterners and a third of Asians and Africans think the body count has been distorted over time.”

Another frightening statistic was mentioned by one Rainer Höss, grandson of Nazi war criminal and Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss, in a January 2016 article by Tal Bashan, of the Jerusalem Post, titled “Grandson of infamous Nazi spends lifetime making amends for namesake's atrocities.”

Rainer, who is the antithesis of his grandfather and is devoting his life to promoting tolerance and Holocaust education, is quoted in the article as saying, “The current situation in Europe highlights the lessons of the Holocaust. In Germany alone, there are 360,000 active Nazis. In all of Europe, there are more than 2.6 million Nazis.”

Bashan’s article on Rainer Höss mentions that the Auschwitz commandant’s grandson is constantly being contacted by anti-Semites who expect him to have the same hatred toward Jewish people that his grandfather had.

Rainer, who always wears the Star of David necklace he received from a Holocaust survivor, also says in the Jerusalem Post article that the family’s former luxury villa near Auschwitz, where the death camp and crematoria could be viewed from during the war, is something “the management of the concentration camp doesn’t like to publicize.” He goes on to say that this is “because they’re worried that neo-Nazis might turn this complex into a pilgrimage site.”

As a society, we are in grave danger of fulfilling the pessimistic view of philosopher Friedrich Hegel who, as mentioned at the start of this book, wrote centuries ago that “The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history.”

Holocaust deniers are sadly increasing, not decreasing around the world, and there is a war being waged against historical truth.

For example, Mark Weber, Director of the aforementioned leading Holocaust-denying organization the Institute for Historical Review, recently posted this boastful statement on the IHR’s website: “In the weeks since our last update newsletter of mid-July [2015] ... I’ve conducted about twenty broadcast interviews, most of them with global television broadcasters that reach vast numbers of viewers ... In August I visited Istanbul, where I was the guest of a retired professor and former UNESCO official. During my week-long stay in the Turkish metropolis, I met with writers, scholars and human rights activists. One result was a lengthy interview with a journalist for a major Istanbul daily paper ... This four-part interview, with photos, appeared on two consecutive days’ issues on the front page, and continuing on inside pages ... In the weeks since our last newsletter, we’ve organized three IHR meetings here in southern California.”

The point being, Weber and his organization are expanding their reach and receiving plenty of airtime. There are, it seems, many around the world who are prepared to believe their message.

Within a decade or two, all Holocaust survivors will likely have passed away so a ticking clock is in effect in this battle between the truth and lies. Keep in mind even those survivors born in a concentration camp during WW2 would be at least 71 years-of-age when this book (the one you are reading now) was released. Those survivors old enough to clearly recall the events of that nightmare will, of course, be older and have much less time left.

As the memory of the Holocaust begins to fade away, it will become easier to deny the genocide even occurred unless those of us who are truthseekers are able to embrace the memory of the genocide and educate others do the same.

What’s needed in this propaganda war is for the true stories of Holocaust survivors – as well as those of the Nazi perpetrators, their associates and others who witnessed the genocide – to be told loudly and clearly so that there will never, ever be room for doubt in generations to come. After all, nothing is more powerful, credible or damning than eyewitness accounts.

Eyewitness #1 must surely be US President Dwight D. Eisenhower who, during his time in Europe during WW2 served as Supreme Allied Commander and General of the United States Army, wrote the following letter, which we sourced on page 223 of Joseph P. Hobbs’ book, Dear General: Eisenhower's Wartime Letters to Marshall:

“The visual evidence and the verbal testimony of starvation, cruelty and bestiality were so overpowering as to leave me a bit sick. In one room, where they [there] were piled up twenty or thirty naked men, killed by starvation, George Patton would not even enter. He said that he would get sick if he did so. I made the visit [to Gotha] deliberately, in order to be in a position to give first-hand evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to 'propaganda'.”

It seems Eisenhower suspected there would be Holocaust deniers in the future and that propaganda would be their weapon of choice.

If you, dear reader, are such a denier, or if you are considering there may be some truths in the deniers’ theories, we say to you:

Stop falling for the propaganda of the anti-Semites – and believe us when we say those denialist groups and individuals identified and exposed throughout this book are anti-Semites. No getting around that.

Holocaust deniers will always come up with pathetic lies and red herrings aimed at deceiving and leading the gullible astray. Be it death toll anomalies, gas chamber debates, criticizing Holocaust denial laws, repeating the ancient myth that the “Joooz control the world,” blaming Israel, claiming Anne Frank’s diary is fabricated etc…etc…yada…yada…yawn…the list goes on.

There’s literally no end to the lies and red herrings the deniers throw up. As each lie or distortion of the truth is debunked, these people keep searching for more and more. We have seen this many, many times – literally hundreds of times in recent history – as more and more denial arguments are raised only to be shot down.

Why do the deniers persist? Because they have an agenda – and it isn't a nice agenda, we can assure you.

As previously stated, if the Jews were not the main victims of the Holocaust, nobody would be debating this. The Jewish people are easily one of the most hated ethnic/religious groups in the world. As outlined in chapter 7, throughout the centuries before the Holocaust the Jews endured two millennia of persecution during which many other genocides, or ethnic cleansings, were committed against them.

So, if you are a denier, get on the right side of history and stop being so gullible.

Remember, it has been historically and scientifically proven, in a court of law no less, that more than 1.2 million Jews, along with 20,000 gypsies and tens of thousands of Polish and Russian political prisoners, were killed at Auschwitz alone. Beyond that, Yad Vashem’s Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names has collected 4.5 million Jewish victims’ names (and counting) from various archival sources.

How much more evidence could you possibly want?

Six million Jews died in the Holocaust. Yet many people simply cannot accept this. They keep bringing up red herring after red herring to avoid finally admitting “YES, it happened exactly as the history books say, end of story.” Which, of course, is the only correct response to the question anti-Semites raise about whether or not this historically and forensically-proven Nazi genocide even happened.

We would like to give the final word in this book to a friend of ours, one Pam Blevins, who is a Museum Teacher Fellow for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum:

“The Holocaust did happen and the gas chambers were in use. There are eyewitnesses to this fact although they are rapidly dying. The reason the Holocaust is so important is that it specifically refers to the approximately 6 million Jews who were killed. Many were gassed or shot, many others died of overwork, malnutrition, diseases, etc. It is a fact that the Nazis wanted to exterminate the entire Jewish ‘race’. WWII resulted in an additional 5 million others killed by the same processes. This does not count the military losses on all sides. If you doubt, take a trip to Germany and Poland and see the labor camps and death camps. See the gas chambers still in existence. During the trial of Deborah E. Lipstadt vs David Irving in England in 2000, Deborah Lipstadt had to prove her statement that David Irving was a Holocaust denier. He was proved to be wrong in his assertions that the Holocaust did not exist. Visit any of the Holocaust museums around the country and in Jerusalem for the facts. Check with the countries, especially Germany, where denying the Holocaust is a crime. I am not Jewish; but I have studied WWII and the Holocaust extensively. I am a museum teacher and was a Regional Educator for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. I have studied in Germany and Israel, I have visited many of the camps and ghettos in Germany and Poland. I have read over 500 books by various authors on the Holocaust. I have heard personal testimony from a variety of survivors. I have heard many acclaimed historians speak. The Holocaust did occur and was planned and executed by the Nazi regime. It did include shootings, torture, starvation, working people to death, and gas chambers.”

I like Pam's unwavering testimony regarding the reality of the Holocaust...reading her words, she leaves no room for any doubt.

I found these footages taken by soldiers...I think...after they arrived at the camps....pretty brutal footages, but definitely leave no doubt in the minds of the soldiers of what happened.

Eisenhower's proof that the Holocaust is real:

Eisenhower - Holocaust verification https://www.awesomestories.com/asset/...

U.S. prosecutor Thomas Dodd introduces the film compilation "Nazi Concentration Camps." . . . The footage, filmed as Allied troops liberated the concentration camps, was presented in the courtroom on November 29, 1945, and entered as evidence in the trial.

THE CLIP IS PROVIDED AS PRIMARY-SOURCE EVIDENCE OF NAZI ATROCITIES DURING WORLD WAR II. PLEASE PREVIEW IT, ENTIRELY, BEFORE ALLOWING CHILDREN TO VIEW. SOME SECTIONS ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN AT ALL. https://www.awesomestories.com/asset/...

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https://www.awesomestories.com/asset/...

(7 min) https://www.awesomestories.com/asset/...

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THIS SEGMENT TAKES THE VIEWER INSIDE THE DACHAU CONCENTRATION CAMP. GAS-CHAMBER AND CREMATORIA EVIDENCE ARE INCLUDED. IT IS PARTICULARLY UPSETTING AND ABSOLUTELY NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN. (10 min) min.https://www.awesomestories.com/asset/...

THIS SEGMENT TAKES THE VIEWER INSIDE THE DACHAU GAS CHAMBERS AND THE BELSEN CONCENTRATION CAMP (WHERE ANNE FRANK DIED). IT IS PARTICULARLY UPSETTING AND ABSOLUTELY NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN. https://www.awesomestories.com/asset/...

Why the Denial Holocaust case matters to us all http://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/deni...

"Those who threaten Jews with terror are but one remove from the Holocaust deniers who are also seeking to write out, and to wipe out, Jews"

Two excerpts from the article The Top 10 Global Anti-Semitic Incidents of 2016 http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/an...


British Labour Party Anti-Semitism

Under Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, anti-Semitism in the party has greatly escalated. Corbyn, who previously called Hamas and Hezbollah his “friends,” also promoted his strategy adviser Seumas Milne, a Hamas proponent.

He then gave former London Mayor Ken Livingstone an important position in the party, but Livingstone was later suspended because of anti-Semitic remarks about Hitler supporting Zionism. When the anti-Semitism in the party could no longer be ignored, Corbyn chose an unqualified investigator who produced a highly unprofessional report on the issue.

In October, the vice-chair of the Corbyn-supporting group ‘Momentum,’ Jackie Walker, was removed from her post in the wake of remarks questioning the need for security at Jewish schools and Holocaust Memorial Day. A series of Jewish MPs have also faced online abuse. In October, a man was jailed for sending anti-Semitic messages to Jewish Labour MP Luciana Berger. In December, a man was convicted of harassing the same MP with anti-Semitic rants.

Baroness Jenny Tonge declared that Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians is a major cause for the rise of global jihadism and the Islamic State. Tonge hosted an event at the House of Lords where Jews were blamed for the Holocaust. One participant went unchallenged when he declared that Hitler’s decision to wipe out the Jews came only after being provoked by the anti-Nazi protests in the US led by Rabbi Stephen S. Wise. Applause followed when the speaker added, “If anybody is anti- Semitic, it’s the Israelis themselves.”

Baroness Ruth Deech, a member of the House of Lords, warned that Britain’s top universities are becoming no-go zones for Jewish students because the administrations are unable to tackle anti-Semitism out of fear of “offending” potential donors from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states. Deech told The Telegraph that anti-Semitism is so rife on campuses that Jews are feeling threatened and unsafe. “Amongst Jewish students, there is gradually a feeling that there are certain universities that you should avoid,” she said.

The first six months of 2016 saw an 11% increase in anti-Semitic hate incidents (557) compared to the same period in 2015, according to the Community Security Trust. They included attacks on Jewish individuals – often students – and vandalism of Jewish owned property and Jewish communal organizations. All this spurred Prime Minister Theresa May’s government to become the first to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism:

“Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

May declared that there will now be only one definition of anti-Semitism, “and anyone guilty of it will be called out.”

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Poland’s Attempt to Deny the Holocaust

Prominent historian Jan Tomasz Gross, who documented Polish participation in the murder of Jews in wartime Poland, is in the crosshairs of Polish authorities who are considering charges that could put him behind bars for three years for “harming the country’s reputation.” Gross’ research revealed that Poles killed more Polish Jews (over 100,000) than they did German occupiers (30,000) during World War II. While some view the investigation as a witch-hunt, others see it as a tactical move in a political game. In October, the hard-right Law and Justice Party came to power and Prime Minister Beata Szydlo inaugurated a campaign to curtail freedoms.

In July, Polish Education Minister, Anna Zelewska cast doubt on the responsibility of Poles for two massacres of Jews, one during the Holocaust and another immediately afterwards. She was discussing the 1941 murder of Jews in Jedwabne, in which Poles gathered 300 Jews and burned them in a barn, and an atrocity that took place in Kielce in 1946, where 42 Jews were murdered. “Jedwabne …has led to many misunderstandings and very biased opinions,” Zalewska said. When a journalist from Polish broadcaster TVN reminded her that “Poles burned Jews in a barn,” she curtly replied, “That is your opinion.”

I believe there is a contemporary Jewish novelist and thinker who suggests that in a purely metaphysical sense we may always be bound to commit and re-commit horrible atrocities; it is a well-regarded book and a disturbing concept. Salmon Rushdie perhaps? (I can't recall who it is I'm thinking of; but he must be mentioned in some philosophy book or other since that is what I mostly read).

Salman Rushdie is not Jewish, so probably another author.

President Trump denies accusations of anti-Semitism. However, the headline "Trump Again Accuses American Jews of Disloyalty" in Wednesday's NY Times raises alarm bells for me.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/21/us...

Washington Bureau correspondent Eileen Sullivan writes: "President Trump on Wednesday thanked a conspiracy theorist for saying Jews in Israel love the president “like he’s the King of Israel” and doubled down on his efforts to pit American Jews against one another, accusing Jewish voters of disloyalty if they voted for Democrats."

She's right when she suggests Trump's words evoke a recurring anti-Semitic theme.

This is how it begins. People in power single out and disparage one group of people be they Muslims, Blacks, Gypsies, unemployed, homosexuals or in this case Jews. Especially Jews.

Let's hope history doesn't repeat itself (yet again). Let's ensure it doesn't!