After the Holocaust
Encyclopedia
The aftermath of the Holocaust had a profound effect on society in both Europe and the rest of the world. Its impact could be felt in theological discussions, artistic and cultural pursuits and political decisions. The fate of displaced persons and Holocaust survivors was a major issue, one which eventually led to the establishment of Israel
by Jewish survivors.
, citing privacy concerns. In May 2006, a 20-year effort by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
led to the announcement that 30–50 million pages would be made available to historians and survivors.
With most displaced persons unable or unwilling to return to their former homes in Europe and with restrictions to immigration to many western countries remaining in place, Palestine became the primary destination for many Jewish refugees. However, as local Arabs opposed the immigration, the United Kingdom refused to allow Jewish refugees into the Mandate, and many countries in the Soviet Bloc made emigration difficult. Former Jewish partisans in Europe, along with the Haganah
in Palestine, organized a massive effort to smuggle Jews into Palestine, called Berihah
, which eventually transported 250,000 Jews (both DPs and those who hid during the war) to the Mandate. By 1952, the Displaced Persons camps were closed, with over 80,000 Jewish DPs in the United States, about 136,000 in Israel, and another 20,000 in other nations, including Canada and South Africa.
on August 11, 1945, and more importantly the July 4, 1946 Kielce pogrom
led to the exodus of a large part of the Jewish population, which no longer felt safe in Poland. Anti-Jewish riots also broke out in several other Polish cities
where many Jews were killed.
An important reason for the atrocities was a widespread Polish belief that the Jews were supporters of the new communist regime and the new oppressors of the Polish state. This belief, termed "Żydokomuna
", was fuelled by fact that Poland's postwar Communist government was Jewish-dominated. Two out of three communist leaders who dominated Poland between 1948 and 1956 (Jakub Berman
and Hilary Minc
) were of Jewish origin. The attitude of Christian Poles toward the Jewish Poles hardened significantly and hundreds of Jews were killed in anti-Jewish violence. Some were simply killed for financial reasons. The widespread Polish view of the Jews as communist traitors had led to massacres already in the 1920s. As a result of the exodus the number of Jews in Poland decreased from 200,000 in the years immediately after the war to 50,000 in 1950 and to 6,000 by the 1980s.
Lesser post-war pogroms also broke out in Hungary.
among survivors is nearly two and a half times that of the national average, while the average rate of colon cancer, attributed to the victims' experience of starvation and extreme stress, is nine times higher.
provides a searchable database of three million names, about half of the known Jewish victims. Yad Vashem's Central Database of Shoah Victims Names is searchable over the Internet yadvashem.org or in person at the Yad Vashem complex in Israel
. Other databases and lists of victims' names, some searchable over the Web, are listed in Holocaust (resources).
, there were 11 to 13 million Yiddish speakers in the world. The Holocaust, however, led to a dramatic, sudden decline in the use of Yiddish, as the extensive Jewish communities, both secular and religious, that used Yiddish in their day-to-day life were largely destroyed. Around 5 million, or 85%, of the victims of the Holocaust, were speakers of Yiddish. In the decades preceding World War II, there was a tremendous growth in the recognition of Yiddish as an official Jewish European language. Seen as a Yiddish renaissance
, there had been great strides in Yiddish press and literature, including educational and scientific works, up through the 1930s, in particular in eastern European countries such as Poland
. Starting with the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939, and continuing with the destruction of Yiddish culture in Europe during the remainder of the war, Yiddish language and culture was almost completely rooted out of Europe, with no chance of ever recovering to its once great status as an international language attempting to unify the Jewish Diaspora
throughout the world.
question whether people can still have any faith in God after the Holocaust, and some of the theological responses to these questions are explored in Holocaust theology. In it orthodox Jews state their reasons for why they believe the Holocaust happened and, to a more extreme degree, why they felt the Jews of Europe deserved to die.
is barbaric," and the Holocaust has indeed had a profound impact on art and literature, for both Jews and non-Jews. Some of the more famous works are by Holocaust survivors or victims, such as Elie Wiesel
, Primo Levi
, Viktor Frankl
and Anne Frank
, but there is a substantial body of literature and art in many languages. Indeed, Paul Celan
wrote his poem Todesfuge as a direct response to Adorno's dictum.
The Holocaust has also been the subject of many films, including Oscar winners Schindler's List
, The Pianist
and Life Is Beautiful
. With the aging population of Holocaust survivors, there has been increasing attention in recent years to preserving the memory of the Holocaust. The result has included extensive efforts to document their stories, including the Survivors of the Shoah project and Four Seasons Documentary, as well as institutions devoted to memorializing and studying the Holocaust
, including Yad Vashem
in Israel and the US Holocaust Museum
. The historic tale of the Danish Jews fleeing to Sweden by fishing boat is recounted in an award-winning American children's novel.
created before the Holocaust. The reason is that huge amounts of works of art were looted by the Nazis from Jewish art collectors and dealers, either through outright theft
or fire sale
s under extreme duress
. Although the original owners were in turn brutally murdered during the Holocaust, many of their relatives survived, and naturally would like to retrieve their long-lost family heirlooms. A current owner cannot simply plead ignorance of an artwork's terrible history, since a thief can never convey good title
. One who purchases stolen property from a thief must give the property back to its rightful owner and sue the thief (if he has not already vanished) for fraud
to get one's money back.
Thus, any work of art that existed prior to 1945 has a potential provenance
problem. This is a serious obstacle for anyone who currently collects pre-1945 European art. To avoid wasting thousands or even millions of dollars, they must verify (normally with the assistance of an art historian and a lawyer specializing in art law) that potential acquisitions were not stolen by the Nazis from a Holocaust victim. The highest-profile legal case arising from this problem is the U.S. Supreme Court decision of Republic of Austria v. Altmann
(2006), in which the Court held that U.S. courts could retroactively apply the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act
of 1976 to Austria
for torts that allegedly occurred before 1976. As a result of that decision, Maria Altmann was eventually able to retrieve the art stolen from her family.
General Assembly voted on November 1, 2005, to designate January 27 as the "International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust." January 27, 1945 is the day that the former Nazi concentration and extermination camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated. The day had already been observed as Holocaust Memorial Day a number of countries. Israel
and the Jewish diaspora
observe Yom HaShoah Ve-Hagvora
, the "Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust and the courage of the Jewish people," on the 27th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan
, which generally falls in April.
of Jews during World War II
—usually referred to as the Holocaust
—did not occur in the manner and to the extent described by current scholars
.
Key elements of this claim are the rejection of the following: that the Nazi government had a policy of deliberately targeting Jews and people of Jewish ancestry for extermination as a people; that between seven and twelve million Jews were systematically killed by the Nazis and their allies; and that genocide
was carried out at extermination camps using tools of mass murder
, such as gas chamber
s.
Many Holocaust deniers do not accept the term "denial" as an appropriate description of their point of view, and use the term Holocaust revisionism
instead. Scholars, however, prefer the term "denial" to differentiate Holocaust deniers from historical revisionists
, who use established historical methodologies
.
Most Holocaust denial claims imply, or openly state, that the Holocaust is a hoax
arising out of a deliberate Jewish conspiracy to advance the interest of Jews at the expense of other peoples. For this reason, Holocaust denial is generally considered to be an antisemitic conspiracy theory
. The methodologies of Holocaust deniers are often criticized as based on a predetermined conclusion that ignores extensive historical evidence to the contrary.
.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
by Jewish survivors.
Evidence in Germany
For decades, Germany refused to allow access to its Holocaust-related archives in Bad ArolsenBad Arolsen
Bad Arolsen is a small town in northern Hesse, Germany, in Waldeck-Frankenberg district. From 1655 until 1918 it served as the residence town of the Princes of Waldeck-Pyrmont and then until 1929 as the capital of the Waldeck Free State...
, citing privacy concerns. In May 2006, a 20-year effort by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust history...
led to the announcement that 30–50 million pages would be made available to historians and survivors.
Displaced Persons and the State of Israel
The Holocaust and its aftermath left millions of refugees, including many Jews who had lost most or all of their family members and possessions, and often faced persistent anti-Semitism in their home countries. The original plan of the Allies was to repatriate these "Displaced Persons" to their country of origin, but many refused to return, or were unable to as their homes or communities had been destroyed. As a result, more than 250,000 languished in Displaced person camps for years after the war ended.With most displaced persons unable or unwilling to return to their former homes in Europe and with restrictions to immigration to many western countries remaining in place, Palestine became the primary destination for many Jewish refugees. However, as local Arabs opposed the immigration, the United Kingdom refused to allow Jewish refugees into the Mandate, and many countries in the Soviet Bloc made emigration difficult. Former Jewish partisans in Europe, along with the Haganah
Haganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
in Palestine, organized a massive effort to smuggle Jews into Palestine, called Berihah
Berihah
Bricha was the underground organized effort that helped Jewish Holocaust survivors escape post-World War II Europe to the British Mandate for Palestine in violation of the White Paper of 1939...
, which eventually transported 250,000 Jews (both DPs and those who hid during the war) to the Mandate. By 1952, the Displaced Persons camps were closed, with over 80,000 Jewish DPs in the United States, about 136,000 in Israel, and another 20,000 in other nations, including Canada and South Africa.
Resurgence of antisemitism
The few Jews in Poland were augmented by returnees from the Soviet Union and survivors from camps in Germany. However, a resurgence of antisemitism in Poland, such as the Kraków pogromKraków pogrom
The Kraków pogrom refers to the events that occurred on August 11, 1945, in the city of Kraków, Poland, which resulted in one dead and five wounded victims.-Background:...
on August 11, 1945, and more importantly the July 4, 1946 Kielce pogrom
Kielce pogrom
The Kielce pogrom was an outbreak of violence against the Jewish community in the city of Kielce, Poland on July 4, 1946, perpetrated by a mob of local townsfolk and members of the official government forces of the People's Republic of Poland...
led to the exodus of a large part of the Jewish population, which no longer felt safe in Poland. Anti-Jewish riots also broke out in several other Polish cities
Anti-Jewish violence in Poland, 1944-1946
Anti-Jewish Violence In Poland, 1944–1946 refers to a series of violent incidents that immediately followed the end of the Second World War in Poland and influenced postwar history of Jews as well as Polish Jewish relations. The exact number of Jewish victims is a subject of debate, but the range...
where many Jews were killed.
An important reason for the atrocities was a widespread Polish belief that the Jews were supporters of the new communist regime and the new oppressors of the Polish state. This belief, termed "Żydokomuna
Zydokomuna
Żydokomuna is a pejorative antisemitic stereotype which came into use between World Wars I and II, blaming Jews for the rise of communism in Poland, where communism was identified as part of a wider Jewish-led conspiracy to seize power....
", was fuelled by fact that Poland's postwar Communist government was Jewish-dominated. Two out of three communist leaders who dominated Poland between 1948 and 1956 (Jakub Berman
Jakub Berman
Jakub Berman was born into a middle-class Jewish family. Berman first became a prominent communist in prewar Poland. Toward the end of World War II he joined the Politburo of the Soviet-formed Polish United Workers' Party...
and Hilary Minc
Hilary Minc
Hilary Minc – born into a middle-class Jewish family of Oskar Minc and Stefania née Fajersztajn – was a communist politician in Stalinist Poland and pro-Soviet Marxist economist. Minc joined the Communist Party of Poland before World War II...
) were of Jewish origin. The attitude of Christian Poles toward the Jewish Poles hardened significantly and hundreds of Jews were killed in anti-Jewish violence. Some were simply killed for financial reasons. The widespread Polish view of the Jews as communist traitors had led to massacres already in the 1920s. As a result of the exodus the number of Jews in Poland decreased from 200,000 in the years immediately after the war to 50,000 in 1950 and to 6,000 by the 1980s.
Lesser post-war pogroms also broke out in Hungary.
Survivors' welfare in Israel
As of 2005, 40% of the 400,000 Holocaust survivors living in Israel live below the poverty line, resulting in heated and dramatic protests on the part of survivors against the Israeli government and related agencies. The average rate of cancerCancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
among survivors is nearly two and a half times that of the national average, while the average rate of colon cancer, attributed to the victims' experience of starvation and extreme stress, is nine times higher.
Searching for records of victims
There has a been a recent resurgence of interest by descendants of survivors in researching the fates of their relatives. Yad VashemYad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
provides a searchable database of three million names, about half of the known Jewish victims. Yad Vashem's Central Database of Shoah Victims Names is searchable over the Internet yadvashem.org or in person at the Yad Vashem complex in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Other databases and lists of victims' names, some searchable over the Web, are listed in Holocaust (resources).
Effect on Yiddish language and culture
On the eve of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, there were 11 to 13 million Yiddish speakers in the world. The Holocaust, however, led to a dramatic, sudden decline in the use of Yiddish, as the extensive Jewish communities, both secular and religious, that used Yiddish in their day-to-day life were largely destroyed. Around 5 million, or 85%, of the victims of the Holocaust, were speakers of Yiddish. In the decades preceding World War II, there was a tremendous growth in the recognition of Yiddish as an official Jewish European language. Seen as a Yiddish renaissance
Yiddish Renaissance
The Yiddish Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement which began among Jews in Eastern Europe during the latter part of the 19th Century. Some of the leading founders of this movement were Mendele Moykher-Sforim , I.L...
, there had been great strides in Yiddish press and literature, including educational and scientific works, up through the 1930s, in particular in eastern European countries such as Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. Starting with the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939, and continuing with the destruction of Yiddish culture in Europe during the remainder of the war, Yiddish language and culture was almost completely rooted out of Europe, with no chance of ever recovering to its once great status as an international language attempting to unify the Jewish Diaspora
Jewish diaspora
The Jewish diaspora is the English term used to describe the Galut גלות , or 'exile', of the Jews from the region of the Kingdom of Judah and Roman Iudaea and later emigration from wider Eretz Israel....
throughout the world.
Holocaust theology
On account of the magnitude of the Holocaust, many theologians have re-examined the classical theological views on God's goodness and actions in the world. Some believers and former believersApostasy
Apostasy , 'a defection or revolt', from ἀπό, apo, 'away, apart', στάσις, stasis, 'stand, 'standing') is the formal disaffiliation from or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person. One who commits apostasy is known as an apostate. These terms have a pejorative implication in everyday...
question whether people can still have any faith in God after the Holocaust, and some of the theological responses to these questions are explored in Holocaust theology. In it orthodox Jews state their reasons for why they believe the Holocaust happened and, to a more extreme degree, why they felt the Jews of Europe deserved to die.
Art and literature
Theodor Adorno famously commented that "writing poetry after AuschwitzAuschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
is barbaric," and the Holocaust has indeed had a profound impact on art and literature, for both Jews and non-Jews. Some of the more famous works are by Holocaust survivors or victims, such as Elie Wiesel
Elie Wiesel
Sir Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel KBE; born September 30, 1928) is a Hungarian-born Jewish-American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of 57 books, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz, Buna, and...
, Primo Levi
Primo Levi
Primo Michele Levi was an Italian Jewish chemist and writer. He was the author of two novels and several collections of short stories, essays, and poems, but is best known for If This Is a Man, his account of the year he spent as a prisoner in the Auschwitz concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland...
, Viktor Frankl
Viktor Frankl
Viktor Emil Frankl M.D., Ph.D. was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist as well as a Holocaust survivor. Frankl was the founder of logotherapy, which is a form of Existential Analysis, the "Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy"...
and Anne Frank
Anne Frank
Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank is one of the most renowned and most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Acknowledged for the quality of her writing, her diary has become one of the world's most widely read books, and has been the basis for several plays and films.Born in the city of Frankfurt...
, but there is a substantial body of literature and art in many languages. Indeed, Paul Celan
Paul Celan
Paul Celan was a poet and translator...
wrote his poem Todesfuge as a direct response to Adorno's dictum.
The Holocaust has also been the subject of many films, including Oscar winners Schindler's List
Schindler's List
Schindler's List is a 1993 American film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, and based on the novel Schindler's Ark...
, The Pianist
The Pianist (2002 film)
The Pianist is a 2002 biographical war film directed by Roman Polanski, starring Adrien Brody. It is an adaptation of the autobiography of the same name by Jewish-Polish musician Władysław Szpilman...
and Life Is Beautiful
Life Is Beautiful
Life Is Beautiful is a 1997 Italian film which tells the story of a Jewish Italian, Guido Orefice , who must employ his fertile imagination to help his family during their internment in a Nazi concentration camp.At the 71st Academy Awards in 1999, Benigni won the Academy Award for Best Actor and...
. With the aging population of Holocaust survivors, there has been increasing attention in recent years to preserving the memory of the Holocaust. The result has included extensive efforts to document their stories, including the Survivors of the Shoah project and Four Seasons Documentary, as well as institutions devoted to memorializing and studying the Holocaust
Holocaust memorials
A number of organizations, museums and monuments are intended to serve as memorials to the Holocaust and its millions of victims. They include:-Argentina:* Museo del Holocausto de Buenos Aires -Australia:...
, including Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
in Israel and the US Holocaust Museum
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust history...
. The historic tale of the Danish Jews fleeing to Sweden by fishing boat is recounted in an award-winning American children's novel.
Art created before the Holocaust
The Holocaust also had a major impact on works of artWork of art
A work of art, artwork, art piece, or art object is an aesthetic item or artistic creation.The term "a work of art" can apply to:*an example of fine art, such as a painting or sculpture*a fine work of architecture or landscape design...
created before the Holocaust. The reason is that huge amounts of works of art were looted by the Nazis from Jewish art collectors and dealers, either through outright theft
Theft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
or fire sale
Fire sale
A fire sale is the sale of goods at extremely discounted prices, typically when the seller faces bankruptcy or other impending distress. The term may originally have been based on the sale of goods at a heavy discount due to fire damage...
s under extreme duress
Duress
In jurisprudence, duress or coercion refers to a situation whereby a person performs an act as a result of violence, threat or other pressure against the person. Black's Law Dictionary defines duress as "any unlawful threat or coercion used... to induce another to act [or not act] in a manner...
. Although the original owners were in turn brutally murdered during the Holocaust, many of their relatives survived, and naturally would like to retrieve their long-lost family heirlooms. A current owner cannot simply plead ignorance of an artwork's terrible history, since a thief can never convey good title
Title (property)
Title is a legal term for a bundle of rights in a piece of property in which a party may own either a legal interest or an equitable interest. The rights in the bundle may be separated and held by different parties. It may also refer to a formal document that serves as evidence of ownership...
. One who purchases stolen property from a thief must give the property back to its rightful owner and sue the thief (if he has not already vanished) for fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
to get one's money back.
Thus, any work of art that existed prior to 1945 has a potential provenance
Provenance
Provenance, from the French provenir, "to come from", refers to the chronology of the ownership or location of an historical object. The term was originally mostly used for works of art, but is now used in similar senses in a wide range of fields, including science and computing...
problem. This is a serious obstacle for anyone who currently collects pre-1945 European art. To avoid wasting thousands or even millions of dollars, they must verify (normally with the assistance of an art historian and a lawyer specializing in art law) that potential acquisitions were not stolen by the Nazis from a Holocaust victim. The highest-profile legal case arising from this problem is the U.S. Supreme Court decision of Republic of Austria v. Altmann
Republic of Austria v. Altmann
Republic of Austria v. Altmann, 541 U.S. 677 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act applies retroactively...
(2006), in which the Court held that U.S. courts could retroactively apply the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act
Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act
The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 is a United States law, codified at Title 28, §§ 1330, 1332, 1391, 1441, and 1602-1611 of the United States Code, that establishes the limitations as to whether a foreign sovereign nation may be sued in U.S. courts—federal or state...
of 1976 to Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
for torts that allegedly occurred before 1976. As a result of that decision, Maria Altmann was eventually able to retrieve the art stolen from her family.
Holocaust Memorial Days
The United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
General Assembly voted on November 1, 2005, to designate January 27 as the "International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust." January 27, 1945 is the day that the former Nazi concentration and extermination camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated. The day had already been observed as Holocaust Memorial Day a number of countries. Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and the Jewish diaspora
Jewish diaspora
The Jewish diaspora is the English term used to describe the Galut גלות , or 'exile', of the Jews from the region of the Kingdom of Judah and Roman Iudaea and later emigration from wider Eretz Israel....
observe Yom HaShoah Ve-Hagvora
Yom HaShoah
Yom HaZikaron laShoah ve-laG'vurah , known colloquially in Israel and abroad as Yom HaShoah and in English as Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Holocaust Day, is observed as Israel's day of commemoration for the approximately six million Jews and five million others who perished in the...
, the "Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust and the courage of the Jewish people," on the 27th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan
Nisan
Nisan is the first month of the ecclesiastical year and the seventh month of the civil year, on the Hebrew calendar. The name of the month is Babylonian; in the Torah it is called the month of the Aviv, referring to the month in which barley was ripe. It is a spring month of 30 days...
, which generally falls in April.
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the claim that the genocideGenocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
of Jews during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
—usually referred to as the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
—did not occur in the manner and to the extent described by current scholars
Scientific consensus
Scientific consensus is the collective judgment, position, and opinion of the community of scientists in a particular field of study. Consensus implies general agreement, though not necessarily unanimity. Scientific consensus is not by itself a scientific argument, and it is not part of the...
.
Key elements of this claim are the rejection of the following: that the Nazi government had a policy of deliberately targeting Jews and people of Jewish ancestry for extermination as a people; that between seven and twelve million Jews were systematically killed by the Nazis and their allies; and that genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
was carried out at extermination camps using tools of mass murder
Mass murder
Mass murder is the act of murdering a large number of people , typically at the same time or over a relatively short period of time. According to the FBI, mass murder is defined as four or more murders occurring during a particular event with no cooling-off period between the murders...
, such as gas chamber
Gas chamber
A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. The most commonly used poisonous agent is hydrogen cyanide; carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide have also been used...
s.
Many Holocaust deniers do not accept the term "denial" as an appropriate description of their point of view, and use the term Holocaust revisionism
Historical revisionism (negationism)
Historical revisionism is either the legitimate scholastic re-examination of existing knowledge about a historical event, or the illegitimate distortion of the historical record such that certain events appear in a more or less favourable light. For the former, i.e. the academic pursuit, see...
instead. Scholars, however, prefer the term "denial" to differentiate Holocaust deniers from historical revisionists
Historical revisionism
In historiography, historical revisionism is the reinterpretation of orthodox views on evidence, motivations, and decision-making processes surrounding a historical event...
, who use established historical methodologies
Methodology
Methodology is generally a guideline for solving a problem, with specificcomponents such as phases, tasks, methods, techniques and tools . It can be defined also as follows:...
.
Most Holocaust denial claims imply, or openly state, that the Holocaust is a hoax
Hoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
arising out of a deliberate Jewish conspiracy to advance the interest of Jews at the expense of other peoples. For this reason, Holocaust denial is generally considered to be an antisemitic conspiracy theory
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
. The methodologies of Holocaust deniers are often criticized as based on a predetermined conclusion that ignores extensive historical evidence to the contrary.
See also
Documentaries that have to do with life after the Holocaust:- Marion's TriumphMarion's TriumphMarion's Triumph is a 2003 documentary that tells the story of Marion Blumenthal Lazan, a child Holocaust survivor, who recounts her painful childhood memories in order to preserve history. The film combines rare historic footage, animated flashbacks, and family photographs to illustrate the...
- The Boys of BuchenwaldThe Boys of BuchenwaldThe Boys of Buchenwald is a 2002 documentary film that examines how the child survivors of the Buchenwald concentration camp had to assimilate themselves back into normal society after having experienced the brutality of the Holocaust...
- Pola's MarchPola's MarchPola's March is a 2001 documentary made by Jonathan Gruber about a Holocaust survivor, Pola Susswein's emotional trip back to her childhood home in Poland after fifty years spent in Israel, trying to forget her painful past.-Summary:...
- Luboml: My Heart Remembers
- Secondary antisemitismSecondary antisemitismSecondary antisemitism is a distinct kind of antisemitism which is said to have appeared after the end of World War II. It is often explained as being caused by —as opposed to in spite of— Auschwitz, pars pro toto for the Holocaust. One frequently quoted formulation of the concept, first published...
- Reparations Agreement between Israel and West GermanyReparations Agreement between Israel and West GermanyThe Reparations Agreement between Israel and West Germany was signed on September 10, 1952, and entered in force on March 27, 1953...
Further reading
External links, references, and other resources are listed at Holocaust (resources)Holocaust (resources)
This is a selected bibliography and other resources for The Holocaust.- Historical studies :* Bauer, Yehuda. Rethinking the Holocaust. Yale University Press; New Ed edition, 2002. ISBN 0-300-09300-4....
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