Holocaust distortion more dangerous than outright denial, warns departing IHRA chief (TOI)
JTA — As the world marked 80 years on Monday since the liberation of Auschwitz, one of Germany’s most prominent Holocaust scholars said twisting the facts about the Nazi extermination of six million Jews is far more harmful than outright denial — and that such distortion is “a stepping stone from antisemitism into the mainstream.”
Kathrin Meyer, secretary-general of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, or IHRA, said she considers Holocaust distortion particularly dangerous, especially as the number of survivors dwindles with each passing year. This week, when the world focuses on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, only 50 survivors took part in ceremonies at the Nazi death camp in Poland – down from 300 just five years ago.
“Obviously, it’s an insult to the victims, but it’s also a threat to our democracy because you will not find a single radical, anti-democratic, nationalistic, imperialistic group ideology that does not have a distorted view of the Holocaust,” Meyer said about distortions that are often disguised as differing opinions rather than outright lies...
... “The events of October 7 have tragically proven us right. There cannot be a debate on antisemitism without looking into the completely biased criticism of Israel that we often see,” Meyer said. “This dramatic increase in antisemitic incidents came right after the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust. The fact that this didn’t lead to more solidarity but to more antisemitism shows how deep this hatred goes, and how irrational it often is.”
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