Arthur Butz's courageous interview for Iranian media

[zgrams at zgrams.zundelsite.org]

Title: 

Prof. Butz: Revisionists only deny one aspect of Holocaust story 

  http://www.mehrnews.ir/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=285640 

  TEHRAN, Feb. 1, 2006 (MNA) -- In the wake of the international 
uproar that  arose in response to Iranian President Mahmud 
Ahmadinejad's contention that the  Holocaust is a myth, the Mehr News 
Agency spoke with Prof. Arthur R. Butz, an  associate professor of 
electrical engineering and computer science at  Northwestern 
University, about his views on the issue.

  Following is the text of an interview of Dr. Butz conducted on December 26:  

  In 1976 I published a book entitled "The Hoax of the Twentieth 
Century", in  which I argued: 

  1. The alleged slaughter of millions of Jews by the Germans, during 
World War  II, did not happen. 

  2. The extermination allegation is properly termed a hoax, that is 
to say, a  deliberately contrived falsehood. It was not at its source 
an honest  misunderstanding or accidental falsehood. 

  3. The hoax had a Zionist provenance and motivation. That is, while 
some of  the original obscure stories did not come from Zionist 
sources, the elevation  to allegations repeated by the American and 
other governments, and major institutions, was due to Zionist circles 
within those countries, who acted with  Zionist motivations. 

  I continue to maintain those three theses, which have become core 
features of  what is called "Holocaust" revisionism. Apart from some 
nuances of wording,  the three theses were repeated by President 
Ahmadinejad. Therefore, there can  be no question that I endorse his 
remarks in those respects. 

  In the years since the publication of my book in 1976 there were two 
developments that I did not expect: 

  4. Western countries undertook a massive repression of revisionism. 
In some  cases, particularly in Europe, legally formulated 
persecution has sent  revisionists to prison, in blatant 
contradiction of the sermons we have given the rest  of the world on 
"human rights" and "freedom". In other cases, revisionists  have been 
ruined professionally with the cooperation of government bodies. 

  5. The cognizance of the "Holocaust" in the West was transformed 
into a loud,  never-ending series of ceremonies that can only be 
interpreted as religious  in nature. 

  President Ahmadinejad's remarks also included the last two 
observations, so  of course I also endorse the remarks in those 
respects. I congratulate him on  becoming the first head of state to 
speak out clearly on these issues, and  regret only that it was not a 
Western head of state. 

  His political remarks receive no comment on my side. By "political 
remarks" I  mean those that deal with questions of what ought to 
happen now. 

  Explanation:  

  Prof. Butz says he is not a Holocaust denier but a Holocaust 
revisionist.  However, he says: 

  I have no objection to being called a "Holocaust denier" provided 
the  meanings of terms are clear. The following has been on my 
website since 1997,  Holocaust Denial or Holocaust Revisionism?:

  http://pubweb.northwestern.edu/~abutz/abhdhr.html   

  A minor question that sometimes arises is the relative merits of the 
terms  "Holocaust denial" and "Holocaust revisionism" to describe the 
views on the  Jewish "extermination" claim that I and others have 
expressed. Generally, my side  says "Holocaust revisionism" and our 
enemies say "Holocaust denial". I did not  originate either term. 

  I am willing to accept both terms under appropriate circumstances, 
but I  usually say "Holocaust revisionism". 

  The problem with the term "Holocaust denial" is that it conveys, to 
most  people, a false idea of what we say. For the typical person the 
term "Holocaust"  refers to a complex of events. He thinks of Nazi 
persecution of Jews, concentration camps, crematoria, dead bodies 
strewn about camps (especially Belsen) at  the end of the war and, of 
course, "extermination" of millions of Jews in gas  chambers located 
in some camps. Thus he tends to take the meaning of  "Holocaust 
denial" as denial of all of these things, whereas we deny only the 
last  among them. The effect is to make us seem, to passing 
observers, detached from  reality. 

  In general I prefer the term "Holocaust revisionism" because it does 
not  imply a complete rejection of all that is popularly understood 
by "Holocaust", and  invites the observer to consider carefully what 
is being accepted and what is  being rejected. 

  On the other hand I, and Holocaust revisionists generally, 
emphatically  reject the "extermination" claim and, by implication, 
any figure of Jewish dead  (due to Nazi policies) in the millions. 
Provided this is what is clearly meant by  "Holocaust", I have no 
objection to calling my thesis "denial". Such a  context of 
comprehension is sometimes difficult to achieve. An exception is when 
our  enemies speak of us. They understand quite well what we do and 
do not claim,  and they also understand that most in their audiences 
do not. Thus they use  "denial" as a rhetorical device conveying an 
implicit false representation. 

=====

  Dr. Arthur R. Butz was born and raised in New York City. He received 
his  bachelor of science and master of science degrees in electrical 
engineering from  the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1965 
he received his doctorate in  control sciences from the University of 
Minnesota. In 1966 he joined the  faculty of Northwestern University 
(Evanston, Illinois). Dr. Butz is the author of  numerous technical 
papers and the book The Hoax of the Twentieth Century: The  case 
against the presumed extermination of European Jewry. 

  MS/HG

  End

  The book The Hoax of the Twentieth Century is available from: 

  www.Tadp.org 

  +++++++  www.Tadp.org

  Holocaust Handbooks, Volume 15:  Item No. 29   Germar Rudolf: 
Lectures on the Holocaust. Controversial Issues Cross Examined

  In 1976, Holocaust revisionism produced its last "standard work," if 
there  ever was such a thing: Prof. A.R. Butz' Hoax of the Twentieth 
Century. "How can  a quarter century old text not be obsolete today?" 
Butz asks in the preface of  the 2003 edition of his own book, 
pointing out "the age of this text, and the  great advances that have 
subsequently occurred in Holocaust revisionism."  Hence, there is a 
great need for a new, integrated work summarizing Holocaust 
revisionism after 30 years of very intensive and thorough research.

  And here it is, the new standard work of Holocaust revisionism! It 
was  written by German scholar, writer, and publisher Germar Rudolf, 
based on the  research of the most prominent revisionists, most of 
which Rudolf had the pleasure to  publish in a multitude of German 
and English language journals and books over  the past 15 years.

  The book was written to fit the need of both those who have no 
in-depth  knowledge of the Holocaust or of revisionism, as well as 
for well-versed readers  familiar with revisionism. Anyone who wants 
to bring himself up to date on  revisionist scholarship, but does not 
want to read all the special studies that  were published during the 
past ten years, needs this book!

  Since 1992, Rudolf has been giving lectures to various mainstream 
audiences  all over the world.*** His topic is very controversial: 
the Holocaust in the light  of new forensic and historical findings. 
His listeners initially think they  know exactly what "the Holocaust" 
is all about, but their world view is  completely turned upside down 
after the evidence is presented. Even though Rudolf presents nothing 
short of full-fledged Holocaust revisionism, his arguments fall  on 
fertile soil, because they are presented in a very pedagogically 
sensitive  and scholarly way. This book is the literary version of 
Rudolf's lectures,  enriched with the most recent finding of 
historiography to a topic regulated by  penal law in many countries.

  The book's style is unique as is its topic: It is a dialogue between 
the  lecturers on the one hand who introduce the reader to the most 
important arguments  and counter arguments of Holocaust Revisionism, 
and the reactions of the  audience on the other hand: supportive, 
skeptical, and also hostile comments,  questions, and assertions. The 
Lectures read like a vivid and exciting real-life  exchange between 
persons of various points of view. The usual moral, political,  and 
pseudoscientific arguments against revisionism are all addressed and 
refuted. 

  This book is a compendium of Frequently Asked Questions on the 
Holocaust and  its critical reexamination. With more than 1,300 
references to sources and a  vast bibliography, this 
easy-to-understand book is the best introduction into  this taboo 
topic both for readers unfamiliar with revisionism and for those 
wanting to know more.   

  US $30.00 568 pp. ., 6"x9", pb., ill., bibl., index (Aug. 2005) , 
ISBN:  1591480019 , ISSN: 1529-7748

  You can place your order at:

  www.Tadp.org

     The QUESTION: To subscribe and grow with knowledge or to 
unsubscribe and Die Stupid?  Send an E-mail to: 
RePorterNoteBook at aol.com  

***  (Ingrid's comment:  As far as I know, Germar Rudolf has NOT 
"given lectures all over the world" unless one credits him with 
having given such lectures via intensive internet work and prodigious 
publications.  Since he became a writer and researcher living in 
exile due to despicable German laws protecting the Holocaust, he has 
only lived in Britain, Mexico, and the United States - until he was 
extradited back to Germany in a camouflaged rendition to be 
imprisoned and thus silenced.) 
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