June 30, 1997

Good Morning from the Zundelsite:

While I was in Toronto this past month, I was given a flyer to attend a lecture given by Dr. Deborah E. Lipstadt on May 20, 1997 in Beth Emeth Bais Yehuda Synagogue.

The lecture was titled "Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory."

As it happened, I couldn't go, but I was given a handful of notes afterwards from a fellow "Holocaust Denier" who went. I am reproducing them here as they were given to me-with the understanding that they are not verbatim notes since they were taken down by hand, but summaries of what was said. Here are the pearls I missed:

Audience:

There were about 120 people in the audience, half of them males, half of them females - young, middle-aged, and older. The writer and one or two other men were the only males not wearing a yarmulke.

Prelude:

While waiting for the lecture to begin, the writer leafed through a book placed within easy reach from his seat in the synagogue. By coincidence, he came across a passage where the 9th Commandment, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor" was discussed in this book.

It was pointed out in the book that not all Jews were at all times convinced that this applied to all of mankind - but thought it might apply only to where the neighbor is a fellow Jew.

The lecture itself:

Dr. Lipstadt started off by reporting on a letter she had received from a California woman who complained that she noticed during the recent showing of the 1958-59 movie, "Judgment in Nuremberg", that a certain scene had been left out.

This scene had to do with the mention of the gassing of the Jews during the "Jewish Holocaust". Her complaint was against the power of censorship exercised - in her opinion, by the local public gas utility.

The good doctor did not address the woman's complaint at this time, but used it as an illustration of how difficult the Jews have it in the U.S., particularly in the Southern United States, to educate the public about the "Holocaust."

At one time, confided Dr. Lipstadt, a T.V. producer had invited her to be part of a discussion group, one member of which was known as a "Holocaust Denier".

She refused to do so, because one cannot enter into a rational discussion with a "Holocaust Denier". As we all know, they are arguing from false principles, and when one principle is false in one thing, then all principles are false in all things.

Dr. Lipstadt pointed out that "Holocaust Deniers" are evil people trying to discuss the "Holocaust" as if it was not unique and as if the Jews had offered no resistance.

Who are these "Holocaust Deniers"? she asked, and then answered her own question, to wit:

(a) The are anti-Semites

(b) They are Nazis, as they are spouting Nazi propaganda. They want to make Nazism acceptable. They do this by dressing like everyone else which makes it difficult to identify them. They have learned not to wear brushcuts and boots.

(c) They are immoral disputants. They are using immoral equivalents; e.g., they are saying that the Germans were no worse than others, and the Jewish Holocaust is no different than other mass killings.

They may pose as an academic, with a pipe in his mouth and wearing an old sweater, all the while pretending they are searching for the truth. They are publishing so-called academic magazines and studies.

(d) They are anti-government, even though they are trying to get elected. Examples are Pat Buchanan and David Duke.

(e) They are Revisionists - as if some new facts can change the overall picture and the public's understanding of the "Holocaust." However, they are not REALLY Revisionists but "Holocaust Deniers".

(g) They believe in Jewish conspiracies that hide the truth.

(h) They deny the truthfulness of survivors - just because they have observed that, sometimes, survivors have forgotten little details, such as whether they had to line up in the left or the right group during triage.

Lessons to be drawn:

Why do the "Holocaust Deniers" make up these denials? Not only are they anti-Semitic, they also maintain that, because of the Jewish Holocaust claim,

- the Jews got their own state, Israel

- the Jews get reparations - or, frankly expressed, money

- the "Holocaust Deniers" look for fulfillment of the ideas described in the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion."

Methods of enrollments of converts to "Holocaust Denial" are recruitment on college campuses and, nowadays, also on the Internet. For instance, when using the search engine, YAHOO, one of the first entries under "anti" happens to be "anti-Semitism".

In the United States, it is not legal to suppress Freedom of Speech - it is, of course, a different story in Canada.

This does not mean, of course, that even in the United States you have to give "Holocaust Deniers" an opportunity to speak, particularly in a Jewish-controlled facility. The First Amendment does not force you to listen to a "Holocaust Denier". If you have an open mind, you better watch out, because it may fall out of your head.

(What? Holocaust Denial? Or the First Amendment? Not clear from the notes or the comment . . . )

There are not always two sides to every story, particularly this one.

It is not true that Truth always rises to the surface.

Regrettably, in the United States, more people believe that Elvis Presley lives than know what the "Jewish Holocaust" was.

If the Jewish Holocaust story is not kept alive, there will be another one.

Because the Jewish Holocaust story is so unbelievable, it takes continuous effort to implant it into the consciousness of the peoples of the world. The bacillus of anti-Semitism never dies. Hatred and prejudice are forever present.

Comments / Question and Answer Period after the lecture:

Q: "Is it true that it is a crime in Germany to deny the Holocaust?"

A: "Yes. For Germany to enter into the family of Nations, it had to promulgate this law. It had to say: 'We did it.' Also, Germany wanted to make restitution."

Q: "How should we deal with a 'Holocaust Denier'?"

A: "Don't picket any meetings. Don't scream in public. Don't attract the media. Don't go on TV. Don't discuss the "Jewish Holocaust" story, because it gives the "Holocaust Denier" the aura of respectability. Instead, teach others to write and get published."

Q: "The Library of the University of Toronto carries "The Hoax of the 20th Century". What should be done about that?"

A: "You could borrow it, of course, and never return it - but we Jews don't do such things. Ask the librarian to set aside a special area, where only serious researchers would have access to books such as this one, as well as books from other "Holocaust Deniers" like Yehuda Bauer."

Q: "It's frustrating not to debate them."

A: "My books are not written to debate them. Debate them only if there is assurance that they will speak the truth."

Q: "A friend who is married to a German, attacked me after she had read 'Chutzpah.'"

A: "Holocaust Deniers are all anti-Semitic."

Q: "What can be done about the University of Miami, who is giving the Nation of Islam a forum?"

A: "It's certainly a mistake to let Farrakhan speak."

Q; "Canadian Hate Laws were effective against Keegstra. He can no longer disseminate hate. Can he?"

A: "Courts are not the place to try history. Hate laws can work but not reliably so. I was invited to testify against Keegstra, but luckily, I didn't have to. We have to educate people. But don't try to educate the "Holocaust Deniers", and never fight them . . . "

(end of notes)

This public lecture, you will have noticed, has just spoken for itself. To mind comes a little paragraph a reader sent me a few days ago, commenting on what is happening in Switzerland where Revisionism thought is growing leaps and bounds, thanks to the so-called "Nazi gold" scandal:

"If I'm right, this is a gamble of unprecedented scale. They've little to win, and a lot of retreat-time to lose. People need to let it be known that the Swiss aren't alone on this one. Somebody's throwing the dice "big-time" on this one.

If Volker et al are trying to re-define a thoroughly codified legal definition, they're digging their own grave with a flying spade."

Which shall be your Thought for the Day.

Ingrid

Comments? E-Mail: irimland@cts.com

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