Key manifestations of Holocaust distortion

Objectives:

• To familiarize participants with the main forms of manifestation of Holocaust distortion
• To engage participants in exploring concrete examples of Holocaust distortion encountered online and offline
• To increase participants’ critical understanding of different forms of manifestation of Holocaust distortion

Number of participants: 5–30
Duration: 90 minutes

Description of the activity

1. The trainer informs the participants that in this session they will discuss concrete forms of the manifestation of Holocaust distortion. The participants are warned that in this activity they will be faced with descriptions of behaviors that are hateful and antisemitic. The connection between Holocaust distortion and antisemitism will be discussed in more detail in Unit 3.
2. The activity starts with a one-minute video in which Holocaust survivor Ludwig Weiler refers to the speech of the Hungarian primate (Bishop) Jozsef Mindszenty:
   
3. The trainer explains that Holocaust distortion is not a new phenomenon, and that the Nazis, their collaborators and allies sought to disguise their atrocities in various ways. The trainer gives some examples of how distortion manifested itself during the Holocaust, for example:
   (a) the language used, such as the term “final solution” as a euphemism for extermination;
   (b) photos, videos or staged visits such as the visits of the Red Cross to Theresienstadt that portrayed a “normal” life in the ghettos and camps;
   (c) forcing camp prisoners to write letters to their families stating that everything was well, etc.
   Holocaust distortion continued after the end of the war and an example of such manifestation is described by Ludwig Weiler in the video: “I cannot understand all the commotion which is being created that so many Jews got killed. Afterall, there was a war, many Hungarians got killed and many other nations. Maybe, a somewhat larger percentage got killed, but I am not aware of anything serious,” said bishop.
   The forms of manifestations of Holocaust distortion have diversified throughout the years and the participants are going to reflect upon present-day manifestations.
4. The participants are divided into five groups and each group receives one or two Holocaust distortion categories from the handout.¹
5. Each group is invited to discuss the following aspects, for each category assigned to them:
   • What are the intentions of those who are engaging in these forms of Holocaust distortion?
   • Are you aware of any examples of this form of manifestation of Holocaust distortion?
6. Each group is invited to present in the plenary the main aspects of the group discussion. After each presentation, the trainer invites the other participants to contribute with examples of Holocaust distortion that fit into the categories addressed by that group. The trainer can give more examples if not enough are coming from the group or from the other participants.²
7. After all the groups present, the trainer conducts a debriefing discussion based on the following questions:
   • Were you aware of the different forms of manifestation of Holocaust distortion that exist?
   • Did any of the examples presented by colleagues surprise you? In what way?
   • In what category would you include the speech of the Hungarian Bishop
   • Who are the different entities that are engaging in Holocaust distortion?
   • Do you think that most people who are engaging in Holocaust distortion do it on purpose or out of ignorance?
   • What can be done to ensure that regular people are not attracted to/manipulated by Holocaust distortion?
8. The trainer concludes by thanking the participants for their active engagement and by stating that Holocaust distortion has a strong impact on society, both in the specific ways in which it distorts the events of the Holocaust and by contributing to, along with other manifestations, an attack on science and democratic debate and to a generalized erosion of trust, knowledge and respect for the truth.

^{1 The handouts are based on Understanding Holocaust Distortion: Contexts, Influences and Examples, published by IHRA in 2021 and on History under attack: Holocaust denial and distortion on social media, published by the UN and UNESCO in 2022.}

^{2 Annex 1 in Unit 1 provides a list of examples of manifestations of Holocaust distortion.}