2. Impact of Holocaust distortion

“Human beings are so made that the ones who do the crushing feel nothing; it is the  person crushed who feels what is happening. Unless one has placed oneself on the side of  the oppressed, to feel with them, one cannot understand.” 

Simone Weil the blue one

Learning Objectives 

To raise awareness about the ways in which Holocaust distortion is spread online  and offline
To develop empathy with different groups of people impacted by Holocaust  distortion
To increase understanding of the responsibility to combat Holocaust distortion

Learning Activities 

Critical Analysis of Holocaust Distortion
The Impact of Holocaust Distortion
Further Resources

Suggestions for Trainers 

The activities in this Unit are designed to engage participants in processes of critical analysis  and reflection upon reasons, contexts and means for promoting Holocaust distortion, as well  as to understand the impact of Holocaust distortion.

In the first activity, the focus is on Holocaust distortion on social media. The activity uses data  published in 2022 by the United Nations and UNESCO in the report mentioned above. This  study analyses messages posted on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, TikTok and Twitter that  celebrate, mock and distort the history of the Holocaust, often accompanied by racism,  misogyny, homophobia and other forms of intolerance. Out of these platforms, four are  monitored and one is not (Telegram). The results show that Holocaust denial and distortion  were present on all online platforms, including platforms with targeted content moderation  policies to address Holocaust denial and distortion. On these platforms, Holocaust denial is  less present, but Holocaust distortion is far more common and takes various forms. The reason for using statistics in this activity is to raise awareness about the prevalence of  Holocaust distortion on social media and to stimulate reflection upon the need to take action  against it.

The case studies used in this activity are examples of Holocaust distortion that either trivialize  the Holocaust (by mocking it), use it for commercial gains (TikTok challenge to attract  followers) draw irresponsible comparisons between the Holocaust and current events with disregard to historical facts and context, in ways that downplay the systematic murder of the

Jews in Europe (use of yellow star in relation to covid pandemic or the “Holocaust on your  plate” exhibition) or glorify the Roma genocide*.

The trainer should explain to the participants that comparing the Holocaust with other issues is a legitimate endeavor, which can help better understand similarities, concepts and mechanism that lead to genocide and serve to learn from the past in a way that is meaningful  in the present. The concern in not about meaningful comparisons, but about drawing  equivalences in ways that diminish the magnitude and the relevance of the Holocaust, that  infringe upon the human dignity of the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, that trivialize or misappropriates the history of the Holocaust for a political or ideological agenda.

The United Nations and UNESCO found that Holocaust distortion is often present alongside  racism, homophobia, misogyny and xenophobia on social media. Holocaust distortion “can be considered as part of a broader pattern of radical online counterculture. These prejudices, attitudes and ideologies help to explain, for example, why some mock, deride and celebrate  the Holocaust. Hateful ideas such as homophobia and misogyny fuel antisemitism when Jews are held to be the source of any manner of perceived ‘problems’ and ‘threats’.”**

In the second activity, the focus is on the impact of Holocaust distortion upon different  members of the society. This activity will help participants understand the fact that Holocaust  distortion has a strong negative impact upon people with different backgrounds, with different professions, an impact that extends to the entire society.

*Glorifying the Roma genocide is only one form of distorting the persecution of Roma. A comprehensive overview of the different forms of manifestation is presented in the study published in 2022 by The Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities and the Roma Program at the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard University: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2464/2022/11/The-Roma-Holocaust Roma-Genocide-in-Southeastern-Europe-Report-1.pdf

**History under attack: Holocaust denial and distortion on social media (2022), UN and UNESCO, p.53