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Revisionists Only Deny One Aspect of Holocaust Story: Butz
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:
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 http://pubweb.northwestern.edu/~abutz/abhdhr.html since 1997:
Arthur Butz. Holocaust Denial or Holocaust Revisionism?
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. The book is available from the Institute for Historical Review. Since 1980 he has been a member of the Editorial Advisory Committee of The Journal of Historical Review, published by the Institute for Historical Review.
MS/HG
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