Make Holocaust denial illegal? Scholar says no.
Posted April 6, 2009 by Carla Hinton
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Noted Holocaust scholar Deborah Lipstadt said she has heard that some people think Holocaust denial —denying the Holocaust ever happened — should be against the law, like child pornography or hate crimes.
At Sunday’s Yom HaShoah Holocaust Commemoration, Lipstadt said she is against such a measure.
She said making Holocaust denial illegal would be turning the deniers into martyrs.
She also said it would suggest that “we don’t have the evidence (that the Holocaust happened), which we do.”
Lipstadt was a powerful speaker. You could tell that she had connected with the audience because thee was complete silence. I took my 15-year-old son with me to hear her speak and he was just as enthralled by what she had to say as others in the audience.
Lipstadt said Holocaust denial is a tool for racists and promulgators of Nazi “science.” She said it is a form of prejudice and is therefore irrational.
The way to combat Holocaust denial is with facts, Lipstadt said, but be aware that most Holocaust deniers aren’t interested in fact — they’ve already “pre-judged” the situation, which is the basis for prejudice.
(PHOTO BY JOHN CLANTON, THE OKLAHOMAN: At left, Holocaust scholar Deborah Lipstadt speaks about Holocaust denial at Sunday’s annual Yom HaShoah Holocaust Commemoration at Science Museum Oklahoma)
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
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