Revisionism Essay, Research Paper

Revisionists are a group of people who are different from you and me. They enjoy eating meals, spending time with friends, and some even go to church, but these reasons do not make them different. The major differene is that they do not believe that the Holocaust ever happened. Some people may think, “How can this be?” There are literaly hundreds of books, magazine articles, and web sites to show the facts of the Holocaust, yet some people still don’t believe it ever occurred. And these revisionist also have web sites. While online these revisionists let there opinions be known to anyone that is willing to listen, and each site uses a slightly different form of persuation.

The first site consisted of one man’s explanation of why he became a revisionist. The article begins with a the writer discussing how the word Nazi can no longer be used because today’s revisionists don’t wear uniforms or do any “funny saluting.” It is said that the revisionist are objects of riticual because they are not reverent to the Holocaust. In a way this is understandable. It they don’t believe something, how can they be reverent toward it? On the other hand, how can they not believe it?

Next, the writer has found evidence that shows that the gas chambers may not have been exactly what they were believed to be. He claimed that he “assumed” that it was some type of nerve gas. In reality it was either cyanide or carbon monoxide. He said that the effects that the gas chamber was supposed to have on the Jews are not the effects that cyanide or carbon monoxide has. This caused him to look farther, and he found many other statements the were not correct. After this, he encoureges people to start questioning the Holocaust.

His style of persuation is very deeply imbedded. First of all, he is almost rational in the way he claims that the revsionists are not Nazi. He even gives a few examples explaining the differences. Also, towards the end of his writing, he encourges his readers to go out and look for themselves. He almost challenges them to go out and look for loopholes in history.

A man named Arthur Butz wrote the next web site. His page was about the how some people label revisionists as people who have “Holocaust Denial.” His whole article is about how many people are not open minded enough to realize that maybe the revisionists are right. He claims that many “observers” are simply passing by their beliefs as if they are nothing. Others are accused of being “detached from reality.” He claims that he would much rather be called a Holcaust reviionist because he believes that he is not in denial. Then he says that his “enimies” have a hard time comprehending what he is saying.

Many people would probably have found Arthur Butz insulting. In his shrude and intellecual way, he tried to state what he was saying in a way that few people could understand. On top of that, he basically called his enemies stupid. And his enemies include everyone who believes that the Holocaust happened. That is a pretty brave move to call a vast majority of the population stupid, espesaly sence he is also trying to convince people that he is right.

The next web site that I have chosen is not a site the encoureges revisionism, it is one that degrades it. A man by the name of Donald J. Hunt remembered a time in his youth in which he spoke to a Holocaust suvivor. It began with his recalection that one of his mother’s friends always seemed to have a limp. One-day curiosity got the best of him, and he asked her where she got the limp.

She anwsered him in a calm voice with no anger. She simply explained that when she was very young, her family was taken to a consentration camp. She was the victim of an exparament in which the local “doctor” would break both of her femurs and see how many times they would be able to heal properly. After many times of he legs being broken again and again, they finally wouldn’t heal correctly. Right before the Germans could “dispose” of her, the camp was liberated. Mr. Hunt was in awe of this story the entire way through. He found this woman so convieveing because she had nothing to gain from making up a story like that.

Also, he mentioned other he mentioned other facts about the Holocaust. He said that, “?contrary to popular opinion and the official name of the Nazi party, Nazi Germany was not socialist.” He mentioned that many of the soldiers in the death camps felt that they were innocent because they were following orders. There was also a brief discussion that mentioned that private railroads were hired to transport people like cattle to the camps.

Of all of the sites I found on the Internet, I found this one to be the most persuasive of them all. It had no documented evidence, no famous names, and fairly short. However, it did explain how a one person came to believe that the Holocaust did happen. It was simple, but full of emotion. And emotion, particullary compassion, seems to be the one thing that many revisionists seem to lack.

Even despite the evidence, many revisionists are still out there. Why do they feel so compeld to convience people that the Holocaust never happened? Why do they choose to be a part of this minority? Because they feel that what they are doing is right. They have either convinced themselves or have been convinence by others that it is all a Hoax. How can any intellegent person believe that, you may ask. It is either because they have been brainwashed by propaganda, or because they simply hate the Jews. I personally hope that they have fallen victim to propaganda and aren’t just hating someone because they are different.

Web sites: http://codoh.com/reflectionsmirror/REVISION.HTM

http://pubweb.nwu.edu/~abutz/abhdhr.html

http://home.att.net/~reclusedon/text/again.htm

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