ABSTRACT
Holocaust deniers argue that they are exposing the truth, putting Holocaust scholars in the position of having to refute the deniers’ findings. Holocaust rebukers like this technique because it makes their falsehoods sound scholarly, as if they have academic validity and respect, and it puts real intellectuals on the defensive. Holocaust denial is a form of hate speech, and it is on the rise around the world. A neo-Nazi interviewed on CNN said that he would never be convinced that six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust and claimed that the Nazis were misunderstood; he epitomizes the deniers’ point of view. Hate can be spread more rapidly online, making it easier to promote the fallacy that the Holocaust is a myth or a hoax. Root causes of Holocaust denial are antisemitism, hatred and racism.
