THE HOLOCAUST:
The New Founding Myth of American
Society
By Richard A. Widmann
The American public overwhelmingly accepts the basic tenets of the
Holocaust. It is nearly incomprehensible to most people that there are
some who are willing risk their life and liberty to revise or even deny
the main pillars of the Holocaust story – the Six Million, the
Hitler-ordered extermination of Jews, and the use of gas chambers as the
principle weapon of choice. While those who are uninformed about
revisionist arguments will understand that open debate and freedom of
speech are certainly valued rights in the United States, a public debate
over the facts of the Holocaust appears worse than useless because the
facts are "inerrant," and as such, those who advocate debate must be
exploiters of innocent victims or at minimum, falsifiers of history.
Before we are able to grasp the significance of Holocaust revisionism
or as some would call it, "Holocaust denial," we must understand the
significance of the Holocaust itself. The Holocaust can seem, not unlike
many other events in recent history, like an event in ancient history
with little relevance to the present for many in today’s society. Of
course, the details of the traditional story should be significant in
and of themselves. That is to say, the charge that Germans murdered six
million Jews and five million others (as the story has evolved) for no
good reason other than racial hatred would be quite significant. Still,
the real question is how are the events themselves, now otherwise fading
into the historical record, important or significant with regard to
contemporary American society. They are significant because the
Holocaust has impacted domestic and foreign policy as well as the
vocabulary and the cultural understanding of anyone who has been
reasonably conscious during the past 50 years.
In 1996 Roger Garaudy created a tremendous scandal with his book,
The Founding Myths of Modern Israel.
(1) This book identified several
myths that were critical for the founding of Israel including what Garaudy called, "The Myth of the Six Million."
(2) Although the word "myth"
is often understood in contemporary vernacular to mean something false,
that is not the sense of the word that Garaudy intended. The word "myth"
is derived from the Greek "mythos," meaning simply "the word based on
faith." Myth, therefore is not factual or non-factual, but something
which must be accepted on faith. A myth generally tells a sacred story
concerning the origins of the world or its creatures. Just as Garaudy
suggests that the Holocaust myth was critical in the formation of modern
Israel, I argue that it has become the founding myth of contemporary
culture and politics in the United States. It is, of course, a new myth,
and as such has usurped the earlier founding myths of our nation.
Through the years many stories have become a part of American
folklore and culture. These stories have shaped American values and
belief systems. A few of the most well known founding myths were those
of Christopher Columbus, the Pilgrims, and George Washington. Columbus
has often been cited as a "founder" of the American nation. Columbus was
seen as heroic, noble, rational, intellectual, and of course European.
The Pilgrims were dedicated to a cause despite tremendous hardship.
George Washington was noted for his honesty, "I can not tell a lie," and
for being both just and wise.
Although many additional figures and stories created a distinctive
American folklore, these three, all at one time recognized by national
holidays, were critical in the shaping of American values. By the early
twentieth century, all school children knew these stories and accepted
that Columbus was a brave explorer who demonstrated the foolishness of
those who still thought that the world was flat. Children dressed as
Pilgrims and as Indians (no "native Americans" in those days) to
commemorate the hardships of that first brutal winter in the new world.
They celebrated the tenacity of the Pilgrims who went to great lengths
for the principle of religious freedom to practice their form of
Christianity without the purview of any Pope or King. George Washington
(whose birthday was still celebrated) was held up as not only honorable
and wise but as our country’s "father." He represented our freedom and
our strength. He was like that great symbol of our country --- the eagle
holding an olive branch in one claw and in his other thirteen arrows,
symbolizing our strength and power both in peace and in war.
Today, these founding myths are all but a thing of the past. Columbus
Day has generally been removed as a holiday from school calendars.
Columbus is often derided for having "been lost" or, even worse,
criticized for leading the way for the genocidal slaughter of the
indigenous American populations by the Spanish. The Pilgrims have not
fared quite as badly, although giving thanks to God for helping us
through hardship has largely been replaced by eating orgies, football
games and shopping at the mall. Washington, like Columbus has lost his
holiday, which has been replaced by the generic "Presidents Day" where
all Presidents are apparently equally honored. Those who would denigrate
the office through lying, cheating, and stained blue dresses are now
equally honored. Washington, once thought brave and heroic now stands
beside those who have aided in the degradation of our once great nation.
In our post-World War II society, the earlier founding myths have
been replaced by the Holocaust myth. Although not yet a national holiday
in the U.S., Holocaust, Remembrance Day has been gaining increasing
attention in recent years. (3) It is probably only a matter of time before
it is fully recognized with a national holiday. While the earlier myths
are derided as Eurocentric, the Holocaust has become key to shaping our
own values and belief systems. Education World, an on-line resource for
teachers, identifies the key lessons of the Holocaust as follows, "the
fragility of democracy, the dangers of indifference, the roots and
ramifications of prejudice, and the importance of individual and civic
responsibility." (4) These "lessons" have shaped current belief systems
throughout our country. While these lessons may seem appropriate on the
surface, the emotions surrounding the Holocaust story, and perhaps the
story itself allows each of them to be corrupted in their own way. In
the name of "democracy" writers and historians are routinely imprisoned.
While combating "indifference" there is an unwillingness to face
historical truths. The ramifications of "prejudice" are forgotten when
it is taught that Germans should be hated.
A new value for the United States is the complete and total
intolerance of prejudice and racial discrimination. The Holocaust
myth teaches that prejudice and even indifference to prejudice results
in the gas chambers of Auschwitz. To combat this, we see "hate crimes"
legislation enacted by both state and federal government – so that not
only is the crime itself punished, but the intent or thought that
resulted in the crime. Hardly a week goes by without some entertainer
running afoul of a human-rights enforcement organization for having said
the wrong thing or expressed the wrong sentiment on television or the
radio or even in private conversation. Refusal to acknowledge racial
differences and intolerance of those who do, has resulted in millions of
dollars of wasted spending on failed programs such as "No Child Left
Behind" (5) and has shattered careers, most recently that of Dr. James
Watson, the noble-prize winning molecular biologist. (6)
The Holocaust values diversity at any cost. While many Americans
oppose granting amnesty to 20 million illegal immigrants and even
question U.S. policy with regard to legal immigration, leaders of both
parties advocate widespread immigration programs. The Holocaust has been
used to blame American immigration restrictions for hampering the escape
of Jews from National Socialist Germany. Restriction of immigration is
viewed as one more form of racism. Therefore, only open borders can
prevent another genocide.(7)
In it’s foreign policy the United States has adopted a position that
can only be described as "Israel, right or wrong." While acknowledgement
no less than criticism of that policy is derided as "anti-Semitism," few
are willing to brave the sure-to-follow defamation. Even seemingly
bulletproof commentators such as former President Jimmy Carter has run
afoul of the intolerance of any criticism of Zionism or American
policies relating to Israel. (8) If racial prejudice is bad, the Holocaust
promoters teach that anti-Semitism is even worse. Prohibiting a free
exchange of ideas on such matters stifles public discourse and stands
opposed not only to the First Amendment to the Constitution, but to the
very principles on which this country was founded.
The American public has found that condemnation of racial and
religious discrimination is not enough. Today White culture and European
heritage are denounced for being ultimately responsible for the thinking
and the ideologies that resulted in the Holocaust. In the heart of our
nation’s capital, in Washington DC, the United States Holocaust Memorial
Museum was founded. One of the first exhibits that one is confronted by
in the museum is a video, which condemns 2,000 years of anti-Semitism,
which it alleges, resulted in the Holocaust. This is to say,
Christianity (with its 2,000 years of history) is ultimately responsible
for Auschwitz. Today, not only is European culture under attack, but
Christianity too is denounced as not only foolish, but racist and
intolerant. Even, Ann Coulter, darling of the conservative media circle
was recently derailed by what some might consider a "liberal" rendering
of St. John’s "No One Comes to the Father, except through [Jesus],"
resulting in her defamation by the so-called Anti-Defamation League. (9)
Christian conviction that they have the only way to heaven and the only
proper relationship with the Lord Almighty is seen as one more instance
of intolerance – this time of other religions. The Holocaust myth
teaches that all are equal and to say otherwise is tantamount to
Fascism. Today, schools may display "holiday trees" and hold "holiday
concerts," they may even light Kwanzaa candles but any mention of
Christmas is seen as part of the continuum of 2,000 years of Christian
anti-Semitism.
As political correctness has evolved into out and out
thought-control, anyone who challenges the new orthodoxy quickly finds
himself ostracized, persecuted, unemployed and even unemployable. Huey
Long is remembered for having said, "Fascism will come to America, but
likely under another name, perhaps ‘anti-Fascism.’" (10) The new Fascism has
arrived in exactly such a form. In the name of "tolerance" we see
intolerance practiced daily. In the name of "anti-defamation" we see
individuals defamed and their lives ruined.
The Holocaust myth has resulted in a replacement of traditional
American values, which emphasized the heroic and noble, the wise and
intellectual, with a paranoid and neurotic thought police. It is not
only the heroes who are denigrated but even the "normal" man. In his
place stand the "victims," the oddities, and the deranged.
Indoctrination is being practiced full-time in our schools and
universities, and not only through state-mandated Holocaust curriculum
but in the general curriculum as well..
Conservatives and the American Right often shy away from the
Holocaust subject. Ironically, their attention is focused on the
symptoms of that sickness —immigration, race, and interventionist
foreign policy. At the heart of our country’s ills is its new founding
myth, the Holocaust - -and the taboo against questioning it. It can and
should be argued that even if 100% of this fantastic collection of
stories were true, the Holocaust stands at the epicenter of the American
problem today.
The Holocaust has impacted the very psyche of our nation and reshaped
our outlook as well as our most fundamental beliefs. The Holocaust is an
unhealthy myth on which to base any society or culture – for it reverses
all traditional values, replacing good with bad. A recent example is the
heroic status awarded to Oskar Schindler, a morally bankrupt individual
who made his living off of slave-labor, cheated on his spouse, and was a
traitor to his country. (11)The application of such lessons to American
culture can only result in its continuing moral degeneracy and ruin. If,
like so many myths that have gone before, it is discovered that the
Holocaust is based as much on fraud as it is on fact, and we are not
allowed to reveal that fraud, we risk sacrificing our nation on the
altar of a great taboo and thereby betray our own founding culture.
If the Holocaust as we know it, was the result of propaganda lies,
faulty memories, and fanciful exaggerations, then the revision and
correction of the historical record is not a matter for academics and
historians alone. In fact, Holocaust revisionism may be the only way to
save our nation from the Orwellian-nightmare into which it is sinking,
and return us to our original founding principles and values. Holocaust
revisionism, far from useless or evil, is a key to saving our nation
from the corrupt cultural transformation that is currently underway.
A return to our founding values can only happen by correcting the
damage that has resulted from a force-feeding of Holocaust mythology,
which promotes the unique monstrosity of one people and the universal
"righteousness" of another. Holocaust Revisionism is not a body of work
that is perfect, but it is one that is committed to a free exchange of
ideas, dedicated to correcting the historical record in the light of
day, and one which represents the heart and mind of our once great
American culture. Nearly a half century ago, Harry Elmer Barnes penned
these words:
"Unless and until we can break through the historical
blackout, now supported even by public policy, and enable the
peoples of the world to know the facts concerning international
relations during the last quarter of a century, there can be no
real hope for the peace, security and prosperity which the
present triumphs of science and technology could make possible.
The well-being of the human race, if not its very survival, is
very literally dependent on the triumph of Revisionism."
(12)
Barnes’ words ring no less true than when he wrote them. What has
changed, for the worse, is the gravity of the challenge to our American
culture..
Notes:
- Garaudy, Roger, The Founding Myths of Modern Israel.
Institute for Historical Review. Newport Beach, CA 2000.
- Ibid. pp. 96- 107.
- Holocaust Remembrance Day E-Cards are now available online:
http://cards.usmemorialday.com/cgi-bin/newcards/showthumbs.pl?q1=emay_holocaustday&log=usmemo
-
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev066.shtml
- Scott, Ralph, No Child Left Behind: The Final "Educational
Katrina?" The Occidental Quarterly Vol. 7, No. 1,
Spring 2007 pp. 17-42. Online:
http://www.theoccidentalquarterly.com
- "Fury at DNA pioneer's theory: Africans are less intelligent than Westerners,"
The Independent on Sunday. Online:
http://news.independent.co.uk/sci_tech/article3067222.ece
- Brimelow, Peter, Alien Nation: Common Sense about America's
Immigration Disasterr. Random House. New York 1995, p. 101.
Also see Kevin MacDonald's, The Culture of Critique. Praeger.
Westport, CT 1998, especially pp. 274-293.
- One of many such news stories is, "Carter Book on Israel 'Apartheid' Sparks Bitter Debate"
published by the Washington Post on Dec. 7, 2006 and available
online:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/06/AR2006120602171.html
- "ADL Condemns Ann Coulter's Comment That Jews Need 'To Be Perfected'"
available online:
http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASUS_12/5149_12.htm Coulter
defended herself against this attack with, "How Long Before the A.D.L. Kicks Out All its Jews?"
available online:
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=23174&page=1
- This quote attributed to Huey Long was recently popularized
during an interview with Sean Penn. There are many citations
to suggest that Long said exactly this, while others question the
accuracy of the quote.
- LIFE Hero of the Week Profile
Oskar Schindler
online:
http://www.life.com/Life/heroes/newsletters/nlschindler.html
- Barnes, Harry Elmer, Barnes Against the Blackout: Essays
Against Interventionism. Institute for Historical Review.
Costa Mesa, CA 1991, p 299. The actual article from whence
this quote is taken is Revisionism and
the Promotion of Peace which is contained in this collection
of Barnes' work.
This article originally appeared in Smith's Report No. 145,
December
2007
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