Holocaust Denial Essay Example for Free

Holocaust Denial Essay David Irving has claimed that the Holocaust was a hoax and that there were no gas chambers in Auschwitz; discuss the evidence for and against this claim. One is astonished in the study of history at the recurrence of the idea that evil must be forgotten, distorted, skimmed over. The difficulty, of course, with this philosophy is that history loses its value as an incentive and example; it paints perfect men and noble nations, but it does not tell the truth. -W.E.B Du Bois, Black Reconstruction, 1935. There could not be a more appropriate account to go with the debate between Holocaust deniers, and those who see it as a genuine event in history. From our mid teens we are taught about the events that occurred under Hitlers reign, the most horrific of those being the mass genocide of an estimated eleven million people, many of which Jews, during the Holocaust. It is also taught that the most famous extermination camp existed at Auschwitz, where up to 10000 people were exterminated per day. These are exactly the kind of facts that were presented to me during school, and to many others; some individuals, however, claim that this horrific event never took place. Those who claim the Holocaust did not appear as traditional history describes, believe that the current mainstream understanding of the Holocaust is the result of a deliberate Jewish conspiracy created to advance the interest of Jews at the expense of other nations. (1) A statement remarkably closely related to the anti-Semitic views of the Nazis. In the case of Holocaust deniers, it is more of a case of a lack of evidence which they use to promote their views; no conclusive evidence has been presented, with numerous Holocaust deniers admitting to have lied about so called facts. (2) The main claims which Holocaust deniers make are that the Nazis had no formal policy or plan of exterminating Jews. That Nazis did not use gas chambers to mass-murder Jews, and that the figure of between 5 and 6 million Jewish deaths is a significant exaggeration and the actual number is much lower, a few hundred thousand at most. Other claims include the notion that the documentary evidence in support of the Holocaust, photographs and the Diary of Anne Frank for example, is fabricated, that survivor testimonies are unreliable, and that the Nazi prisoners confessions were obtained through the use of torture a process which can lead to inaccurate information. (3) One example of survivor testimonies being unpredictable is an excerpt of a conversation David Irving supposedly had with a survivor: IRVING: You said you saw smoke coming from the crematoria? SURVIVOR: Absolutely IRVING: Is that correct? SURVIVOR: Correct IRVING: But crematoria do not smoke, Mrs Altman. Go and visit your local crematorium in Sydney (Evans (2002) page 142) Irving took challenging the Holocaust to the extreme, and proclaimed himself as a Hitler supporter, which may have something to do with him living, working and studying in Germany for many years. In Irvings book, Hitlers War, he states that Hitler did not order the extermination of Europes Jews: the mass killings must have been carried out by Himmler and his cohorts behind Hitlers back (4) The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) states that The Institute does not deny the Holocaust. And that there is no dispute over the fact that large numbers of Jews were deported to concentration camps and ghettos, or that many Jews died or were killed during World War II. But that the Holocaust the alleged extermination of some six million Jews (most of them by gassing) is a hoax and should be recognized as such by Christians and all informed, honest and truthful men everywhere. More than being just a pro-Nazi viewpoint, Holocaust deniers believe that the death-toll amount which is widely accepted is a falsehood in an attempt to get more compensation, and sympathy. It is believed that the interest of the Zionist movement is to augment the amount of Holocaust deaths so that their gains will be greater. (5) The Holocaust deniers maintain that the Holocaust is a myth in order to establish the possibilities which can occur when an individual or group of people try to play God. This claim may have resulted from various factors, and in many cases of a denial, a particular political agenda backs it up, along with their own personal beliefs colouring their view. To fully understand the claims of these people, both sides of the debate must be looked at. The case which acknowledges the Holocaust as it is presented has much more convincing evidence, the most notable of which being photographs, video footage and personal accounts. Where the Holocaust deniers get their supposed evidence from however, is the jigsaw in which the evidence which shows the Holocaust as the event were taught it to be is made up of. Those denying the event say that the pieces of primary sources which prove the existence of the Holocaust, are in fact fabricated in an attempt to make people think that certain events happened when thy in fact, did not. (1) There are many accounts from survivors of the Holocaust, a selection of which exists in Lyn Smiths Forgotten Voices of the Holocaust, within which mentions the implementation of the final solution. In the same note it is said that upon arrival, most were sent immediately to the gas chamber and crematorium. (6). For females in concentration camps it was an even more shocking ordeal regularly being raped, and on giving birth having their babies taken from them to be murdered. Dennis Avey, a British prisoner of war at Auschwitz gives his account: Now dreadful things were happening in Auschwitz-Birkenau during 1944. They were gassing and burning thousands of people who could not work any more because of their failing strength; I knew practically everything that was going on thereThey just put them into the gas chambers using this Zyklon B gas and then they were burned. And this happened day in and day out. (6) There are many other accounts which describe similar stories, such a vast amount of matching testimonies can not possibly be a fabrication, but that is not the only evidence which supports the events of the Holocaust and Auschwitz. There are many photographs of the gas chambers, and of mass graves. Not only is there masses of evidence recorded to verify the authenticity of the Holocaust; but it is backed up by sworn testimony from both victims and the culprits. In addition to this there is evidence which Allied soldiers discovered when they liberated the camps. There is also a host of documentary evidence; the Nazis were extremely particular about keeping records, some of which were presented as evidence to the Nuremberg Tribunal and a set of evidence from several post-war trials. As well as archaeological evidence as further proof, there are bookings by the SS for the special trains to Auschwitz and other extermination camps. Of course, the issue which arises with both of these claims, and history as a whole, is that unless someone is actually present at an event and experiencing something, they have no way of knowing exactly what went on during a given time and date. It is for these reasons which we need to rely on sources other than ourselves to understand the past, and a primary source is the most reliable place to look first. Talking with a Holocaust survivor, reading the diaries like that of a certain Anne Frank hiding from the Gestapo, and looking at pictures and videos from Nazi Germany at that time allows for the closest link possible from today to the days gone by, and rejecting these ideas as a fabrication severs the best link to the truth. Holocaust deniers will be inclined to believe what they want to be true, even if it does not match up historically. The Holocaust was a dismal time not only for the Jewish race, but also a cataclysmic event in the history of mankind. The idea that not all people are equal and those of less value need to be exterminated is a notion that should never have occurred. The evidence that we have today appears to confirm that the Jewish Genocide by the Nazi people was a real event. In addition, it is extremely difficult to reasonably doubt this event and believe that people would lie about such an ordeal. References 1. Gizon, A. (2009). Holocaust. www.projectaladin.org. [Last accessed 23 June 2010] 2. Nikzor, P. (2008). David Irving. www.nizkor.org. [Last accessed 23 June 2010] 3. Lipstadt, D. (2009). Denying the Holocaust. www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars. [Last accessed 23 June 2010] 4. Irving, D. (1991). Hitlers War. London: Focal Point Publications. 5. Austin, B. (2004). Holocaust Denial. www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org. [Last accessed 23 June 2010] 6. Smith, L. (2005). Forgotten Voices of the Holocaust. London: Ebury Press. P.156/210

Sleepwalking :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Sleepwalking Many people have heard of sleepwalking and even know about symptoms that surround the disorder, but is there more to the story than just waking up during the night and wandering around in an unaware state? What actually causes someone to sleepwalk? To try to understand the answers to these questions it is important to understand not only what kind of disorder it is, but who has the disorder, how frequently it occurs, what the symptoms are, as well as what the treatments are. By exploring these areas, it may be possible to better understand the disorder as well as dispel old notions about it. The Parasomnias are disorders that intrude into the sleep process and create disruptive sleep-related events. Arousal disorders are parasomnia disorders presumed to be due to an abnormal arousal mechanism. These arousals occur when a person is in a mixed state of being both asleep and awake, generally coming from the deepest stage of nondreaming sleep, stages 3 and 4. This means a person is awake enough to act out complex behaviors but still asleep and not aware or able to remember these actions (1). One of the most common types of arousal disorders is somnambulism, more commonly known as sleepwalking. Somnambulism affects children much more regularly than adults. In fact, sleepwalking affects approximately 1% to 17% of children and is more frequently seen in boys. Interestingly, 15% of children aged 5-12 years sleepwalk at least once, but only 3-6% sleepwalk more than once (5). It has been noted that the incidence of sleepwalking decreases with age. Although the exact prevalence of sleepwalking in adults is not known, it is estimated to be as high as 10%.(4). It has also been noted that those individuals who start to sleepwalk as adults are more prone to serious problems with it. Because it is found more commonly in children, who are undergoing many physical and chemical changes, if it is seen to start in adults it is thought to be linked to mental disturbances other than fatigue or anxiety. However, mental disturbances can be present without counting as a symptom(3). No one seems to know exactly what the cause of somnambulism is, but there are theories that have been suggested. Once asleep, it is thought that the part of the brain that controls muscle function is aroused and the "sleepwalker" begins to move even though he or she is still asleep (2).

Political Globalization Essay

Traditionally, globalization is equated with modern economic development. Modern economic development is the institutionalization of capitalist structures which aimed to create the so-called â€Å"uniform world market. † However, in recent decades however, social theorists were able to point two fundamental political transformations. The first transformation involved the development of nation-states – one of the requisites of globalization (modern political institutions are necessary to achieve economic development – in the rubric of modern economic theory). The second transformation involved the end of ideological battle between Communism and Western democracy. In the second transformation, political globalization was manifested. After the Second World War, the world was divided into two camps: the Eastern Communist bloc and the West (known as the Cold War). Many developing countries – those in the Third World – became pawns of the United States and the Soviet Union. In 1990, the Soviet Union disintegrated, ending the Cold War. Thus, Western democracy became the â€Å"norm† of political development in many countries. Many countries adopted Western type political institutions, in the hope of making democracy more participative (Held and McGrew, 2007). Corollary to this was the development of the so-called â€Å"intergovernmental institutions. † These institutions linked political power and geography. For example, the International Criminal Court was established to address specified crimes like genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The court was involved in highly controversial cases like the war in Serbia. By exercising its interstate authority, the court was able to affirm its democratic obligation. Not only was the internal political structure of the state determined, its external boundary was also conditioned. Here we can juxtapose that political globalization occurred, Western type and under the guidance of the United States. The United States though acted discouraged some countries to agree in the proposed amendment to the charter of the International Criminal Court. The United States feared a sudden change of political fortunes of aspiring nations like China and the Russian Federation. The uniformization of legal norms would severely hamper the United States in â€Å"forcing† countries economic and political manifestations or favors. Reference Held, David and Anthony McGrew. 2007. Globalization. Retrieved on January 7, 2007 from http://www. polity. co. uk/global/globalization-oxford. asp.

The Improvised Explosive Device ( Ied ) Essay - 1450 Words

Winston Churchill said, â€Å"You can always count on the Americans to do the right thing-after they have tried everything else†.1 Three years after field commanders requested Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles the Pentagon approved the request and asked Congress to pay the bill.2 The defeat of Saddam Hussein by Coalition Forces created a growing insurgency in Iraq from the summer of 2003 through the surge of U.S. Forces in 2008. The improvised explosive device (IED), the insurgent’s choice weapon, was responsible for 50-80% of U.S. deaths from 2005 through 2008.3 A CNN poll conducted in March 2003 showed 72% of Americans supported the war in Iraq and 3 years later only half that number, 36%, of Americans supported the war in Iraq.4 Public support for the war diminished as deaths increased while U.S. Forces conducted non-kinetic operations focused on rebuilding Iraq. Also during this time, Congress began to ask the Pentagon why they could not defeat the IED threat. Despite mounting Congressional pressure, the Pentagon was not prepared to procure MRAPs under a normal acquisition process. Ultimately, Secretary Gates made the rapid acquisition of the MRAP his number one priority.5 This essay will highlight three factors that made the MRAP acquisition program different from a normal acquisition. First, Congress and Secretary Gates, called for immediate MRAP procurement. Next, MRAP procurement was unexpected as the Pentagon planned to be in and out of Iraq quickly.Show MoreRelatedHow the Invention of Gunpowder Evolved into Many Other Things634 Words   |  3 PagesGunpowder is an explosive element that burns rapidly to produce a high pressure gas. Enlargement of this gas inside the barrel of a gun can accelerate a bullet to great rapidity. Furthermore, gunpowder is consequently used as a propellant in numerous ways. It is used as an explosive for demolition of buildings, fireworks and weapon. 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