context of other genocides which is why the Holocaust can be singled out. As Robert
Solomon Wistrich writes, for those who deny the Holocaust ‘no testimony by Jews is
acceptable’, because Jews ‘invented the Holocaust’. Wistrich reflects that deniers make this
claim to push forward the anti- Semitic stereotype that Jews did so ‘to serve their own
financial and political ends’. 10 Deborah Lipstadt, an American historian famous for winning a
case against David Irving, an infamous Holocaust denier who sued her for characterizing him
and some of his works as such, reflects that Holocaust denial has even been perpetrated by
well-respected politicians and ambassadors. 11 No other massacre in history has ever been so
publicly challenged by such trusted members of our societies.
There has been much debate over how we can commemorate the killing of six million
Jews. It is an event in history that requires the utmost respect and sensitivity. But it can be
argued that such respect and sensitivity has not been shown to the victims, and also to the
survivors, who have proved with their presence that dialogue and first-hand education can
help the next generation, by providing them with the facts. But in so many parts of the
world, Holocaust education is not taught. This is for several reasons; one being that it is not a
requirement. In Wales, for example, the governance of education has been devolved since
the creation of the Welsh Assembly in May of 1999. This means that Holocaust education in
Welsh schools is not officially called for. Therefore, so many people only learn or hear about
the Holocaust through the media, which is a powerful weapon because of its ability to
influence ideas.
10 Robert Solomon Wistrich, Holocaust Denial: The Politics of Perfidy (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2012), p. 1 11 Deborah Lipstadt, ‘Holocaust Denial: An Antisemitic Fantasy’, Modern Judaism – A Journal of Jewish Ideas and Experience, 40. 1 (2020), pp. 71-86 (p. 76)
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