Americans are woefully ignorant about the Holocaust

To The Daily Sun,

With great dismay I read the letter to the editor by Ryan Murdough. Mr. Murdough is a well-known antisemite, white supremacist, and Holocaust denier. Why ever would you publish such words, words that bring pain to Holocaust survivors and sully the memories of the six million Jews who died at the hands of the Nazis? And especially, why would you print his letter as Jews are preparing to celebrate Passover, the holiday that commemorates the Israelites’ liberation from Egyptian bondage?

Perhaps you are seeking to stimulate debate about the Holocaust. Why? The facts are immutable. While Mr. Murdough cites the “research” of fellow Holocaust denier, Fred Leuchter, Mr. Leuchter’s conclusions have been proven false.

In 1993, Emory University Professor and Holocaust scholar Dr. Deborah Lipstadt published her book, “Denying the Holocaust.” One of the deniers she named was the British author and “historian” David Irving. In 1996, Irving sued her and her publisher, Penguin Books, for libel. He brought the case in London, where the burden of proof is on the defendant. One of Irving’s major allegations was that there could not have been crematoria at Auschwitz, and he relied on Fred Leuchter’s works, just as Murdough does. Lipstadt’s attorneys brilliantly proved otherwise; they also proved Irving’s motive of antisemitism. The judge ruled in favor of Dr. Lipstadt and Penguin Books. The trial is movingly depicted in the 2016 Bleecker Street Media film, “Denial.”

Perhaps you are not aware of the tremendous increase in antisemitic in New Hampshire, the United States, and the world. Certainly, the murderous shootings at Tree of Life synagogue last October is the most severe example. But it’s not the only example. Furthermore, a recent study by the Claims Conference found that 31 percent of all Americans, and 41 percent of millennials, believe that well under than six million Jews were murdered, more like two million fewer. This same study found that, despite the fact that over 40,000 concentration camps and ghettos were created by the Nazis during the Holocaust, 45 percent of Americans cannot name a single one. Finally, the Claims Conference noted, more than 80 percent of all Americans have never visited a Holocaust Museum. It takes reading only one letter, such as the one from Mr. Murdough, for Americans to remain as woefully ignorant about the Holocaust as they are.

Please, I beg of you, print only the truth.

Rabbi Robin Nafshi

Temple Beth Jacob

Concord