By William Markiewicz
I wrote in Vagabond, How Many Jews Did Hitler Kill. “ . . . In light of all this, I believe that the supposed six million may be only a tip of the iceberg. What was the real number of Jews killed? Twelve million? Eighteen million? We will never know.”
Over 60 years later, new generations have grown; some accept ready made opinions, others would like to know more. We'll never know who, among those accepting or rejecting data and suppositions, is sincerely interested and who cynically exploits incertitude to support their own ideological interests. As long as we cannot x-ray sentiments and intentions (and luckily so, because those are the sacred parcels of our personal freedom), we cannot judge people for their sentiments and intentions. In fundamentalist countries of today, and during Europe’s Inquisition, not accepting the official credos brought a death sentence. In democracies we're blessed with freedom of thought and of personal choice as long as we don't force them physically on the others. Freedom of communication is essential because nobody is forced to read, to hear or to look at something he doesn't wish to. Democracy has progressed; yesterday's taboos no longer exist. Democracy tolerates Fascist and Communist organisations as long as they don't assault others. The French Revolution brought this adage: "The freedom of one citizen ends where the other citizen’s freedom starts." If somebody rejects Evolution, the roundness of the Earth, it doesn't bother me, and it's none of my business if somebody rejects or accepts Holocaust, whatever the reason.
The censorship partisans may argue that those are dangerous ideas that may again trigger horrors. By this they show that they don't really trust freedom and they join the authoritarian line when and where it suits them. They forget that the whip, once it exists, may change hands and be used against them, as in the past. Believe in freedom and learn how to use it; it's a neverending battle that cannot be won by occasionally escaping democracy.
Of course I don't trust the objectivity of this gathering of deniers in Teheran. I am for symposiums about everything, but my choice would be in a trustworthy ambiance, perhaps in some Scandinavian University...
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William Markiewicz