What is the best answer to - "Do you deny the holocaust"?

[twila]

Since this is such an obviously disingenuous question, I believe it should never be answered with a straight yes or no.

It should always be thrown back at the questioner.

At a minimum, it should be replied with:

"Define holocaust." or "What holocaust are you talking about?

So, what is the best answer to the question: "Do you deny the holocaust"?

[twila]

Q: Do you deny the holocaust?

A: Do you deny that Elie Wiesel doesn't have the tattoo he claims to have on his left arm?

[twila]

Q: Do you deny the holocaust?

A: One cannot "deny" something that doesn't exist or never happened.

[Lamprecht]

I usually say "Yes and no" because it will usually end up confusing people. Many times people have mistaken me as not even believing in camps or anything, which of course nobody claims. The public opinion on "Holocaust deniers" is so mistaken that you have to give precise explanations of what you do and don't believe.

Of course this all depends on who you're talking to. If someone has a background reading about revisionism and the holocaust then they usually understand what you think. If it's just an average joe then usually they'll immediately think you're crazy and make baseless assumptions.

[Cloud]

What is the best answer to - "Do you deny the holocaust (happened)"?

Alright. Say this:

"I want to live a moral life (as I'm sure you do as well). In light of this, I would like to give you an answer that is not morally reprehenisble. However, I also do not wish to lie to you, as lying is also morally reprehensible. What answer should I give?"

[borjastick]

I have been asked this question a couple of times. I have said something along these lines; I don't deny that jews were brutalised, persecuted and that many died in concentration camps, who wouldn't necessarily have died had they not been put there. However, I do not accept that six million, or any number for that matter, were gassed and died in what we are told is the normal story of the Holocaust. This is because having studied the matter for many years it is quite clear the evidence is simply not there to prove such a claim. Therefore on that basis the Holocaust as we are told, did not happen. Now if you would like me to expand on this I am happy to do so.

That kind of considered answer makes most people realise that a) you are not a raving right wing lunatic and b) you have probably got rather more knowledge on the matter than they do.

[Kingfisher]

I can't give a simple yes/no answer because the term "Holcaust denier" (or "Holocaust denial") implies, probably intentionally and dishonestly on the part of those who coined it, that there are only two possible positions: it all happened as claimed in the orthodox narrative or nothing happened.

I think that some of it happened, some of it did not happen and much of it is unclear. In "did not happen" I include large-scale murder in gas chambers, a total death count of 6 million and a centrally-directed attempt to exterminate the Jews of Europe. In "happened" I include discriminatory treatment, confinement to ghettos, deportation to camps, deportation to the Eastern territories, confiscation of property and Jews fleeing into hiding, all resulting in a large but impossible to quantify number of deaths that would not otherwise have happened, from disease, exposure, exhaustion, maltreatment (often by other prisoners or nationalist mobs) and general hardship, followed by large-scale dispersion of the Eastern Europe Jews. I also think Jews were probably over-represented in the killings of civilians in reprisal for partisan attacks.

[Friedrich Paul Berg]

The right answer to the question "Do you deny the holocaust?" is "YES!!!"

That answer certainly does not explain much so further questions will inevitably follow. It is there and then that one can respond with simple followup answers like: "No one was ever killed in gas chambers by the Nazis" and "the total numbers of Jews who died during the war was minuscule compared to what is alleged" and so on. The "YES" answer does NOT imply that you totally reject every claim made in connection with the "holocaust." Many Jews were deported, some died, some were shot, some were treated badly. So, what? Isn't that rather normal in wartime?

If one tries to quibble by answering the first question with "Yes and NO" or with any of the other wimpy answers posted above, one is in effect digging a hole for oneself from which can only come up out slowly and with great difficulty, if ever. Prepare yourselves with quick, sharp and strong confident answers. The answers should be simple and easily comprehensible. Bradley Smith used to give such long-winded answers that he inevitably lost his audience.

Friedrich Paul Berg
Learn everything at http://www.nazigassings.com
Nazi Gassings Never Happened! Niemand wurde vergast!

[Kingfisher]

But if you just say you deny the Holocaust, they'll presume (or pretend to) that you deny everything, including the things everyone knows happened. So you are the one who is forced into qualifying what you already said.

Pity Bradley is getting nowhere fast. Unlike Fritz Berg, whose name is on everyone's lips.

[twila]

FPB:

The right answer to the question "Do you deny the holocaust?" is "YES!!!" ...If one tries to quibble by answering the first question with "Yes and NO" or with any of the other answers posted above, one is in effect digging a hole for oneself from which can only come up out slowly and with great difficulty if ever. Prepare yourselves with quick, sharp and strong answers. The answers should be simple and easily comprehensible. Bradley Smith used to give such long-winded answers that he inevitably lost his audience.

Good answer. One I also like along those lines is - "You're god dammed right I do!" (Said with much conviction.)

But personally, I think throwing it back at the questioner is a better strategy.

The disingenuous question is designed to disarm you from the get go.

Whatever your answer, do not let that happen.

The key is to be prepared ahead of time to offer a quick, clear and concise answer and then go on the attack, making your opponent go on the defensive.

I don't think all of us here will agree on what the best answer to this question is (do we agree on anything?), but again, the key is to be prepared, don't get caught flat footed and be ready to go on the offensive and make your opponent defend himself. (What happened to Mark Weber is the reason for me starting this thread.)


Kingfisher:

But if you just say you deny the Holocaust, they'll presume (or pretend to) that you deny everything, including the things everyone knows happened.

Not everyone is as knowledgeable and prepared as Mr. Berg. Plus, if you read Mr. Berg's response carefully, you will see:

It is there and then that one can respond with simple follow-up answers like...

So he's saying what I'm saying, you immediately go on the attack and put your opponent on the defensive.

Again, the key is to be prepared with an answer that you are comfortable with.

The more knowledge that you acquire and the better you become at debating the true believers, the less beating around the bush you will have to do to make yourself understood.


Kingfisher:

So you are the one who is forced into qualifying what you already said.

That is why I believe you should reply to the question with a question.

Make your opponent qualify the question rather than you having to qualify the answer.

Look at how effective Duke was and how ineffective Weber was.

Go on the offense and put your opponent on the defense.

[twila]

Q: Do you deny the holocaust?

A: Do you deny that the fraudulently alleged "jewish holocaust of WW II" is the most grossly exaggerated historical event of the 20th century?

[Dresden]

F.P.Berg said:
"The right answer to the question "Do you deny the holocaust?" is "YES!!!"

That answer certainly does not explain much so further questions will inevitably follow"

That's right, Mr. Berg.....it's a conversation starter.

Kingfisher said:

"But if you just say you deny the Holocaust, they'll presume (or pretend to) that you deny everything, including the things everyone knows happened. So you are the one who is forced into qualifying what you already said"

But, isn't that our object, Kingfisher?
What you call "forced into", I call "given the opportunity".
If you hem and haw and stutter, then the questioner will perceive that you are insincere, and don't really know what you believe; then you've stumped the questioner, and you're free to walk away. You're not "forced into" explaining anything.
But is that what we want?

[twila]

Steve F:

If you hem and haw and stutter, then the questioner will perceive that you are insincere, and don't really know what you believe...

But is that what we want?

Excellent point Steve.

So what is it that we want?

Well, what we do NOT want is to give our opponent the opportunity to successfully use an obviously disingenuous question that is designed to put us on our heels and take control of the debate from the get-go.

What WE want is to not let that happen and to take control ourselves.

So "yes" is a good answer IF you're ready, willing and able to follow it up correctly.

If not, then you better have another answer that works for you.

Mark Weber's response is a classic example of how not to answer the question.

So again, what is it that we want?

Answer: CONTROL


BTW, this question is much like the classic: Are you still beating your wife?

[Cloud]

Max Blumenthal asked David Irving "are you a Holocaust denier?" at 5:57 in this one sided video. Irving's answer is "no, good lord, no."

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhCbHZPwEEQ[/youtube]

So even though Irving denies it, he is still branded with the term as if it is some kind of label for an evil person. His defensive reply seems to suggest that it is.

[twila]

I don't know who is the more dis-gust-ing piece of filth, Max Blumenthal or David Irving.

BTW, I actually liked what Irving said between the 6:35 and 7:00 mark.

But he was still being defensive, so where did it get him?

The problem here is the dis-gust-ing piece of filth Max Blumenthal has the power to edit the video.

So if you do answer in a clear and concise manner in a situation like this, the jews will just edit it out.

Why give them the control?

That's why those cowardly pieces of filth won't try to defend their ugly myth in an honest and open debate.

That's why you should never give them that kind of control over the situation.


Cloud:

So even though Irving denies it, he is still branded with the term as if it is some kind of label for an evil person. His defensive reply seems to suggest that it is.

Exactly.