in one of my classes were doing a debate over wether the holocaust happened or not. i got stuck on the side that says it didn't. can anyone help me with my debate?
lots of thanks if you can! anything supporting the topic is welcome!!
2006-09-11 03:46:30 · 6 answers · asked by jg93 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Other - Education
While I DO NOT support the notion that the WWII Holocaust is a myth, I DO support the right to debate ANYHTING.
I am the descendant of holocaust survivors and a holocaust historian as well. As a student of history and as a Jew I value open debate, no matter how unpleasant the matter. It is that VERY right to debate that is the basis of our freedoms. I imagine this topic was chosen (or I least I hope it was) as a good vehicle for teaching students that ALL questions may be asked and all may be debated. Naturally, I agree with many of the traditional views of the Holocaust, however, I would urge you to focus on why THIS holocaust has been singled out in history?
You could debate the very validity of the word "Holocaust". Were the Crusades a Holocaust? It was the same situation just with different players. Why didn't Pope Urban II’s crusades against the Muslims in Jerusalem qualify for the "Holocaust" label? It was an act of genocide and mass murder and much like the WWI holocaust. The people responsible slaughtered everyone no matter if they were Muslim, Jewish or even the Christians they had sworn to "rescue” Perhaps modern media gave the world it's first TV sized taste of what's been plaguing the world for centuries.
One could also argue that Holocaust history often focuses on the mass murder of the Jews, does not portray a complete picture of the event. It is often presented to the exclusion of the myriad of other atrocities. Torturous medical experiments. Forced sterilization. There are too many to name here.
I suggest you deflect arguments by pointing out the frequency of other "holocausts" through history
The Spanish Inquisition
The Crusades (all 3 of them!)
The enslavement of Jews in Egypt
The slavery and torture of Christians in Rome
The U.S. bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Were those not also annihilations of entire cities and the poisoned generations that would follow? Is that a holocaust?
No matter what period of history you look at, from the dawn of recorded man there is something going on that could be classified as a holocaust.
It's tough to defend the notion that it "never" happened, so instead defend the notion that this slaughter of Jews is no different than the slaughter populations throughout history, yet it is made to stand out in our history books as a unique event... why?
Good luck with the debate. Hope this gives you some material as well as some things for your class to consider. Oh, and a little debate trick… the broader you go with your topic the more you confuse you opponent.
2006-09-14 18:58:36 · answer #1 · answered by Tinkertoi_99 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Start with defining holocaust from the German perspective. Holocaust is an Allied term used to describe what the Germans were doing. For many Germans, it was just a part of the war and not the terrible thing the Allied forces made it out to be.
2006-09-11 03:51:29 · answer #2 · answered by nmtgirl 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am sorry, but I can't support you on that one. I think thats a bad topic, to debate if it happened or not. Talk with a real survivor, you will know that there is no way that it could not have happened. I would suggest that you guys rethink this one and find something else to debate about. Good Luck.
2006-09-11 03:53:06 · answer #3 · answered by Yvonne D 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with nmtgirl. Reporting the teacher won't serve the purpose at all. This teacher is obviously trying to teach kids to think about what the Germans THOUGHT and how they justified the war, even if we don't agree with it. So you need the German perspective. It's a great history and debate lesson, so long as it ends up stressing the fact that it DID happen. check out these sources...
http://www.teacheroz.com/hitler.htm
2006-09-11 04:12:10 · answer #4 · answered by when's my next vacation??? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is an outrageous assignment, which is morally and intellectually wrong. I would recommend that you report your teacher to an organization called the Andi-Defamation League. Their website has a lot of resources on the topic of Holocaust Denial.
You can report your teacher by going to http://www.adl.org/report_antisemitic/asirpt.asp
2006-09-11 04:01:19 · answer #5 · answered by Gerry Mander 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Be careful what you ask. He who studies evil is studied by evil.
2006-09-11 03:51:58 · answer #6 · answered by HillbillyJimbo 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋