i know the holocaust happened, but do we really believe there was 6 million, and on what evidence?

Answer 1

"Believe" has nothing to do with it. More then enough evidence for those of us who respect facts.

"There is no precise figure for the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust. The figure commonly used is the six million quoted by Adolf Eichmann, a senior SS official. Most research confirms that the number of victims was between five and six million. Early calculations range from 5.1 million (Professor Raul Hilberg) to 5.95 million (Jacob Leschinsky). More recent research, by Professor Yisrael Gutman and Dr. Robert Rozett in the Encyclopedia of the Holocaust, estimates the Jewish losses at 5.59–5.86 million, and a study headed by Dr. Wolfgang Benz presents a range from 5.29 million to six million."

"The main sources for these statistics are comparisons of prewar censuses with postwar censuses and population estimates. Nazi documentation containing partial data on various deportations and murders is also used. We estimate that Yad Vashem currently has somewhat more than four million names of victims that are accessible. This figure is based primarily on some two million Pages of Testimony, which often contain information about more than one Jew who perished in the Holocaust. As of early June 1999, more than 1.6 million Pages of Testimony have been computerized. In addition, we have thousands of documents containing names from the Holocaust era, many of which are those of victims. This body of documentation has yet to be fully researched and added to our computerized database. Eventually we hope, through our computerization project, to provide as much information as possible about each victim."

"How many Jews were murdered in the Holocaust? How do we know? Do we have their names?", FAQs about the Holocaust, Yad Vashem : http://www1.yadvashem.org/about_holocaust/faqs/answers/faq_3.html

Answer 2

While the exact number is not known and many European countries are to this day trying to find a more exact number, 6 million is the rough estimation of the devastating effect the Nazi's and their followers had on human life. To even ask a question about whether or not that is really believable makes a mockery of every survivor or person who lost their life or loved one. There are papers, accounts from every country and by the Nazi party themselves as to the lives lost. Its not a question of it being "believable" or not. It happened and roughly that many people lost their lives. As another earlier answerer stated that is usually just the lives of the Jews that were persecuted and may not take into account the lives of other countless civilians that were lost to the Nazi's and their supporters. The exact number will never be known for sure but they are trying to find a closer one. If one were to add in all the lives that were loss due to an ideology of hate and ethnocentrism I'm sure the number will be far higher than 6 million.

Answer 3

Because the holocaust, since it's inception BEFORE WWI(yes that is World War ONE), has changed in it's details so extravagantly, it is quite clear in many people's minds that a huge deception is going on. The holocaust has had many versions, all from "eye witnesses." Depending on who and when one would ask, people were killed by crushing, electrocution, steam and boiling, fire, carbon monoxide by diesel engines, and finally cyanide gas. Each way was studied and refuted and every time it was refuted, the method changed. In fact, one of the most outrageous of all accounts was from jews who SWORE that the so-called exterminations were done by carbon monoxide gas, generated by two diesel engines which were connected to the so-called "gas chambers." Oddly enough, even though these jews swore to this and gave detailed eye-witness accounts, diesel engines DO NOT create carbon monoxide during operation. Their accounts were scientifically refuted. Soon after this, the death by cyanide gas pumped into the "gas chambers through shower heads using Zyklon B" stories emerged. These too were refuted as Zyklon B is in pellet form in a can in which the can is opened and the Zyklon B is dumped onto the floor of delousing chambers. These pellets then, very slowly, out-gas. Zyklon B did not come out of shower heads. Interestingly enough, International Red Cross records show that Zyklon B was very closely regulated and kept track of. At the so-called "killing camp" at Auschwitz, not much more Zyklon B was used there than was used at the other detainment camps where their Zyklon B supply was proven to be used exclusively for delousing. The shower-head accounts have too been refuted by historians. Let's not forget the concocted "evidence" at the Nuremberg trials - concocted evidence which has long since been refuted - concocted evidence which sent many German officers to their ultimate deaths. This concocted "evidence" included the shrunken heads of jews, soap made from rendered fat of jews, and lampshades and book covers made from the skin of jews. So how many different stories can a tale have before people start raising an eyebrow? One thing that law enforcement officials will tell you is this - a story that is true will NEVER change, and only those being deceptive will change their stories. This is so definite, that when a suspect changes their story, that suspect is immediately thought of as guilty. .

Answer 4

The Nazi's kept records of everything they did, numbers, names, towns, what jobs people had in the camps before they were sent to extermination. I was in Poland a few years ago and they keep everything in archives and were very helpful at looking through files to help me search for my family's history, who had been killed in which camp and during what year.
Interesting fact... the company IBM built a special system for the Nazi's to help record and file efficiently.
But if you're really interested in learning the history then its worth looking up. It's such an important piece of world history, it starts a lot before the actual holocaust starts and before the war starts with the Nazi's killing disabled people, mentally disturbed, homosexuals and any one who was too "weak" to be a part of Nazi Germany. So the numbers of deaths start before the camps and are actually a lot higher than 6 million unfortunately.

Answer 5

To be brief,the Nazi regime kept very detailed records. Most numbers came from the records of the camps that were liberated by the Allied forces at the close of WWII. Even the ones responsible for the attrocities testified and showed no remorse at the Nuremburg Trials. I've read many books and papers on the subject and all references places the number at either approximately, or over 6 million Jews murdered. (We must not forget all the other nationalities and ehtnic groups that the Nazis murdered.)

Answer 6

Besides the many thousands of eyewitness accounts (on both sides) the most damning evidence comes from the Nazis themselves: they kept meticulous records.

They documented much of the Holocaust with extensive paper records and photographic accounts. They were tattooing people with serial numbers.

The record is not 100% so there is some extension to reconcile the number of missing people, amount of labor recorded at the various camps and factories, etc.

The 6 million is a reference to the Jews, but millions of other people were also subjected to this misery. This included political enemies of the Nazis, other ethnic groups, like gypsies, and mentally and physically disabled people.

Seeing someone with that tattoo on their arm... it's a chilling reminder of just how inhumane people can be, and on a grand scale.

Answer 7

the jewish were sent to camps from the late 30's until the end of the war. when the british liberated one of the camps in 1945 they found 26,000 bodies in one location. so do the maths, add roughly the same amount of bodies for every camp, and incluse all the bodies that were incinerated and you've got a hell of a lot of bodies.
however, having said that, the number killed is immaterial, the acts should never have been carried out in the first place, even if only one person died.

Answer 8

As far as im aware, the evidence was from documents collated by the germans. In all camps there was a list of people that were there. Visit berlin and go to the holocaust museum, it has exact names and numbers for most camps.
I think thats evidence enough for me....

Answer 9

The Germans were meticulous record-keepers. Much of the evidence presented at the Nuremburg Tribunal were from captured German documents and newsreels. One item that caught my eye was the bills of lading the Nuremburg Prosecutors produced from the pharmaceutical conglomerate IG Farben for 4 1/2 tons of zyclon-B per month delivered to the SS. The directors of the firm were squirming on the stand trying to explain that one.

Answer 10

You are just quoting the figures for jews,everyone seems to forget about the 5 or 6 million others that were killed in the camps!