Holocaust denial is a big issue in some parts of the world. Social and political influences have created a climate in places like France and Iran where it’s very common for people to downplay the Holocaust, claiming that only a few- if any- were killed and that there were never any gas chambers. It’s a stark contrast to the United States where people employ the terms “Hitler” and “Holocaust” on social media when talking about border control and the detention of undocumented immigrants. Canada has passed laws dealing “inciting hatred” that they have used to prosecute a few people who have publicly denied the Holocaust.
My point being that in the US and Canada, most people know the Holocaust happened. Holocaust denial is out of favor or even illegal in some areas. However, these types of denials may be the general rule rather than the exception– even in the United States and Canada which so carefully remember the horrors of the Holocaust.
For example, during the Rwandan genocide, the UN quibbled about whether there was an actual genocide in Rwanda of just “acts of genocide”. President Clinton encouraged Americans to go see Schindler’s List and then refused to take efforts to stop the genocide in Rwanda. In America, denying atrocities can make you a celebrity and get you a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival. Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 claimed that Iraqi citizens were living normal, quiet lives prior to the invasion of Iraq, which is untrue. In 1988, thousands of Kurds in Anfal were killed in a genocidal campaign. And Abu Ghraib was a torture chamber long before the Americans ever showed up. It’s not just a small fringe group who support these views. The movie grossed over $200 million and movie review sites show that the vast majority of viewers give it a positive review.
Vietnam is another situation where Americans misunderstand what was going on before American involvement. I think the former peace protester interviewed on Ken Burns’ documentary of the Vietnam War summed it up in his comments: “These people were living their lives and we came in and told them how to run their country.” No. The people of Vietnam were killing each other in horrendous ways before the Americans showed up. Ngo Dinh Diem, president of Vietnam in the 1950’s had a campaign to imprison, torture and execute Communists while the Communist rebels (Viet Cong) employed a campaign of terrorism and assassination against Vietnamese government officials. But in America, we don’t talk about how Vietnam was already at war with itself in the first place. Whether we showed up or not, Vietnam was going to suffer. Saying that the war was wrong or we never should have gotten involved doesn’t change that suffering.
I once saw Elie Wiesel on Oprah talking about the Rwandan genocide. He was appalled that after the Holocaust the world would allow a slaughter like Rwanda to happen. It’s not enough to remember the Holocaust and look away from the other dark parts of our world. In fact, if we deny the other atrocities in the world, I don’t think we have remembered the Holocaust at all.
Corvidae History 
