The Holocaust occupies a position of unique significance in modern Western society. But to comprehend its current role, I think we must go beyond the events themselves and see the role it plays in current society.
In the aftermath of WWII, the Allied powers faced a major challenge. Despite defeating Germany, they had rained extensive death and destruction across Europe with bombings. How could win the hearts of the conquered population? death and destruction, families ripped apart..
They needed a narrative to unify Europe after one of histories largest slaughterings.
Step in the shoes of one the allied propagandists. Europe is destroyed, Germany bombed, dysfunctional, people are dying, millions of men dead. What do you do?
The Germans needed to be won over psychologically. The debacle after WW1 should could be repeated. The Germans should learn to love the allies, and hate their soldiers.
I think the work camps, due to their locations, away from cities, the fact that not many local people have been there or seen them, provided an excellent opportunity to craft a narrative giving propagandists a certain freedom to play with the facts.
I've read a lot of newspapers from the war period in Europe and it was not about work camps; It was a small thing in this huge war.
I think their solution was to develop a myth—an overarching narrative that painted the Allies as heroic liberators and Germany as an embodiment of evil. Making this minor part, the major part.
To win over the Germans mentally, the Allies had to turn German sons against their own fathers and leaders.
An enormous task. Incomprehensibly large. But they did it. Which in my opinion is an achievement in itself of the propagandists.
Sons needed to believe Allied propaganda over their own family experiences. They had to be convinced their own veteran fathers were ruthlessly murdering Jews during the war—not the protective, caring men they knew.
Sons needed to betray their fathers out of social shame. They were compelled to proclaim how much they hate what their fathers "stood for," even while remembering fondly the fathers they knew.
Maintaining the Myth
The myths are reinforced relentlessly through education and media. Any nuance or sympathy for the soldiers who fought and died for their country is forbidden by law.
This atmosphere of betrayal persists over 75 years later. It is encouraged through mandatory school field trips to camps, schooling, mandatory movies. The sons must perform despair over atrocities they did not commit, inherited from ancestors they are taught to hate.
I think this trans-generational shaming serves a political agenda. It is also a warning to future generations—submit to the narrative or become society's enemy. Which we see playing out around Corona for example.
Some methods of reinforcement include:
- Criminalizing dissenting analyses or opinions
- Mandatory Holocaust education starting in childhood
- Daily media coverage of anniversaries, discoveries, survivor testimonies
- Building monuments and museums in every municipality
- Movie/TV dramatizations that amplify emotional impact
Building European Supranationalism
A key political outcome enabled by the Holocaust mythology was the centralization of power in Europe under supranational bodies like the European Union.
By entrenching guilt and shame within Germany, the US and other European nations could dominate the ripped apart German state. German following of EU / UN dictates is I think partially rooted in its supposed historical crimes necessitating moral atonement.
More broadly, the Holocaust narrative reinforced the idea that European nations must surrender sovereignty to prevent descents into fascism. It helped justify subjugating local populations to remote bureaucrats at the EU and UN level.
Elites exploit the myth to imply only suppression of patriotism and nationalism could prevent another Holocaust.
The Holocaust also served as an implied threat against dissent - that any resistance to EU authority could enable a fascist resurgence. It was a psychological cudgel used to beat populations into frightened submission.
By leveraging guilt over the Holocaust, elites convinced European nations to accept centralized EU power they would never have tolerated otherwise. The myth enabled the steady erosion of democratic self-determination across an entire continent.
Questioning the Myth
Despite the immense effort dedicated to reinforcing Holocaust mythology, cracks have emerged in the façade. As with any heavily propagandized narrative, inconsistencies and contradictions litter the official story under closer scrutiny.
For instance, camp survivor testimonies mention pools, orchestras, plays, soccer fields, hospitals and other amenities inconsistent with claims of constant brutality and murdering. Forensic analyses of gas chamber ruins refute design feasibility. Records show inmate populations far below stated figures. Photographic and video evidence is curiously sparse for such an enormous enterprise.
Challenging any aspect of the orthodox Holocaust story remains strictly forbidden. However, the truth does not require legal protection. Myths and lies are what demand censorship through political force.
Ultimately, preserving freedom of thought and open inquiry should take priority over any ideological agenda. Only by questioning the dominant myths of our age can we uncover the full truth. The Holocaust mythology is no exception.
But from the propagandist view it's fascinating - what we see today is propaganda, and what we have seen for 75 years is propaganda. This is not bottom-up developed content on the holocaust. I think it's a military operation that's been executed with enormous power and consistency. Still today, daily we read about the holocaust.
Do a news search on the holocaust on Googlw in the last 24 hours - you'll find more than a hundred articles. Every day, for 75 years.
Maybe it's all true, though I doubt it strongly. But I wasn't there. What is clear is that the narrative has been leveraged for 75 years to serve political goals. All the museums, expositions, articles, memorials, school curriculum - masterpieces of propaganda.
And I also need to acknowledge a positive outcome of this propaganda. Europe has seen no large war after WW2 and is more unified than before. Propaganda can serve a cause. If lies and myths keep us at peace, one could argue they serve an important need.
I though think Truth is most important for souls.