BY ANTHONY GUERERRO<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Executive Director of the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education, Jessica Rockhold, spoke at the Hays Public Library on Tuesday regarding Holocaust denial and its history of misrepresentation. Rockhold explained the importance of being informed of the event and getting the full picture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Holocaust is such a cultural touch point,\u201d Rockhold said. \u201cWhen we don\u2019t have a complete understanding or a nuance complex understanding, we are making inappropriate comparisons, and we are diminishing the truth of what happened in that event, and it is such a monumental event that its imperative that we get it right,\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FHSU Associate Professor of History and Chair of the Holocaust Remembrance Committee Amber Nickell, said K-12 students don\u2019t receive a lot of Holocaust education and having an understanding of Nazi policies is essential for the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Holocaust, and genocide in general, is often the result of complex historical processes,\u201d Nickell said. \u201cIn order to prevent future genocides from occurring, we must think systemically about the Holocaust.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Talking points used by Holocaust deniers throughout history were debunked during Rockholds\u2019 presentation. Claims ranged from the existence of gas chambers to the authenticity of The Diary of Anne Frank. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think one of the primary issues we see with denial is that it\u2019s often tied not only to antisemitism but to other forms of racism,\u201d Rockhold said, noting different tropes and stereotypes used against Jewish people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rockhold emphasized that deniers would take a kernel of truth and use it to push the narrative of denial. One example Rockhold debunked is a gas chamber being shortly remodeled to be a bomb shelter while many other gas chambers continued operation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rockhold said those individuals or groups who deny and distort the story of the Holocaust despite the evidence provided aren\u2019t rational people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere is a point though where we are dealing with people who are not looking to be logical, they are not looking to trade on fact, presenting them with a fact does not persuade them, they understood the fact and they are manipulating the fact, so that\u2019s where we\u2019re at with them,\u201d Rockhold said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nickell\u2019s recommendations for a better understanding of the Holocaust are to attend the annual Hays Holocaust Remembrance and Education events and to use FHSU resources. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTake classes on the topic. Several of the faculty at FHSU teach classes on or relating to the Holocaust and genocide,\u201d Nickell said. \u201cI always recommend the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum\u2019s resources<\/a>, which include archival materials, publications, and teaching guides.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n