January 16, 2010
Essay contest addresses Holocaust denial
The Spokesman-Review
Area high school students are again asked to help the community remember the Holocaust.
For a fourth year, a creative writing contest is part of the Spokane Community Observance of the Holocaust.
This year's theme is "Confronting Holocaust Denial," recognizing that some skeptics still do not believe that the systematic slaughter of 6 million Jews occurred during World War II.
Contest entrants are asked to write an essay of 500 to 1,000 words in the form of a respectful letter to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, one of the most visible Holocaust deniers, discussing the impact of Holocaust denial on humanity and indicating what they plan to do locally to confront it. (For more details, see the Facebook page Never Again Spokane.
Entries should be double-spaced in Microsoft Word format, with a cover page giving the writer's name, phone number, e-mail address, school name and grade level. Any referenced material should be annotated at the end.
E-mail as an attachment to neveragain-spokane@ comcast.net by Feb. 18.
The winner will read their composition at the Spokane Community Observance of the Holocaust service on April 11 at Temple Beth Shalom. They will receive a $500 scholarship and a keepsake commemorating their achievement.
The winning entry also will be published in The Spokesman-
Get more news and information at Spokesman.com
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Debating the Holocaust: A New Look at Both Sides By Thomas Dalton
In this remarkable, balanced book, the author skillfully reviews and compares "traditional" and "revisionist" views on the "The Holocaust."
On one side is the traditional, orthodox view -- six million Jewish casualties, gas chambers, cremation ovens, mass graves, and thousands of witnesses. On the other is the view of a small band of skeptical writers and researchers, often unfairly labeled "deniers," who contend that the public has been gravely misled about this emotion-laden chapter of history.
The author establishes that the arguments and findings of revisionist scholars are substantive, and deserve serious consideration. He points out, for example, that even the eminent Jewish Holocaust scholar Raul Hilberg acknowledged that there was no budget, plan or order by Hitler for a World War II program to exterminate Europe's Jews.
This book is especially relevant right now, as "Holocaust deniers" are routinely and harshly punished for their "blasphemy," and as growing numbers of people regard the standard, Hollywoodized "Holocaust" narrative with mounting suspicion and distrust.
The author of this book, who writes under the pen name of "Thomas Dalton," is an American scholar who holds a doctoral degree from a major US university.
This is no peripheral debate between arcane views of some obscure aspect of twentieth century history. Instead, this is a clash with profound social-political implications regarding freedom of speech and press, the manipulation of public opinion, how our cultural life is shaped, and how power is wielded in our society.
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Michael Santomauro
Editorial Director
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