We can all agree that the Holocaust happened, right? Wrong. Millions of people disagree.
How do you prove the Holocaust happened? And should you have to?
In 1996, Deborah Lipstadt was tasked with proving the Holocaust happened in a trial that's the focus of the new film, "Denial."
Yep, you read that right. Holocaust denial is actually a thing.
Many of us know that from 1933 to 1945 up to 6 million Jewish people lost their lives during the Holocaust, and more than 11 million people were killed altogether. We have photographs of the concentration camps, the ruins of which are still around today and can be visited. We have testimony from Nazi officials. There are survivors with arm tattoos and eyewitness accounts of the tragedy.
Image via Dale Cruse/Flickr.
But for some people, that evidence doesn't seem to be enough. In fact, apparently only 54% of the world’s population has heard about the Holocaust, and of those who have heard about it, about one-third believes that the genocide has not been accurately described. Shocking, right?
In 1993, Lipstadt wrote a book about the phenomenon of Holocaust denial called "Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory" because she felt she had to draw attention to the absurdity of deniers' claims.
In the book, Lipstadt dedicated just a few paragraphs — 500 words — to a man named David Irving, a Holocaust denier.
Irving not only distorts the historic records of the Holocaust, but also discounts the stories of people who witnessed and experienced the horrors or who have loved ones who did. Since the late 1980s, Irving has vehemently stated that the Holocaust was a hoax.
Dachau Concentration Camp prisoners. Image via Dale Cruse/Flickr.
"More women died in the backseat of Kennedy’s car at Chappaquiddick than died in the gas chambers at Auschwitz," Lipstadt quoted Irving as saying in her book.
Three years later, Irving sued Lipstadt for libel for calling him a Holocaust denier in her book. That trial is what "Denial" focuses on.
The film follows Lipstadt, who found herself center stage in a lawsuit, tasked with proving that Irving was lying when he said the Holocaust didn't happen.
"You can lie. You can say whatever you want, but you can be held accountable for it. And you can't then say 'well my opinion is equal to fact,'" Lipstadt said, explaining why it was so important to hold Irving accountable for his words.
Deborah Lipstadt. Image via Participant Media.
Irving brought his suit against Lipstadt in the U.K., where the law puts the burden of proof on the accused — meaning that instead of Irving being required to prove Lipstadt guilty, Lipstadt and her team of lawyers had to prove that Irving was actually a Holocaust denier. To do this, they'd have to prove that the Holocaust did in fact happen, and that Irving explicitly misrepresented that fact.
If Lipstadt lost the case, it would basically mean no one in the U.K. could ever call Irving a Holocaust denier, and it would allow for the continued denial of one of history's most significant and tragic events.
Fortunately, Lipstadt won — a victory that had repercussions beyond the case and beyond Irving.
It was a decisive win for truth.
Image via Dale Cruse/Flickr.
Fast forward to the current political climate, where elevating the truth is as crucial as ever.
We have a presidential candidate who regularly makes inaccurate and harmful statements regarding Muslims. Donald Trump claimed to have seen "thousands and thousands" of Muslims cheering as the buildings fell on 9/11 and used that story to justify his desire to create a Muslim database that's been compared to the Jewish database that was implemented in Nazi Germany.
Since 9/11, hate crimes against Muslims have been up, and researchers are seeing a renewed spike lately. While a direct connection can't be assumed, analysts can't help but note the timing and wonder if the hateful rhetoric of the 2016 campaign is a contributing factor. Now, promoting intolerance is not the same thing as mass genocide. But when people in positions of power use patriotism and false statements to justify hate and gain a following in doing so, people get hurt.
There are also people in places of power claiming the climate change isn't real — ignoring scientists as well as the pleas and warnings of people in regions that are already feeling climate change's devastating effects.
And we have leaders brushing off systemic racism that directly effects the way black lives are viewed and valued and denouncing the activists who call attention to the injustices.
"There aren't always two sides to every story," said Lipstadt. "Certain things are true. Certain things happened. You can debate why they happened, you can debate why there was a Holocaust. You can debate who made the decision. But you can’t debate whether it happened."
Movies like "Denial" are a reminder that there will always be people out there who ignore the truth in an attempt to deny people their history.
For every person who denies history, there are even more people out there standing up for truth. Lipstadt's story is one of fact triumphing over opinion, of truth winning out over lies.
We could use more of that.
There will always be people like Irving in the world, but what we can do is work to ensure that the truth is told, no matter how ugly, because it’s important. Because it’s our duty to seek the truth.
Check out more of Lipstadt's story, which is featured in the upcoming movie "Denial," now playing in select theaters/everywhere Oct. 21:
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."