It seems in recent years that deniers have increasingly proclaimed victory and congratulated themselves for... well, nothing.
They like to trumpet an increasing skepticism towards the Holocaust as an indication of their success. Nearly a decade ago Robert Faurisson clamored that a "serious calling into question of one of the greatest lies in history" was underway, and that in the West the "the scales are falling off some people's eyes." The moderator of the CODOH Revisionist Forum, Jonnie "Hannover" Hargis, has declared that the "tide is turning" nearly three hundred times in the last year, nearly once a day.
The problem with all of this? The tide is not turning for them, as shown by the recent ADL global antisemitism survey.
The famed social psychologist Leon Festinger observed the interesting phenomenon whereby the invalidation of a fringe group's prophecies actually had the effect of strengthening that same group's beliefs as a coping mechanism. They continued to (wrongly) believe because they were too invested in the project, and sought to bring as many others in line with their beliefs as possible. Unfortunately, they remained in the extreme minority, and thus could only resort to increasingly disconnected statements about the popularity of their own beliefs.
In a nutshell, that is where we stand with Holocaust denial.
The recent data made available from the ADL sponsored survey (conducted by First International Resources), which would go out of its way to sniff out the slightest perceived antisemitism, rejects such feign hope. Among the topics examined by their survey, which polled more than 500 people in each country, was perceptions and beliefs about the Holocaust.
There were two questions related to the Holocaust:
1) "Have you heard about the Holocaust in Europe during World War Two?"
2) For those who affirmed knowledge about the event, the survey asked: "Which of the following statement comes closest to your views about the Holocaust in Europe during World War Two?" Possible answers:
A) The Holocaust is a myth and did not happen.
B) The Holocaust happened, but the number of Jews who died in it has been greatly exaggerated in history.
C) The Holocaust happened and the number of Jews who died has been fairly described in history.
D) Don't know.
Below I will provide the results from several countries relevant to the Holocaust, mainly to highlight just how few consider the Holocaust a "myth," and thus the core constituency of denial. Even the number who believe it to be exaggerated is not substantial, although it is roughly one-quarter in France and Russia (two countries with higher antisemitism rankings and displays in their recent history).
Germany (93% awareness)
Myth: 0%
Exaggerated: 11%
Accurate: 85%
Don't Know: 4%
Italy (98% awareness)
Myth: 0%
Exaggerated: 6%
Accurate: 86%
Don't Know: 8%
Sweden (99% awareness)
Myth: 0%
Exaggerated: 2%
Accurate: 96%
Don't Know: 2%
Switzerland (96% awareness)
Myth: 0%
Exaggerated: 6%
Accurate: 90%
Don't Know: 4%
Sweden (99% awareness)
Myth: 0%
Exaggerated: 2%
Accurate: 96%
Don't Know: 2%
Switzerland (96% awareness)
Myth: 0%
Exaggerated: 6%
Accurate: 90%
Don't Know: 4%
United Kingdom (99% awareness)
Myth: 0%
Exaggerated: 6%
Accurate: 83%
Don't Know: 10%
France (87% awareness)
Myth: 2%
Exaggerated: 24%
Accurate: 67%
Don't Know: 7%
Russia (87% awareness)
Myth: 2%
Exaggerated: 24%
Accurate: 67%
Don't Know: 7%
United States (89% awareness)
Myth: 1%
Exaggerated: 6%
Accurate: 89%
Don't Know: 4%
Canada (91% awareness)
Myth: 0%
Exaggerated: 8%
Accurate: 90%
Don't Know: 3%
Australia (93% awareness)
Myth: 0%
Exaggerated: 8%
Accurate: 88%
Don't Know: 3%
Readers can check out all of the data themselves on the ADL's survey website, which gives breakdowns of survey results across the globe.