David Cole: Jewish Holocaust Revisionist - Term Paper Example

David Cole: Jewish Holocaust Revisionist I. The Biography of David Cole David Cole is a recognized Jewish Holocaust revisionist who grew up and was educated in Los Angeles. He is born as a Jew with a German Jew biological father and grew up with an English Jew father figure. His ancestors migrated from Russia with German and Dutch descent in the middle of the 19th century (Cole and Smith; Kultbooksamerica Account Youtube). Due to his early knowledge and exposure on the history of Jews, his interest on the Holocaust and related issues continued grow and solidify. David Cole’s beliefs had been culminated after his education when he expressed support for Holocaust Revisionism. He also went to Europe to film the concentration camps. He expressed queries regarding the different facts given about the Holocaust specifically the presence of gas chambers in concentration camps. Because of the pertinent expression of his views that questioned the validity of certain aspects of the Holocaust, he was threatened and assaulted in different manners (Cole and Smith; Kultbooksamerica Account Youtube). In 1992, 22nd of January he was attacked by members of the Jewish Defense League, the group who also offered monetary reward for information about Cole after he went hiding in 1994. Limited amount of trusted information can be achieved regarding David Cole’s life and death which can be attributed to the contradictions and threats that led him to hide from the public eyes (Cole and Smith; Kultbooksamerica Account Youtube). II. David Cole’s Queries and the Interview with Dr. Franciszek Piper of the Auschwitz David Cole dedicated significant years of his young life to the study of the issues revolving around the Holocaust. In September 1992, Cole went to visit and to investigate the German prison and labor camps in different parts of Europe used in World War II to hold Jews, prisoners-of war, resistance fighters, Gypsies, and people recognized as the enemies of the Third Reich. One of his main focuses is the visit to Auschwitz in Poland considered as the largest concentration camp which stopped operation in January 1945 when it was liberated after the war (Cole and Smith). Although a Jew by birth, David Cole wanted to clear his perspective regarding certain issues related to the Holocaust so he considered himself as a skeptic when he visited Auschwitz. He presented points of queries regarding the information disseminated in the tour around the camp in his documentary regarding his visit. To clear his perspective and to answer the questions he had, he interviewed the senior curator Dr. Franciszek Piper. His interview and observations in Auschwitz can be summarized in different points that questioned the orthodox belief on the event referred to as the Holocaust (Cole and Smith). The first question of Cole is related to the information disseminated by the tour guide regarding the different issues in the building referred to as the gas chamber. This is the main reason for the interview with Dr. Piper, to be able to verify the validity of the information given during the tour. Cole’s video tackled one of the most important point presented related to the Holocaust which is the presence of the gas chamber at the Auschwitz Main Camp as part of the “Final Solution” (Cole; Cole and Smith). Cole basically presented the different physical evidence on a different perspective. The first point in question is the use and presence of a large amount of Zyklon-B in the vicinity. Based on a Holocaust supporter as discussed by Cole, the Zyklon-B had been used as a delousing agent, 95% for the said purpose and 5% for the gas chambers. This was a problem which needed drastic resolution during the said period. Cole asked about the low amount of traces in the gas chambers as compared to the staining in the delousing chambers. He pointed out that in the number of supposed death in the gas chambers, significant staining should have occurred. In the interview with Dr. Piper, he indicated that the original walls were intact and that the significant staining in the delousing was caused by the higher activity there. This became a huge question for Cole since according to the presented evidences that there were continuous killings in the gas chambers day and night. This is because even the not so frequent use of Zyklon-B can leave traces and staining (Cole; Cole and Smith). Another physical evidence that Cole questioned is the structure of the gas chamber itself. Based on the tour guide that helped him, the gas chamber building was in its original state. This had been in question since there were observed evidences of reconstruction namely the holes on the ceiling, the marks of walls removed which can be seen on the floors and other features that were considered to make the building unusable as a gas chamber. When Cole asked Dr. Piper about the said visible evidences of reconstruction, he said that the building used to be gas chambers then during the war was made into shelter for air attacks then converted back to the original gas chamber structure after the war. This is questionable since aerial photographs did not show the holes on the ceiling. For that matter, compared to the tour guide’s statement, there was already a clear conflict (Cole; Cole and Smith). There were other evidences in the different camps in Auschwitz which has been presented in a systematic manner. In Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp in Poland, there was no evidence of hiding the Kremas 2 and 3 from the sight of the inmates residing in the barracks. In addition, no fences were made to prevent the thousands of people known to have been killed in the said buildings. This contradicted to the statement that the people often caused riots when brought to the said facilities. The statement regarding the halting of gassings of people in the Krema 1 is due to the proximity to the barracks of the inmate. In the physical and onsite investigation conducted by Cole though, Krema 1 and 2 were nearer in location to the barracks of the inmates, thus contradicting the reason for transferring the activity to the said locations (Cole; Cole and Smith). There were evidences presented from other camps such as the Mauthausen Concentration Camp in Austria. The doors had no locks and fittings for locks and other protection for the glass windows which would have prevented the people gassed inside the chamber. There were also small holes on the ceiling that was low to be blocked by hands. The presence of drainage would have made the pushing of the Zyklon-B crystals to the drainage possible. The construction and physical features considered questionable in the gas chambers were not clearly answered by Dr. Piper during the interview. David Cole even viewed that by supporting and explaining one question, Dr. Piper knew that he was contradicting another. Although this is the case, he had prepared answers for such questions for people as inquisitive as David Cole (Cole; Cole and Smith). In the interview with Dr. Piper important observations had been made. One is the contradicting explanation about the physical evidences such as the structure and reconstruction of the gas chambers and the Zyklon-B staining. Another is the fact that historians revised the 4 million deaths during the Holocaust to 1.25 million which is significantly different that the original count (Cole; Cole and Smith). III. Analysis and Discussion David Cole’s main question regarding the Holocaust is the lack of physical evidences that supports the use of gas chambers which had been indicated as the main cause of death of millions of people. Through the in depth studies made by historians, the total known number of gas chambers decreased due to disproving the facilities one by one (Cole; Cole and Smith; Kultbooksamerica Account Youtube Videos). On a personal view, David Cole just presented the physical analysis of the evidences which the expert said had not been significantly altered. In the notion of free speech and free intellectual inquiry, he did not deserved to be reprimanded for just asking questions and exploring a line of inquiry which disputes one of the most serious war crime in history. Based on the videos he presented and the videos of his interview, other people had been closed minded in his questions. There is nothing wrong in inquiring about something. He did not state that his view is the correct one. He is just asking for debate regarding the matter. He also did not state that the Holocaust did not happen but he questioned the fact that millions died because of gas chambers. In the society, war and political propagandas are not unique phenomena. These events and information presented in the mass media are often edited version of the truth. I do not completely agree with David Cole’s view but I agree with the fact that an open inquiry about the events in history as influential and as important as the Holocaust should be undertaken so that real lessons can be learned. It is the truth that institutions creating propagandas prevail in most cases. Even in David Cole’s case which ended by him hiding due to the threats made by powerful groups on his life. In such an event, quest for the truth can be considered as hindered. In conclusion, the modern society then can be considered as a choice between the quest for the truth and the quest for a peaceful life. Work Cited Cole, David. Forty-Six Important Unanswered Questions. 1995. 12 December 2010 Read More