Skip to main content

Main navigation

  • AJC Home
  • Who We Are
    • About AJC
    • Leadership
    • Our Impact
    • Global Offices
    • U.S. Regional Offices
    • Project Interchange
    • Alexander Young Leadership Department
    • Careers
    • Archives and History
  • Issues
    • Israel
    • Antisemitism
    • Radicalism & Extremism
    • BDS
    • Interreligious
    • Human Rights
    • Policy Resources
  • Take Action
    • Action Alerts / Petitions
    • AJC's Call to Action Against Antisemitism
    • #TranslateHate
    • The State of Antisemitism in America Report
    • Stand with Ukraine
    • #JewishandProud
    • Disrupt Antisemitism
    • Mayors United Against Antisemitism
    • Advocacy Anywhere
  • Global Forum
  • News and Resources
    • Global Voice
    • Antisemitism Resources
      • Antisemitism
      • Forms of Antisemitism
      • AJC's Call to Action Against Antisemitism
      • Antisemitism in Europe
      • The Working Definition of Antisemitism
      • Resources on Holocaust Denial, Distortion, and Trivialization
      • State of Antisemitism Around the Globe
      • Translate Hate
    • Israel Resources
    • Iran Resources
  • Support Our Work
    • Donate
    • Donor Recognition Societies
      • National Leadership Council
      • Marshall Society
      • AJC Visionaries
        • Create Your Legacy
    • Planned Giving
  • Relevance
  • Date
  • Title

Secondary navigation

  • Languages
    • English
    • Español
    • Français
    • Deutsch
  • Global Offices
  • Media
  • Podcasts

Header Follow Links

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
Donate

Everything You Need to Know About Holocaust Denial, Distortion, and Trivialization

Holocaust denial negates the scope and mechanism of the Holocaust, such as denying 6 million Jewish victims or the use of gas chambers.
Holocaust distortion and trivialization distorts the facts of the Nazi genocide of the Jewish people or belittles it by making inappropriate comparisons.

In reaction to efforts aimed at curtailing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, civic and political leaders have made inappropriate comparisons between public health policies and the Holocaust. It’s important now more than ever to denounce such statements and recognize why such comparisons are highly problematic. 

Below you can find important resources to help answer your questions regarding Holocaust denial, distortion, and trivialization.

Holocaust denial - This is Antisemitic - Translate Hate
Why is Holocaust denial / distortion antisemitic?
See why Holocaust denial / distortion is antisemitic in AJC's Translate Hate Glossary.
Visit the Webpage
Photo of a yellow star of David patch with the words: "Not vaccinate for Covid"
How to Combat Holocaust Trivialization
Holocaust distortion and trivialization, in the form of inappropriate comparisons between the Holocaust and COVID-19, has increased since the start of the pandemic. "Breaking Down and Fighting Holocaust Trivialization" is an educational resource that provides basic knowledge about the Holocaust, explains why recent examples of Holocaust trivialization are problematic, and provides action items for countering this troubling trend.
Download the PDF
Antivax protester using Holocaust imagery
Normalization of Holocaust Parallels In COVID Era
December 26, 2021
The misuse of Holocaust terminology and images has attained disturbing acceptance and respectability during the gravest global public health crisis in a century. Many opposed to wearing masks, getting vaccines and other measures to prevent the spread of the deadly virus have willfully accepted and are promoting a narrative that such steps are akin to what the Nazi regime did in Germany. Without any regard for historical truths, some elected officials, candidates for political office, and media personalities have been amplifying Holocaust equivalences.
Read AJC's Analysis
Anti-vax protestor wearing star of David unvaccinated sign
Yad Vashem Chairman: Those Comparing Public Health Policies to Holocaust “Completely Out of Touch With Reality”
December 9, 2021
Dani Dayan, the newly appointed chairman of Yad Vashem – Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust – and former Consul General of Israel in New York, joins this week’s People of the Pod with critical and timely messages for the world, including why remembering the Holocaust is more important than ever and the concerning trend of weaponizing the Holocaust for political purposes. Then, AJC Director of William Petschek Contemporary Jewish Life Laura Shaw Frank shares her inspiring experience at the Freedom Sunday for Soviet Jews rally 34 years ago and what a unifying moment it was to be in a crowd of over 250,000 people on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. 
Listen to the Podcast
Deborah Lipstadt
People of the Pod: AJC CEO David Harris on the Deborah Lipstadt Holocaust Denial Trial and AJC’s Critical Role in the Fight
January 20, 2022
In 2000, renowned Holocaust scholar Dr. Deborah Lipstadt was sued by David Irving for defamation, because she called Irving a Holocaust denier and falsifier of history in her 1994 book Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory. Expert witnesses combed through Irving’s research since the 1980s and found that Lipstadt was correct - Irving  had deliberately manipulated the historical record to support his ludicrous claims that most of the evidence of the Holocaust had been invented after the war. Listen to AJC CEO David Harris discuss the impact of the trial, and the quiet, global, multi-year effort he led to generate support for Lipstadt’s trial defense, making sure the world never forgets the murder of six million Jews – a historical fact.
Listen to the Podcast
Moving Toward Never Again: State of Holocaust Education in the United States
This is a comprehensive resource detailing Holocaust education curriculum requirements across America.
Download the PDF
Birkenau
Antisemitism Is Rising As Education About The Holocaust Declines
November 21, 2021
In mobilizing all sectors of Texas society to fight antisemitism, it is critical to ensure that memory of the Holocaust is preserved and, importantly, that knowledge about the Nazi-organized murder of 6 million Jews is commonplace.
Read AJC's Analysis
Whoopi Goldberg on The View
People of the Pod: Why Whoopi Goldberg’s Holocaust Views Shouldn’t Surprise Us; Daniel Pearl’s 20th Yahrzeit
February 3, 2022
This week on “The View,” co-host Whoopi Goldberg wrongly claimed that the Holocaust “isn’t about race.” Though she apologized, ABC suspended her for two weeks. Writer Daniella Greenbaum, an Emmy award-winning former producer for “The View,” joins us to discuss how Goldberg’s comments demonstrate a widespread failure to understand Judaism but also present an opportunity to discuss the diversity of Judaism and comprehend antisemitism in its many forms. 
Listen to the Podcast
Irwin Cotler and Felice Gaer
Lest We Forget: Combating Holocaust Denial and Distortion - AJC Advocacy Anywhere
January 27, 2022
The United Nations General Assembly recently adopted a historic resolution calling for action to combat Holocaust denial and distortion as antisemitism continues to surge globally. What further measures can the UN, governments, and social media companies take to combat Holocaust denial and distortion? Join Irwin Cotler, Canada's Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism, in conversation with Felice Gaer, Director of AJC's Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights, to answer these questions and more.
Watch the Video
Logo for 21st Century Europe and the Jews
Did German History End with the Holocaust?
December 7, 2021
At the conclusion of the Holocaust and World War II, the German Federal Republic adopted the slogan “Never Again,” the obligation to fight antisemitism in all its forms, as well as the commitment to fight for and defend the existence of the Jewish state. What does the rise of antisemitism and extremism mean for the Jewish community in Germany? Join American Jewish Committee (AJC) and Tablet Magazine as they answer this question and more.
Watch the Video
Concentration Camp Walkway
There Is No Opposing Side To Holocaust Education
October 19, 2021
A state-by-state survey of young Americans last year showed that more than half in Texas could not name a concentration camp or ghetto where Jews were imprisoned and tortured during the Holocaust, despite there being more than 40,000 sites in Europe. This lack of historical knowledge makes a Southlake school administrator’s advice to offer students an opposing perspective on the Holocaust even more disturbing.
Read AJC's Analysis
Facebook Bans Holocaust Denial Content
People of the Pod: Facebook Bans Holocaust Denial Content
October 15, 2020
This week, Facebook announced that it would ban Holocaust denial content from the platform. We’re joined this week by Jordana Cutler, Facebook’s Head of Policy for Israel and the Jewish Diaspora, to discuss this important decision and the role AJC played in making it happen.
Listen to the Podcast
American Jewish Committee and Muslim World League Historic walking through the "Arbeit Macht Frei" gate at Auschwitz
Holocaust Remembrance Day – Why We Must Never Forget
January 27, 2022
January 27 has been designated by the United Nations as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The Holocaust defies imagination. Its aim was the Endlösung, or Final Solution, of the Jewish people. In pursuit of this goal, a new alphabet of genocide was created — from A for Auschwitz to Z for Zyklon-b, the nerve gas used in the gas chambers. Every Jew was a target, including 1.5 million children. The Jews were pursued for one reason— they were Jews and, according to Adolf Hitler’s demented worldview, all Jews had to be eliminated. Seventy-seven years after the war’s end, why should these events still matter?
Read AJC's Analysis
graphic displaying AJC logo
Joint JCRC, ADL and American Jewish Committee Statement on DCPS Holocaust Education Incident
December 21, 2021
Leaders of the JCRC of Greater Washington, the ADL Washington, D.C., and American Jewish Committee (AJC) met Monday evening with Dr. Lewis Ferebee, Chancellor of the DC Public Schools, and Rev. Thomas Bowen, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Religious Affairs, to discuss the horrific incident at Watkins Elementary School involving a school librarian who allegedly instructed third grade students to reenact the elements of the Holocaust.
Read the Press Release
graphic displaying AJC logo
Holocaust Exploitation Is Antisemitism
May 29, 2021
Over the past few weeks, we have seen activists, students, celebrities, and politicians perpetrate antisemitism in a variety of forms, with physical assaults, verbal attacks, vandalism, and banners to online comments and videos. Many of these same people decry discrimination against other groups yet seem oblivious to the hatred they are inciting against Jewish people.
Read AJC's Analysis
Yellow rose on train tracks
AJC Remembers: 3 Generations of Holocaust Reflections and Testimonials - AJC Advocacy Anywhere
January 27, 2021
On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, please join us for the incredibly personal and powerful stories of 12 Holocaust survivors, children, and grandchildren, as they share reflections on their family stories.
Watch the Video

Share This

Back to Top

Sign Up to Stay Informed

Stay Connected

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
Donate

AJC's mission is to enhance the well-being of the Jewish people and Israel, and to advance human rights and democratic values in the United States and around the world.

© Copyright 2023 AJC

Footer menu

  • Global Voice
  • Who We Are
    • Leadership
    • Global Offices
    • Regional Offices
    • Alexander Young Leadership Department
    • Archives and History
    • Careers
  • Issues
    • Israel
    • BDS
    • Antisemitism
    • Radicalism & Extremism
    • Interreligious
    • Human Rights
  • Take Action
  • Global Forum
  • Support Our Work
    • Donate
    • Donor Recognition Societies
    • Planned Giving
  • Legal Information
    • Administrative Policies
    • Form 990
    • Impact and Financial Reports
  • Privacy Policy
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us
  • Global Offices
    • AJC Abu Dhabi: The Sidney Lerner Center for Arab-Jewish Understanding
    • AJC Africa Institute
    • AJC Asia Pacific Institute
    • AJC Berlin Lawrence and Lee Ramer Institute for German-Jewish Relations
    • AJC Paris
    • Shapiro Silverberg AJC Central Europe (Warsaw)
    • AJC Transatlantic Institute (Brussels)
    • Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs
    • AJC Jerusalem
  • Foreign Language Websites
    • AJC Berlin (German)
    • AJC Español (Spanish)
    • AJC Paris (French)