malco Posted February 27, 2006 Share Posted February 27, 2006 The (to us) absurdly strict laws regarding Holocaust denial in Germany and Austria date back to the immediate post-war period. There was the precedent that Hitler had come to power by telling "the big lie"; that Germany didn't lose the First World War at all, but got stabbed in the back by Jews and Communists back home. The reality is, a political message is no less able to drive the mood of the masses just for being a lie, at least under the right circumstances. So laws were passed to ensure that nobody would ever attempt to bring back fascism using the lie that the Holocaust never happened. Given the association of fascism with the mobilisation of the lost, the wasted, the discontent, the psychopathic and the downright criminally insane, it is not at all a bad idea for any society to be ready to censor political slants that could be used to foster fascism. It might be time to lay these old laws to rest - but then again, maybe not. Hard times could soon be upon us again, and the rabble-rousers will be out ranting and yelling, and the desperate and the angry will listen to them. They're almost bound to blame Peak Oil on the Jews one way or another. The judge should have just given Irving a dressing-down for being an @ss, giving him three years is a bit weak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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