Editing Holocaust denial (section)

==Eastern Europe==

=== General ===
In some Eastern European countries, such as Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, and Romania, Holocaust deniers do not deny the very fact of mass murder of Jews but deny some national or regional elements of the Holocaust.<ref name="post-Soviet" />

=== Soviet Union and Russia ===
According to [[Zvi Gitelman]], Soviet writers tended either to ignore or downplay the Holocaust, treating it as one small part of a larger phenomenon of 20 million dead Soviet citizens during the [[Great Patriotic War]]. According to Gitelman, Soviet authorities were concerned about raising the consciousness of Soviet Jews and retarding their assimilation to the greater Soviet population. The Holocaust also raised the issue of collaboration with the Nazi occupiers, an uncomfortable topic for Soviet historiography.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dobroszycki|first1=Lucjan|last2=Gurock|first2=Jeffrey S.|title=The Holocaust in the Soviet Union: Studies and Sources on the Destruction of the Jews in the Nazi-Occupied Territories of the Ussr, 1941–1945|date=1993|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|isbn=1563241730|pages=3–29}}</ref> According to historian [[Yuri Pivovarov]] in modern Russia this trend has returned with the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russian invasion on Ukraine]], culminating with July 19, 2023, article of [[Maria Zakharova]] who argued that it were the Soviet citizens who were the victims of Holocaust in the first place. In a number of popular history project sponsored by Russian state Jews were mentioned as one of many victim groups, or not mentioned at all.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Болтянская |first=Нателла |date=July 31, 2023 |title=Как и почему Россия стала отрицателем Холокоста. Часть 1: "Без срока давности" |url=https://detaly.co.il/kak-i-pochemu-rossiya-stala-otritsatelem-holokosta/ |access-date=August 2, 2023 |website=Детали |language=ru-RU |archive-date=July 5, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240705095216/https://detaly.co.il/kak-i-pochemu-rossiya-stala-otritsatelem-holokosta/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Holocaust denial literature is freely published in Russia, and one of the most prominent authors, [[Jürgen Graf]], lives there since his escape from prosecution in Switzerland in the 2000s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Atkins |first=Stephen E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M9Uj6u6b-ZIC |title=Holocaust Denial as an International Movement |date=April 30, 2009 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-34538-8 |language=en |access-date=April 8, 2018 |archive-date=July 5, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240705095221/https://books.google.com/books?id=M9Uj6u6b-ZIC |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Ukraine ===
The post-Soviet radical right activists in Ukraine do not question the existence of Nazi death camps or Jewish ghettos. However, they deny the participation of local population in anti-Jewish [[pogrom]]s or the contribution of national paramilitary organizations in capture and execution of Jews.<ref name="post-Soviet" /> Thus, denial of the antisemitic nature and participation in the Holocaust of the [[Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists]] and the [[Ukrainian Insurgent Army]] has become a central component of the intellectual history of the Ukrainian diaspora and nationalists.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rudling |first=Per Anders |date=2011 |title=The OUN, the UPA and the Holocaust: A Study in the Manufacturing of Historical Myths |url=https://www.academia.edu/1122859 |url-status=live |journal=The Carl Beck Papers in Russian and East European Studies |issue=2107 |doi=10.5195/CBP.2011.164 |issn=2163-839X |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319171628/https://www.academia.edu/1122859 |archive-date=March 19, 2022 |access-date=August 24, 2022 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== Croatia ===
In 2018, the [[United States Department of State]] warned about "the glorification of the [[Ustasha]] regime and denial of the Holocaust" in Croatia, citing the placement of a plaque with the Ustasha-era salute '[[Za dom spremni]]' on the grounds of a concentration camp memorial site, far-right rallies and the concert of the controversial band [[Thompson (band)|Thompson]] among other events.<ref>{{cite news|title=US Warns about Ustasha Glorification and Holocaust Denial|url=https://www.total-croatia-news.com/politics/28735-us-warns-about-ustasha-glorification-and-holocaust-denial|publisher=Croatian News Agency (HINA)|date=May 30, 2018|access-date=April 21, 2020|archive-date=November 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109015519/https://www.total-croatia-news.com/politics/28735-us-warns-about-ustasha-glorification-and-holocaust-denial|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Efraim Zuroff]] of the Simon Wiesenthal Center describes Croatia as a "cradle of Holocaust distortion".<ref name="BIRN2">{{cite web|last1=Opačić|first1=Tamara|title=Selective Amnesia: Croatia's Holocaust Deniers|url=https://balkaninsight.com/2017/11/24/selective-amnesia-croatia-s-holocaust-deniers-11-16-2017/|website=BalkanInsight|publisher=BIRN|date=November 24, 2017|access-date=April 3, 2020|archive-date=January 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122022345/https://balkaninsight.com/2017/11/24/selective-amnesia-croatia-s-holocaust-deniers-11-16-2017/|url-status=live}}</ref> Holocaust denial in Croatia typically involves the downplaying or denial of the [[The Holocaust in the Independent State of Croatia|Holocaust]] carried out by the Ustasha regime, particularly against Serbs and Jews at the [[Jasenovac concentration camp]] and it is done by public figures, though the regime's victims also included Roma and anti-fascist Croats.<ref name="BIRN2" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Croatia Must Not Whitewash the Horrors of Jasenovac|url=https://balkaninsight.com/2018/08/27/croatia-must-not-whitewash-the-horrors-of-jasenovac-08-27-2018/|website=Balkan Insight|date=August 27, 2018|access-date=April 17, 2020|archive-date=February 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209044459/https://balkaninsight.com/2018/08/27/croatia-must-not-whitewash-the-horrors-of-jasenovac-08-27-2018/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Rosensaft|first1=Menachem Z.|title=Croatia Is Brazenly Attempting to Rewrite its Holocaust Crimes Out of History|url=https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/246116/croatia-rewrite-holocaust-crimes-out-of-history|publisher=Tablet Magazine|date=October 9, 2017|access-date=April 3, 2020|archive-date=March 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319061627/https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/246116/croatia-rewrite-holocaust-crimes-out-of-history|url-status=live}}</ref> The Society for Research of the Threefold Jasenovac Camp in Croatia, an NGO with authors and academics among its members, claims that Jasenovac was a labor camp during World War II and that it was later used by Yugoslav Communists to imprison Ustasha members and regular Croatian Home Guard army troops until 1948, then alleged Stalinists until 1951.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Vladisavljevic|first1=Anja|title=Book Event Questioning WWII Crimes Planned for Zagreb Church|url=https://balkaninsight.com/2019/01/07/new-revisionist-book-on-jasenovac-wwii-camp-01-07-2019-1/|website=Balkan Insight|publisher=BIRN|date=January 7, 2019|access-date=April 17, 2020|archive-date=October 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201004203436/https://balkaninsight.com/2019/01/07/new-revisionist-book-on-jasenovac-wwii-camp-01-07-2019-1/|url-status=live}}</ref> Following a series of book publications denying the Ustashe regime's crimes, the Simon Wiesenthal Center urged Croatian authorities in 2019 to ban such works, noting that they "would immediately be banned in Germany and Austria and rightfully so".<ref>{{cite web|title=Simon Wiesenthal Centre urges Croatia to ban Jasenovac revisionist works|url=http://hr.n1info.com/English/NEWS/a361178/Simon-Wiesenthal-Centre-urges-Croatia-to-ban-Jasenovac-revisionist-works.html|website=hr.n1info.com|publisher=N1 Zagreb|date=January 9, 2019|access-date=April 17, 2020|archive-date=October 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009060853/http://hr.n1info.com/English/NEWS/a361178/Simon-Wiesenthal-Centre-urges-Croatia-to-ban-Jasenovac-revisionist-works.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Jewish rights group urges Croatia to ban pro-Nazi book|url=https://apnews.com/11edaa150f63423989db3540cbbdbd69|publisher=Associated Press|date=January 9, 2019|access-date=April 17, 2020|archive-date=November 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107223954/https://apnews.com/11edaa150f63423989db3540cbbdbd69|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Hungary ===
In Hungary, Holocaust distortion and denial take place in the form of downplaying the country's role in the killing and deportation of Jews. The [[Arrow Cross Party]] committed numerous crimes and killed or deported Jews. A total of 437,000 Jews were deported by [[Miklós Horthy]]'s government in the [[Hungary in World War II|Kingdom of Hungary]], an Axis collaborator.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Mansky|first1=Jackie|title=Why It Matters That Hungary's Prime Minister Denounced His Country's Role in the Holocaust|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/holocaust-and-hungary-prime-minister-180964139/|website=Smithsonian Magazine|access-date=November 14, 2020|archive-date=November 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109040634/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/holocaust-and-hungary-prime-minister-180964139/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Hungary: Holocaust Denial, Incitement and Intimidation|url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/14378|website=Israel National News|date=January 14, 2014|access-date=November 14, 2020|archive-date=October 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201006110018/http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/14378|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Serbia ===
In Serbia, Holocaust distortion and denial is manifested in the downplaying of [[Milan Nedić]] and [[Dimitrije Ljotić]]'s roles in the [[Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia#Racial persecution|extermination of Serbia's Jews]] in concentration camps in [[Government of National Salvation|Nedić's Serbia]], by a number of Serbian historians.<ref name="Perica151">{{harvnb|Perica|2002|p=151.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ramet|first1=Sabrina|title=The denial syndrome and its consequences: Serbian political culture since 2000|journal=Communist and Post-Communist Studies|year=2007|volume=40|pages=41–58|doi=10.1016/j.postcomstud.2006.12.004|url=https://online.ucpress.edu/cpcs/article/40/1/41/63/The-denial-syndrome-and-its-consequences-Serbian|access-date=April 17, 2020|archive-date=June 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621180604/https://online.ucpress.edu/cpcs/article/40/1/41/63/The-denial-syndrome-and-its-consequences-Serbian|url-status=live}}</ref> Serb collaborationist armed forces, including the [[Chetniks]], were involved, either directly or indirectly, in the mass killings of mainly Jews and Roma as well as Croats, Muslims and those Serbs who sided with any anti-German resistance.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ridgeway|first1=James|last2=Udovickii|first2=Jasminka|title=Burn This House: The Making and Unmaking of Yugoslavia|date=2000|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=978-0-82232-590-1|page=133|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GuGe9fy4raoC|access-date=May 27, 2020|archive-date=July 5, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240705095217/https://books.google.com/books?id=GuGe9fy4raoC|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Cohen|1996|pp=76–81}} Since the end of the war, Serbian collaboration in the Holocaust has been the subject of historical revisionism by Serbian leaders.{{sfn|Cohen|1996|p=113}}

=== Slovakia ===
In Slovakia, some anti-communist writers claim that [[Jozef Tiso]] was a savior of Jews or that the [[Slovak State]] was not responsible for [[the Holocaust in Slovakia]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sniegon|first1=Tomas|title=Vanished History: The Holocaust in Czech and Slovak Historical Culture|date=2014|publisher=[[Berghahn Books]]|isbn=978-1-78238-294-2|language=en|location=New York|title-link=Vanished History: The Holocaust in Czech and Slovak Historical Culture|quote=As far back as during the Cold War, the SWC had adapted its ideological history usage to fit its main goal – to fight for a ‘Slovak Slovakia’.8 The Holocaust was used in the narrative, but to a small degree and without much attention from the surrounding world. The use of history was focused, above all, on defending the memory of Jozef Tiso. What was most important, it seemed, was not to question the Holocaust as such, but rather to present it as a German crime which in Slovakia was supported solely by a few German-friendly radicals whom Tiso, against his will, was forced to keep in the government so as not to enrage the Germans too much. |pages=77–78)}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Nina |last=Paulovičová |editor1-first=John-Paul |editor1-last=Himka |editor2-first=Joanna Beata |editor2-last=Michlic |title=Bringing the Dark Past to Light. The Reception of the Holocaust in Postcommunist Europe. |title-link=Bringing the Dark Past to Light |chapter=The "Unmasterable Past"? The Reception of the Holocaust in Postcommunist Slovakia |location=Lincoln |publisher=[[University of Nebraska Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-8032-2544-2 |pages=549–590 |quote=Because of [anti-Communist] émigrés’ attempts to whitewash history and degrade historical scholarship in order to sustain the reservoir of national mythologization, liberal historians denounce the émigrés as “misinformers” and “misinterpreters.” The claims that fascism never occurred in Slovakia (František Vnuk), that the deportation of Jews was an “evacuation” (Milan S. Durica), that Tiso (whose anti-Semitic invectives fueled the radicalism against the Jewish minority) was a “martyr” and a “savior” of the Jews, and that the Holocaust should be omitted from the context of the Slovak national identity discourse are the key markers of the émigré historians’ views. (p. 564)}}</ref>