The Holocaust: Does the number killed really matter?

February 12, 8:28 AMEvangelical ExaminerJake Jones

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The British Bishop, Richard Williamson who has asked some serious but otherwise troubling questions about the Holocaust, has refused to change his rhetoric about the Holocaust and the number of Jew’s that were killed in gas chambers during the Second World War.

Pope Benedict XVI rescinded the excommunication of Mr. Williamson and three other bishops from the ultraconservative sect of the Society of St Pius X last month which caused a global uproar when he did so. The outrage was because Williamson still claims that gas chambers were not used in the execution of the Jews and that only 200,000 to 300,000 were actually killed as opposed to the bigger number of 6 million.

So, damage control took effect quickly when the Pope was convinced to rescind his immediate decision and declared that Williamson must publicly disclaim his views before he will be fully reinstated as a Catholic cleric.

The title of the article asks the question: “Does the number killed really matter?”

My answer to that would be a very loud NO!   The numbers do not matter. Whether it was 60 Jews or 6 million Jews, it was an event that should not be deemphasized, and one that Williamson should be able to grasp as a valid event. The attempt to exterminate the Jews by Hitler should be something that should be remembered for what it was so we do not allow that kind of situation to occur again. Yes there are many being killed in some African countries by their own military and others, but lets not forget the past, and lets not deemphasize it either.

By most accounts, there were six Nazi extermination camps in occupied Poland alone, they were: Chelmno, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, Auschwitz-Birkenau (part of the Auschwitz complex), and Majdanek.  I have seen the graphic photographs of the extermination camps and of the piles of dead Jews,  and talked with people who were in the military at that time.

To say that Jews were not killed in gas chambers is ludicrous. Photos, first person survivor stories, and even accounts confirmed by the German military have confirmed this piece of information. Williamson is a denier of what is known to be a factual event. He should not be reinstated as a cleric in the Catholic Church.