Are There Two Sides To The Holocaust?

If one searches “The Holocaust” on Twitter right now, they’re bound to find many users talking about a bill in Ohio that would require schools to “teach both sides of it.” The specific controversy involves a bill introduced in the Ohio Legislator which claims to have the goal of preventing teachers from “teaching divisive concepts.” However, one of the main sponsors of the bill, state legislator Sarah Fowler Arthur, said in an interview back in March that people should understand both sides of all political events — the Holocaust included.

In the film The Matrix, Morpheus informs Neo that “everything happens for a reason.” Notice how the quote is not “good things happen for a reason, bad things just randomly happen out of nowhere.” The Holocaust — which could easily be qualified as the most evil event in the twentieth century — was done for a reason, and schools that teach about it should be required to explain why so many Germans were okay with it taking place.

Of course, teaching why Hitler believed his genocide was justified is not the same thing as accepting the notion that Hitler was correct. For example, an education on antisemitism in Europe should point out that one of the main documents Hitler used as justification for his action — even referring it favorably in Mein Kampf — was The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which was proven to be a hoax…