Holocaust Denial in Iran
In 2016, Iran's governing regime played an active role in denying the Holocaust on multiple occasions. On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27, 2016, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei released a video titled “Holocaust: Are the Dark Ages Over?" on his website, which included his comments from 2014 that questioned the Nazi mass slaughter of more than six million Jews during World War II. In the video Khamenei remarked: “No one in European countries dares to speak about the Holocaust, while it is not clear whether the core of this matter is clear or not. Even if it is a reality, it is not clear how it happened. Speaking about the Holocaust and expressing doubts about it is considered to be a great sin. If someone does this, they stop, arrest, imprison, and sue him. This is while they claim to be the supporters of freedom. This is the ignorance that exists in today’s world.”
In May, the regime exhibited over 150 cartoons that denied or mocked the Holocaust at the state-run Islamic Propaganda Organization in Tehran. After this exhibition closed, the Islamic Propaganda Organization sponsored exhibits of selected cartoons in provincial capitals across the country.
Resources
As International Holocaust Remembrance Day approaches in 2017, the Museum has the following resources (in English and in Farsi) available regarding the events of 2016 and how those events fit into the regime’s ongoing policy of Holocaust denial and distortion:
- Fact sheet on the Iranian government’s extensive connections to the 2016 cartoon contest, despite Foreign Minister Javad Zarif’s assertions to the contrary
- Museum-commissioned analysis on the goals, sponsors, and themes of Iranian Holocaust cartoon contests, as well as an analysis of the 2016 contest and its aftermath
- Timeline of Iranian Holocaust Denial (1998-2016)
Iran During the Holocaust
While senior Iranian officials are promoting Holocaust denial, the government is trying to keep information about the Holocaust from the Iranian people, including Iran’s own history during World War II—targeting by Nazi Germany for resources, invasion and occupation by Allied forces, and accepting over 20,000 Polish refugees and 1,000 Jewish children.
To fill this gap, the Museum has:
- Partnered with Iranwire.com to produce a short animated film about the important roles Iranians played in helping the victims and survivors of the Holocaust (in English and in Farsi)
- Collected further information about Polish refugees and Jewish children who escaped to Iran
Schedule an Interview
To speak to an expert, please contact Communications Director Andrew Hollinger at ahollinger@ushmm.org.
