Sunday, April 10, 2011

Six Million

[Author clarification Saturday October 29, 2016: The original version of this article was subjected to at least one brainless interpretation. Its intention was to refute the claim by Holocaust Deniers that "6 million" was a Holocaust number fabricated at the end of the war that was based on pre-1939 predictions of Jewish catastrophe. Deniers say 6 million was the dominant figure in Jewish culture before the Holocaust regarding a predicted imminent disaster. This article shows that this was not the case as far as quotes in the press are concerned.]

[See here for a rebuttal of this meme.]

In 1905, the Jewish population of the Russian Empire (including Poland) was counted as 6,060,415. This figure was still being used by American Jewish sources in 1917 (AJC Yearbook, 1916-1917, p. 276). It therefore logically follows that American Jewish organizations seeking aid for their brethren in that region would cite a 6 million figure.

However, the Google News Archive returns these hits for the period 1905-1939:

"Five Million Jews": 42
"Six Million Jews": 44
"Three Million Jews": 57
"Millions of Jews": 1,520


Moreover, stories relating to the imminent starvation, deportation or annihilation of 5 million (not six) can be found here and here and here and here. Similar stories referring to "three million Jews" are here and here. The second article asks for help "so that three million Jews shall not perish from the face of the earth."


5 comments:

  1. So, are you saying that the number of victims of the Holocaust is less than six million?

    Check out my blog at http://worldthatremembers.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. No, I am refuting the claim by Holocaust Deniers that 6 million was a fabricated number based pre-1939 predictions. Deniers say 6 million was the dominant figure in Jewish culture before the Holocaust. This article shows that this was not the case as far as quotes in the press are concerned.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great post. Definitely "revis" don't like math.

    There's other trouble about "revisionist claims" on the number of six millions and the Holocaust.

    One is the false claim that the "six million number" is an exact number, and not an estimate.

    Estimates aren't exact numbers, but quantifications.

    Usually they ignore what is an estimate and they claim that "six millions" is an exact number, either for bad faith or stupidity.

    ReplyDelete
  4. If it's an estimate then why is it taboo to deviate from the 6 million figure?

    This article in 1938 says "five or six million Jews":
    http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=McRkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=loYNAAAAIBAJ&pg=2242,1179384&dq=6+million+jews&hl=en

    Robert Novak, "5 million or more Jews":
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y9eg0KX7-I

    So which is it? I got berated for mentioning 5.1 million once.

    ReplyDelete
  5. You're being silly. Hilberg's estimate was 5.1 million. I always say "between 5 and 6 million".

    ReplyDelete

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