Joachim Hoffmann and Holocaust Minimization

[krimsonglass51]

I recently read the English translation of Joachim Hoffmann's book "Stalin's War of Extermination." In terms of discussions of that work on this forum, focus is given on the debate over whether or not Barbarossa stopped an imminent Soviet invasion, or if Stalin carried out a genocidal campaign against Germans and their allies/co-belligerents.

What is ignored is Hoffmann's claims about the Holocuast, including his skepticism over the 1 million death toll of Auschwitz (he constantly emphasizes how the initial Soviet figure of 4 million was incorrect even though most people were skeptical of that number to begin with), skepticism over the death toll at Babi Yar, and his claim that the total Jewish death toll of 6 million was a product of Soviet propaganda (I'm fairly certain research in the decades following the war have more or less confirmed that number.)

While he doesn't deny the Holocaust occurred, would it be a stretch to say that Hoffmann was deliberately trying to minimize the Holocaust?

[Princess Perfume]

To be fair, a lot of groups obscure the fact that the Nazis themselves viewed and treated the Jews as the main target. Poles, Roma, gays etc. were not considered the main target, despite post-war myths.

[Gorque]

I'm not at all familiar with Herr Hoffman's book, so I cannot comment on his assertions regarding the number of Holocaust victims without having further details. However, one of the favorite tactics of Holocaust deniers is to use the erroneous Soviet estimations as a basis for using much lower than generally agreed upon numbers for the number of innocent civilians needlessly murdered.

[Boby]

And why Dr. Hoffmann wouldn't be skeptical about Holocaust figures? It was perfectly reasonable for a historian. Much like Ernst Nolte. Even the late Hillgruber was much critical on certain "Hot Topics".

[historygeek2021]

Seems pretty typical. Holocaust minimization is in vogue these days, since people can't get away with Holocaust denial. It's too bad Stalin didn't mobilize a 7 million man army in 1941 and wipe the snot out of those little Nazis.

[wm]

Communists made a few mistakes in their estimations early on and, because communism was all smoke and mirrors, couldn't backtrack without losing face.
But because the falsehoods were peddled by reputable historians (and included lots of generic communist propaganda), concerns that something fishy was going on were legitimate.

BTW the Jews never were the main target. That the war was about the Jews is basically a conspiracy theory.
Like the others, the Jews were an obstacle on the road to victory and had to be neutralized.

The Jews because they were inherently destructive people.
The Poles, on account of their Germanophobia, ethnic threat to the Germans, political incompetence, and lack of culture.

As it happened, the Jews had to be all "neutralized," and the Poles were only subjected to cultural genocide.

[Princess Perfume]

The Jews were the main target of the Holocaust, not the war. Claiming equal victimhood for Poles, Roma, homosexuals etc. is ahistorical.

[krimsonglass51]

And why Dr. Hoffmann wouldn't be skeptical about Holocaust figures? It was perfectly reasonable for a historian. Much like Ernst Nolte. Even the late Hillgruber was much critical on certain "Hot Topics".

Do you believe the figure of 6 million Jews being killed in the Holocaust is accurate?

[historygeek2021]

The Jews were the main target of the Holocaust, not the war. Claiming equal victimhood for Poles, Roma, homosexuals etc. is ahistorical.

Exactly this.

[Boby]

And why Dr. Hoffmann wouldn't be skeptical about Holocaust figures? It was perfectly reasonable for a historian. Much like Ernst Nolte. Even the late Hillgruber was much critical on certain "Hot Topics".

Do you believe the figure of 6 million Jews being killed in the Holocaust is accurate?

There is no much difference between the canonical 6 million, Hilberg or Reitlinger figures. It is just a distraction of what was behind. People who thinks lowering the number is some sort of holocaust denial is just paranoid.

[wm]

The Jews were the main target of the Holocaust, not the war.

The Holocaust = the extermination of European Jewry. So it's a redundancy, A=A statement.

And:

Fisher sets out to talk with a series of esteemed Holocaust scholars, to see how it was determined that six million Jews died in the Holocaust and how this number came to be so enshrined in our minds.

None of the scholars he spoke with was prepared to confirm the number. In fact, most of them are seen trying to distance themselves from it to some degree, and implying that, historically, it may not be that accurate. Ben-Gurion University historian Hanna Yablonka seems to be the only one who is ready to say so openly. “No historian today will tell you that six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust,” the professor says in the film.

However, nearly all the scholars appearing in the documentary agree that this figure has become so identified with the memory of the Holocaust that it mustn’t be touched.

[krimsonglass51]

And why Dr. Hoffmann wouldn't be skeptical about Holocaust figures? It was perfectly reasonable for a historian. Much like Ernst Nolte. Even the late Hillgruber was much critical on certain "Hot Topics".

Do you believe the figure of 6 million Jews being killed in the Holocaust is accurate?

There is no much difference between the canonical 6 million, Hilberg or Reitlinger figures. It is just a distraction of what was behind. People who thinks lowering the number is some sort of holocaust denial is just paranoid.

I guess my point is that I wonder why Hoffmann did not mention post-war research (including Reitlinger and Hilberg) which brought us to the current number of 6 million (which indeed, can range between 4-7 million). He simply states that the 6 million amount was the product of Soviet propaganda.