Brace yourself for my incredible ignorance

[yzb25]

So I (though I can't remember how it happened) was watching this holocaust denial video on youtube. I'd never seriously considered the possibility that facts surrounding the holocaust could be unreliable, because I assumed it was something that the most reliable had already looked into and figured out.

Upon watching the video and then doing 30 mins of shitty research, I started to wonder about a lot of the facts around the holocaust I had taken for granted and, upon reflection, I realize that I should be more critical when engaging in a subject that's surrounded with a lot of bias and misinformation.

For those who are curious, this is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEZkvsK7nfo

Obviously I'm not a holocaust denier, but this is one of those things that makes me realize just how little I actually know and just how easy it really is to deceive me. I'd love to know some of your thoughts on the video and if any of you have any better information (source-wise) on the following:

1) How many jews were DIRECTLY and DELIBERATELY killed in Nazi Germany?

A) Conventional wisdom: 6 million were killed. This number has been thrown about so much it's just become set-in-stone somehow.
B) A closer look: This number seems to be gotten from comparing how many jews can be counted before and after WW2 (census data). This is very hazy in the first place, but also doesn't take into account the massive numbers of jews who died through the many other ways you could have gotten fucked in the 40s (like typhus and war). The real figure for jews who died in Death Camps may be less than half of what we imagine (but it is still nevertheless a tragedy). (the World Almanac stats in the video are bullshit, it seems. It turns out that the 1948 World Alamanac data was based off of information in 1939. The actual post-war estimates come in 1949)

2) How were jews killed in Nazi Germany?

A) Coventional wisdom: They were told they were gonna have a shower but then the pipes squirted out gas and killed them all instead!
B) A closer look: To gas someone with Zyclon B, it seems you have to lock them in an airtight cell, drop pellets of Zyclon B in the cell sub-room temperature and then heat up the room past room temperature to make the Zyclon B evaporate. Gassing in Nazi Germany probably looked nothing like we imagine it to. I still want to look into this further though, because it seems that chemical tests in Auschwitz contradict the idea that jews were even killed with Zyclon B in the first place.

I decided to put this in CO because I'm preemptively predicting this thread will degenerate into shitposting, but genuine and meaningful comments are welcome and encouraged.

[Sen]

I'm not gonna get into the actual questions because I'm not an expert in the subject and don't have time to watch videos right now.

Just wanted to point out that the accepted version of history is rarely accurate, ad that you are right to say that people "should be more critical when engaging in a subject that's surrounded with a lot of bias and misinformation", although I'd get rid the last part and suggets applying that to every subject. Hell, even "scientific" research cannot be trusted now that people will falsify data and selectively pick results in order to get some easy cash.

Institutionalized history, on the other hand, can be used as a formative propaganda tool to push all sorts of agendas, so it's always important to try and understand why some aspects of a particular event are given more weight than others. Who benefits from that?

[Brendan]

1) There's no way we can know for certain. A lot.
2) Lots of ways. Some were sewn together.

[Yukitaka Oni]

Same question for Stalin's Gulag and China's purge by Mao.....

[Helz]

You should look up Unit 731. It wouldn't be hard to argue that some of the things done there were far less humane than what the Nazi's did to the jews. But the US was kind enough to grant the people responsible immunity for their actions in exchange for their research.

[Cryptonic]

You should watch the 6-part documentary, Auschwitz.
You'll see how they used Zyclon B efficiently, and what their set up was.

[yzb25]

Just wanted to point out that the accepted version of history is rarely accurate, ad that you are right to say that people "should be more critical when engaging in a subject that's surrounded with a lot of bias and misinformation", although I'd get rid the last part and suggets applying that to every subject. Hell, even "scientific" research cannot be trusted now that people will falsify data and selectively pick results in order to get some easy cash.

This was a real wake-up call for me. The more I look back on it, the more I realize how naive I was to disregard skepticism just because I presumed the topic to be "well-established".

1) There's no way we can know for certain. A lot.
2) Lots of ways. Some were sewn together.

You'd make a good politician :P

Same question for Stalin's Gulag and China's purge by Mao.....

Fair point, though I can't imagine myself ever taking the initiative to look deeply into the history of countries outside of the West without a strong pitch, unfortunately.

You should look up Unit 731. It wouldn't be hard to argue that some of the things done there were far less humane than what the Nazi's did to the jews. But the US was kind enough to grant the people responsible immunity for their actions in exchange for their research.

I've wanted to make a "USA's best moments" compilation for a long time. You are reigniting that enthusiasm. As Sen hinted at, it definitely seems the Allied Powers have played down certain Crimes Against Humanity while drumming up others with dark intentions. The world is more fucked up than I thought. Shit XD.

You should watch the 6-part documentary, Auschwitz.
You'll see how they used Zyclon B efficiently, and what their set up was.

I can't imagine the documentary is simply called Auschwitz. Are you sure it didn't have a more substantial title?