In a widely shared statement this week, the Auschwitz Memorial that preserves the site of the Nazi concentration and extermination camp of the same name fact-checked Fox News host Greg Gutfeld for his claims about the Holocaust.
In conversation with his Jewish co-host Jessica Tarlov, Gutfeld argued in broad defense of new educational standards from Florida state authorities alleging that some of those who were enslaved in the U.S. developed skills that were personally beneficial, an allegation the experts responsible for these claims themselves struggled to support. They shared a list of names including individuals either who historical records didn’t indicate were enslaved or who developed their well-known skillsets after exiting captivity. On Fox, Gutfeld summarized ostensible conclusions from Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl that Jews survived by proving their usefulness.
The Auschwitz Memorial, which is very active on Twitter, argued that this conclusion didn’t mean — as Gutfeld may have taken it — close to anything substantial in the long run, as the Nazi goal was still the systematic murder of Jews, even if some temporarily survived while subjected to slave labor.
“Therefore, while it is accurate to acknowledge that some Jews may have survived temporarily due to their perceived usefulness, it is crucial to remember that the Holocaust was a systematic genocide with the ultimate aim of exterminating the entire Jewish population,” they said. “It would be more appropriate to say that some Jews survived the Holocaust because they were considered temporarily useful, and the circumstances of the Nazi regime’s collapse prevented their murder. We should avoid such oversimplifications in talking about this complex tragic story.”
The educational standards newly established in Florida have been widely ridiculed, including by Vice President Kamala Harris, who recently visited Jacksonville to share her concerns. She contended that pursuing that framework for education could leave subjected students struggling to function effectively in the modern world.
While it is true that some Jews may have used their skills or usefulness to increase their chances of survival during the Holocaust, it is essential to contextualize this statement properly and understand that it does not represent the complex history of the genocide perpetrated… https://t.co/F8VfwRuFEI
— Auschwitz Memorial (@AuschwitzMuseum) July 25, 2023
