"We Should Allow Opinions to Be Heard"

The following comments reflect the views of our readers. Not all reader comments have been published. DW-WORLD.DE reserves the right to edit for length and appropriateness of content.

If we preach "freedom of speech" to the world, then we should allow opinions to be heard. And if there is evidence to the contrary of common beliefs, it should become knowledge. -- Traute Kalbfleish

The Iranian Holocaust Conference should definitely take place. But similar conferences should take place around the world, and especially in Germany where the people have been victimized long enough. The trials in Germany of Zündel, Rudolf and many others are themselves crimes. They are a violation of everyone's basic human rights to freedom of speech and freedom of thought and freedom of inquiry. Shame on Deutsche Welle for not taking a stand against such crimes. -- Friedrich Paul Berg

Ernst Zündel was accused of Holocaust denial and tried for incitement

Yes, this conference should be held. This topic has raged for decades. Why should this topic be banned? Is it not a clamp down on freedom of expression? Why apply double standards? People are free to draw the cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed and hurt the sentiments of 1.3 billion Muslims. Then why respect the feelings of just 13.5 million Jews? -- Asif alZarq

No, I do not believe that the denial of the Holocaust should be a criminal offense, as every person should be allowed to express their views and opinions. I am certain that the number of people actually believing that the Holocaust never existed is a rather small percentage overall. It is not a question of whether the Holocaust actually occurred but rather a question of freedom of speech. Moreover, it is obviously not considered a crime to question the genocide in Darfur and other atrocities committed in the world against people. Why is it, then, that a person is "allowed" to freely and openly question its actual occurrence or the number of people being murdered when it involves people not of the Jewish faith and yet the moment a statement is made concerning Jews, it is deemed a crime? Having been born well after World War II, it is impossible for me to say whether the Holocaust occurred or not. Most likely, it did occur, perhaps not in the proportions claimed by Jews -- I simply do not know. I do, however, believe that time has come to lay things to rest, including the Holocaust. Am I minimizing the suffering endured by Jewish people? Of course not, but "regurgitating" the Holocaust over and over is certainly not bringing any of the dead back to life. Putting the issue of the Holocaust to rest does certainly not mean that one should "forget" what happened but, in my view, does little to nothing to prevent it from happening again. Moving forward while being mindful of the "signs" in order to prevent a "repeat" might do more than continuously holding an entire country hostage for something that happened a long time ago when most of the Germans now alive and living in Germany were not even born yet. -- Monika Foster, USA

It's not a crime to deny other genocides, such as in Darfur, wrote one reader

No, it should not be a criminal offence. I think because Germans do not want to offend the Jews, they often go overboard. When I read recently that photos of Holocaust victims should soon be displayed in train stations, I thought, what next? Most victims of wars are innocent. Who remembers them? Who builds a monument to innocent Palestinians or Iraqis? Americans, though very much aware that many black people suffered before the 1960s, would not get the idea to display the victims who were unjustly lynched in public places. Only if we are willing to learn from the past, act justly, and respect the dignity of every human being, will we have peace. To constantly put up reminders of one nation's sins, by covering up one's own, does not create peace. Peace is based on truth and justice. -- Elisabeth Heptner, USA