On November 26, 2013, the website Mashregh News, which is close to Iranian security circles, published a post titled "A Taste Of Holocaust Falsity + Photos," while noting that it was originally posted November 19, 2013 on the blog Shonood.blog.ir, which is written by Iranian journalist and filmmaker Mehran Mozoon, a supporter of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The post attacked the law recently passed in France, which states that questioning the Holocaust's veracity, not just denying it, is punishable by imprisonment, [1] and claimed that the move contravenes freedom of thought and is unbefitting of France's position as the cradle of civilization and liberty.
The post presents what it alleges are Holocaust photos that are well known in the West, and says that they are doctored, comparing them to what it claims are the original photos. For example, it shows a photo of men placing an emaciated corpse into a crematorium, and compares it to the alleged original, which does not include the corpse, and which it claims was actually taken in the Soviet Union and has no connection to Jews or Nazi Germany.
It should be mentioned that during the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, various Iranian websites also claimed that Holocaust photos were faked.[2] Despite President Rohani's claims that the Iranian regime does not deny the Holocaust, the publication of such a post at this time by an Iranian website close to the regime indicates the opposite.[3]
The following is a translation of the article, including the photos it presents and the descriptions that accompany them:[4]
"A law has recently been approved in France, the cradle of civilization and liberty, according to which in addition to Holocaust deniers, those who [merely] question [the veracity of] the Holocaust will also be sent to jail. This is the same France that gave the Statue of Liberty to the U.S. Now, with the approval of this shocking law, freedom of thought has also been taken to the slaughterhouse of Zionism."
"The top photo is fake; the bottom photo is real"
"Notice the emotional role of the child whose mother was hanged (in the fake photo)."
"Fake photo"
"The merciless Nazi forces hang a Jewish nurse."
"The real photo"
"Fake photo"
"An emaciated Jew who died of starvation in a Nazi camp is burned in a crematorium."
"The real photo"
"This is a labor camp in the former Soviet Union that is unrelated to the Jews and Nazis."
"Fake photo"
"The bloodthirsty Nazis hang a Jewish mother in a village and steal her geese while ignoring her son's suffering"
"The real photo"[v]
Endnotes:
[1] This is presumably a reference to a law passed by the French Parliament in January 2012 which stipulated that the denial, questioning or minimizing "in an excessive manner" of any genocide recognized as such by the law, including the Armenian genocide, is a crime punishable by one year in prison and a fine of €45,000. Lefigaro.fr, January 23, 2013.
[2] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 3358, In Advance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Iranian 'Adolf Hitler Research Society' Website Shows How Holocaust Photos Were 'Doctored' By the Jews, and Iranian Website Publishes Series by French Holocaust Denier, January 26, 2011.
[3] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 5450, Criticism In Iran Of Foreign Minister Zarif Tweet Claiming Iran Never Denied The Holocaust, September 18, 2013.
[4] Mashregh News (Iran), November 26, 2011.
[5] It should be stressed that the authenticity of the particular photos shown in this post – which has not been investigated by MEMRI – is irrelevant to the overall message of the post, which questions the authenticity of the Holocaust.
