Bad argument: Bishop Williamson denies that six million Jews were killed in the holocaust, and claims that no Jews were killed at all in gas chambers. In fact, he says, there were no gas chambers at Auschwitz. The convicted holocaust-denier David Irving makes the same claims, and the bishop draws on some of the same alleged "evidence" presented in Irving's writings. In this interview, Bishop Williamson acknowledges that making this case "is against the law in Germany".
Syllogism: "(introduction)Some believe that Jews were killed in gas chamber. (I premisis)There are studies that deny the existence of the gas chamber.(II premisis) I believe these studies to be true. (conclusion) Therefore, no Jews were killed in the gas chambers."
Although the syllogism is not technically correct, I believe this to be the reasoning behind Bishop Williamson statement. I think it makes sense from his point of view. He's trusting historians that say that in order to work, gas chambers have to be made in a particular way and there were no such things in the concentration camps. The premises have a questionable degree of truth but they are valid, and so is the conclusion .
The real question, and the weak point in his reasoning, is: why is he trusting these studies and not all the other people, either witnesses or historians? This leads many people to assume he is anti-semitic... which is probably the case.
It's hard to see the matter in an objective way because emotions in this case play a huge role, as so many human beings have been killed (by gas chambers or other means, it does not really matter, does it?) by other humans "in cold blood", in an accurate, systematic, premeditated way.
[However, I don't think Europe should feel guilty towards Jews so much to be "blind" to the crimes that the state of Israel is perpetuating against the Palestinian population. In denouncing those crimes, people shouldn't feel afraid of being called "anti-semitic", because it does not mean to be against a religion or a "race", it means to be against a government. It's time to learn from the past and prevent other people from being killed, tortured and humiliated because of their religion or their race. And it's astonishing that these crimes are committed by the same people who suffered them in the first place] [btw, yes, I know this is not really relevant to the topic I should discuss]
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