Madam, - At any time, denial of the Nazi Holocaust by misguided and misinformed individuals is a betrayal of the memory of the millions who perished, and an insult to those who survived. The Nazi Holocaust must never be trivialised and any activity that purports to do so only encourages the myth-makers who deny the irrefutable facts of history.
When a sovereign nation not only questions but also satirises the Nazi Holocaust, it is an affront to decent people everywhere. The Holocaust Educational Trust of Ireland condemns as totally unacceptable the exhibition of Holocaust cartoons organised in Teheran by Iran's biggest-selling newspaper, Hamshari.
The very possibility of staging a satirical Holocaust exhibition underlines the importance of Holocaust education. Only by furnishing reliable and verifiable information can we prevent historical distortion from occurring. As well as condemning state-sponsored denial and trivialisation of the Holocaust, we must do everything possible to make all age groups aware of the lessons to be learned from the Holocaust and of the need for vigilance to prevent its recurrence.
- Yours, etc,
RUAIRI QUINN TD, Chairperson, Holocaust Educational Trust of Ireland, Clifton House, Lower Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin 2.