OK for Trads to Debate Vatican II, not the Holocaust

IMO, the 'holocaust" is the most glaring example because it is the only historical topic which is forbidden to be openly examined or discussed. Anyone who attempts to publicly examine the "holocaust" is mercilessly smeared whether they are a Jew or a goy, um, I mean Gentile.

This is absolutely ridiculous. If this is the case why did historians just completely destroy Hitler's Willing Executioners? In grad school the only book on the Holocaust I ever had to read was that book and it was presented to me as how not to write history. Heck, why did I learn more about the U.S. actions in the Philippines than about the Holocaust?

And for that matter why was J.T. Gross's Neighbors also savaged by historians? In fact, in Gross's case historians questioned if the Germans even committed the massacre depicted in his book!

Why is A.J.P Taylor a respected historian when he argued Hitler was not responsible for World War II and that he didn't burn down the Reichstag?

Why did so many historians oppose the creation of the National Holocaust Museum on the grounds that the museum was more about politics than history?

Why have I been at a historical conference where a top historian joked about how "every American Jew claims their mother's neighbor's sister's dogcatcher died in the Holocaust"?

Why have many historians written about how the Holocaust is used for political purposes? Why have many historians raised questions about the historical memory of this event?

Why did many historians oppose David Irving's conviction?

Why do so many historians despise Israel?

If it's all so amenable to questioning as you say, then why are people smeared, attacked, detained, tried, convicted, and imprisoned for "Holocaust denial"?

If the inquiry is so free and open, then why is "Holocaust denial" (or "genocide denial") de jure illegal in many European countries, and de facto illegal in others like Canada?

These simple little facts trump everything you wrote. There is no free enquiry permitted on the Holocaust, except for chipping around the edges. Hawaii Five-O is correct.

My father is an historian at an important Canadian university. He even chaired the history department there for 8 years. I know his reaction to "Holocaust denial", and I know his colleagues' reactions, and often it is highly emotional. When I lived at home I was receiving newsletters from Michael Hoffman, and when my father happened on one of them he nearly kicked me out. In the end, resigned, he told me that the RCMP - Canada's federal police body - would probably start checking our mail if I didn't end my subscription. And he's right - they do that here.