Iran Focus has this disturbing report concerning former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.
Tehran, Iran, Mar. 06 ‚Äì Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl reportedly told Iranian businessmen in Germany that he agreed with statements by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the Holocaust was a “myth”, the semi-official Jomhouri Islami reported on Monday.The government-owned daily wrote that at a dinner gala with Iranian hoteliers and entrepreneurs, Kohl said that he “heartily agreed” with Ahmadinejad‚Äôs remarks about the Holocaust.“What Ahmadinejad said about the Holocaust was in our bosoms”, the former German chancellor was quoted as saying. “For years we wanted to say this, but we did not have the courage to speak out”.Ahmadinejad caused an international furore last year when he publicly declared that the Holocaust was a “myth” and threatened that Israel must be “wiped off the map”.His comments were supported by senior Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and former president Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.The country’s state-run media have systematically defended the position of the Iranian president and given extensive coverage to historians and “experts” who deny the Holocaust took place.
While Kohl has a history of saying insensitive things regarding the Holocaust, I am reluctant to believe this report, especially considering that it has originated from an Iranian government owned daily newspaper.
Updates (Israel time)
Mon 6:15PM: I have sent off this story to the main online German media outlets, in the hope that they will publicize it. Assuming it is an Iranian fabrication as I – and others – believe, perhaps the German government will put the Iranians in their place (a diplomatic incident can only put more pressure on the Iranians as they march towards their nuclear goals). Or perhaps Kohl himself would like to sue?
(In the off chance that Kohl did say these things, then widespread publication of this story will serve another purpose)
Mon 6:35PM: Jan from Statler & Waldorf emails:
No, that did not appear in any news here in Germany so far. And I suspect it to be a hoax. It is true that Kohl did make some insensitive statements in the past, like that one on having experienced the “mercy of being born late”. But that was more due to his extreme clumsiness and sub-standard rhetorical skills. Generally, Kohl always stood very firm in the pro-Western tradition that Adenauer had established within the German Conservative party, and part of that always was to acknowledge guilt associated with the holocaust and the responsibility towards Israel that follows from it. It is virtually unthinkable that Kohl agrees with the Iranian president on any issue, and certainly not on the issue of Holocaust denial. But if anything surfaces in our news, I’ll keep you updated.
Mon 7:05PM: LGF has just mentioned the report, and is also rightly skeptical as to its veracity. But at least now the story is guaranteed of widespread publication.
Mon 7:15PM: David from Medienkritik emails:
Hi Dave,
I am 100 percent sure Kohl didn’t say this. I haven’t found a rebuttal, but Kohl probably doesn’t know about the article. I will do more research on this and do a posting.
