April 14, 2010

The British National Party and the Holocaust

The far-right party admits that it is a tricky subject for candidates

The British National Party, whose leader, Nick Griffin, is standing for parliament in Barking, has made great efforts to present itself as a legitimate political organisation. But what other party would give media training to its election candidates on how to avoid questions about the Holocaust?

Alby Walker, a former BNP councillor in Stoke-on-Trent who is now sitting as an independent, has told the New Statesman that he received the training before last year's elections for the European Parliament. "We were given advice on answers and the kind of questions you'd be asked. BNP candidates had previously been tripped up by questions about the Holocaust."

The training consisted of practice interviews with a panel of three party officials, Walker said. "For example, they would tell us to say there wasn't just one Holocaust but that there were left-wing ones, too. Or [to say]: 'Yes, it was a terrible thing that happened, but it's not relevant to the modern day.' "

When asked by the New Statesman about Walker's claims, the BNP leader Nick Griffin initially dismissed them as "lies" and said: "We have media training on a whole range of subjects." But, asked if that training specifically covered the Holocaust, he admitted: "That subject does come up, yes."

Jon Benjamin, chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said: "The Holocaust is a historical fact, and if it has any relevance to the current election, it is as a stark reminder of where bigotry and intolerance can lead. Perhaps that explains the discomfort some politicians feel in talking about it."

New Statesman

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Griffin and the modern BNP no longer, openly, deny the Holocaust with the exception of a few 'old-timers' around Croydon Branch. Interestingly Richard Edmonds and others in the BNP demonstrated outside the German Embassy a few years back in solidarity with notorious Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel. What they prefer to do is follow the 'Jean-Marie Le Pen' line in stating it was a 'mere detail in history'. Instead of denying it they negate it's importance and downplay the numbers affected.

Anonymous said...

I take it the dreadful Marlene Guest was absent from one of these Holocaust workshops then. When asked if 6 million people died in the Holocaust, didn't she suggest that there were positives to gain from it such as advances in dentistry?

Although I don't think Marlene's dentist is aware of these advances!!!

(Ex BNP)

Paul McCoch said...

Lest we forget......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzdtPcNwRtM

Antifascist said...

'Lest we forget......'

Thanks for posting the video, Paul, but it's only right to warn viewers that it is extremely distressing to watch.

Anonymous said...

I can back Alby Walker up with that statement. yes they do workshops in dealing with certain questions. i know a few people who went to one last year,ran by your favorite person 'Clive Jefferson'

Anonymous said...

Of course the BNP nazis believe that Hitler killed millions of Jews, thats why they admire him so much. The whole "we don't believe the Holocaust happened" was always just a way of improving (ho ho) the image of Adolf Hitler in the eyes of the public. To claim the great führer is a victim of smears and slanders is a failed tactic and Griffin knows this.

The fact that the BNP hate being called nazis (in public anyway) means we should continue to do so.