(Holocaust-history.org). Holocaust revisionism continues to be a major problem because of the ill-will between Arabs in Jews in the current Middle East. In fact, as recently as 2006, a major Arab power hosted a conference on the Holocaust. However, the purpose of the conference was not to address lingering effects of the Holocaust, like the pervasive anti-Semitism that plagues much of the world, but to provide support for the position that the Holocaust was a myth. This concept is central to Iran's political position regarding Israel. Iran maintains that Israel is not a legitimate country, and that its political existence has been justified by the myth of the Holocaust, which the Western world used to justify Israel's re-creation after World War II. (CNN). In fact, modern Holocaust deniers recast the issue as some type of Jewish conspiracy, and this conceptualization actually serves to increase worldwide anti-Semitism.

Of course, the lessons of history are not only relevant in the Middle East or in areas with extensive Western involvement. Currently, the world is learning another lesson about the importance of history and remembrance with the crises in Darfur. Like many nations before the beginning of World War II, much of the world has been complacently allowing the horrors in Darfur to continue without active interference. Even today, when there is substantial evidence to demonstrate that genocide, mass rape, and enslavement are occurring in Darfur, the international community has failed to react. (BBC). One would imagine that the world would have learned its lesson, after spending years ignoring reports of the horrors of Nazi Germany, which resulted in approximately 6 million deaths that largely could have been prevented if intervention had occurred sooner. Instead, people have chosen to ignore the lessons of history, and have not intervened to protect a maligned racial group from violence and hatred.

Looking at three instances of historical revisionism, one that has lasted almost 70 years and resulted...

When history is distorted, either way, the result is a likelihood that the mistakes of the past will be repeated and re-expressed, over and over again. However, an accurate remembrance of historical events can minimize this risk. As Wiesel stated, "Because I remember, I despair. Because I remember, I have the duty to reject despair. I remember the killers, I remember the victims, even as I struggle to invent a thousand and one reasons to hope." (Wiesel). It is the duty of every person to remember the victims, and the killers, and to recognize what roles they played in both arenas, if mankind is to have any hope of survival, much less of peace. While it may be tempting for the world to forget the events of the twenty-first century, or even to distort those events, to do so can only have drastic negative consequences for the world. Therefore, as painful as it is, the twenty-first century must be marked by remembrance.
Works Cited

BBC. "Q&a: Sudan's Darfur Conflict." BBC. 2007. BBC. 1 Feb. 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3496731.stm.

CNN. "Iran Plans Holocaust Conference." CNN. 2006. Cable News Network LP, LLP. 1 Feb. 2007 http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/01/15/iran.holocaust/.

Holocaust-history.org. "Questions and Answers on 'Revisionism' and the Holocaust."

Holocaust-history.org. 2006. www.holocaust-history.org.1 Feb. 2007 http://www.holocaust-history.org/denial/revisionism-qa.shtml.

Tychostup, Lorna. "Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq? U.N. Expert Disputes U.S." War

Times.org. 2006. www.War-Times.org.1 Feb. 2007 http://war-times.org/issues/2art8.htm.

Wiesel, Elie. "Nobel Lecture." Nobelprize.org. 1986. The Nobel Foundation. 1 Feb. 2007 http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1986/wiesel-lecture.html.