Why Would A Thai Deny The Holocaust on Facebook?

On April 20, Rungguna Kitiyakara wrote a post on his Facebook page wishing Adolf Hitler a happy birthday.  As if that isn't offensive or absurd enough, he commemorates the occasion with a long anti-Semitic rant and claims the Holocaust not real, it is a conspiracy. 

He goes on for a long while, click for full text with computer translation.

Adolf Hitler is often spoken about as someone that sought to make Germany "Self sufficient," which is also a buzzword in Thai rhetoric about the economy. While the phrase appears to be the same, they are not the same concepts. Germany was rebuilt with the help of the Allies after WWII and its economic strength today is not because of the economic policies put in place by Hitler. Thailand does not accept economic aid and even refused it after the 2014 Boxing Day Tsunami. The histories of these two nations are very different and these types of parallels are weak comparisons at best.

Much of the text of this post is from Neonazi propaganda. Mentions of Hitler giving the people cruises, free college educations, doubling the minimum wage and giving ten year affordable mortgaged homes are mentioned. It is one thing to be able to understand the words written in neonazi works, but this type of appropriation takes it without the social context as neonazi groups are reviled and/or banned in most Western European nations. (The Thai Language opinion piece, In Her View did a good job discussing the propaganda issue.) 

Our first thought is why? While nobody has the ability to go into the mind of this man (not sure we'd want to anyway) what we can do is to look at other instances we've seen these ideas presented in Thailand.

For legal reasons, it is important to note that we are writing about these ideas as an opinion of a small minority of Thais, not specifically about Rungguna Kitiyakara's post.  


The small amount that is included about Europe during WWII in the standard Thai textbooks is one page in Mathayom Five. Most of the content emphasizes Germany's economic strife before WWII and the Holocaust is not explicitly mentioned or dealt with. 

Thai textbook mentioning WWII in Europe

The Holocaust denial mentioned in Thailand is the usual brand of conspiracy theory trope. While it's pointless to argue with such ideas as the camps being staged as they are absurd, the numbers and people stated in these theories are almost always wrong. Half of the deaths from the Holocaust were non-Jews: Roma, Polish, homosexuals, handicapped and political prisoners. These groups are almost always excluded by neonazi propaganda as they don't fit into the conspiracy notion neatly.  


The propaganda quoted from a few "elites" and the small amount of information taught in schools (we wonder who writes the textbooks) trickle down into the culture that can be seen in kitschy fashion, protest signs and even school events. (Click here for a brief timeline video.) 


On Facebook, many Thais have disagreed with the post, others have said it is new "information" or agree. The Israeli Embassy in Thailand has issued a statement about the post, as of Friday, May 15th there has been no official response. 

This type of ugliness is more able to grow shrouded in darkness, away from criticism and those that bring new more enlightened information. This information has come to light because of Thai people that saw it and brought our attention by letting their strenuous objections become known. While it is sad to find such odious sentiments proudly stated so publicly, it has been illuminating, to say the least. With hope, this may lead some to seek out their own unbiased information. 


To make the point about Holocaust denial being highly offensive, below is original footage taken soon after the concentration camps were freed. The video below is very graphic and not advised for small children or people sensitive to such material.