Iranians shown footage from Auschwitz in documentary that exposed many to Holocaust for first time

A documentary marking Holocaust Memorial Day has been shown in Iran, a country where hardliners still deny that the mass slaughter of Jews ever took place.

For many Iranians this will be the first time that many will have been shown what took place in the Nazi concentration camps.

According to The Times, the film was broadcast by Manoto1, a London-based satellite station which is popular in Iran – even though owning a satellite dish remains illegal.

The documentary represents a challenge to officials in Iran who have dismissed the Holocaust as a Jewish hoax, but Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, does concede the Holocaust did take place.

“Any crime that happens in history against humanity, including the crime the Nazis committed towards the Jews as well as non-Jews, was reprehensible and to be condemned,” he said on CNN in September 2013.

His remarks angered hardliners who demanded an explanation before the country’s parliament. Many endorse the views of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who described the genocide as “fiction”.

The documentary was also the first time that an Iranian film crew visited Auschwitz. Reaction to the film, Germany’s Führer, suggested that many had not changed their views.

One Iranian hardliner was unconvinced, writing on Facebook: “All these crimes were committed by the Jews themselves so they reach their real objectives.”

Telegraph