Norwegian Professor Sparks Outrage With Holocaust Denial Claims

A history professor at the University of Bergen in Norway, Stephan Sander-Faes, has ignited controversy by writing on a private blog that the Nazis did not establish "extermination camps." The claims, first reported by the higher education journal Khrono, which cited an Austrian newspaper Der Standard, suggest Sander-Faes, who is Austrian-born and joined the university in 2020, also used quotation marks around the term "extermination camps" and "death camps" in his posts. He reportedly responded "Exactly!" to a commenter suggesting the number of Holocaust victims was lower than six million. In another post, he wrote about "a wealth of lies" concerning the post-World War II era and expressed hope that Western elites would abandon "terror propaganda related to the 'Holocaust'."

Sander-Faes has vehemently denied the accusations, stating that Der Standard took his words out of context. He emphasized that his blog posts were personal opinions, unrelated to his employer, and that he "completely rejects" any insinuation of sympathy with Nazi ideology. When pressed for explanations, he stated that readers are free to interpret his texts as they wish, but the responsibility for interpretation lies with the reader. The University of Bergen's president, Margaret Hagen, declined to comment on the content of his statements, highlighting that freedom of expression applies to all staff and students. The head of department, Timo Rheim, added that the university does not vet private statements made by its employees.

On Elpeleg, an Israeli living in Norway who monitors antisemitic phenomena, called the professor's statements "appalling" and questioned the direction society is heading with such historical revisionism and blood libels against Jews. Elpeleg also noted that November 26th marks 84 years since the deportation of Norwegian Jews to Auschwitz, following their arrest by local police.