Tucker Carlson’s Embrace of Holocaust Revisionism and Hitler Apologia Is a Dangerous Assault on Historical Truth

Tucker Carlson’s Embrace of Holocaust Revisionism and Hitler Apologia Is a Dangerous Assault on Historical Truth

If you find yourself defending Adolf Hitler and demonizing Winston Churchill, you should seriously reconsider the path that led you there, so said distinguished journalist Bari Weiss in a hard hitting piece that appeared on Thursday on The Free Press web site. Yet this is precisely the intellectual abyss that Tucker Carlson and his guest, pseudo-historian Darryl Cooper, plummeted into during a recent episode of Carlson’s podcast. Weiss writes that what unfolded wasn’t a reasoned debate, a challenge to controversial ideas, or even an exploration of lesser-known historical perspectives. Instead, it was a chilling display of Holocaust revisionism and pro-Nazi rhetoric that dishonors the memory of millions and insults the very fabric of historical truth.

Carlson, who boasts one of the largest followings in American media, used his platform not to challenge Cooper’s dangerous views but to promote them. According to Weiss’ piece, the conversation which was billed as being with “the best and most honest popular historian working in the United States today,” the two-hour episode gave Cooper—who goes by the online pseudonym Martyr Made—free rein to regurgitate discredited historical myths, including the notion that Winston Churchill was the “chief villain” of World War II, and Adolf Hitler, far from being the aggressor, was simply “forced into war” by Churchill’s alleged machinations.

Carlson’s endorsement of these views is not merely troubling—it is a dangerous signal that revisionist history, once relegated to the fringes of far-right extremism, is being mainstreamed to millions of Americans. As Weiss correctly points out, this isn’t just an intellectual or historical debate; it is an assault on the hard-won understanding of one of humanity’s darkest chapters.

Central to Cooper’s narrative, as presented in the podcast, is the claim that Hitler didn’t want war but was pushed into it by Churchill’s warmongering. Weiss takes note of the fact that Cooper describes Churchill as a “psychopath,” going so far as to suggest that the British leader, not Hitler, was responsible for the conflict. This wildly revisionist portrayal turns historical reality on its head.

Adolf Hitler’s aggression toward Europe was neither passive nor reluctant. His expansionist aims, laid out clearly in his writings and speeches, were predicated on the subjugation and annihilation of entire peoples. He invaded Poland, triggering World War II, not because Churchill forced his hand but because he sought Lebensraum, or “living space,” for a racially “pure” Aryan state. His regime, marked by an unprecedented campaign of genocide, murder, and terror, left millions dead. Weiss writes that to suggest otherwise is to deny the voluminous evidence and historical consensus that has been established for decades.

Churchill, far from being the villain Cooper claims, was one of the few Western leaders who recognized early on the existential threat posed by Nazi Germany. It was Churchill’s refusal to capitulate to fascism and his unwavering leadership during the darkest days of the war that saved Britain—and likely much of Europe—from falling under Nazi control. To vilify him while absolving Hitler is to distort history so grotesquely that it dishonors the millions who died fighting to preserve freedom.

Cooper’s views on the Holocaust are even more egregious. He dismisses the systematic extermination of six million Jews as a logistical mishap, arguing that Nazi death camps were merely the result of Germany’s unpreparedness to handle the “millions of prisoners of war” they captured. Noted in Weiss’ piece is that according to Cooper, the Nazis “just threw these people into camps” and millions of people “ended up dead.” This gross minimization of one of the most meticulously documented genocides in human history is nothing short of Holocaust denial.

The reality is clear: the Holocaust was a premeditated, state-sponsored campaign of extermination against Jews, Romani people, disabled individuals, and others the Nazi regime deemed “undesirable.” It was not an accidental byproduct of war but the culmination of years of anti-Semitic ideology, discrimination, and industrial-scale murder. The Nazis didn’t simply “throw people into camps”—they built an infrastructure specifically designed for mass murder, including gas chambers and crematoria, where millions of Jews were systematically exterminated.

To reduce this genocide to a logistical error, as Cooper does, is to spit on the graves of the victims and undermine the collective memory of humanity’s resolve to prevent such atrocities from ever happening again. Carlson’s decision to platform and amplify such views is not just irresponsible; it is morally reprehensible.

What makes this episode even more concerning is that Carlson is not a fringe figure in American media or politics. He has a massive platform with millions of devoted viewers, and his influence extends far beyond cable news, as was indicated in Weiss’ piece. Just last month, Carlson was a prime speaker at the Republican National Convention, sitting prominently alongside key figures of the party. His voice carries significant weight in shaping public opinion, particularly among conservative audiences.

By giving Cooper a platform and endorsing him as “the most important historian in the United States,” Carlson is helping to mainstream revisionist and denialist views that were once confined to extremist corners of the internet. This isn’t just a case of airing controversial ideas—it is the active promotion of falsehoods that undermine the sacrifices of millions of soldiers, civilians, and victims of the Holocaust.

Carlson’s influence means that many Americans are being exposed to these dangerous ideas for the first time. Cooper’s revisionist history, while not new, is now reaching a broader audience who may mistake it for “forbidden knowledge” or overlooked truths. But these ideas are not hidden gems of historical scholarship; they are the same discredited claims that have been refuted and debunked for decades. As Weiss correctly said, the only difference now is that they are being broadcast to millions by one of the most popular and influential figures in right-wing media.

In a world where misinformation and historical distortion are becoming increasingly prevalent, it is more important than ever to defend the truth. Carlson’s interview with Cooper is not just a troubling episode—it is a clarion call for those who value historical accuracy and moral integrity to push back against the rise of revisionism.

The atrocities of World War II, the heroism of those who fought against fascism, and the horror of the Holocaust must not be forgotten or rewritten to suit a particular political agenda. The facts are clear: Adolf Hitler was a genocidal dictator who waged war on humanity, and Winston Churchill, for all his complexities, was one of the pivotal figures in the fight against that evil. Any attempt to reverse this narrative is an insult to the memory of the millions who suffered and died during that period.

Tucker Carlson’s embrace of pseudo-historians such as Darryl Cooper signals a dangerous moment in the fight to preserve historical truth. It is incumbent upon all of us—historians, educators, citizens—to ensure that the truth about World War II, the Holocaust, and the fight against fascism remains intact. We owe it to the past, to the millions who sacrificed their lives, and to future generations who must learn the lessons of history, to prevent such distortions from taking root.

As the famous saying goes, those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Let us not allow this dark chapter of revisionism to obscure the light of historical truth.