Holocaust denial is the denial of the systematic genocidal killing of approximately six million Jews in Europe by Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s. Unlike the U.S. — which has laws allowing for free speech — most European countries do not protect the right to speak freely in as many cases as the United States.

Many European countries were complicit in the Holocaust, yet many of their own citizens do not believe that is the case. Bulgaria, Poland, Serbia, Croatia and Hungary — according to a comprehensive 2014 survey from the ADL — still harbor tremendously high levels of anti-semitism. In eastern Europe, 34% of citizens in the 2014 survey agreed with 6 (or more) of 11 anti-semitic tropes about Jews: 1) Jews are more loyal to Israel than to [this country/the countries they live in]; 2) Jews have too much power in the business world; 3) Jews have too much power in international financial markets; 4) Jews don't care about what happens to anyone but their own kind; 5) Jews have too much control over global affairs; 6) People hate Jews because of the way Jews behave; 7) Jews think they are better than other people; 8) Jews have too much control over the United States government; 9) Jews have too much control over the global media; 10) Jews still talk too much about what happened to them in the Holocaust; and 11) Jews are responsible for most of the world's wars.

The countries that have banned Holocaust denial are:

Austria
Belgium
Canada
Czech Republic
France
Germany
Hungary
Israel
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Slovakia
Switzerland

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