A couple of things.
The book you are quoting has been overwhelmingly discredited by historians. You could blame this on some sort of conspiracy, because thereis no other way to refute the historians.
More importantly, both of my parents are Holocaust survivors and my whole childhood was spent surrounded by other Holocaust survivors.
When this topic is brought up to them they laugh at the notion of homosexuality as being part of the core of Nazism. Just because homosexuality is bad does not mean it is to blame for things it has nothing to do with. The idea that a movement partially dedicated to wiping homosexuals out was homosexual in reality is a funny one.
If you believe that Nazis hated homosexuals and were homosexual, it sounds an awful like those on the left who claim that people against homosexuality are really afraid of homosexuals because of their own fears of their own homosexuality.
I choose to interpret the critics as saying that many historians disparaged, and a subset have vigorously attacked the book. A good rule of thumb is that if the Southern Poverty Law Center is shooting flak at you (as they did this book) then you are over the target. I think there is much worthwhile informatiion in the book. I do agree that the central premise is thought provoking and definitely swims against the tide. But as you said, how do you prove it or disprove it? Answer - more research.
I am well aware of contentious historical debates. I have read David Barton's, The Jefferson Lies and found it to be a compelling read. I also know that many historians have challenged it, including supposedly conservative Christian historians. Yes, it puts a shroud of doubt over some of the events in the book, but that should not totally discount the book. His footnotes were heavily documented. I take no offense if some disagree with his conclusions. I thought he made a persuasive case.
... More importantly, both of my parents are Holocaust survivors and my whole childhood was spent surrounded by other Holocaust survivors.
The co-author, Kevin Abrams, is Jewish. I am also somewhat aware of the impact the Holocaust had on the Jewish surviors. I found the comments below interesting ...
The Christianity Primer: Two Thousand Years of Amazing Grace – The History, Development, and Meaning of the Christian Religion. by the Rev. Dr. Paul Zahl, 1995.
Zahl is an ordained Episcopal minister who has since left the Episcopal Church of the U.S. and entered 1 of the Anglican continuing churches - because of his orthodox stand against normalizing homosexuality.
Chapter XXI The Twentieth Century: The Challenge of Three Formidable Problems
p. 295 JUDAISMS ENDURING NO
… Judaism’s enduring no (refusal to accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God/ messiah) has never changed. Judaism has been strengthened immeasurably by the identity-renewing fact of the Holocaust and its political consequence, the creation of the state of Israel. The Christian significance of Judaism’s no has been worked out in changed doctrine for the Roman Catholics and sapped confidence for the Protestants. Large sectors of Christianity have lost their nerve as a result of Judaism’s negation. …
p. 286 The Catholic Church altered its teaching
… As a result of awareness of the Holocaust, the Catholic Church actually altered its historic teaching concerning Jews. Instead of saying that Jews needed to become Christians to be saved, Pope John Paul II instead declared just after the turn of the (21st) century that Jews have their own way to God and their own covenant and that these are just as valid for Jews as the New Covenant is for Christians. he was able with the stroke of a pen to declare null and void a position that his predecessors had taken from the earliest times. …
p. 295 … I predict that the next 30 years will see Christians needing to work very hard to absorb the impact of Jewish perspectives without giving up their own souls. The Southern Baptists, who have not compromised in relation to “Jewish evangelism,” may in fact end up carrying the soul of Bible Christianity for the rest of the Protestant churches during this era of Christian insecurity concerning the Person of Christ. …
When this topic is brought up to them they laugh at the notion of homosexuality as being part of the core of Nazism. ...
It is tough to argue with someone from an earlier generation who survived such an experience. I have family members who were growing up during POTUS FDR's watch, i.e., the Great Depression. They are die hard Democrats and still praise FDR. I have tried to present the evidence to them how FDR's administration was riddled with Soviet sympathizers and his policies prolonged the depression, but they just wave me off and inevitably say, "Hey, I was there - I lived through it." The point being that just because people live through an event, they do not have all, or even a majority of the information regarding the big picture.
Just because homosexuality is bad does not mean it is to blame for things it has nothing to do with. The idea that a movement partially dedicated to wiping homosexuals out was homosexual in reality is a funny one. If you believe that Nazis hated homosexuals and were homosexual, it sounds an awful like those on the left who claim that people against homosexuality are really afraid of homosexuals because of their own fears of their own homosexuality.
The central point the authors advance is that the Nazi butch homosexuals, who originated in the SA, were especially violent and vigorous in executing Hitler's Final Solution. I think there may be a kernel of truth to that. Not even the authors denied that homosexuals were targeted for placement in the extermination camps, just that their numbers were not as large as the homosexual lobby leads us to believe. While no authority, I am aware there are sub-cultures within the homosexuality community. Butch/fems, pitchers/catchers, etc., etc. It does strain credulity to state that there was a simple, natural divide within the German homosexual population where the butches were Nazis and the fems were communists.
What was more interesting to me, and how it applies to the Scouting Movement, were the histories the authors presented about the libertine nature of German society after WWI and how pederastry/homosexuality was becoming more open. Also, the rise of the Wandervoegel movement leading up to the creation of the Hitler Jugend and its oversight by the SA was very interesting, and convincing. I would like to know more about the nature of the SA and SS in regards to the Hitler Jugend between 1935-1945 and whether homosexuality remained prominent.