William David McCalden (20 September 1951 – 15 October 1990) was active in the British political

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

. After moving to the United States, he was co-founder of the

Institute for Historical Review The Institute for Historical Review (IHR) is a United States-based nonprofit organization which promotes Holocaust denial. It is considered by many scholars to be central to the international Holocaust denial movement. Self-described as a "hist ...

in 1978 and advocated

Holocaust denial Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: ...

Early life

McCalden was born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. He left Northern Ireland in 1972 to study at

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wo ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. During his time at University he was widely known as "revisionist Dave". McCalden was noted for his long hair and readiness to debate with

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

fellow students. He graduated in 1974 with a Certificate in Education (Sociology).

Political life

McCalden first became involved in politics as a member of the National Front, where he became editor of the party newspaper ''Nationalist News''. A leading supporter of John Kingsley Read, McCalden transferred his allegiance to the National Party soon after Read and other NF members founded the party in 1976. He became a leading contributor to the party journal ''Britain First''. He was an active member of the

Hunt Saboteurs Association The Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA) is a United Kingdom organisation that uses hunt sabotage as a means of direct action to stop fox hunting. It was founded in 1963, with its first sabotage event occurring at the South Devon Foxhounds on 26 De ...

and edited their journal ''HOWL'' for a couple of years. He was expelled from the HSA in June 1978, after a debate and vote at their Newcastle AGM, for his contributions to "racist magazines". His other works at this time included ''Beacon'', another journal, and allegedly the book ''Nuremberg & Other War Crimes Trials'' (1978), although this was initially written under the pseudonym Richard Harwood, one shared with another Holocaust denier

Richard Verrall Richard Verrall (born 1948) is a British Holocaust denier and former deputy chairman of the British National Front (NF) who edited the magazine '' Spearhead'' from 1976 to 1980. Under the ''nom de plume'' (pen name) of Richard E. Harwood, Verr ...

Emigration to US and Holocaust Revisionism

McCalden emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and arrived in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in 1978. After meeting

neo-nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

and

Holocaust denier Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: * ...

Willis Carto Willis Allison Carto (July 17, 1926 – October 26, 2015) was an American far-right political activist. He described himself as a Jeffersonian and a populist, but was primarily known for his promotion of antisemitic conspiracy theories and ...

, the two men founded the

, of which McCalden was appointed Director and Editor-in-Chief (although he generally operated under the name Lewis Brandon in these roles). McCalden soon garnered a reputation as an advocate of

and became the leading organizational figure within the IHR. In 1980, acting as "Lewis Brandon" and on behalf of the IHR, McCalden offered a $50,000 reward for proof that Jews were gassed to death in the

Auschwitz Concentration Camp Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

. After McCalden declined an acceptance by Auschwitz survivor

Mel Mermelstein Melvin Mermelstein (born Moric Mermelstein; September 25, 1926 – January 28, 2022) was a Czechoslovak-born American Holocaust survivor and autobiographer. A Jew, he was the sole-survivor of his family's extermination at Auschwitz concentratio ...

, a lawsuit was filed by public interest attorney

William John Cox William John "Billy Jack" Cox (born February 15, 1941) is an American public interest lawyer and author. Biography Early career Employed in 1962 by the El Cajon Police Department, he attended the nearby San Diego Police Department Academy. In ...

. In October 1981, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled that "this court does take judicial notice of the fact that Jews were gassed to death at

in Poland during the summer of 1944." The judge went on to say, "It is simply a fact." McCalden and Carto had a falling out over the case, and in 1981 McCalden left the IHR. McCalden set up his own group Truth Missions. Under this imprint he published journals such as ''Revisionist Reprints'', ''Holocaust News'' and ''David McCalden's Revisionist Newsletter'' and books including ''The Amazing, Rapidly Shrinking "Holocaust"'' (1988).

Death

On 15 October 1990, at the age of 39, McCalden died in

El Segundo, California El Segundo ( , ; ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located on Santa Monica Bay, it was incorporated on January 18, 1917, and is part of the South Bay Cities Council of Governments. The population was 16,731 as of th ...

, from complications due to

viral pneumonia Viral pneumonia is a pneumonia caused by a virus. Pneumonia is an infection that causes inflammation in one or both of the lungs. The pulmonary alveoli fill with fluid or pus making it difficult to breathe. Pneumonia can be caused by bacteria, vir ...

caused by

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

. He had been suffering from AIDS since November 1988.Obituary from LA Times
/ref> He was survived by his second wife, Viviana, and their daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCalden, David 1951 births 1990 deaths British Holocaust deniers Far-right politicians from Northern Ireland AIDS-related deaths in California Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London National Front (UK) politicians Politicians from Belfast People from El Segundo, California 20th-century politicians from Northern Ireland