''Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory'' is a 1993 book by the historian Deborah Lipstadt, in which the author discusses the Holocaust denial movement. Lipstadt named British writer David Irving as a Holocaust denier, leading him to sue her unsuccessfully for

libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

(see '' Irving v Penguin Books Ltd''). She gives a detailed explanation of how people came to deny the Holocaust or claim that it was vastly exaggerated by the Jews.

Increasing antisemitism

Lipstadt sees Holocaust denial as "purely

anti-Semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

diatribe A diatribe (from the Greek ''διατριβή''), also known less formally as rant, is a lengthy oration, though often reduced to writing, made in criticism of someone or something, often employing humor, sarcasm, and appeals to emotion. His ...

" and a form of

pseudo-history Pseudohistory is a form of pseudoscholarship that attempts to distort or misrepresent the Recorded history, historical record, often by employing methods resembling those used in scholarly History, historical research. The related term cryptohisto ...

; she outlines the history of Holocaust denial, claims that it is increasing and should not be disregarded. Holocaust deniers were originally a "lunatic fringe" and could be seen as harmless cranks but are now more numerous and influential than before as some radical racist groups have adopted it, and that the trend could increase as Holocaust witnesses die of age.

Nature of holocaust denial

Lipstadt claims that after World War II in France

Maurice Bardèche Maurice Bardèche (1 October 1907 – 30 July 1998) was a French art critic and journalist, better known as one of the leading exponents of neo-fascism in post–World War II Europe. Bardèche was also the brother-in-law of the collaborationist ...

and Paul Rassinier denied outright that the Holocaust ever happened, as did various Nazi sympathizers in America. According to Lipstadt,

Austin App Austin Joseph App (24 May 1902 – 4 May 1984) was an American professor of medieval English literature who taught at the University of Scranton and La Salle University. App defended Nazi Germany during World War II. He is known for his work den ...

, a professor of English at La Salle College and the University of Scranton first put out several notions that later Holocaust deniers followed. App and others denied that the Nazis had any genocidal intent, that gas chambers existed, and that innocent Jews were killed by the millions, and they claimed that defeated Germany was compelled to admit false crimes by the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

. From these beginnings, she details how these charges were picked up and became "a tool of the radical right." Lipstadt gives many examples of allegations that six million Jews were not systematically exterminated, but, rather, 300,000 to 1.5 million Jews died of disease and other causes. Lipstadt shows that tens of thousands of witnesses of the Holocaust are still alive and there is conclusive documentary evidence for it. Lipstadt claims that distorting history in this way risks undermining the western tradition of objective scholarship i.e. the scientific method and make distorting history for political purposes appear legitimate.

Holocaust deniers in ''Denying the Holocaust''

She accuses groups like 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 ...

and people like David Duke of spreading lies about the Holocaust. Lipstadt claims this is now an international movement where Holocaust deniers call themselves 'research centres', for example, and produce what they say are independent publications to make themselves look more scientific than they are. In Lipstadt's opinion current value relativism helps Holocaust denial to thrive. Among those described as Holocaust deniers in ''Denying the Holocaust'' are: *

Arthur Butz Arthur R. Butz is an associate professor of electrical engineering at Northwestern University and a Holocaust denier, best known as the author of the pseudohistorical book ''The Hoax of the Twentieth Century''. He achieved tenure in 1974 and curr ...

Robert Faurisson Robert Faurisson (; born Robert Faurisson Aitken; 25 January 1929 – 21 October 2018) was a British-born French academic who became best known for Holocaust denial. Faurisson generated much controversy with a number of articles published in th ...

Roger Garaudy Roger Garaudy (; 17 July 1913 – 13 June 2012) was a French philosopher, French resistance fighter and a communist author. He converted to Islam in 1982. In 1998, he was convicted and fined for Holocaust denial under French law for claiming that ...

David Hoggan David Leslie Hoggan (March 23, 1923 – August 7, 1988) was an American professor of history, author of ''The Forced War: When Peaceful Revision Failed'' and other works in the German and English languages. He was antisemitic, maintained ...

* David Irving * Paul Rassinier * Bradley R. Smith *

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 ...

* Ernst Zündel and

Fred A. Leuchter Fred Arthur Leuchter Jr. (born February 7, 1943) is an American manufacturer of execution equipment, and a Holocaust denier best known as the author of the Leuchter report, a pseudoscientific document*"Leuchter and Rudolf have published pseudos ...

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *Richard J. Evans: ''Lying About Hitler: History, Holocaust, And The David Irving Trial'', New York: Basic Books, 2001; published in the United Kingdom as ''Telling Lies About Hitler: The Holocaust, History and the David Irving Trial'', Verso Books, 2002.
Edward Alexander, review: ''Deborah Lipstadt – Denying The Holocaust.'' Commentary magazine, November 1993
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denying The Holocaust 1993 non-fiction books English-language books Books about antisemitism Books about Holocaust denial Books by Deborah Lipstadt History books about the Holocaust

Increasing antisemitism

Nature of holocaust denial

Holocaust deniers in ''Denying the Holocaust''

See also

References