Holocaust Deniers Can't Be Ignored; History: As Victims and Witnesses of World War II Die Off, Revisionist Views of the Nazi Horrors Could Gain Broader Acceptance

Baltimore Sun, p. 5C, April 2, 2000

3 Pages Posted: 23 Feb 2010

See all articles by Kenneth Lasson

Kenneth Lasson

University of Baltimore - School of Law

Date Written: April 2, 2000

Abstract

On trial in an English courtroom, where British historian David Irving has sued American professor Deborah Lipstadt for defamation, is not only the scholars' reputations but history itself. Irving claims that he was libeled by Lipstadt's 1993 book, "Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory," in which she called him "one of the most dangerous of the `revisionists'" because, "familiar with historical evidence, he bends it until it conforms with his ideological leanings and political agenda." But under British law, the burden of proof in defamation is squarely on the defendant, thus making it necessary for Lipstadt and her English publisher to demonstrate that Irving deliberately lied. As bizarre as it may seem, they must prove that the Holocaust actually happened.

Keywords: Holocaust Denial, American History, European History, Nazi, Revisionism, David Irving, Deborah Lipstadt, Jews, Judaism, Genocide, Hitler

JEL Classification: N44, N52, K13, H89

Suggested Citation

Lasson, Kenneth, Holocaust Deniers Can't Be Ignored; History: As Victims and Witnesses of World War II Die Off, Revisionist Views of the Nazi Horrors Could Gain Broader Acceptance (April 2, 2000). Baltimore Sun, p. 5C, April 2, 2000, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1557830 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1557830

Kenneth Lasson (Contact Author)

University of Baltimore - School of Law ( email )

1420 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21218
United States

HOME PAGE: http://law.ubalt.edu/template.cfm?page=590

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