Introduction
Is it hard to believe that someone could deny an event with infinite amounts of evidence? David Irving is that someone. David Irving, an English author, is known for his beliefs, or lack thereof, pertaining to the Holocaust. How could an event so significant in today’s history be pushed aside? Or did the event even occur? Let’s explore the possibilities of the Holocaust actually taking place.
Character Analysis
English author, David Irving, can be described using many words, foolish, inconsiderate, and ignorant being three of them. Being known as one of the largest Holocaust deniers will surely earn you a bad name. Imagine hearing someone deny the entire existence of gas chambers in Auschwitz, one of the largest concentration camps led by Nazis (Dodd 1). Then, proceeding so far as to conduct tours to explore these camps, which seemed to be him shedding light on the tragedies that took place (Cohen 1). That explains David Irving to the most perfect extent. Irving refuses to believe the Holocaust occurred and the role that Hitler played in the event.
“Frankly, questions about the Holocaust bore me,” he said, calling the Irving v. Penguin Books Ltd. Deborah Lipstadt “ridiculous” (Debunking Holocaust Denial). What is ridiculous is the fact that David was even involved in this type of trial in the first place. Mick Jackson is the director of a movie called Denial. The movie entails the situation which involved David Irving suing Deborah Lipstadt for ruining his “previously successful” career by using libel against him (Croot 1). Lipstadt is the author of many books, one being Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory. In this novel, Dr. Deborah Lipstadt calls out several Holocaust deniers, one of them being David Irving himself. She referred to Irving as a “dangerous spokesperson” in the book (Debunking Holocaust Denial). When Mr. Irving was first taken to court, he boldly requested it to be a judge-only court, meaning there would be no grand jury, which did not seem to work out in his case (Berg 1). The Holocaust denier has a known criminal history. In 2005, David Irving was arrested in Austria. He had already been issued a warrant in 1989 for the public denial of the Holocaust which is illegal in Austria (King 1). He was then sentenced to three years in an Austrian prison in 2006 (Traynor 1). The neo-Nazi influencer has claimed that most of his followers are teenagers. He has stated that these young Americans have watched his YouTube lectures and get in touch with him in order to establish the “truth” about Adolf Hitler (Cadwalladr 1). David Irving denies the Holocaust and its history that has been proven true. Irving has continuously remained the center of the scandal that is Holocaust denial despite the many people's lives that have been affected due to the tragedy.
A court judge used two words to describe David Irving while on trial, “antisemitic and racist.” His YouTube videos lead to prime examples of his racist and misogynistic background. Conducting tours to Nazi extermination camps is one of Irving’s many hobbies. He has priced the trip at an expense of $3,650 for each person choosing to attend the tour. Many choose to call this man an expert on Hitler and see his establishment of the Nazi camp tours as “controversial.” (Oster 1) David Irving ignores the situation that millions of Jews were put in and brushes off that so many people died during this time. This man has written several books defending Hitler’s name, including a book entitled Hitler’s War in which he argues that Hitler had no idea of the Nazi’s plans to exterminate Jews (Oster 1). Irving has a severe problem with picking and choosing which parts of history he talks about, which helps to explain his positive attitude towards Hitler (Shields 3). David holds a very significant position when it comes to the neo-Nazi movement. He is known to be one of the biggest influencers in the community that wrongfully supports Hitler and denies the happening of the Holocaust.
An estimate amount of about six million Jews died during the disaster, otherwise known as the Holocaust. This fairly large number does not even include the deaths of prisoners of war, homosexuals, civilians associated with the Soviet Union, Polish citizens, Serb civilians, Gypsies, Jehovah’s Witnesses, criminals, and political opponents (Documenting Numbers of Victims of the Holocaust). David Irving is severely ignorant to those who tragically lost their lives and were affected by the genocide. He claims to have influenced a younger audience of people who are skeptical of whether the Holocaust has occurred or not (Cadwalldr 1). This ill-mannered man is completely thoughtless when it comes to the fact that millions of innocent lives were lost, he is simply not educated well enough to believe proven history.
David Irving obtains many dreadful personality traits and voices several thoughts that majority of the world would argue against. How could someone possibly feel sympathy and admire a man as evil as none other than Adolf Hitler? The man falsely preaches historical context in order to plead his disturbed thoughts. The word unreliable should instantly be thought about when it comes to listening to Irving’s words. Overall, David Irving’s ignorance will soon catch up to him.
Conspiracy Theories
Two conspiracy theories that tie in with the event of the Holocaust are whether or not it actually happened or if it was all a lie. The first conspiracy that will be covered is the question, “Did the Holocaust occur?” Holocaust denial is an example of how someone can demonstrate strong anti-Semitism, or the act of being prejudice against people of Jewish descent (Holocaust Denial and Distortion). American chief prosecutor Robert Jackson worried that "unless record was made … future generations would not believe how horrible the truth was" (Evidence from the Holocaust 1). This explains why there is in fact, massive amount of evidence concerning the Holocaust that are kept on public record. Leading up to the Nazi’s persecution of the Jews, ugly names were voiced towards Jewish people, which led to discrimination and dehumanization, then finally genocide (Holocaust Denial and Distortion 1). In March 2000, Professor Deborah Lipstadt had published a book, discussing the well-known English author David Irving and his common habit to deliberately distort history (Berg 1). People like David Irving spread untrue information that can sometimes appear as true to others who are not educated on certain topics (Debunking Holocaust Denial). History can not be changed or reworded because it is in the past, today’s Holocaust deniers do everything in their power to support their arguments, no matter if what they are spewing out is a lie. When the second World War was coming to an end, the Nazis tried everything they could to destroy any physical evidence or documentations that they could get their hands on to make it seem as though nothing has happened (Documenting Numbers of Victims of the Holocaust 1). Census reports, German and Axis archives, and postwar investigations were used in order to collect evidence from the genocide, leading to getting the drastic number of Jews that were killed (Documenting Numbers of Victims of the Holocaust 1).
The second argument would fall along the lines of "The Holocaust never happened.” According to a survey, only one in every twenty-six American college students attending College of the Mainland believe that the Holocaust is a myth. Over six million Jews were executed during the terrible Holocaust disaster. Holocaust deniers are usually motivated by their hatred and racism towards Jews and other minorities (Holocaust Denial and Distortion 1). People who do not believe in the Holocaust choose to make the argument that Jewish people either created the idea or just exaggerated the event altogether to gain pity and empathy (Holocaust Denial and Distortion 1). Today, the awareness that anti-Semitism still exists is slim to none. When a community is unaware of the fact that Jewish hatred still exists, it is more common for other forms of hatred and racism to arise (Holocaust Denial and Distortion 1). The most common argument that Holocaust deniers seem to possess has to do with the situation that there is no evidence of gas chambers (Faurisson 1). French historian, Jacque Baynac admits, "as painful to say as it is to hear" -- that the well-known "testimonies" are not sufficient proof of wartime homicidal gas chambers, and that it is simply not possible to prove, scientifically, that the homicidal gas chambers actually existed (Faurisson 1). Denial of the Holocaust may be understandable. During the Holocaust, Adolf Hitler made it a mission to keep everything top secret (Combating Holocaust Denial: Origins of HC). Orders given to German soldiers were strictly verbal and records were hardly kept in order to avoid evidence and blame (Combating Holocaust Denial: Origins of HC). Other deniers claim that Hitler had no intentions to organize the massive genocide.
These conspiracy theories both can give anyone a lot to think about and consider, along with a lot of questions to ask. Were the German soldiers really clueless? Did the gas chambers really not exist? How could someone dismiss something so significant in today’s world history? There are survivors from the Holocaust with their own stories that match up to each other’s yet there is no true evidence that there was any gas chambers usage. In order to develop a clear, concise opinion about the Holocaust, extensive and reliable research must be accomplished.
Conclusion
There will always be the question of whether or not the Holocaust happened. Along with that, there will always be disagreements within the topic. The Holocaust is accompanied with loads of evidence supporting the side that it did in fact happen. Today’s society should brush up on their history facts in order to educate themselves on what they believe truth actually is.
Works Cited
Berg, Sanchia. “The True Story behind the Film Denial.” BBC News, 28 Jan. 2017. www.bbc.com, https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-38758249.
Cadwalladr, Carole. “Antisemite, Holocaust Denier … yet David Irving Claims Fresh Support.” The Observer, 15 Jan. 2017. www.theguardian.com, https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jan/15/david-irving-youtube-inspiring-holocaust-deniers.
Cohen, Ben. “Holocaust Denier David Irving to Lead Tour of Nazi Camp Sites in Poland.” UWI, 2019, unitedwithisrael.org/holocaust-denier-david-irving-to-lead-tour-of-nazi-camp-sites-in-poland/.
“Combating Holocaust Denial: Origins of HC.” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/combating-holocaust-denial-origins-of-holocaust-denial.
Croot, James. “Denial Director Mick Jackson Tells How He Touched the Holocaust with His Hands.” Stuff, 2017, www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/film/91395674/denial-director-mick-jackson-tells-how-he-touched-the-holocaust-with-his-hands.
“Documenting Numbers of Victims of the Holocaust .” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/documenting-numbers-of-victims-of-the-holocaust-and-nazi-persecution.
Dodd, Vikram. “Irving Ordered to Pay £150,000 Interim Costs.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 6 May 2000, www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/may/06/irving.vikramdodd.
“Evidence from the Holocaust.” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/evidence-from-the-holocaust.
Faurisson, Robert. “INSTITUTE FOR HISTORICAL REVIEW.” There Is No Evidence for Nazi Gas Chambers, www.ihr.org/jhr/v17/v17n4p24_Faurisson.html.
“Holocaust Denial and Distortion.” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, www.ushmm.org/confront-antisemitism/holocaust-denial-and-distortion.
King, Oliver. “David Irving Arrested in Austria.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 17 Nov. 2005, www.theguardian.com/world/2005/nov/17/secondworldwar.internationaleducationnews.
Oster, Marcy. British Holocaust Denier David Irving to Lead Nazi Death Camp Tour. https://www.timesofisrael.com/british-holocaust-denier-david-irving-to-lead-nazi-death-camp-tour/. Accessed 9 Oct. 2019.
Shields, Kirril. “Denial: David Irving, and the Complexities of Representing a Holocaust Denier.” Scholarcommons.usf.edu, 2018, scholarcommons.usf.edu.
Traynor, Ian. “Irving Jailed for Denying Holocaust.” The Guardian, 21 Feb. 2006. www.theguardian.com, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/feb/21/thefarright.highereducation.
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