The Holocaust and the Historical Revisionists

M a r k Silverberg
Assistant

Director,

Jewish Community

Council, Edmonton,

Alberta

To put it as plainly as possible, it is common knowledge that in times of acute social

crisis, anti-Semitism takes to the streets. The corollary, however, appears to be that in
times of acute ideological crisis, anti-Semitism takes to the intellectual presses. It is a sad
reflection on our times.
postcard addressed to me at Boston Univer

T h e T h i r d R e i c h w a s t o last f o r a
t h o u s a n d years. In fact, it lasted for twelve
years a n d four m o n t h s , specifically, f r o m
J a n u a r y , 1933 until April, 1945. D u r i n g
that t i m e , m o r e than twenty-nine million
p e r s o n s were k i l l e d s i x million o f t h e m
Jews, slaughtered because they were
Jewish.
T h e c l a i m that the e x t e r m i n a t i o n o f the
J e w s at the h a n d s o f the N a z i s w a s a greater
tragedy than what has befallen other
persecuted p e o p l e is b o t h unfeeling and
heartless. It is, h o w e v e r , the u n i q u e n e s s of
their a n n i h i l a t i o n that is historically signi
ficant. It is significant in order that w e
u n d e r s t a n d the a w e s o m e and terrible event
so that we can then c o m p r e h e n d the
differences b e t w e e n g o o d and evil, man's
i n h u m a n i t y to m a n , and the moral c h o i c e s
w h i c h lie a h e a d for* ourselves and our
children.
1

A c c o r d i n g t o Eli Wiesel, C h a i r m a n o f
the President's C o m m i s s i o n o n the H o l o
caust, there is n o subject m o r e urgent t h a n
the t e a c h i n g of the H o l o c a u s t . In a s p e e c h
delivered at the C o n f e r e n c e o n "Teaching
A b o u t G e n o c i d e and the N a z i H o l o c a u s t in
Secondary Schools," (October 9 t h - l l t h ,
1977), Wiesel dealt with the vision of the
survivors a n d the realities o f today:
There is no subject more linked to justice;
for today, the greatest injustice is being
accomplishedthe obliteration of those mem
ories, the erasing of those events. 1 received a

The Record.

New York: A.D.L. of B'nai B'rith in

sity. It said "I recently completed reading'The

Hoax of the 20th Century,'and the professor
who wrote the book claims that the six million
is a total fiction, that no Jews were gassed or
toasted in the ovens in German concentration
camps, that there was nothing in German
records to substantiate the Jewish claims, that
the confessions that were obtained, were ob
tained under duress. I guess Hitler was right
when he said that the Jew is master of the Big
Lie . . .

Wiesel c o n t i n u e d by s a y i n g that he re
ceived a s e c o n d letter f r o m a professor at
the S o r b o n n e . " Y e s , " the letter stated,
"there were o v e n s in the C a m p s , but o n l y
for the sick p e o p l e . . . never were there any
Gas Chambers."
If o n e is t o believe such m a t e r i a l s , c o n
structed by those w h o seek t o rewrite
history (rather than to learn f r o m it), then
Hitler's policy in d e a l i n g with the "Jewish
P r o b l e m " w a s really o n e of e m i g r a t i o n not
e x t e r m i n a t i o n , then the killers did not kill
and the victims did not perish, then
A u s c h w i t z w a s a fraud, T r e b l i n k a a lie, and
B e r g e n - B e l s e n a c o n v a l e s c e n t h o m e . It is t o
these materials, to the p s e u d o - h i s t o r i a n s
w h o s e l e c t i v e l y d i s s e c t h i s t o r y in t h e
m a n n e r o f their c h o i c e , and to the p u b
lishing c o m p a n i e s and institutes which
cater t o the sick, b i g o t e d , fringe e l e m e n t s in
o u r s o c i e t y , and w h i c h act as the literary
v e h i c l e s for these enterprises, that w e shall
shortly direct our a t t e n t i o n .

From a speech at the Conference "Teaching About

cooperation with the National Council for the Social

Genocide and the Nazi Holocaust in Secondary

Studies, 1970, p. 1.

Schools," October 9th, 1977.

16

THE H O L O C A U S T A N D THE HISTORICAL REVISIONISTS

The Revisionists
In F r a n c e , R o b e r t F a u r i s s o n , a profes
sor at the University of L y o n s , a n n o u n c e d
that the H o l o c a u s t had never h a p p e n e d .
G e n o c i d e didn't occur, he said, and Hitler
had been d e f a m e d . R e p o r t s to the contrary
are a Zionist h o a x , a c c o r d i n g to F a u r i s s o n .

that the lie a b o u t G e n o c i d e began. T h e

w h o l e world fell for this.
F a u r i s s o n a n d his c o l l e a g u e s have u n
q u e s t i o n a b l y c o m e up with the m o s t s e n s a
tional J u d a - p h o b i c paranoid conspiracy
theory. A c c o r d i n g t o Paul B e r m a n ,
Their theory of the Holocaust as a Zionist lie
is without doubt the greatest paranoid con

F a u r i s s o n was hauled into C o u r t by a

c o a l i t i o n of H o l o c a u s t s u r v i v o r s and
h u m a n rights o r g a n i z a t i o n s w h o a c c u s e d
h i m of falsifying history. Falsification of
history is against the law o f France. This
led t o a civil liberties c a m p a i g n o n the
question of the extent of a c a d e m i c freedom.

spiracy theory of our times, greater even than

the Argentine theory that the Jews are going to
seize Patagonia. Stop to consider the number
of people involved, the size of the conspiracy
you must have to deceive the whole world
about events involving tens of millions of
peoplesix million Jews to begin with, who

W h a t d o F a u r i s s o n and his supporters

believe? Faurisson has provided a s u m
mary labelled " C o n c l u s i o n s after thirty
years of research by Revisionist a u t h o r s . "
Revisionist, is what the adherents o f this
n o - H o l o c a u s t v i e w call t h e m s e l v e s . In
t r a n s l a t i o n s d i s t r i b u t e d in t h e U n i t e d
S t a t e s by the Liberty L o b b y , the first five
points are:

have, each and every one, cooperatively, kept

their mouths shut . . . (it is the power of
" c o n f o r m i s m " that makes them d o this,
according to Faurisson); plus thousands of
other Camp inmates who admit to having
survived but lie in a perfectly synchronized
manner about their experiences, plus any
number of former Nazis who, after the War,
made the fiendishly clever decision to back the
Zionist lie by concocting perfectly coordinated

1. The "Hitler gas chambers" never existed.

2. T h e " G e n o c i d e " (or the "attempted
G e n o c i d e " ) of the J e w s , never t o o k place.
In other w o r d s , Hitler never g a v e an order
or p e r m i s s i o n that a n y o n e s h o u l d be killed
for his race or religion.
3. T h e alleged "gas c h a m b e r s " and the
alleged " G e n o c i d e " are o n e and the s a m e
lie.
4. This lie, w h i c h is largely of " Z i o n i s t "
origin, has m a d e an e n o r m o u s political and
financial fraud p o s s i b l e , w h o s e principal
beneficiary is the State of Israel.
5. T h e principal victims of this lie are the
G e r m a n p e o p l e (but not the G e r m a n rulers)
and the entire Palestinian p e o p l e .
F a u r i s s o n thinks that the J e w s were a
major p o w e r in E u r o p e and bear a r e s p o n
sibility for W o r l d War II. T h e y were trying
to destroy G e r m a n y , w h i c h therefore had
to defend itself. Hitler acted r e a s o n a b l y , he
says, by r o u n d i n g up the J e w s in c o n c e n
t r a t i o n c a m p s , w h i c h he d e s i g n a t e s as
prison or labour c a m p s , and not c a m p s for
e x t e r m i n a t i o n . It w a s a m o n g " Z i o n i s t s "

stories about fictional acts of Genocide; plus

hundreds of thousands of random witnesses,
judges, jurors, and historians; plus an enor
mous clandestine army of scribes, clerks,
typists, who must have spent a busy year back
in 1945 fabricating, doctoring, distorting,
forging, and systematically misinterpreting
millions upon millions of pages of Nazi docu
ments and War records, strictly in accordance
with secret orders from Zionist Central. And
all this without a single slip-up. What an
operation those fantasyiZionists have!!!-

Revisionist t h i n k i n g is obsessed with

tiny details, the tinier the better. It tends to
pass with alarming speed from vague
notions of how Zionists manipulate global
history t o the specific properties of Z y k l o n
B G a s , the p r o b l e m s created by piles of
c a d a v e r s , the u n l i k e l i h o o d that a hole in a
certain gas c h a m b e r c o u l d have been used

Paul Berman, "Gas Chambers GamesCrackpot

History and the Right to Lie," The Village Voice, New

York. June 10-16. p. 38.

17

J O U R N A L O F JEWISH C O M M U N A L SERVICE

to p o u r in the g a s , a n d the m e a n i n g of
individual phrases in an A u s c h w i t z doctor's
diary. T h e y tend t o a c c u m u l a t e a n i m
m e n s e n u m b e r o f details.
T h e i r " e x p l a n a t i o n " that the H o l o c a u s t
is a gigantic h o a x can be s e e n t h r o u g h
Faurisson's use of a n A u s c h w i t z doctor's
diary, w h i c h has b e c o m e a classic a m o n g
the Revisionists. His study has been printed
n u m e r o u s times in F r a n c e a n d by the
Liberty L o b b y and an o r g a n i z a t i o n called
T h e Revisionist Press in the United States

under the title o f The Problem of the 'Gas

Chambers' or 'The Rumour of Auschwitz'

(the R e v i s i o n i s t s disturbing use of q u o t a
t i o n m a r k s is c o m m o n . ) . T h e s e publica
t i o n s are offered t h r o u g h the Institute for
Historical R e v i e w ( I . H . R . ) , a Californiabased f o u n d a t i o n putting forward the
theory o f the H o l o c a u s t H o a x .
F a u r i s s o n ' s use (or misuse) o f the diary is
o n e of t h e charges presently laid against
h i m , that o f falsifying history. T h e F r e n c h
s c h o l a r G e o r g e s Wellers a n a l y z e d this for
Le Monde. His analysis d o e s s h o w the
nature o f the Revisionist m i n d .
T h e diary w a s written by the S . S . D o c t o r
J o h a n n - P a u l Kremer during the three
m o n t h s he spent at A u s c h w i t z in 1942.
Kremer's entry for O c t o b e r 18th, 1942,
reads in full: "This S u n d a y m o r n i n g in a
c o l d a n d h u m i d w e a t h e r , 1 w a s present at
the 11th Special A c t i o n ( D u t c h ) . A t r o c i o u s
s c e n e s with three w o m e n w h o begged us t o
let t h e m l i v e . "
4

H o w d o e s o n e interpret this passage?

F a u r i s s o n ' s v i e w is that n o t h i n g e x t r a
ordinary h a p p e n e d at A u s c h w i t z , and that
n o t h i n g e x t r a o r d i n a r y is revealed in this
entry. A c c o r d i n g t o F a u r i s s o n , a "Special
A c t i o n " w a s the sorting out by d o c t o r s o f

Ibid. Faurisson has since been convicted on three

counts: one of libelling historian Leon Polakov, one

of Racial Defamation for having stated that the Gas
Chambers and Genocide Reports were lies and

t h e sick f r o m the h e a l t h y a m o n g the i n

mates during a typhus epidemic. The
" a t r o c i o u s s c e n e s " w e r e , in his w o r d s ,
" e x e c u t i o n s of p e r s o n s w h o had b e e n c o n
d e m n e d to d e a t h , e x e c u t i o n s for w h i c h the
d o c t o r was obliged to be present. A m o n g
t h e c o n d e m n e d were three w o m e n w h o had
c o m e in a c o n v o y f r o m H o l l a n d ; they were
shot." Faurisson concludes by adding a
footnote citing from Auschwitz c a m p
records; all in s e e m i n g l y g o o d scholarly
form.
But Wellers s h o w s that the Kremer
O c t o b e r 18th entry m e a n s s o m e t h i n g very
different. Wellers l o o k e d in the A u s c h w i t z
archives and d i s c o v e r e d that a c o n v o y f r o m
H o l l a n d did i n d e e d arrive o n that d a t e .
T h e r e were 1,710 p e r s o n s in this c o n v o y ,
a c c o r d i n g t o the d o c u m e n t a t i o n s . H o w
ever, only 116 p e r s o n s , all w o m e n , were
actually b r o u g h t i n t o the C a m p . Wellers
observes: "the archives are silent a b o u t the
fate of the 1,594 others: t h e y were n o t
i n t r o d u c e d i n t o the C a m p , t h e y were not
reembarked and sent elsewhere. T h e y
disappeared!"
5

T h e m e a n i n g of "Special A c t i o n " n o w
c o m e s i n t o f o c u s . It h a s a l w a y s b e e n
r e c o g n i z e d that "Special A c t i o n " w a s the
o c c a s i o n w h e n S.S. D o c t o r s selected victims
for the G a s C h a m b e r s . E v i d e n t l y , that is
w h a t a "Special A c t i o n " m e a n t for t h e
1,594 p e o p l e f r o m H o l l a n d o n O c t o b e r
18th, 1 9 4 2 . N o t e t h a t K r e m e r ' s e n t r y
m e n t i o n s that this w a s his e l e v e n t h s u c h
a c t i o n . He w o u l d a c t u a l l y participate in
fourteen.
A n d what a b o u t Faurisson's claim that
the three w o m e n had been c o n d e m n e d t o
d e a t h a n d were shot; Wellers o b s e r v e d that
this is n o t Kremer's diary. T h e entry says
nothing about people being condemned to
d e a t h , n o t h i n g a b o u t the w o m e n being
s h o t . F a u r i s s o n g o t this f r o m a different
s o u r c e , w h i c h , u p o n e x a m i n a t i o n , turns
out t o have been Kremer's t e s t i m o n y at a

swindles concocted by the Jews, and one of not

discharging the responsibilities of an historian.

18

Ibid.

THE H O L O C A U S T A N D THE HISTORICAL REVISIONISTS

war crimes trial in P o l a n d after the War.

Kremer testified c o n c e r n i n g O c t o b e r 18th,
1942: "the three D u t c h w o m e n did not
w a n t to g o into the gas c h a m b e r and
begged to have their lives spared. T h e y
were y o u n g w o m e n in g o o d h e a l t h , but, in
spite o f that, their prayer w a s not granted
and the S . S . w h o were participating in the
" A c t i o n , " shot t h e m o n the s p o t . "
S o there were gas c h a m b e r s and p e o p l e
were put in t h e m and F a u r i s s o n relies o n
the very t e s t i m o n y w h i c h s h o w s this. But,
he c o n c e a l s all m e n t i o n of the gas c h a m b e r s
for the truth is not his g o a l . R a t h e r t h a n be
a c c u s e d o f a n t i - S e m i t i s m , F a u r i s s o n has
"revealed" that a n t i - S e m i t i s m itself is a
J e w i s h plot.
But F a u r i s s o n is not a l o n e .
Over the past several years this "Jewish
H o a x " has arisen in F r a n c e , E n g l a n d ,
G e r m a n y , S w e d e n , and the United States.
W h a t is m o r e a s t o n i s h i n g is that the world
c e n t r e o f t h i s m o v e m e n t is b a s e d in
T o r r a n c e , C a l i f o r n i a . It is k n o w n as the
Institute for Historical R e v i e w ( I . H . R . ) .
6

Institute for Historical Review (I.H.R.)

T h e Institute publishes w h a t it s e e m s to
c o n s i d e r a scholarly quarterly, the Journal
of Historical Review, h o l d s c o n f e r e n c e s
and distributes b o o k s , including: The Six

Million Swindle, The Six Million Lost and

Found, The Six Million Reconsidered,
Anne Frank's Diary: A Hoax, and / was
Quisling's Secretary.
In a n effort t o give itself an aura of
s c h o l a r s h i p , the Institute's j o u r n a l lists an
Editorial A d v i s o r y B o a r d of individuals
w h o are using their a c a d e m i c titles (often
unrelated t o the subject study) t o lend
credence t o the i n s i d i o u s c a m p a i g n to d e n y
the H o l o c a u s t . A m o n g the m e m b e r s of the
Editorial B o a r d is a D o c t o r Reinhard
Buchner, a m e m b e r of the faculty of the
California State University, L o n g Beach.

D o c t o r Buchner, a fifty-five year old

professor of P h y s i c s and A s t r o n o m y , w a s
b o r n in G e r m a n y a n d s e r v e d in t h e
W e r m a c h t d u r i n g W o r l d War II before
c o m i n g t o the United States twenty years
a g o . He believes that the H o l o c a u s t c o u l d
not p o s s i b l y h a v e h a p p e n e d b e c a u s e "an
u n d e r t a k e r will tell y o u that y o u c a n n o t
burn b o d i e s as fast as they were s u p p o s e d
t o d o at A u s c h w i t z . " T h e p h o t o s and
e y e w i t n e s s a c c o u n t s of the m a s s murder o f
J e w s are false, A u s c h w i t z w a s simply a
l a b o u r c a m p and if a few J e w s died there,
they died of hard w o r k a n d fresh air,
a c c o r d i n g to Professor Buchner.
7

R e c e n t l y u n c o v e r e d i n f o r m a t i o n o n the
leadership o f the I . H . R . , h o w e v e r , casts
c o n s i d e r a b l e d o u b t o n the credibility o f the
o r g a n i z a t i o n . Lewis B r a n d o n , t w e n t y - n i n e ,
the D i r e c t o r o f the I . H . R . , w a s recently
identified by the Board o f D e p u t i e s of
British J e w s as William D a v i d M c C a l d e n ,
a former m e m b e r of Britain's N e o - F a s c i s t
N a t i o n a l Front. M c C a l d e n edited antiS e m i t i c and racist p u b l i c a t i o n s in E n g l a n d
before b e c o m i n g a resident alien in the
United States in 1978. He defected from the
N a t i o n a l F r o n t in 1975 to help form the
N a t i o n a l Party w h i c h e s p o u s e s "British
Racial N a t i o n a l i s m . "
A c c o r d i n g to Russel Chandler, religion
writer for the Los Angeles Times, the
present w h e r e a b o u t s o f M c C a l d e n alias
B r a n d o n , is u n k n o w n . H e a p p a r e n t l y left
California to a v o i d a law suit initiated by a
M e l M e r m e l s t e i n and S i m o n W i e s e n t h a l ,
the n o t e d N a z i hunter. Mr. M e r m e l s t e i n ,
w h o s a w his m o t h e r and his t w o sisters
t a k e n to the gas c h a m b e r s at A u s c h w i t z in
1944, is suing the I . H . R . for the $ 5 0 , 0 0 0 . 0 0
prize it offered t o establish p r o o f o f the G a s
C h a m b e r s . Mr. M e r m e l s t e i n a l s o sued for
$ 1 7 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 in d a m a g e s . Russel Chandler
reports that it w a s n o t k n o w n e x a c t l y w h e n

Jewish Telegraphic Agency daily News Bulletin,

April 25th, 1980.

Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies

(Los Angeles: Wiesenthal Centre, Vol. 5, February,

1981).

19

J O U R N A L O F JEWISH C O M M U N A L SERVICE

M c C a l d e n c a m e t o S o u t h e r n California
and b e c a m e a s s o c i a t e d with t h e I . H . R .
where he w a s paid a n a n n u a l salary o f
$22,000.00.
8

The Liberty Lobby

There appears t o be a relationship
b e t w e e n t h e I . H . R . a n d t h e u t m o s t right
Liberty L o b b y w h i c h has w a g e d a ceaseless
p r o p a g a n d a w a r against Blacks a n d J e w s
for m a n y years. T h e w a r is w a g e d t h r o u g h
radio p r o g r a m s w h i c h t h e Liberty L o b b y
c l a i m s t o distribute t o s o m e 5 0 0 stations
a n d a w e e k l y n e w s p a p e r , The Spotlight,
( 2 8 1 , 0 0 0 subscribers). It h a s b e e n t h r o u g h
The Spotlight that t h e L o b b y h a s p r o \ ided
the I. H . R . with its publicity. T h e similarity
of c o n t e n t , articles and a u t h o r s is s t r i k i n g .
T h e h e a d o f Liberty L o b b y is Willis A .
Carto.

tinued t o pursue its " c o n s e r v a t i v e " political

g o a l s . It t o o k a firm stand critical o f Israel
but o n e w h i c h a v o i d e d t h e o u t s p o k e n antiJ e w i s h attitudes of t h o s e less savory g r o u p s
in t h e C a r t o c o m p l e x .
A s t h e 1970"s d a w n e d , h o w e v e r , Liberty
L o b b y b e g a n t o take off all t h e w r a p s . T h e
significant event w a s the p u b l i c a t i o n b y the
o r g a n i z a t i o n o f a n anti-Israel, allegedly
" p r o - A m e r i c a n " b o o k l e t entitled America
First. Under t h e pretext that it is a plea
for A m e r i c a n "neutrality" in t h e M i d d l e
11

East, America First n o t only is admittedly

"harsher against Israel" than against t h e
A r a b s , b u t is a n a n t i - S e m i t i c b r o a d s i d e
that u n h e s i t a t i n g l y d e f a m e s all J e w s o f the
past a n d the present.

C a r t o h a s built u p a n e t w o r k o f l o o s e l y
affiliated p u b l i c a t i o n s a n d o r g a n i z a t i o n s
d i s p e n s i n g o p e n l y anti-Jewish p r o p a g a n d a
o f v a r y i n g d e g r e e s o f virulence. T h e s e h a v e

included the American Mercury, the Wash

ington Observer Newsletter, Noontide
Press ( a p u b l i s h e r o f racist a n d antiS e m i t i c b o o k s ) , t h e Nordic-racist Western

Destiny ( n o w defunct), and the openly N e o

N a z i National Youth Alliance a n d its

successor, Youth Action.
10

D u r i n g t h e 1960's, Liberty L o b b y c o n * }.T.A.,op.cii.,

Friday, May8th, 1981; InOctober,

1981, California Superior Court Judge

I homas

Johnson, ruled on one part of the lawsuit, that he will

take "judicial notice" of the fact that "Jews were
gassed to death in Auschwitz."
' Spotlight

Reprint,

December 24th, 1979.

T h e b o o k details a l l e g a t i o n s o f a " W o r l d
Zionist C o n s p i r a c y " in terms reminiscent
o f t h e P r o t o c o l s . Israel, it asserts, is a
"bastard-state," the p r o d u c t of the political
machinations of o n e political g r o u p
Z i o n i s t s m a d e u p largely of atheistic
Jews."
But t h e J e w s o f all t i m e s have been
e q u a l l y guilty c o n s p i r a t o r s , a c c o r d i n g t o
the Liberty L o b b y v i e w o f history. M o s t
A m e r i c a n s , the b o o k asserts, are "unaware
that Hitler's hostility t o w a r d s t h e J e w s
originated in t h e Z i o n i s t leaders h a v i n g
p u s h e d t h e United S t a t e s i n t o W o r l d W a r I
o n the side of the A l l i e s . " A s for W o r l d W a r
II, it c o m p l a i n s that "those w h o singled o u t
the J e w s for their part in g e t t i n g us i n t o t h e
War, were s c o r n e d a n d ridiculed." In g o i n g
back t h r o u g h history, "almost all o f t h e
early Bolsheviks were J e w i s h . " Finally,
"the J e w s rejected their M e s s i a h , even h a d
him crucified."
12

111

Arnold Forster and Benjamin R. Epstein, The

New Anti-Semitism.
p. 294. Quarterly

New York: Mcgraw-Hill, 1974,

Report,

Historical Distortions

Canadian Jewish Congress,

Fall-Winter, 1981, Vol. I, No. 1 reports that

Nnontide

Presi is a subsidiary of Liberty Lobby which operates

A p a r t from Carto's financial e m p i r e ,

older m e m b e r s o f t h e I . H . R . have a n

out of Washington and distributes anti-Semitic

materials through Liberty Bell Publications. Both
"The Hoax of the 20th Century"and "Did Six Million

11

America

First (The Mideast Problem in the Light

Really Die?"are published by the so-called Historical

of America's Traditional Policy of non-intervention),

Review Press (Surrey, England), publication arm of

Summer, 1972.

the notorious National Front in Britain.

20

12

Forster & Arnold, op. cit., p. 293-4.

THE H O L O C A U S T A N D THE HISTORICAL REVISIONISTS

a d d i t i o n a l strength w h i c h originates from

a n intellectual m o v e m e n t of these men's
y o u t h . It is a legacy w h i c h h a s n o w taken a
degenerate form. T h e M o v e m e n t traces
itself back t o the efforts of "progressive"
historians in the 1920's t o " d e b u n k the
i d e o l o g y of the centralized state a n d a b o v e
all, t o o p p o s e A m e r i c a n i n v o l v e m e n t in
foreign w a r s , " n o t a b l y W o r l d War I. T h e s e
historians tore apart America's justifica
tion for h a v i n g entered W o r l d W a r I. T h e y
argued that A m e r i c a h a d been tricked into
it and the a r g u m e n t s were r e a s o n a b l y g o o d
and quite p o p u l a r (i.e., that the Kaiser w a s
not the S a t a n i c f o e of p o p u l a r belief a n d
that A m e r i c a , h a d o n l y h a r m e d itself by its
i n v o l v e m e n t ) . It c a n be defined as the
original "historical R e v i s i o n i s m . "
13

T h e principle figure in the 1920's a n d

1930's w a s Harry Elmer Barnes, w h o , with
his a s s o c i a t e s , c a m p a i g n e d b o t h before and
after W o r l d W a r II o n t h e s a m e basis as
t h e y h a d a g a i n s t W o r l d W a r 1. T h e y
suspected military conspiracies everywhere
and d e n i e d reports a b o u t the N a z i s in t h e
s a m e w a y that they had d e n i e d reports
a b o u t the Kaiser. O n the basis of this
reasoning, Barnes later played a role in the
d e v e l o p m e n t of the H o l o c a u s t - H o a x ideol
o g y n o w enshrined as part o f t h e I . H . R . ' s
platform. It was this lurch into a n t i - S e m i t i c
d e l u s i o n that cost h i m his ultimate support.
F o l l o w i n g World War II, n o o n e w o u l d
publish Barnes' w o r k s a n y m o r e . Even his
published defense of Marshall Petain
p r o v e d useless. His Revisionist historical
tradition simply fell apart in the face o f the
e v e n t s o f W o r l d War II, in particular, the
Holocaust.
In 1964, h o w e v e r , Barnes d i s c o v e r e d the
current of French a n t i - S e m i t i s m ( o f which
F a u r i s s o n is a part), w h e n he m e t F a u r i s son's m e n t o r , a o n e - t i m e m e m b e r of the
French N a t i o n a l A s s e m b l y n a m e d Paul
Rassinier.

Rassinier, w h o s e w o r k s are published

t h r o u g h the I . H . R . , w a s a left-wing radical,
a one-time member of the French Re
sistance w h o h a d been interned in B u c h e n wald d u r i n g t h e W a r a n d e m e r g e d as a
rabid a n t i - S e m i t e .
S o m e N e w Y o r k b o o k s t o r e s carry m a n y
o f B a r n e s ' w o r k s , o n e o f w h i c h is e m b e l
lished with a p h o t o g r a p h o f Paul Rassinier.
B a r n e s w a s s u c c e e d e d b y J a m e s J.
M a r t i n , a c k n o w l e d g e d D e a n o f the H o l o
caust R e v i s i o n i s t s . Martin w a s the feature
speaker at t h e first I . H . R . C o n f e r e n c e in
1979 a n d is a m e m b e r o f t h e A d v i s o r y
C o m m i t t e e o f the I . H . R . J o u r n a l t o w h i c h
he h a s c o n t r i b u t e d a n article a b o u t t h e
o r i g i n o f this m o n u m e n t a l H o l o c a u s t H o a x . Martin, t o o , retains a s m i d g i n o f

respectability. His b o o k Men Against the

State is considered t o be the work of a
s c h o l a r a n d he is listed as a contributor t o

the 1970 Encyclopedia Britannica.

B o t h Barnes a n d Martin are kept in print
by the Libertarians a n d their Libertarian
Party. A m a g a z i n e called t h e New Liber
tarian p r o m o t e s t h e H o l o c a u s t - H o a x
cause. S o m e links have b e c o m e clear. T h e
m a g a z i n e has featured debates o n the H o l o
caust. T h e publisher o f New Libertarian
has even c o n t r i b u t e d a n article t o t h e
I.H.R. journal (advocating Palestinian
rights) and h a s j o i n e d the I.H.R.'s A d v i s o r y
Committee.
H o w e v e r , m a n y Libertarians are e m b a r rased by t h e a s s o c i a t i o n with the I . H . R .
and Inquiry, a n d t w o other m a g a z i n e s
associated with the Libertarians, have
refused to permit the I.H.R. even to
purchase a n a d .
A l t h o u g h there is this intellectual stream
r u n n i n g t h r o u g h t h e 1. H . R . , w h i c h traces a
lineage f r o m W o r l d War I R e v i s i o n i s m , the
" H o l o c a u s t - H o a x " M o v e m e n t is deceitful
and perverted.

Revisionist Conferences
" The Village Voice, op. cit., p. 40.

T h e d e s c e n t from t h e d a y s o f Harry
Elmer Barnes is very e v i d e n t as c a n be s e e n

21

J O U R N A L O F JEWISH C O M M U N A L SERVICE

in the tapes of the I . H . R . C o n f e r e n c e held

in B a r n e s ' m e m o r y in 1979 at N o r t h r u p
U n i v e r s i t y in L o s A n g e l e s ( t o that U n i v e r
sity's s u b s e q u e n t mortification).
T h e N o r t h r u p University C o n f e r e n c e ,
w h i c h featured Professor J a m e s J. Martin,
Professor Arthur Butz, U d o Walendy
( f r o m G e r m a n y ) , Professor R o b e r t F a u r i s
s o n ( f r o m F r a n c e ) , Dr. A u s t e n J. A p p
(from the U.S.), Professor J o h n Bennett
( f r o m A u s t r a l i a ) , a n d Willis A. C a r t o , and
others, all n o t o r i o u s a n t i - S e m i t e s , dealt
with "the three parasitic inter-related inter
ests alien t o the W e s t " b a n k e r s , C o m
m u n i s t s , Zionists; u n i q u e interpretations
o f the e v e n t s o f W o r l d W a r II; alliances
b e t w e e n Z i o n i s t s a n d F a s c i s m ; and s u g
g e s t i o n s that a c o m m i t t e e be f o r m e d t o
"find" t h e S i x M i l l i o n . T h e n , of c o u r s e ,
there w a s the v o i c e o n tape s u g g e s t i n g t o a
l a u g h i n g a u d i e n c e that the S i x M i l l i o n are
really h i d i n g o u t in o l d - a g e h o m e s a c r o s s
the country.

out t o A m e r i c a n a n d C a n a d i a n historians.
A typical I . H . R . p r o p a g a n d a letter from its
D i r e c t o r reads s o m e t h i n g like this:
Dear Historian:
I am writing to you in confidence to share
with you some disturbing developments in the
academic field.
It appears that there are forces at work in
our society whose purpose is not to further
mankind's knowledge, but to manipulate it for
their explicit political purposes. These sinister
forces are at work both within and without our
Universities, not just in this country but in
Europe as well. Specifically, 1 am referring to
the problem of International Zionism, which
wields such clout in academia that

those

academics who are not conscious agents of this

power are paralyzed in fear of offending it."

14

The preamble to a resolution unani

m o u s l y passed by the c o n v e n t i o n , read:
" W h e r e a s t h e facts s u r r o u n d i n g the alle
g a t i o n s t h a t g a s c h a m b e r s e x i s t e d in
o c c u p i e d E u r o p e d u r i n g W o r l d War II are
d e m o n s t r a b l y false; a n d w h e r e a s the w h o l e
t h e o r y o f the H o l o c a u s t has been created
by and p r o m u l g a t e d by political Z i o n i s m
for the attainment of political and e c o n o m i c
e n d s , specifically the c o n t i n u e d and per
petual financial support o f the military
a g g r e s s i o n o f Israel by t h e p e o p l e o f
G e r m a n y and the U n i t e d S t a t e s . . . ," the
C o n v e n t i o n resolved that the C o n g r e s s o f
the U n i t e d S t a t e s s h o u l d investigate, inter
alia, the truth o f the alleged e x t e r m i n a t i o n
of the six m i l l i o n J e w s in Europe d u r i n g
W o r l d War II.
In t h e last year, the I . H . R . has l a u n c h e d
a m a s s i v e p r o p a g a n d a c a m p a i g n a i m e d at
professional historians. T h o u s a n d s of
c o p i e s of the I . H . R . j o u r n a l have been sent

The second annual Revisionist C o n

ference of the I . H . R . w a s held in P o m o n a
C o l l e g e in C l a i r m o n t , C a l i f o r n i a , in
A u g u s t , 1 9 8 0 . F a u r i s s o n a d d r e s s e d the
C o n f e r e n c e d e d i c a t e d , this t i m e , to the
m e m o r y of Paul Rassinier. H e e x h o r t e d
the a u d i e n c e t o b r o a d e n their p r o p a g a n d a
t o t h e left a n d r i g h t o f t h e p o l i t i c a l
spectrum.
16

T h e third a n n u a l Revisionist C o n f e r e n c e
w a s s c h e d u l e d t o t a k e place in J u n e , 1981,
at t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a ' s L a k e
A r r o w h e a d C o n f e r e n c e Centre. O n M a y
2 0 t h , 1981, h o w e v e r , the University of
California d e n i e d the I . H . R . ' s use of its
L a k e A r r o w h e a d facility after it d i s c o v e r e d
that the reservation had been m a d e under a
false n a m e , in particular, L e w i s B r a n d o n .
17

Keith S e x t o n , D e a n o f the University o f

California, E x t e n s i o n P r o g r a m s , cancelled
the Lake A r r o w h e a d reservations. S e x t o n ' s
letter o b s e r v e d , further, that "recent infor
m a t i o n indicates that the reward offered by
B r a n d o n ( M c C a l d e n ) a n d the I . H . R . for

15

The Village Voice, op. cil., p. 42.

16

"Trends Analysis Report: A n t i - S e m i t i s m in

America," American Jewish Committee, Discrimina

14

cil.

22

Quarterly

Report, Canadian Jewish Congress, op.

tion Division, Domestic Affairs Dept., New York.

17

J.T.A., op. cil., May 19th, 1981.

THE H O L O C A U S T A N D THE HISTORICAL REVISIONISTS

p r o o f that J e w s were gassed at A u s c h w i t z ,

w a s a publicity g i m m i c k w h i c h was further
indication o f a pattern o f d e c e p t i o n . "
In r e s p o n s e t o t h e c a n c e l l a t i o n , R a b b i
A b r a h a m C o o p e r , Assistant D e a n of t h e
W i e s e n t h a l Institute in L o s A n g e l e s , in a
telegram t o D a v i d S a x o n , President o f the
University o f California state-wide s y s t e m ,
said that "while all A m e r i c a n s s h o u l d be
c o n c e r n e d with the safeguarding of freedon
of s p e e c h , m a n y o f us have felt that t h e
a c a d e m i c c o m m u n i t y , while publicly speak
ing o u t o n this issue, have n o t t o date
actually taken up the fight t o safeguard o n e
of t h e f u n d a m e n t a l s of t h e w o r l d o f
a c a d e m i a , n a m e l y , d e v o t e their energies t o
the pursuit o f historical truth and accuracy.
C o o p e r c o n t i n u e d by n o t i n g that "what the
I . H . R . s o u g h t and what other d e n o u n c e r s
and haters seek and will c o n t i n u e t o seek, is
to utilize their a c a d e m i c a n d intellectual
p o s i t i o n s to d e s t r o y the truth and t o seek t o
s o w t h e seeds o f hatred a n d m i s u n d e r
standing."
18

19

H i s t o r i a n s have dealt with the fact of the

H o l o c a u s t . Research has d i s c l o s e d that
thirty-four of t h e m o s t p r o m i n e n t his
torians in France h a v e p r o c l a i m e d (in Le
Monde) that the q u e s t i o n o f the e x i s t e n c e
of gas c h a m b e r s is b e y o n d debate. A t t e m p t s
by Faurisson's supporters t o purchase a n
ad e n d o r s i n g F a u r i s s o n were d e n i e d by Le
20

Monde.

S o o n e m a y a s k , w h y are such things

g o i n g o n ? S i m p l y b e c a u s e , with a single
stroke o f the pen, all theoretical p r o b l e m s
disappear. T h e p r o b l e m is resolved by
resolving that G e n o c i d e itself w a s a false
rumor (as w a s C a m b o d i a , according t o
Faurisson's urgings t o the I . H . R . ) .
Historical R e v i s i o n i s m began with his
torians furious at A m e r i c a n i n v o l v e m e n t in
foreign wars. S o furious were these p e o p l e
that they were u n w i l l i n g t o a c c e p t that the

18

Ibid, May 20th. 1981.

19

Wiesenthal, op. cil.

2(1

The Village Voice, op. cit., p. 42.

Allies might have been right a b o u t A d o l p h

Hitler. T h e R e v i s i o n i s t s o f t o d a y face a
terrible crisis o f their ideological traditions
as a result o f the e v e n t s o f W o r l d War II.
M o d e r n revisionists "have finally b e g u n t o
d r o w n in their o w n outrage, fury, suspi
c i o n , a n d c y n i c i s m . Even a n i m p o s s i b l e
c o s m i c c o n s p i r a c y s o u n d s m o r e plausible
to t h e m than facts as reported by c o n v e n
tional historians. T h e y wind up positing
that the facts o f history must be a h o a x . "
T o put it a s plainly a s p o s s i b l e , it is
c o m m o n k n o w l e d g e that in times o f a c u t e
social crisis, a n t i - S e m i t i s m takes t o the
streets. T h e corollary, h o w e v e r , appears t o
be that in times o f a c u t e ideological crisis,
anti-Semitism takes t o the intellectual
presses. It is a sad reflection o n our times.
2 1

R e v i s i o n i s m in C a n a d a
C a n a d a , t o o , h a s its share o f R e v i s i o n
ists. A f o r t y - t w o year old c o m m e r c i a l artist
residing in T o r o n t o , for e x a m p l e , is t h e
principle a u t h o r , publisher, a n d distributor
o f t o n s o f N e o - N a z i , a n t i - S e m i t i c literature
recently seized by West G e r m a n authorities
in M a r c h , 1981, in m a s s raids o n the h o m e s
of N e o - N a z i s and right-wing extremists in
the Federal Republic.
T h e m a t e r i a l , p u b l i s h e d in f o u r t e e n
l a n g u a g e s a n d c i r c u l a t e d in f o r t y - f i v e
c o u n t r i e s a r o u n d the w o r l d , is o u t l a w e d in
the G e r m a n Federal R e p u b l i c .
Ernst
Z u n d e l ' s basic thrust is simply that t h e
H o l o c a u s t is a "Zionist H o a x " a n d t h e
author has also published a number of
b o o k s , o n e o f w h i c h entitled The Hitler We
Loved & Why, h a s been p u b l i s h e d u n d e r
the a u t h o r s h i p o f Christoff Friedrich. H i s
literature h a s a l s o been m a s s mailed in
Canada t o members of Parliament, Pro
vincial Legislators, and the mass m e d i a .
2 2

23

21

Ibid, p. 43.

2 2

J.T.A., op. cit.. Wednesday, April

1st, 1981;

March 27th, 1981.

The Toronto Sun, Wednesday, April 19th, 1978,
p. 16; March 25th, 1981, p.22.
23

23

J O U R N A L OF JEWISH C O M M U N A L SERVICE

T h e irony appears to be that, while

illegal u n d e r W e s t G e r m a n a n d F r e n c h
law, the d i s t r i b u t i o n o f this material is not
d e e m e d t o be a v i o l a t i o n o f C a n a d i a n L a w ,
a n d p o s s i b l y , m a y e v e n be p r o t e c t e d by t h e
C a n a d i a n Bill o f R i g h t s . In short, it m a y be
p e r c e i v e d as a n i n s t a n c e o f u s i n g t h e
d e m o c r a t i c f r e e d o m s , in their purest sense,
to undermine the f o u n d a t i o n s of d e m o c r a c y
itself.
S e c t i o n #281 o f t h e C a n a d i a n Criminal
C o d e (the hate literature p r o v i s i o n ) , for
e x a m p l e , is not b r o a d e n o u g h t o take into
a c c o u n t the " s o p h i s t i c a t i o n " o f m o d e r n
a n t i - S e m i t i c literature w h i c h freely uses the
term " Z i o n i s t " interchangably with the
w o r d " J e w i s h " ( d o i n g so with a p p a r e n t
i m m u n i t y f r o m p r o s e c u t i o n ) , despite the
fact that s u c h a term is impliedly a s s o c i a t e d
w i t h the J e w i s h p e o p l e as well as t h e b o n d
w h i c h e x i s t s b e t w e e n the J e w i s h p e o p l e and
the State o f Israel. It is identical t o the
t e c h n i q u e presently in use in the S o v i e t
U n i o n , w h e r e - b y t h e term " Z i o n i s t " is used
indiscriminately in a blatant a n d o b v i o u s
a t t e m p t t o c i r c u m v e n t the p r o v i s i o n s o f the
Soviet Constitution which makes publica
t i o n o f a n t i - S e m i t i c material (i.e.: antiJ e w i s h material), illegal.
T h e m i s s i o n a r y character of S o v i e t antiS e m i t i s m w a s s h o w n by the S o v i e t a t t e m p t
at the United N a t i o n s in 1975 to h a v e
Zionism, Nazism, and N e o - N a z i s m , (grouped
t o g e t h e r in that order), classified as racial
crimes. A l t h o u g h the reaction w a s o n e o f
s h o c k , the S o v i e t U n i o n pressed o n w i t h its
i n t e n t i o n a n d finally s u c c e e d e d in w i n n i n g
a U n i t e d N a t i o n s majority for the d e c i s i o n
that Z i o n i s m ( w h i c h , in fact, s y m b o l i z e s
the ancient dream of an ancient people to
return, o n c e m o r e t o their a n c i e n t h o m e
land to thereby control their o w n destiny)
w a s a f o r m o f racism. T h a t d e c i s i o n w a s

In the a n t i - S e m i t i c literature o f C a n a d a
t o d a y , it is the " Z i o n i s t s " w h o are " c o n
trolling" the media; "running a n inter
n a t i o n a l hate c a m p a i g n ; " p r o d u c i n g the
U n i t e d States d o c u - d r a m a " H o l o c a u s t ; "
"attacking our German and Japanese
Allies of today as targets of public hatred;"
not t o m e n t i o n "The Zionist S i x M i l l i o n
Swindle;""The Zionist History Distorters;"
"The Zionist G e n o c i d e P r o g r a m ; " "The
Z i o n i s t F u n d r a i s i n g H a t e C a m p a i g n ; " the
"Zionist Lies and G l o b a l B l a c k m a i l : " and
a p l e t h o r a o f assorted other w o r l d m a l a d i e s
attributable, b e y o n d the s h a d o w of a
d o u b t , to Zionist Central!
25

W h i l e it m a y not be a priority o f the

C a n a d i a n Federal P a r l i m e n t t o prevent the
d i s t r i b u t i o n of such literature w o r l d - w i d e ,
it is to s o m e n a t i o n s . S e v e r a l years a g o , a
Paris court ruled that a n t i - Z i o n i s t p r o p a
g a n d a d i s s e m i n a t e d by the F r e n c h m a n a g e r
o f a n official S o v i e t N e w s l e t t e r w a s , in fact,
a n t i - S e m i t i c a n d s a w n o legal distinction
other than the a t t e m p t e d d e c e p t i o n o f the
public.
26

F u r t h e r m o r e , in t h e D e c e m b e r 2 1 s t
( 1 9 7 3 ) , under the headline
"The N e w A n t i - S e m i t i s m , " the C a t h o l i c
writer M i c h a e l N o v a k , in d i s c u s s i n g the
m a n i f e s t a t i o n s of a n t i - S e m i t i c literature
t o d a y n o t e d : . . . "surely, the g r o u n d s w e l l
o f A m e r i c a n J e w i s h identification with
Z i o n is o v e r w h e l m i n g . Z i o n is h o m e , Z i o n
is r o o t s , Z i o n is heritage, Z i o n is identity.
T o be a Z i o n i s t is n o w virtually identical
with being J e w i s h a n d the difference
b e t w e e n the t w o is not for a Christian t o
a d j u d i c a t e . T h e r e is a t o n e o f v o i c e , " the
Z i o n i s t s in our m i d s t , " w h i c h is as o m i n o u s
as a n y t o n e the h u m a n v o i c e can u t t e r . "

Commonweal

27

24

license for the dissemination of antiS e m i t i s m u n d e r the c l o a k o f c o n d e m n a t i o n

of racist Z i o n i s m b y every i m a g i n a b l e
g r o u p h a r b o u r i n g hostility t o the J e w i s h
people.

Insight: Soviet

Jews. London: European Jewish

Publications Ltd., November, 1980, p. 1.

25

Achtung!

published by Ernst Zundel (Toronto,

Canada).
2 6

Forster and Epstein, op. cit., p. 259.

27

Commonweal,

2 4

24

December 21st, 1973.

THE H O L O C A U S T A N D THE HISTORICAL REVISIONISTS

Conclusion
T h e true c h a l l e n g e for t e a c h e r s a n d
p r o f e s s o r s at a n y and all levels of e d u c a
tional e n d e a v o r lies in the area of c o m
b a t t i n g i g n o r a n c e in w h a t e v e r f o r m it m a y
manifest itself. Bigotry, racism, discrimina
tion, man's i n h u m a n i t y to m a n , and the
history of h u m a n civilization, e a c h , repre
sents a different aspect of our e v o l u t i o n o n
this planet.
If w e are to i m p r o v e the quality o f life for
our children, and for the children of those
w h o m w e t e a c h , t h e n w e m u s t l o o k to
history for the lessons which it teaches to
us. T h e H o l o c a u s t is a fact of history. It is
disturbing by its very nature and forces o n e
to c o n f r o n t t h e g r o s s e s t d e p r a v i t i e s o f
h u m a n existence. There are, however,

l e s s o n s to be learned from a study of the

H o l o c a u s t . If students are to learn and
appreciate the pluralistic nature of our
d e m o c r a t i c s o c i e t y , then they m u s t be
instilled with tolerance and a w a r e n e s s of
our cultural m o s a i c . If students are t o learn
the distinctions b e t w e e n right and w r o n g ,
t h e n they m u s t c o m e to grips with the
moral issues w h i c h form the basis of
h u m a n civilization.
W h a t the revisionists fail t o a p p r e c i a t e is
t h a t t h e r e v i s i o n o f t h e p a s t , a n d , in
particular, the selective e l i m i n a t i o n o f the
H o l o c a u s t from written history, will serve
o n l y to draw m a n k i n d , i n e x o r a b l y , back
i n t o the c a v e s a n d s h a d o w s of h u m a n
misery.

25