8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 113

ANTISEMITISMDECIPHERING THE NEW

E D I T E D B Y

A L V I N H RO S E N F E L D

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

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Contents

Acknowledgmens ix

Introduction Alvin H Rosenfeld 983089

983120983137983154983156 983113 Defining and Assessing Anisemiism

983089 Antisemitism and Islamophobia Te Inversion of the Debt

Pascal Bruckner 983095

983090 Te Ideology of the New Antisemitism Kenneh L Marcus 983090983089

983091 A Framework for Assessing Antisemitism Tree Case Studies

(Dieudonneacute Erdoğan and Hamas) Guumlnher Jikeli 983092983091

983092 Virtuous Antisemitism Elhanan Yakira 983095983095

983120983137983154983156 983113983113 Inellecual and Ideological Conexs

983093 Historicizing the ranshistorical Apostasy and the Dialecticof Jew Hatred Doron Ben-Aar 983089983088983093

983094 Literary Teory and the Delegitimization of Israel Jean Axelrad Cahan 983089983093983089

983095 Good News from France ldquoTere Is No New Antisemitismrdquo Bruno Chaoua 983089983095983097

983096 Anti-Zionism and the Anarchist radition Eirik Eiglad 983090983088983094

983097 Antisemitism and the Radical Catholic raditionalist Movement Mark Weizman 983090983092983090

983120983137983154983156 983113983113983113 Holocaus Denial Evasion Minimizaion

983089983088 Te Uniqueness Debate Revisited Bernard Harrison 983090983096983097

983089983089 Denial Evasion and Antihistorical AntisemitismTe Continuing Assault on Memory David Paterson 983091983090983094

983089983090 Generational Changes in the Holocaust Denial Movementin the United States Aryeh Tuchman 983091983093983088

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

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viii 983107983151983150983156983141983150983156983155

983120983137983154983156 983113983126 Regional Manifesaions

983089983091 From Occupation to Occupy Antisemitism and the

Contemporary Le in the United States Sina Arnold 983091983095983093983089983092 Te 983109983125rsquos Responses to Contemporary Antisemitism

A Shell Game R Amy Elman 983092983088983093

983089983093 Anti-Israeli Boycos European and International Human RightsLaw Perspectives Aleksandra Gliszczynska-Grabias 983092983091983088

983089983094 Delegitimizing Israel in Germany and Austria Past Politicsthe Iranian Treat and Post-national Anti-Zionism

Sephan Griga 983092983093983092983089983095 Antisemitism and Antiurbanism Past and Present Empirical

and Teoretical Approaches Bodo Kahmann 983092983096983090

983089983096 ehranrsquos Efforts to Mobilize Antisemitism Te GlobalImpact Mathias Kuumlnzel 983093983088983096

Lis of Conribuors 983093983091983091

Index 983093983091983097

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

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983091983093983088

983105983156 983145983156983155 983139983151983154 983141 Holocaus denial argues ha six million Jews wereno killedmdashmany wih poison gasmdashby he Nazis during World War II However he syle and mehodologies of hose argu-mens and he rheorical conex in which hey are expressed by

he deniers have evolved in he decades since Holocaus denialfirs emerged From he 983089983097983092983088s hrough he 983089983097983094983088s Holocaus de-nial was he province of pro-Nazi groups employing crude argu-mens and overly anisemiic rheoric In he 983089983097983095983088s Holocausdenial ook up more sophisicaed pseudoscienific mehods and

began o porray iself as a movemen of hisorical revisioniss inhe radiion of he hisorian Harry Elmer Barnes who argued

ha convenional hisorians had allowed heir analyses of World War II o be influenced by Allied propaganda and ha a moreaccurae hisory needed o be writen Alhough he Holocausdenial movemen in he Unied Saes coninued o be dominaed

by righ-wing exremiss in he 983089983097983096983088s and 983089983097983097983088s by he year 983090983088983088983088and coninuing o he presen we have seen he movemen expando include oher populaions including conspiracy heoriss and

ani-Zioniss no affiliaed wih he exreme righ Te mehod-ological argumenaion by a small group of hard-core deniers isas sophisicaed as ever bu in a broader conex he rheoric of

983156983159983141983148983158983141k

Generaional Changes in he HolocausDenial Movemen in he Unied Saes

983105983154983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144983149983137 983150

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

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983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983089

Holocaus denial has shied away from atemps o valorize heNazis and rewrie he hisory of World War II Insead Holocausdenial now ends o be couched in argumens over free speechand he power of he ldquoJewishZionis lobbyrdquo o sifle debae andcreae ldquohough criminalsrdquo in he service of Israeli ineress Howand why hese generaional shis occurred can shed ligh onhe developmen of boh he exreme righ in he Unied Saesand on he dramaic increase of wha has been ermed he ldquonewanisemiismrdquo

983124 983144 983141 983109 983137 983154983148983161 983129 983141 983137 983154 983155

Holocaus denial in he Unied Saes emerged in he years im-mediaely aer World War II Troughou he 983089983097983093983088s and 983089983097983094983088sneo-Nazi and whie naionalis leaders including Francis Parker

Yockey Gerald L K Smih and George Lincoln Rockwell allproclaimed heir belief ha he deahs of six million Jews a he

hands of he Nazi regime was a hoax perperaed by hose same Jews o defame Hiler and advance heir own ineress1

Despie he someimes subsanial ideological differences be-ween hem Yockey Smih Rockwell and heir followers wereunied in heir over hared of Jews and heir avowed belief inhe ideals of Hiler and Naional Socialism Teir denials of heHolocaus read eiher as ransparen atemps a Jew baiing as

propaganda on he side of a war ha Hiler had already los oras elemens of neo-fascis whie supremacis manifesos Teirechnical argumens agains he Holocaus were usually no moresophisicaed han comparing published populaion saisics inEurope before and aer he war on he basis of which hey casdoub on he six million figure2

983089983097983095983088983155ndash983089983097983097983088983155

In he 983089983097983095983088s Holocaus denial in he Unied Saes assimilaed hemore sophisicaed pseudoacademic claims pioneered by Paul

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

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983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983090

Rassinier in France during he 983089983097983093983088s and early 983089983097983094983088s Rassinierrsquosargumens included deailed analyses of survivor esimony anddocumenary evidence Rassinier an avowed leis who was per-secued by he Nazis may have been an unlikely champion ofHolocaus denial Whaever his moivaion for his iniial criiqueof he hisory of he desrucion of European Jewry over ime i

became clear ha he was driven by conspiraorial beliefs abou Jewish power He differed from he likes of Yockey Smih andRockwell however in ha he was no a whie naionalis wih anover agenda of rehabiliaing Nazism as a pracical and acive po-liical ideology Rassinier was an anisemie bu no a neo-Nazi 3

Rassinier came o he atenion of he English-speaking worlddue o he praise heaped on him by he conroversial hisorianHarry Elmer Barnes who inspired he publishing of a small runof an English ranslaion of Rassinierrsquos Drame des Juifs Europeacuteens in 9830899830979830959830934 Rassinier became even more accessible o he US publicdue o he effors of Willis Caro5 Caro had been an acivis in

he US far-righ scene since 983089983097983093983093 and had creaed an eniy calledLibery Lobby in 983089983097983093983095 Tough Caro himself was a devoee of heracis anisemiic eachings of Francis Parker Yockey LiberyLobby eschewed he crude anisemiism of over neo-Nazis infavor of anicommunis racial segregaionis righ-wing lobbyingeffors in Washingon DC In his personal leters Caro conin-ued spewing over anisemiism and over he nex wo decades he

devoed much of his aciviy o disseminaing Holocaus denialTe firs vehicle Caro used for his purpose was Noonide

Press Among he earlies books Noonide prined was Yockeyrsquosmagnum opus Imperium which denied he Holocaus in 9830899830979830949830916 Over he nex few years he house published numerous racialis

works many of hem by Briish anhropologis and righ-wing ex-remis Roger Pearson In 983089983097983094983097 i added wha is probably he firs

book devoed o Holocaus denial in he Unied Saes Te Mythof the Six Million by David Hoggan A suden of Harry ElmerBarnes Hoggan spen his professional career wriing books in

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

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983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983091

German arguing ha Germany was in fac he vicim of Allied ag-gression during World War II and ha he Holocaus was a hoax

Trough Carorsquos effors Holocaus denial began o developino a cotage indusry which o some small degree had begunseparaing iself from is neo-Nazi roos in he 983089983097983093983088s and 983089983097983094983088sIn he following decade Noonide Press published Arhur BuzrsquosTe Hoax of the wentieth Century (983089983097983095983094) William Grimsadrsquos TeSix Million Reconsidered (983089983097983095983095) and Paul Rassinierrsquos Debunk-ing the Genocide Myth (983089983097983095983096) Caro adverised hese exs in hepages of his newspaper Spotlight

A seminal momen in he developmen of Holocaus denial inhe Unied Saes came in 983089983097983095983097 when Spotlight announced heformaion of he Insiue for Hisorical Review (983113983112983122) and heconvening of is firs inernaional Holocaus denial conference7 Some of he papers presened a ha conference were prined in983089983097983096983088 in he firs issue of 983113983112983122rsquos Journal of Historical Review a jour-nal ha aped he look and feel of convenional academic publi-

caions I was under he aegis of he 983113983112983122 ha Holocaus denial began o cohere ino an inernaional movemen ha could albei wih some difficuly be separaed from he ideology and aimsof he deniers from he 983089983097983093983088s and 983089983097983094983088s many of whom had sillheld ou hope of reviving overly ani-Jewish or even pro-Nazipopular movemens in he Unied Saes

o be sure 983113983112983122 atraced is share of neo-Nazis and neo-fasciss

Te firs edior of he Journal of Historical Review was David Mc-Calden who had been a member of he Briish neo-fascis groupcalled he Naional Fron before he came he Unied Saes andchanged his name o Lewis Brandon8 Mark Weber anoher earlyemployee of 983113983112983122 had been a member of he neo-Nazi Naional

Alliance and was he edior of is National Vanguard9 Revilo POliver also a member of he Naional Alliance served on he edi-

orial advisory board of he Journal of Historical Review hrough-ou he 983089983097983096983088s10 Wolf Rudiger Hess whose faher was Rudolf Hessatended 983113983112983122 conferences and conribued aricles o he journal

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

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983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983092

as did Oto Erns Remer who was a general in he Wehrmachduring World War II11 H Keih Tompson who had been a spe-cial agen for he Nazi Overseas Inelligence Uni during World

War II was also involved wih he 98311398311298312212 According o a reporfrom he Ani-Defamaion League during his speech a he 983089983097983096983091983113983112983122 conference Tompson ldquourged supporers o lsquosand by hehird Reichrsquo because lsquoif in he end he Holocaus did ake placehen so much he beterrsquordquo13

However no all he deniers atraced o he 983113983112983122 and Holo-caus denial a his ime were neo-Nazis or neo-fasciss Manyof hese ohers including many readers of Carorsquos Spotlight hadheir ideological roos in less exreme righ-wing populis move-mens Examples of such deniers include Keih Simely who

wroe Holocaus denial works and evenually became edior ofhe Journal of Historical Review Michael A Hoffman II a free-lance journalis and conspiracy heoris Black Naionalis Rob-er L Brock and Spotlight wrier Michael Collins Piper14

Ohers came o Holocaus denial wih no apparen connec-ions o righ-wing exremism oher han paricipaing in 983113983112983122conferences and wriing for is journal In his caegory onemigh include ordained miniser Rober Couness15 engineeringprofessor Arhur Buz16 James J Marin a liberarian scholar17 Fred Leucher auhor of he famed Leuchter Report18 and heforemos French Holocaus denier Rober Faurisson whose in-

fluence on he 983113983112983122 and Holocaus denial in he Unied Saescanno be oversaed19

Te Holocaus denial promoed by he 983113983112983122 and is supporersfeaured Barnes-syle World War II revisionism as well as echni-cal argumens for he impossibiliy of homicidal gas chambersIn many cases he revisionis hisory was exreme Tese deniersdid no merely claim ha Jews had no been gassed a Auschwiz

or ha Anne Frankrsquos diary was a fabricaion hey also arguedha Dr Mengele had noble inenions ha he SS was an hon-orable and heroic miliary uni and ha Nazism was a progres-

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

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983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983093

sive forward-looking movemen ha cared abou is people andhe environmen20 Many of hem believed ha he Nazis were jusified in inerning he Jews in camps or execuing hem aspoenial communis sympahizers moreover hey argued haHiler alone among he world leaders saw he danger of com-munism and selflessly se his German armies o defend he Wesagains he communis menace Te Journal of Historical Review serialized former SS Lieuenan Leon Degrellersquos rhapsodies abouHiler and published he wriings of oher former Nazis as wellTeir revisionism exended o he Allies whom hey cas as heaggressors in World War II Tey alleged ha Presiden Roosevelknew in advance ha he Japanese inended o atack Pearl Har-

bor bu allowed he atack o occur in order o bring he UniedSaes ino he war and claimed ha he Nazi admissions of guila Nuremberg were he resul of orure21

Of course he core argumen ha deniers urned o ime andagain was he echnical impossibiliy of he Nazis having killed six

million Jews many wih poison gas Aricles in he Journal of His-torical Review claimed o assess ldquoHolocaus demographicsrdquo hedisincion beween cremaion and incineraion of bodies he na-ure and consrucion of delousing chambers in he Nazi concen-raion camps and he prevalence of yphus Holocaus denierscraved any analysis ha had he rappings of objecive scienceo ake bu one example Fred Leucher a purpored engineer

and ldquogas chamber experrdquo who designed execuion devices forseveral US saes was hired by Canadian Holocaus denier ErnsZundel o conduc a forensic analysis of Auschwiz Leucher con-cluded ha he gas chambers here could no have been used forhomicidal gassing and his Leuchter Report became one of hefoundaional exs for he Holocaus denial movemen22 Oherdeniers who specialized in producing echnical sudies on Nazi

concenraion camps wihou generally addressing larger issuesperaining o World War II revisionism were Carlo MatognoFriedrich Paul Berg John Ball and laer Germar Rudolf

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

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983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983094

Te 983113983112983122 and he consellaion of deniers who surrounded i was a hybrid mixure of neo-Nazis whie naionaliss conspiracyheoriss and anisemies I produced pro-Hiler revisionis his-ory as well as sophisicaed argumens agains he exisence ofgas chambers mass shooings and oher aspecs of Holocaushisory

Te 983089983097983096983088s and 983089983097983097983088s were he golden age of Holocaus denial inhe Unied Saes By his ime he 983113983112983122 had refined is argumenso he poin ha is leadership fel i could ake is message o he

broader public As he 983113983112983122 launched is oureach campaigns hemainsream US media and he US public learned of he exis-ence of Holocaus denial

Beginning in he 983089983097983096983088s he 983113983112983122 and is allies launched severalsuns and oureach campaigns designed o increase he pub-licrsquos exposure o Holocaus denial In 983089983097983096983088 he 983113983112983122 sponsored a983076983093983088983088983088983088 challenge o anyone who could prove ha Jews had beengassed a Auschwiz A Holocaus survivor named Mel Mermel-

sein ook up he challenge which resuled in a lawsui covered bynewspapers in Los Angeles (where he sui ook place) as well as

by wire services he New York imes and he Washington Post23 983113983112983122 pamphles and oher Holocaus-denying lieraure were dis-ribued a public libraries and Holocaus deniers atemped o

book meeing rooms on college campuses and in public librariessomeimes atracing significan conroversy24

One of he mos imporan promoers of Holocaus denial inhe Unied Saes was Bradley Smih In 983089983097983096983092 Smih who hadearlier aspired o become a journalis bu had become enamoredof Holocaus denial aer reading he work of Rober Faurissonconvinced 983113983112983122 leaders o underwrie a newsleter o journalissarguing ha he Holocaus never happened and urging hem o

wrie sories abou i He received virually no responses from

ha enerprise so in 983089983097983096983094 he became he firs direcor of he 983113983112983122rsquosRadio Projecmdashquickly rebranded as he Media Projecmdashin

which he atemped o bring he message of Holocaus denial o

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

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983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983095

radio and elevision broadcass Smih claims o have done overfour hundred inerviews during ha period alhough ha num-

ber canno be verified25

In 983089983097983097983089 Smih hi on a sraegy ha would caapul Holocausdenial o a much larger audience He creaed he Commitee onOpen Debae on he Holocaus (983107983119983108983119983112) whose mission waso place adverisemens denying he Nazi genocide of European

Jewry in college suden newspapers Smih hoped ha he na- iumlveeacute of college sudens would make hem more likely o accephis propaganda bu his effors paid off in anoher way he lo-cal conroversies ha eruped when college newspaper ediors wresled wih he decision of wheher o publish Smihrsquos adshemselves atraced inense coverage in regional and naionalmedia26 Smih even appeared on he elevision newsmagazine 983092983096Hours on February 983090983094 983089983097983097983090 where he ried o convince a naionalaudience ha ldquohere was no plan o exerminae he Jews of Eu-rope no order no budge no weaponmdashha is no exerminaion

gas chamber and no vicim Tis false sory is mainained bya cabal largely of Jewish organizaionsrdquo27 wo years laer Smihand an associae debaed Michael Shermer he edior of Skeptic magazine on Phil Donahuersquos elevision show28

Te legal batles of Erns Zundel in Canada whose Holocausdenial was being prosecued for violaing he counryrsquos FalseNews laws also resuled in significan media coverage of ldquorevi-

sionisrdquo heories in he Unied Saes In a segmen covering heHolocaus denial phenomenon on he March 983090983088 983089983097983097983092 ediionof he elevision newsmagazine 983094983088 Minutes Zundel allowed haHiler had his ldquofoiblesrdquo including ha he ldquodidnrsquo paricularly like

Jewsrdquo bu ha no more han 983091983088983088983088983088983088 Jews died during World War II Clips of Bradley Smih also appeared in ha segmen29

In he lae 983089983097983097983088s Holocaus denial again became a media phe-

nomenon wih US coverage of he 983089983097983097983094 lawsui filed by Briishhisorian David Irving agains American academic Deborah Lip-sad aer she described him as a Holocaus denier Alhough he

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

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983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983096

lawsui was liigaed in he Unied Kingdom major US newspa-pers and wire services covered he rial

Te concep ha here was room o doub he sandard hisoryof he Holocaus coninued o appear in he media in oher formsas well Conservaive columnis Pa Buchanan quesioned henoion ha gas chambers a reblinka could have been used okill Jews again provoking media conroversy30

Te repeaed references o Holocaus denial in US media inhe 983089983097983096983088s and 983089983097983097983088s exposed average Americans of he firs sec-ond and hird generaions born aer World War II ha here

were hose who dispued he realiy of he Holocaus abou whichhey had learned in school or seen porrayed in many moviessuch as Claude Lanzmannrsquos Shoah (983089983097983096983093) and Seven SpielbergrsquosSchindlerrsquos List (983089983097983097983091)31 I recall waching an evening newscason he subjec of Holocaus denial in he 983089983097983096983088s I have a vividmemory of he news anchor earnesly warning his viewers ha al-hough here are hose who deny he Holocaus here are moun-

ains of evidence ha he Holocaus indeed happened I was aremarkable deparure from regular journalism and in rerospecI hink i spoke o a growing awareness of he exisence of Holo-caus deniers among mainsream Americans

Alhough awareness of Holocaus denial swep hrough parsof he US during hese wo decades he connecion ha manyof he deniers had o righ-wing exremism made i easier for

heir opponens o discredi hem Jewish organizaions and aca-demics generally did no engage hem on he subsance of heirspurious ldquohisoricalrdquo claims preferring insead o focus on heirgeneral sympahy for Hiler heir racism and heir anisemiismime and again i was poined ou ha if he deniers were noNazis like Leon Degrelle hey were neo-Nazis like David Mc-Calden Willis Caro and Mark Weber If hey were no neo-

Nazis hey were righ-wing exremiss raciss and anisemiespredisposed o vindicaing Hiler and obviously having a moivefor discouning he desrucion of European Jewry Te Ani-

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1313

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983097

Defamaion League famously described Holocaus deniers asldquoHilerrsquos apologissrdquo and included profiles of he mos imporandeniers in is publicaions on righ-wing exremism Te Ameri-can Jewish Commitee made his approach even more explici ina publicaion on Holocaus denial published in 983089983097983097983091 ldquoHolocausdeniers crave legiimacy above all else As long as hey are seenas neo-Nazi hacks and no scholars heir ask is harder Tedeniersrsquo claims can and mus be debunkedmdashno wih debae bu

wih exposeacute I is imporan ha people know ha deniers wan o rehabiliae Nazism and creae a new world order basedon he Tird Reichrdquo32 Tis unequivocal formulaion while cer-ainly rue of he pro-Nazi Holocaus deniers of he 983089983097983093983088s and983089983097983094983088s and of some of he neo-Nazi Holocaus deniers of he 983089983097983096983088sand 983089983097983097983088s was no necessarily rue of many oher Holocaus de-niers Te armchair pseudo-hisorians and conspiracy heoriss

who became par of he Holocaus denial movemen were almoscerainly anisemies and ani-Zioniss bu alhough hey were

ineresed in recasing he hisory of World War II and perhapsrehabiliaing he image of Hiler hey had no desire o revive heNazi movemen Moreover several of he foremos Holocaus de-niers including Arhur Buz Fred Leucher and Bradley Smihdid no have any discernible righ-wing views or affiliaions be-fore hey ook up wih he Holocaus denial movemen Bu be-cause he Holocaus denial movemen as a whole was predomi-

nanly composed of righ-wing anisemies calling hem ou for belonging o ha ideology was a convenien way of conveying ohe American people he disingenuousness and mendaciousnessof heir aemp o deny he exisence of gas chambers

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 213

Contents

Acknowledgmens ix

Introduction Alvin H Rosenfeld 983089

983120983137983154983156 983113 Defining and Assessing Anisemiism

983089 Antisemitism and Islamophobia Te Inversion of the Debt

Pascal Bruckner 983095

983090 Te Ideology of the New Antisemitism Kenneh L Marcus 983090983089

983091 A Framework for Assessing Antisemitism Tree Case Studies

(Dieudonneacute Erdoğan and Hamas) Guumlnher Jikeli 983092983091

983092 Virtuous Antisemitism Elhanan Yakira 983095983095

983120983137983154983156 983113983113 Inellecual and Ideological Conexs

983093 Historicizing the ranshistorical Apostasy and the Dialecticof Jew Hatred Doron Ben-Aar 983089983088983093

983094 Literary Teory and the Delegitimization of Israel Jean Axelrad Cahan 983089983093983089

983095 Good News from France ldquoTere Is No New Antisemitismrdquo Bruno Chaoua 983089983095983097

983096 Anti-Zionism and the Anarchist radition Eirik Eiglad 983090983088983094

983097 Antisemitism and the Radical Catholic raditionalist Movement Mark Weizman 983090983092983090

983120983137983154983156 983113983113983113 Holocaus Denial Evasion Minimizaion

983089983088 Te Uniqueness Debate Revisited Bernard Harrison 983090983096983097

983089983089 Denial Evasion and Antihistorical AntisemitismTe Continuing Assault on Memory David Paterson 983091983090983094

983089983090 Generational Changes in the Holocaust Denial Movementin the United States Aryeh Tuchman 983091983093983088

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 313

viii 983107983151983150983156983141983150983156983155

983120983137983154983156 983113983126 Regional Manifesaions

983089983091 From Occupation to Occupy Antisemitism and the

Contemporary Le in the United States Sina Arnold 983091983095983093983089983092 Te 983109983125rsquos Responses to Contemporary Antisemitism

A Shell Game R Amy Elman 983092983088983093

983089983093 Anti-Israeli Boycos European and International Human RightsLaw Perspectives Aleksandra Gliszczynska-Grabias 983092983091983088

983089983094 Delegitimizing Israel in Germany and Austria Past Politicsthe Iranian Treat and Post-national Anti-Zionism

Sephan Griga 983092983093983092983089983095 Antisemitism and Antiurbanism Past and Present Empirical

and Teoretical Approaches Bodo Kahmann 983092983096983090

983089983096 ehranrsquos Efforts to Mobilize Antisemitism Te GlobalImpact Mathias Kuumlnzel 983093983088983096

Lis of Conribuors 983093983091983091

Index 983093983091983097

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 413

983091983093983088

983105983156 983145983156983155 983139983151983154 983141 Holocaus denial argues ha six million Jews wereno killedmdashmany wih poison gasmdashby he Nazis during World War II However he syle and mehodologies of hose argu-mens and he rheorical conex in which hey are expressed by

he deniers have evolved in he decades since Holocaus denialfirs emerged From he 983089983097983092983088s hrough he 983089983097983094983088s Holocaus de-nial was he province of pro-Nazi groups employing crude argu-mens and overly anisemiic rheoric In he 983089983097983095983088s Holocausdenial ook up more sophisicaed pseudoscienific mehods and

began o porray iself as a movemen of hisorical revisioniss inhe radiion of he hisorian Harry Elmer Barnes who argued

ha convenional hisorians had allowed heir analyses of World War II o be influenced by Allied propaganda and ha a moreaccurae hisory needed o be writen Alhough he Holocausdenial movemen in he Unied Saes coninued o be dominaed

by righ-wing exremiss in he 983089983097983096983088s and 983089983097983097983088s by he year 983090983088983088983088and coninuing o he presen we have seen he movemen expando include oher populaions including conspiracy heoriss and

ani-Zioniss no affiliaed wih he exreme righ Te mehod-ological argumenaion by a small group of hard-core deniers isas sophisicaed as ever bu in a broader conex he rheoric of

983156983159983141983148983158983141k

Generaional Changes in he HolocausDenial Movemen in he Unied Saes

983105983154983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144983149983137 983150

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 513

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983089

Holocaus denial has shied away from atemps o valorize heNazis and rewrie he hisory of World War II Insead Holocausdenial now ends o be couched in argumens over free speechand he power of he ldquoJewishZionis lobbyrdquo o sifle debae andcreae ldquohough criminalsrdquo in he service of Israeli ineress Howand why hese generaional shis occurred can shed ligh onhe developmen of boh he exreme righ in he Unied Saesand on he dramaic increase of wha has been ermed he ldquonewanisemiismrdquo

983124 983144 983141 983109 983137 983154983148983161 983129 983141 983137 983154 983155

Holocaus denial in he Unied Saes emerged in he years im-mediaely aer World War II Troughou he 983089983097983093983088s and 983089983097983094983088sneo-Nazi and whie naionalis leaders including Francis Parker

Yockey Gerald L K Smih and George Lincoln Rockwell allproclaimed heir belief ha he deahs of six million Jews a he

hands of he Nazi regime was a hoax perperaed by hose same Jews o defame Hiler and advance heir own ineress1

Despie he someimes subsanial ideological differences be-ween hem Yockey Smih Rockwell and heir followers wereunied in heir over hared of Jews and heir avowed belief inhe ideals of Hiler and Naional Socialism Teir denials of heHolocaus read eiher as ransparen atemps a Jew baiing as

propaganda on he side of a war ha Hiler had already los oras elemens of neo-fascis whie supremacis manifesos Teirechnical argumens agains he Holocaus were usually no moresophisicaed han comparing published populaion saisics inEurope before and aer he war on he basis of which hey casdoub on he six million figure2

983089983097983095983088983155ndash983089983097983097983088983155

In he 983089983097983095983088s Holocaus denial in he Unied Saes assimilaed hemore sophisicaed pseudoacademic claims pioneered by Paul

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 613

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983090

Rassinier in France during he 983089983097983093983088s and early 983089983097983094983088s Rassinierrsquosargumens included deailed analyses of survivor esimony anddocumenary evidence Rassinier an avowed leis who was per-secued by he Nazis may have been an unlikely champion ofHolocaus denial Whaever his moivaion for his iniial criiqueof he hisory of he desrucion of European Jewry over ime i

became clear ha he was driven by conspiraorial beliefs abou Jewish power He differed from he likes of Yockey Smih andRockwell however in ha he was no a whie naionalis wih anover agenda of rehabiliaing Nazism as a pracical and acive po-liical ideology Rassinier was an anisemie bu no a neo-Nazi 3

Rassinier came o he atenion of he English-speaking worlddue o he praise heaped on him by he conroversial hisorianHarry Elmer Barnes who inspired he publishing of a small runof an English ranslaion of Rassinierrsquos Drame des Juifs Europeacuteens in 9830899830979830959830934 Rassinier became even more accessible o he US publicdue o he effors of Willis Caro5 Caro had been an acivis in

he US far-righ scene since 983089983097983093983093 and had creaed an eniy calledLibery Lobby in 983089983097983093983095 Tough Caro himself was a devoee of heracis anisemiic eachings of Francis Parker Yockey LiberyLobby eschewed he crude anisemiism of over neo-Nazis infavor of anicommunis racial segregaionis righ-wing lobbyingeffors in Washingon DC In his personal leters Caro conin-ued spewing over anisemiism and over he nex wo decades he

devoed much of his aciviy o disseminaing Holocaus denialTe firs vehicle Caro used for his purpose was Noonide

Press Among he earlies books Noonide prined was Yockeyrsquosmagnum opus Imperium which denied he Holocaus in 9830899830979830949830916 Over he nex few years he house published numerous racialis

works many of hem by Briish anhropologis and righ-wing ex-remis Roger Pearson In 983089983097983094983097 i added wha is probably he firs

book devoed o Holocaus denial in he Unied Saes Te Mythof the Six Million by David Hoggan A suden of Harry ElmerBarnes Hoggan spen his professional career wriing books in

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 713

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983091

German arguing ha Germany was in fac he vicim of Allied ag-gression during World War II and ha he Holocaus was a hoax

Trough Carorsquos effors Holocaus denial began o developino a cotage indusry which o some small degree had begunseparaing iself from is neo-Nazi roos in he 983089983097983093983088s and 983089983097983094983088sIn he following decade Noonide Press published Arhur BuzrsquosTe Hoax of the wentieth Century (983089983097983095983094) William Grimsadrsquos TeSix Million Reconsidered (983089983097983095983095) and Paul Rassinierrsquos Debunk-ing the Genocide Myth (983089983097983095983096) Caro adverised hese exs in hepages of his newspaper Spotlight

A seminal momen in he developmen of Holocaus denial inhe Unied Saes came in 983089983097983095983097 when Spotlight announced heformaion of he Insiue for Hisorical Review (983113983112983122) and heconvening of is firs inernaional Holocaus denial conference7 Some of he papers presened a ha conference were prined in983089983097983096983088 in he firs issue of 983113983112983122rsquos Journal of Historical Review a jour-nal ha aped he look and feel of convenional academic publi-

caions I was under he aegis of he 983113983112983122 ha Holocaus denial began o cohere ino an inernaional movemen ha could albei wih some difficuly be separaed from he ideology and aimsof he deniers from he 983089983097983093983088s and 983089983097983094983088s many of whom had sillheld ou hope of reviving overly ani-Jewish or even pro-Nazipopular movemens in he Unied Saes

o be sure 983113983112983122 atraced is share of neo-Nazis and neo-fasciss

Te firs edior of he Journal of Historical Review was David Mc-Calden who had been a member of he Briish neo-fascis groupcalled he Naional Fron before he came he Unied Saes andchanged his name o Lewis Brandon8 Mark Weber anoher earlyemployee of 983113983112983122 had been a member of he neo-Nazi Naional

Alliance and was he edior of is National Vanguard9 Revilo POliver also a member of he Naional Alliance served on he edi-

orial advisory board of he Journal of Historical Review hrough-ou he 983089983097983096983088s10 Wolf Rudiger Hess whose faher was Rudolf Hessatended 983113983112983122 conferences and conribued aricles o he journal

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 813

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983092

as did Oto Erns Remer who was a general in he Wehrmachduring World War II11 H Keih Tompson who had been a spe-cial agen for he Nazi Overseas Inelligence Uni during World

War II was also involved wih he 98311398311298312212 According o a reporfrom he Ani-Defamaion League during his speech a he 983089983097983096983091983113983112983122 conference Tompson ldquourged supporers o lsquosand by hehird Reichrsquo because lsquoif in he end he Holocaus did ake placehen so much he beterrsquordquo13

However no all he deniers atraced o he 983113983112983122 and Holo-caus denial a his ime were neo-Nazis or neo-fasciss Manyof hese ohers including many readers of Carorsquos Spotlight hadheir ideological roos in less exreme righ-wing populis move-mens Examples of such deniers include Keih Simely who

wroe Holocaus denial works and evenually became edior ofhe Journal of Historical Review Michael A Hoffman II a free-lance journalis and conspiracy heoris Black Naionalis Rob-er L Brock and Spotlight wrier Michael Collins Piper14

Ohers came o Holocaus denial wih no apparen connec-ions o righ-wing exremism oher han paricipaing in 983113983112983122conferences and wriing for is journal In his caegory onemigh include ordained miniser Rober Couness15 engineeringprofessor Arhur Buz16 James J Marin a liberarian scholar17 Fred Leucher auhor of he famed Leuchter Report18 and heforemos French Holocaus denier Rober Faurisson whose in-

fluence on he 983113983112983122 and Holocaus denial in he Unied Saescanno be oversaed19

Te Holocaus denial promoed by he 983113983112983122 and is supporersfeaured Barnes-syle World War II revisionism as well as echni-cal argumens for he impossibiliy of homicidal gas chambersIn many cases he revisionis hisory was exreme Tese deniersdid no merely claim ha Jews had no been gassed a Auschwiz

or ha Anne Frankrsquos diary was a fabricaion hey also arguedha Dr Mengele had noble inenions ha he SS was an hon-orable and heroic miliary uni and ha Nazism was a progres-

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 913

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983093

sive forward-looking movemen ha cared abou is people andhe environmen20 Many of hem believed ha he Nazis were jusified in inerning he Jews in camps or execuing hem aspoenial communis sympahizers moreover hey argued haHiler alone among he world leaders saw he danger of com-munism and selflessly se his German armies o defend he Wesagains he communis menace Te Journal of Historical Review serialized former SS Lieuenan Leon Degrellersquos rhapsodies abouHiler and published he wriings of oher former Nazis as wellTeir revisionism exended o he Allies whom hey cas as heaggressors in World War II Tey alleged ha Presiden Roosevelknew in advance ha he Japanese inended o atack Pearl Har-

bor bu allowed he atack o occur in order o bring he UniedSaes ino he war and claimed ha he Nazi admissions of guila Nuremberg were he resul of orure21

Of course he core argumen ha deniers urned o ime andagain was he echnical impossibiliy of he Nazis having killed six

million Jews many wih poison gas Aricles in he Journal of His-torical Review claimed o assess ldquoHolocaus demographicsrdquo hedisincion beween cremaion and incineraion of bodies he na-ure and consrucion of delousing chambers in he Nazi concen-raion camps and he prevalence of yphus Holocaus denierscraved any analysis ha had he rappings of objecive scienceo ake bu one example Fred Leucher a purpored engineer

and ldquogas chamber experrdquo who designed execuion devices forseveral US saes was hired by Canadian Holocaus denier ErnsZundel o conduc a forensic analysis of Auschwiz Leucher con-cluded ha he gas chambers here could no have been used forhomicidal gassing and his Leuchter Report became one of hefoundaional exs for he Holocaus denial movemen22 Oherdeniers who specialized in producing echnical sudies on Nazi

concenraion camps wihou generally addressing larger issuesperaining o World War II revisionism were Carlo MatognoFriedrich Paul Berg John Ball and laer Germar Rudolf

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1013

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983094

Te 983113983112983122 and he consellaion of deniers who surrounded i was a hybrid mixure of neo-Nazis whie naionaliss conspiracyheoriss and anisemies I produced pro-Hiler revisionis his-ory as well as sophisicaed argumens agains he exisence ofgas chambers mass shooings and oher aspecs of Holocaushisory

Te 983089983097983096983088s and 983089983097983097983088s were he golden age of Holocaus denial inhe Unied Saes By his ime he 983113983112983122 had refined is argumenso he poin ha is leadership fel i could ake is message o he

broader public As he 983113983112983122 launched is oureach campaigns hemainsream US media and he US public learned of he exis-ence of Holocaus denial

Beginning in he 983089983097983096983088s he 983113983112983122 and is allies launched severalsuns and oureach campaigns designed o increase he pub-licrsquos exposure o Holocaus denial In 983089983097983096983088 he 983113983112983122 sponsored a983076983093983088983088983088983088 challenge o anyone who could prove ha Jews had beengassed a Auschwiz A Holocaus survivor named Mel Mermel-

sein ook up he challenge which resuled in a lawsui covered bynewspapers in Los Angeles (where he sui ook place) as well as

by wire services he New York imes and he Washington Post23 983113983112983122 pamphles and oher Holocaus-denying lieraure were dis-ribued a public libraries and Holocaus deniers atemped o

book meeing rooms on college campuses and in public librariessomeimes atracing significan conroversy24

One of he mos imporan promoers of Holocaus denial inhe Unied Saes was Bradley Smih In 983089983097983096983092 Smih who hadearlier aspired o become a journalis bu had become enamoredof Holocaus denial aer reading he work of Rober Faurissonconvinced 983113983112983122 leaders o underwrie a newsleter o journalissarguing ha he Holocaus never happened and urging hem o

wrie sories abou i He received virually no responses from

ha enerprise so in 983089983097983096983094 he became he firs direcor of he 983113983112983122rsquosRadio Projecmdashquickly rebranded as he Media Projecmdashin

which he atemped o bring he message of Holocaus denial o

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1113

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983095

radio and elevision broadcass Smih claims o have done overfour hundred inerviews during ha period alhough ha num-

ber canno be verified25

In 983089983097983097983089 Smih hi on a sraegy ha would caapul Holocausdenial o a much larger audience He creaed he Commitee onOpen Debae on he Holocaus (983107983119983108983119983112) whose mission waso place adverisemens denying he Nazi genocide of European

Jewry in college suden newspapers Smih hoped ha he na- iumlveeacute of college sudens would make hem more likely o accephis propaganda bu his effors paid off in anoher way he lo-cal conroversies ha eruped when college newspaper ediors wresled wih he decision of wheher o publish Smihrsquos adshemselves atraced inense coverage in regional and naionalmedia26 Smih even appeared on he elevision newsmagazine 983092983096Hours on February 983090983094 983089983097983097983090 where he ried o convince a naionalaudience ha ldquohere was no plan o exerminae he Jews of Eu-rope no order no budge no weaponmdashha is no exerminaion

gas chamber and no vicim Tis false sory is mainained bya cabal largely of Jewish organizaionsrdquo27 wo years laer Smihand an associae debaed Michael Shermer he edior of Skeptic magazine on Phil Donahuersquos elevision show28

Te legal batles of Erns Zundel in Canada whose Holocausdenial was being prosecued for violaing he counryrsquos FalseNews laws also resuled in significan media coverage of ldquorevi-

sionisrdquo heories in he Unied Saes In a segmen covering heHolocaus denial phenomenon on he March 983090983088 983089983097983097983092 ediionof he elevision newsmagazine 983094983088 Minutes Zundel allowed haHiler had his ldquofoiblesrdquo including ha he ldquodidnrsquo paricularly like

Jewsrdquo bu ha no more han 983091983088983088983088983088983088 Jews died during World War II Clips of Bradley Smih also appeared in ha segmen29

In he lae 983089983097983097983088s Holocaus denial again became a media phe-

nomenon wih US coverage of he 983089983097983097983094 lawsui filed by Briishhisorian David Irving agains American academic Deborah Lip-sad aer she described him as a Holocaus denier Alhough he

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1213

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983096

lawsui was liigaed in he Unied Kingdom major US newspa-pers and wire services covered he rial

Te concep ha here was room o doub he sandard hisoryof he Holocaus coninued o appear in he media in oher formsas well Conservaive columnis Pa Buchanan quesioned henoion ha gas chambers a reblinka could have been used okill Jews again provoking media conroversy30

Te repeaed references o Holocaus denial in US media inhe 983089983097983096983088s and 983089983097983097983088s exposed average Americans of he firs sec-ond and hird generaions born aer World War II ha here

were hose who dispued he realiy of he Holocaus abou whichhey had learned in school or seen porrayed in many moviessuch as Claude Lanzmannrsquos Shoah (983089983097983096983093) and Seven SpielbergrsquosSchindlerrsquos List (983089983097983097983091)31 I recall waching an evening newscason he subjec of Holocaus denial in he 983089983097983096983088s I have a vividmemory of he news anchor earnesly warning his viewers ha al-hough here are hose who deny he Holocaus here are moun-

ains of evidence ha he Holocaus indeed happened I was aremarkable deparure from regular journalism and in rerospecI hink i spoke o a growing awareness of he exisence of Holo-caus deniers among mainsream Americans

Alhough awareness of Holocaus denial swep hrough parsof he US during hese wo decades he connecion ha manyof he deniers had o righ-wing exremism made i easier for

heir opponens o discredi hem Jewish organizaions and aca-demics generally did no engage hem on he subsance of heirspurious ldquohisoricalrdquo claims preferring insead o focus on heirgeneral sympahy for Hiler heir racism and heir anisemiismime and again i was poined ou ha if he deniers were noNazis like Leon Degrelle hey were neo-Nazis like David Mc-Calden Willis Caro and Mark Weber If hey were no neo-

Nazis hey were righ-wing exremiss raciss and anisemiespredisposed o vindicaing Hiler and obviously having a moivefor discouning he desrucion of European Jewry Te Ani-

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1313

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983097

Defamaion League famously described Holocaus deniers asldquoHilerrsquos apologissrdquo and included profiles of he mos imporandeniers in is publicaions on righ-wing exremism Te Ameri-can Jewish Commitee made his approach even more explici ina publicaion on Holocaus denial published in 983089983097983097983091 ldquoHolocausdeniers crave legiimacy above all else As long as hey are seenas neo-Nazi hacks and no scholars heir ask is harder Tedeniersrsquo claims can and mus be debunkedmdashno wih debae bu

wih exposeacute I is imporan ha people know ha deniers wan o rehabiliae Nazism and creae a new world order basedon he Tird Reichrdquo32 Tis unequivocal formulaion while cer-ainly rue of he pro-Nazi Holocaus deniers of he 983089983097983093983088s and983089983097983094983088s and of some of he neo-Nazi Holocaus deniers of he 983089983097983096983088sand 983089983097983097983088s was no necessarily rue of many oher Holocaus de-niers Te armchair pseudo-hisorians and conspiracy heoriss

who became par of he Holocaus denial movemen were almoscerainly anisemies and ani-Zioniss bu alhough hey were

ineresed in recasing he hisory of World War II and perhapsrehabiliaing he image of Hiler hey had no desire o revive heNazi movemen Moreover several of he foremos Holocaus de-niers including Arhur Buz Fred Leucher and Bradley Smihdid no have any discernible righ-wing views or affiliaions be-fore hey ook up wih he Holocaus denial movemen Bu be-cause he Holocaus denial movemen as a whole was predomi-

nanly composed of righ-wing anisemies calling hem ou for belonging o ha ideology was a convenien way of conveying ohe American people he disingenuousness and mendaciousnessof heir aemp o deny he exisence of gas chambers

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 313

viii 983107983151983150983156983141983150983156983155

983120983137983154983156 983113983126 Regional Manifesaions

983089983091 From Occupation to Occupy Antisemitism and the

Contemporary Le in the United States Sina Arnold 983091983095983093983089983092 Te 983109983125rsquos Responses to Contemporary Antisemitism

A Shell Game R Amy Elman 983092983088983093

983089983093 Anti-Israeli Boycos European and International Human RightsLaw Perspectives Aleksandra Gliszczynska-Grabias 983092983091983088

983089983094 Delegitimizing Israel in Germany and Austria Past Politicsthe Iranian Treat and Post-national Anti-Zionism

Sephan Griga 983092983093983092983089983095 Antisemitism and Antiurbanism Past and Present Empirical

and Teoretical Approaches Bodo Kahmann 983092983096983090

983089983096 ehranrsquos Efforts to Mobilize Antisemitism Te GlobalImpact Mathias Kuumlnzel 983093983088983096

Lis of Conribuors 983093983091983091

Index 983093983091983097

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 413

983091983093983088

983105983156 983145983156983155 983139983151983154 983141 Holocaus denial argues ha six million Jews wereno killedmdashmany wih poison gasmdashby he Nazis during World War II However he syle and mehodologies of hose argu-mens and he rheorical conex in which hey are expressed by

he deniers have evolved in he decades since Holocaus denialfirs emerged From he 983089983097983092983088s hrough he 983089983097983094983088s Holocaus de-nial was he province of pro-Nazi groups employing crude argu-mens and overly anisemiic rheoric In he 983089983097983095983088s Holocausdenial ook up more sophisicaed pseudoscienific mehods and

began o porray iself as a movemen of hisorical revisioniss inhe radiion of he hisorian Harry Elmer Barnes who argued

ha convenional hisorians had allowed heir analyses of World War II o be influenced by Allied propaganda and ha a moreaccurae hisory needed o be writen Alhough he Holocausdenial movemen in he Unied Saes coninued o be dominaed

by righ-wing exremiss in he 983089983097983096983088s and 983089983097983097983088s by he year 983090983088983088983088and coninuing o he presen we have seen he movemen expando include oher populaions including conspiracy heoriss and

ani-Zioniss no affiliaed wih he exreme righ Te mehod-ological argumenaion by a small group of hard-core deniers isas sophisicaed as ever bu in a broader conex he rheoric of

983156983159983141983148983158983141k

Generaional Changes in he HolocausDenial Movemen in he Unied Saes

983105983154983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144983149983137 983150

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 513

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983089

Holocaus denial has shied away from atemps o valorize heNazis and rewrie he hisory of World War II Insead Holocausdenial now ends o be couched in argumens over free speechand he power of he ldquoJewishZionis lobbyrdquo o sifle debae andcreae ldquohough criminalsrdquo in he service of Israeli ineress Howand why hese generaional shis occurred can shed ligh onhe developmen of boh he exreme righ in he Unied Saesand on he dramaic increase of wha has been ermed he ldquonewanisemiismrdquo

983124 983144 983141 983109 983137 983154983148983161 983129 983141 983137 983154 983155

Holocaus denial in he Unied Saes emerged in he years im-mediaely aer World War II Troughou he 983089983097983093983088s and 983089983097983094983088sneo-Nazi and whie naionalis leaders including Francis Parker

Yockey Gerald L K Smih and George Lincoln Rockwell allproclaimed heir belief ha he deahs of six million Jews a he

hands of he Nazi regime was a hoax perperaed by hose same Jews o defame Hiler and advance heir own ineress1

Despie he someimes subsanial ideological differences be-ween hem Yockey Smih Rockwell and heir followers wereunied in heir over hared of Jews and heir avowed belief inhe ideals of Hiler and Naional Socialism Teir denials of heHolocaus read eiher as ransparen atemps a Jew baiing as

propaganda on he side of a war ha Hiler had already los oras elemens of neo-fascis whie supremacis manifesos Teirechnical argumens agains he Holocaus were usually no moresophisicaed han comparing published populaion saisics inEurope before and aer he war on he basis of which hey casdoub on he six million figure2

983089983097983095983088983155ndash983089983097983097983088983155

In he 983089983097983095983088s Holocaus denial in he Unied Saes assimilaed hemore sophisicaed pseudoacademic claims pioneered by Paul

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 613

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983090

Rassinier in France during he 983089983097983093983088s and early 983089983097983094983088s Rassinierrsquosargumens included deailed analyses of survivor esimony anddocumenary evidence Rassinier an avowed leis who was per-secued by he Nazis may have been an unlikely champion ofHolocaus denial Whaever his moivaion for his iniial criiqueof he hisory of he desrucion of European Jewry over ime i

became clear ha he was driven by conspiraorial beliefs abou Jewish power He differed from he likes of Yockey Smih andRockwell however in ha he was no a whie naionalis wih anover agenda of rehabiliaing Nazism as a pracical and acive po-liical ideology Rassinier was an anisemie bu no a neo-Nazi 3

Rassinier came o he atenion of he English-speaking worlddue o he praise heaped on him by he conroversial hisorianHarry Elmer Barnes who inspired he publishing of a small runof an English ranslaion of Rassinierrsquos Drame des Juifs Europeacuteens in 9830899830979830959830934 Rassinier became even more accessible o he US publicdue o he effors of Willis Caro5 Caro had been an acivis in

he US far-righ scene since 983089983097983093983093 and had creaed an eniy calledLibery Lobby in 983089983097983093983095 Tough Caro himself was a devoee of heracis anisemiic eachings of Francis Parker Yockey LiberyLobby eschewed he crude anisemiism of over neo-Nazis infavor of anicommunis racial segregaionis righ-wing lobbyingeffors in Washingon DC In his personal leters Caro conin-ued spewing over anisemiism and over he nex wo decades he

devoed much of his aciviy o disseminaing Holocaus denialTe firs vehicle Caro used for his purpose was Noonide

Press Among he earlies books Noonide prined was Yockeyrsquosmagnum opus Imperium which denied he Holocaus in 9830899830979830949830916 Over he nex few years he house published numerous racialis

works many of hem by Briish anhropologis and righ-wing ex-remis Roger Pearson In 983089983097983094983097 i added wha is probably he firs

book devoed o Holocaus denial in he Unied Saes Te Mythof the Six Million by David Hoggan A suden of Harry ElmerBarnes Hoggan spen his professional career wriing books in

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 713

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983091

German arguing ha Germany was in fac he vicim of Allied ag-gression during World War II and ha he Holocaus was a hoax

Trough Carorsquos effors Holocaus denial began o developino a cotage indusry which o some small degree had begunseparaing iself from is neo-Nazi roos in he 983089983097983093983088s and 983089983097983094983088sIn he following decade Noonide Press published Arhur BuzrsquosTe Hoax of the wentieth Century (983089983097983095983094) William Grimsadrsquos TeSix Million Reconsidered (983089983097983095983095) and Paul Rassinierrsquos Debunk-ing the Genocide Myth (983089983097983095983096) Caro adverised hese exs in hepages of his newspaper Spotlight

A seminal momen in he developmen of Holocaus denial inhe Unied Saes came in 983089983097983095983097 when Spotlight announced heformaion of he Insiue for Hisorical Review (983113983112983122) and heconvening of is firs inernaional Holocaus denial conference7 Some of he papers presened a ha conference were prined in983089983097983096983088 in he firs issue of 983113983112983122rsquos Journal of Historical Review a jour-nal ha aped he look and feel of convenional academic publi-

caions I was under he aegis of he 983113983112983122 ha Holocaus denial began o cohere ino an inernaional movemen ha could albei wih some difficuly be separaed from he ideology and aimsof he deniers from he 983089983097983093983088s and 983089983097983094983088s many of whom had sillheld ou hope of reviving overly ani-Jewish or even pro-Nazipopular movemens in he Unied Saes

o be sure 983113983112983122 atraced is share of neo-Nazis and neo-fasciss

Te firs edior of he Journal of Historical Review was David Mc-Calden who had been a member of he Briish neo-fascis groupcalled he Naional Fron before he came he Unied Saes andchanged his name o Lewis Brandon8 Mark Weber anoher earlyemployee of 983113983112983122 had been a member of he neo-Nazi Naional

Alliance and was he edior of is National Vanguard9 Revilo POliver also a member of he Naional Alliance served on he edi-

orial advisory board of he Journal of Historical Review hrough-ou he 983089983097983096983088s10 Wolf Rudiger Hess whose faher was Rudolf Hessatended 983113983112983122 conferences and conribued aricles o he journal

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 813

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983092

as did Oto Erns Remer who was a general in he Wehrmachduring World War II11 H Keih Tompson who had been a spe-cial agen for he Nazi Overseas Inelligence Uni during World

War II was also involved wih he 98311398311298312212 According o a reporfrom he Ani-Defamaion League during his speech a he 983089983097983096983091983113983112983122 conference Tompson ldquourged supporers o lsquosand by hehird Reichrsquo because lsquoif in he end he Holocaus did ake placehen so much he beterrsquordquo13

However no all he deniers atraced o he 983113983112983122 and Holo-caus denial a his ime were neo-Nazis or neo-fasciss Manyof hese ohers including many readers of Carorsquos Spotlight hadheir ideological roos in less exreme righ-wing populis move-mens Examples of such deniers include Keih Simely who

wroe Holocaus denial works and evenually became edior ofhe Journal of Historical Review Michael A Hoffman II a free-lance journalis and conspiracy heoris Black Naionalis Rob-er L Brock and Spotlight wrier Michael Collins Piper14

Ohers came o Holocaus denial wih no apparen connec-ions o righ-wing exremism oher han paricipaing in 983113983112983122conferences and wriing for is journal In his caegory onemigh include ordained miniser Rober Couness15 engineeringprofessor Arhur Buz16 James J Marin a liberarian scholar17 Fred Leucher auhor of he famed Leuchter Report18 and heforemos French Holocaus denier Rober Faurisson whose in-

fluence on he 983113983112983122 and Holocaus denial in he Unied Saescanno be oversaed19

Te Holocaus denial promoed by he 983113983112983122 and is supporersfeaured Barnes-syle World War II revisionism as well as echni-cal argumens for he impossibiliy of homicidal gas chambersIn many cases he revisionis hisory was exreme Tese deniersdid no merely claim ha Jews had no been gassed a Auschwiz

or ha Anne Frankrsquos diary was a fabricaion hey also arguedha Dr Mengele had noble inenions ha he SS was an hon-orable and heroic miliary uni and ha Nazism was a progres-

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 913

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983093

sive forward-looking movemen ha cared abou is people andhe environmen20 Many of hem believed ha he Nazis were jusified in inerning he Jews in camps or execuing hem aspoenial communis sympahizers moreover hey argued haHiler alone among he world leaders saw he danger of com-munism and selflessly se his German armies o defend he Wesagains he communis menace Te Journal of Historical Review serialized former SS Lieuenan Leon Degrellersquos rhapsodies abouHiler and published he wriings of oher former Nazis as wellTeir revisionism exended o he Allies whom hey cas as heaggressors in World War II Tey alleged ha Presiden Roosevelknew in advance ha he Japanese inended o atack Pearl Har-

bor bu allowed he atack o occur in order o bring he UniedSaes ino he war and claimed ha he Nazi admissions of guila Nuremberg were he resul of orure21

Of course he core argumen ha deniers urned o ime andagain was he echnical impossibiliy of he Nazis having killed six

million Jews many wih poison gas Aricles in he Journal of His-torical Review claimed o assess ldquoHolocaus demographicsrdquo hedisincion beween cremaion and incineraion of bodies he na-ure and consrucion of delousing chambers in he Nazi concen-raion camps and he prevalence of yphus Holocaus denierscraved any analysis ha had he rappings of objecive scienceo ake bu one example Fred Leucher a purpored engineer

and ldquogas chamber experrdquo who designed execuion devices forseveral US saes was hired by Canadian Holocaus denier ErnsZundel o conduc a forensic analysis of Auschwiz Leucher con-cluded ha he gas chambers here could no have been used forhomicidal gassing and his Leuchter Report became one of hefoundaional exs for he Holocaus denial movemen22 Oherdeniers who specialized in producing echnical sudies on Nazi

concenraion camps wihou generally addressing larger issuesperaining o World War II revisionism were Carlo MatognoFriedrich Paul Berg John Ball and laer Germar Rudolf

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1013

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983094

Te 983113983112983122 and he consellaion of deniers who surrounded i was a hybrid mixure of neo-Nazis whie naionaliss conspiracyheoriss and anisemies I produced pro-Hiler revisionis his-ory as well as sophisicaed argumens agains he exisence ofgas chambers mass shooings and oher aspecs of Holocaushisory

Te 983089983097983096983088s and 983089983097983097983088s were he golden age of Holocaus denial inhe Unied Saes By his ime he 983113983112983122 had refined is argumenso he poin ha is leadership fel i could ake is message o he

broader public As he 983113983112983122 launched is oureach campaigns hemainsream US media and he US public learned of he exis-ence of Holocaus denial

Beginning in he 983089983097983096983088s he 983113983112983122 and is allies launched severalsuns and oureach campaigns designed o increase he pub-licrsquos exposure o Holocaus denial In 983089983097983096983088 he 983113983112983122 sponsored a983076983093983088983088983088983088 challenge o anyone who could prove ha Jews had beengassed a Auschwiz A Holocaus survivor named Mel Mermel-

sein ook up he challenge which resuled in a lawsui covered bynewspapers in Los Angeles (where he sui ook place) as well as

by wire services he New York imes and he Washington Post23 983113983112983122 pamphles and oher Holocaus-denying lieraure were dis-ribued a public libraries and Holocaus deniers atemped o

book meeing rooms on college campuses and in public librariessomeimes atracing significan conroversy24

One of he mos imporan promoers of Holocaus denial inhe Unied Saes was Bradley Smih In 983089983097983096983092 Smih who hadearlier aspired o become a journalis bu had become enamoredof Holocaus denial aer reading he work of Rober Faurissonconvinced 983113983112983122 leaders o underwrie a newsleter o journalissarguing ha he Holocaus never happened and urging hem o

wrie sories abou i He received virually no responses from

ha enerprise so in 983089983097983096983094 he became he firs direcor of he 983113983112983122rsquosRadio Projecmdashquickly rebranded as he Media Projecmdashin

which he atemped o bring he message of Holocaus denial o

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1113

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983095

radio and elevision broadcass Smih claims o have done overfour hundred inerviews during ha period alhough ha num-

ber canno be verified25

In 983089983097983097983089 Smih hi on a sraegy ha would caapul Holocausdenial o a much larger audience He creaed he Commitee onOpen Debae on he Holocaus (983107983119983108983119983112) whose mission waso place adverisemens denying he Nazi genocide of European

Jewry in college suden newspapers Smih hoped ha he na- iumlveeacute of college sudens would make hem more likely o accephis propaganda bu his effors paid off in anoher way he lo-cal conroversies ha eruped when college newspaper ediors wresled wih he decision of wheher o publish Smihrsquos adshemselves atraced inense coverage in regional and naionalmedia26 Smih even appeared on he elevision newsmagazine 983092983096Hours on February 983090983094 983089983097983097983090 where he ried o convince a naionalaudience ha ldquohere was no plan o exerminae he Jews of Eu-rope no order no budge no weaponmdashha is no exerminaion

gas chamber and no vicim Tis false sory is mainained bya cabal largely of Jewish organizaionsrdquo27 wo years laer Smihand an associae debaed Michael Shermer he edior of Skeptic magazine on Phil Donahuersquos elevision show28

Te legal batles of Erns Zundel in Canada whose Holocausdenial was being prosecued for violaing he counryrsquos FalseNews laws also resuled in significan media coverage of ldquorevi-

sionisrdquo heories in he Unied Saes In a segmen covering heHolocaus denial phenomenon on he March 983090983088 983089983097983097983092 ediionof he elevision newsmagazine 983094983088 Minutes Zundel allowed haHiler had his ldquofoiblesrdquo including ha he ldquodidnrsquo paricularly like

Jewsrdquo bu ha no more han 983091983088983088983088983088983088 Jews died during World War II Clips of Bradley Smih also appeared in ha segmen29

In he lae 983089983097983097983088s Holocaus denial again became a media phe-

nomenon wih US coverage of he 983089983097983097983094 lawsui filed by Briishhisorian David Irving agains American academic Deborah Lip-sad aer she described him as a Holocaus denier Alhough he

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1213

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983096

lawsui was liigaed in he Unied Kingdom major US newspa-pers and wire services covered he rial

Te concep ha here was room o doub he sandard hisoryof he Holocaus coninued o appear in he media in oher formsas well Conservaive columnis Pa Buchanan quesioned henoion ha gas chambers a reblinka could have been used okill Jews again provoking media conroversy30

Te repeaed references o Holocaus denial in US media inhe 983089983097983096983088s and 983089983097983097983088s exposed average Americans of he firs sec-ond and hird generaions born aer World War II ha here

were hose who dispued he realiy of he Holocaus abou whichhey had learned in school or seen porrayed in many moviessuch as Claude Lanzmannrsquos Shoah (983089983097983096983093) and Seven SpielbergrsquosSchindlerrsquos List (983089983097983097983091)31 I recall waching an evening newscason he subjec of Holocaus denial in he 983089983097983096983088s I have a vividmemory of he news anchor earnesly warning his viewers ha al-hough here are hose who deny he Holocaus here are moun-

ains of evidence ha he Holocaus indeed happened I was aremarkable deparure from regular journalism and in rerospecI hink i spoke o a growing awareness of he exisence of Holo-caus deniers among mainsream Americans

Alhough awareness of Holocaus denial swep hrough parsof he US during hese wo decades he connecion ha manyof he deniers had o righ-wing exremism made i easier for

heir opponens o discredi hem Jewish organizaions and aca-demics generally did no engage hem on he subsance of heirspurious ldquohisoricalrdquo claims preferring insead o focus on heirgeneral sympahy for Hiler heir racism and heir anisemiismime and again i was poined ou ha if he deniers were noNazis like Leon Degrelle hey were neo-Nazis like David Mc-Calden Willis Caro and Mark Weber If hey were no neo-

Nazis hey were righ-wing exremiss raciss and anisemiespredisposed o vindicaing Hiler and obviously having a moivefor discouning he desrucion of European Jewry Te Ani-

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1313

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983097

Defamaion League famously described Holocaus deniers asldquoHilerrsquos apologissrdquo and included profiles of he mos imporandeniers in is publicaions on righ-wing exremism Te Ameri-can Jewish Commitee made his approach even more explici ina publicaion on Holocaus denial published in 983089983097983097983091 ldquoHolocausdeniers crave legiimacy above all else As long as hey are seenas neo-Nazi hacks and no scholars heir ask is harder Tedeniersrsquo claims can and mus be debunkedmdashno wih debae bu

wih exposeacute I is imporan ha people know ha deniers wan o rehabiliae Nazism and creae a new world order basedon he Tird Reichrdquo32 Tis unequivocal formulaion while cer-ainly rue of he pro-Nazi Holocaus deniers of he 983089983097983093983088s and983089983097983094983088s and of some of he neo-Nazi Holocaus deniers of he 983089983097983096983088sand 983089983097983097983088s was no necessarily rue of many oher Holocaus de-niers Te armchair pseudo-hisorians and conspiracy heoriss

who became par of he Holocaus denial movemen were almoscerainly anisemies and ani-Zioniss bu alhough hey were

ineresed in recasing he hisory of World War II and perhapsrehabiliaing he image of Hiler hey had no desire o revive heNazi movemen Moreover several of he foremos Holocaus de-niers including Arhur Buz Fred Leucher and Bradley Smihdid no have any discernible righ-wing views or affiliaions be-fore hey ook up wih he Holocaus denial movemen Bu be-cause he Holocaus denial movemen as a whole was predomi-

nanly composed of righ-wing anisemies calling hem ou for belonging o ha ideology was a convenien way of conveying ohe American people he disingenuousness and mendaciousnessof heir aemp o deny he exisence of gas chambers

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 413

983091983093983088

983105983156 983145983156983155 983139983151983154 983141 Holocaus denial argues ha six million Jews wereno killedmdashmany wih poison gasmdashby he Nazis during World War II However he syle and mehodologies of hose argu-mens and he rheorical conex in which hey are expressed by

he deniers have evolved in he decades since Holocaus denialfirs emerged From he 983089983097983092983088s hrough he 983089983097983094983088s Holocaus de-nial was he province of pro-Nazi groups employing crude argu-mens and overly anisemiic rheoric In he 983089983097983095983088s Holocausdenial ook up more sophisicaed pseudoscienific mehods and

began o porray iself as a movemen of hisorical revisioniss inhe radiion of he hisorian Harry Elmer Barnes who argued

ha convenional hisorians had allowed heir analyses of World War II o be influenced by Allied propaganda and ha a moreaccurae hisory needed o be writen Alhough he Holocausdenial movemen in he Unied Saes coninued o be dominaed

by righ-wing exremiss in he 983089983097983096983088s and 983089983097983097983088s by he year 983090983088983088983088and coninuing o he presen we have seen he movemen expando include oher populaions including conspiracy heoriss and

ani-Zioniss no affiliaed wih he exreme righ Te mehod-ological argumenaion by a small group of hard-core deniers isas sophisicaed as ever bu in a broader conex he rheoric of

983156983159983141983148983158983141k

Generaional Changes in he HolocausDenial Movemen in he Unied Saes

983105983154983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144983149983137 983150

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 513

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983089

Holocaus denial has shied away from atemps o valorize heNazis and rewrie he hisory of World War II Insead Holocausdenial now ends o be couched in argumens over free speechand he power of he ldquoJewishZionis lobbyrdquo o sifle debae andcreae ldquohough criminalsrdquo in he service of Israeli ineress Howand why hese generaional shis occurred can shed ligh onhe developmen of boh he exreme righ in he Unied Saesand on he dramaic increase of wha has been ermed he ldquonewanisemiismrdquo

983124 983144 983141 983109 983137 983154983148983161 983129 983141 983137 983154 983155

Holocaus denial in he Unied Saes emerged in he years im-mediaely aer World War II Troughou he 983089983097983093983088s and 983089983097983094983088sneo-Nazi and whie naionalis leaders including Francis Parker

Yockey Gerald L K Smih and George Lincoln Rockwell allproclaimed heir belief ha he deahs of six million Jews a he

hands of he Nazi regime was a hoax perperaed by hose same Jews o defame Hiler and advance heir own ineress1

Despie he someimes subsanial ideological differences be-ween hem Yockey Smih Rockwell and heir followers wereunied in heir over hared of Jews and heir avowed belief inhe ideals of Hiler and Naional Socialism Teir denials of heHolocaus read eiher as ransparen atemps a Jew baiing as

propaganda on he side of a war ha Hiler had already los oras elemens of neo-fascis whie supremacis manifesos Teirechnical argumens agains he Holocaus were usually no moresophisicaed han comparing published populaion saisics inEurope before and aer he war on he basis of which hey casdoub on he six million figure2

983089983097983095983088983155ndash983089983097983097983088983155

In he 983089983097983095983088s Holocaus denial in he Unied Saes assimilaed hemore sophisicaed pseudoacademic claims pioneered by Paul

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 613

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983090

Rassinier in France during he 983089983097983093983088s and early 983089983097983094983088s Rassinierrsquosargumens included deailed analyses of survivor esimony anddocumenary evidence Rassinier an avowed leis who was per-secued by he Nazis may have been an unlikely champion ofHolocaus denial Whaever his moivaion for his iniial criiqueof he hisory of he desrucion of European Jewry over ime i

became clear ha he was driven by conspiraorial beliefs abou Jewish power He differed from he likes of Yockey Smih andRockwell however in ha he was no a whie naionalis wih anover agenda of rehabiliaing Nazism as a pracical and acive po-liical ideology Rassinier was an anisemie bu no a neo-Nazi 3

Rassinier came o he atenion of he English-speaking worlddue o he praise heaped on him by he conroversial hisorianHarry Elmer Barnes who inspired he publishing of a small runof an English ranslaion of Rassinierrsquos Drame des Juifs Europeacuteens in 9830899830979830959830934 Rassinier became even more accessible o he US publicdue o he effors of Willis Caro5 Caro had been an acivis in

he US far-righ scene since 983089983097983093983093 and had creaed an eniy calledLibery Lobby in 983089983097983093983095 Tough Caro himself was a devoee of heracis anisemiic eachings of Francis Parker Yockey LiberyLobby eschewed he crude anisemiism of over neo-Nazis infavor of anicommunis racial segregaionis righ-wing lobbyingeffors in Washingon DC In his personal leters Caro conin-ued spewing over anisemiism and over he nex wo decades he

devoed much of his aciviy o disseminaing Holocaus denialTe firs vehicle Caro used for his purpose was Noonide

Press Among he earlies books Noonide prined was Yockeyrsquosmagnum opus Imperium which denied he Holocaus in 9830899830979830949830916 Over he nex few years he house published numerous racialis

works many of hem by Briish anhropologis and righ-wing ex-remis Roger Pearson In 983089983097983094983097 i added wha is probably he firs

book devoed o Holocaus denial in he Unied Saes Te Mythof the Six Million by David Hoggan A suden of Harry ElmerBarnes Hoggan spen his professional career wriing books in

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 713

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983091

German arguing ha Germany was in fac he vicim of Allied ag-gression during World War II and ha he Holocaus was a hoax

Trough Carorsquos effors Holocaus denial began o developino a cotage indusry which o some small degree had begunseparaing iself from is neo-Nazi roos in he 983089983097983093983088s and 983089983097983094983088sIn he following decade Noonide Press published Arhur BuzrsquosTe Hoax of the wentieth Century (983089983097983095983094) William Grimsadrsquos TeSix Million Reconsidered (983089983097983095983095) and Paul Rassinierrsquos Debunk-ing the Genocide Myth (983089983097983095983096) Caro adverised hese exs in hepages of his newspaper Spotlight

A seminal momen in he developmen of Holocaus denial inhe Unied Saes came in 983089983097983095983097 when Spotlight announced heformaion of he Insiue for Hisorical Review (983113983112983122) and heconvening of is firs inernaional Holocaus denial conference7 Some of he papers presened a ha conference were prined in983089983097983096983088 in he firs issue of 983113983112983122rsquos Journal of Historical Review a jour-nal ha aped he look and feel of convenional academic publi-

caions I was under he aegis of he 983113983112983122 ha Holocaus denial began o cohere ino an inernaional movemen ha could albei wih some difficuly be separaed from he ideology and aimsof he deniers from he 983089983097983093983088s and 983089983097983094983088s many of whom had sillheld ou hope of reviving overly ani-Jewish or even pro-Nazipopular movemens in he Unied Saes

o be sure 983113983112983122 atraced is share of neo-Nazis and neo-fasciss

Te firs edior of he Journal of Historical Review was David Mc-Calden who had been a member of he Briish neo-fascis groupcalled he Naional Fron before he came he Unied Saes andchanged his name o Lewis Brandon8 Mark Weber anoher earlyemployee of 983113983112983122 had been a member of he neo-Nazi Naional

Alliance and was he edior of is National Vanguard9 Revilo POliver also a member of he Naional Alliance served on he edi-

orial advisory board of he Journal of Historical Review hrough-ou he 983089983097983096983088s10 Wolf Rudiger Hess whose faher was Rudolf Hessatended 983113983112983122 conferences and conribued aricles o he journal

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 813

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983092

as did Oto Erns Remer who was a general in he Wehrmachduring World War II11 H Keih Tompson who had been a spe-cial agen for he Nazi Overseas Inelligence Uni during World

War II was also involved wih he 98311398311298312212 According o a reporfrom he Ani-Defamaion League during his speech a he 983089983097983096983091983113983112983122 conference Tompson ldquourged supporers o lsquosand by hehird Reichrsquo because lsquoif in he end he Holocaus did ake placehen so much he beterrsquordquo13

However no all he deniers atraced o he 983113983112983122 and Holo-caus denial a his ime were neo-Nazis or neo-fasciss Manyof hese ohers including many readers of Carorsquos Spotlight hadheir ideological roos in less exreme righ-wing populis move-mens Examples of such deniers include Keih Simely who

wroe Holocaus denial works and evenually became edior ofhe Journal of Historical Review Michael A Hoffman II a free-lance journalis and conspiracy heoris Black Naionalis Rob-er L Brock and Spotlight wrier Michael Collins Piper14

Ohers came o Holocaus denial wih no apparen connec-ions o righ-wing exremism oher han paricipaing in 983113983112983122conferences and wriing for is journal In his caegory onemigh include ordained miniser Rober Couness15 engineeringprofessor Arhur Buz16 James J Marin a liberarian scholar17 Fred Leucher auhor of he famed Leuchter Report18 and heforemos French Holocaus denier Rober Faurisson whose in-

fluence on he 983113983112983122 and Holocaus denial in he Unied Saescanno be oversaed19

Te Holocaus denial promoed by he 983113983112983122 and is supporersfeaured Barnes-syle World War II revisionism as well as echni-cal argumens for he impossibiliy of homicidal gas chambersIn many cases he revisionis hisory was exreme Tese deniersdid no merely claim ha Jews had no been gassed a Auschwiz

or ha Anne Frankrsquos diary was a fabricaion hey also arguedha Dr Mengele had noble inenions ha he SS was an hon-orable and heroic miliary uni and ha Nazism was a progres-

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 913

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983093

sive forward-looking movemen ha cared abou is people andhe environmen20 Many of hem believed ha he Nazis were jusified in inerning he Jews in camps or execuing hem aspoenial communis sympahizers moreover hey argued haHiler alone among he world leaders saw he danger of com-munism and selflessly se his German armies o defend he Wesagains he communis menace Te Journal of Historical Review serialized former SS Lieuenan Leon Degrellersquos rhapsodies abouHiler and published he wriings of oher former Nazis as wellTeir revisionism exended o he Allies whom hey cas as heaggressors in World War II Tey alleged ha Presiden Roosevelknew in advance ha he Japanese inended o atack Pearl Har-

bor bu allowed he atack o occur in order o bring he UniedSaes ino he war and claimed ha he Nazi admissions of guila Nuremberg were he resul of orure21

Of course he core argumen ha deniers urned o ime andagain was he echnical impossibiliy of he Nazis having killed six

million Jews many wih poison gas Aricles in he Journal of His-torical Review claimed o assess ldquoHolocaus demographicsrdquo hedisincion beween cremaion and incineraion of bodies he na-ure and consrucion of delousing chambers in he Nazi concen-raion camps and he prevalence of yphus Holocaus denierscraved any analysis ha had he rappings of objecive scienceo ake bu one example Fred Leucher a purpored engineer

and ldquogas chamber experrdquo who designed execuion devices forseveral US saes was hired by Canadian Holocaus denier ErnsZundel o conduc a forensic analysis of Auschwiz Leucher con-cluded ha he gas chambers here could no have been used forhomicidal gassing and his Leuchter Report became one of hefoundaional exs for he Holocaus denial movemen22 Oherdeniers who specialized in producing echnical sudies on Nazi

concenraion camps wihou generally addressing larger issuesperaining o World War II revisionism were Carlo MatognoFriedrich Paul Berg John Ball and laer Germar Rudolf

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1013

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983094

Te 983113983112983122 and he consellaion of deniers who surrounded i was a hybrid mixure of neo-Nazis whie naionaliss conspiracyheoriss and anisemies I produced pro-Hiler revisionis his-ory as well as sophisicaed argumens agains he exisence ofgas chambers mass shooings and oher aspecs of Holocaushisory

Te 983089983097983096983088s and 983089983097983097983088s were he golden age of Holocaus denial inhe Unied Saes By his ime he 983113983112983122 had refined is argumenso he poin ha is leadership fel i could ake is message o he

broader public As he 983113983112983122 launched is oureach campaigns hemainsream US media and he US public learned of he exis-ence of Holocaus denial

Beginning in he 983089983097983096983088s he 983113983112983122 and is allies launched severalsuns and oureach campaigns designed o increase he pub-licrsquos exposure o Holocaus denial In 983089983097983096983088 he 983113983112983122 sponsored a983076983093983088983088983088983088 challenge o anyone who could prove ha Jews had beengassed a Auschwiz A Holocaus survivor named Mel Mermel-

sein ook up he challenge which resuled in a lawsui covered bynewspapers in Los Angeles (where he sui ook place) as well as

by wire services he New York imes and he Washington Post23 983113983112983122 pamphles and oher Holocaus-denying lieraure were dis-ribued a public libraries and Holocaus deniers atemped o

book meeing rooms on college campuses and in public librariessomeimes atracing significan conroversy24

One of he mos imporan promoers of Holocaus denial inhe Unied Saes was Bradley Smih In 983089983097983096983092 Smih who hadearlier aspired o become a journalis bu had become enamoredof Holocaus denial aer reading he work of Rober Faurissonconvinced 983113983112983122 leaders o underwrie a newsleter o journalissarguing ha he Holocaus never happened and urging hem o

wrie sories abou i He received virually no responses from

ha enerprise so in 983089983097983096983094 he became he firs direcor of he 983113983112983122rsquosRadio Projecmdashquickly rebranded as he Media Projecmdashin

which he atemped o bring he message of Holocaus denial o

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1113

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983095

radio and elevision broadcass Smih claims o have done overfour hundred inerviews during ha period alhough ha num-

ber canno be verified25

In 983089983097983097983089 Smih hi on a sraegy ha would caapul Holocausdenial o a much larger audience He creaed he Commitee onOpen Debae on he Holocaus (983107983119983108983119983112) whose mission waso place adverisemens denying he Nazi genocide of European

Jewry in college suden newspapers Smih hoped ha he na- iumlveeacute of college sudens would make hem more likely o accephis propaganda bu his effors paid off in anoher way he lo-cal conroversies ha eruped when college newspaper ediors wresled wih he decision of wheher o publish Smihrsquos adshemselves atraced inense coverage in regional and naionalmedia26 Smih even appeared on he elevision newsmagazine 983092983096Hours on February 983090983094 983089983097983097983090 where he ried o convince a naionalaudience ha ldquohere was no plan o exerminae he Jews of Eu-rope no order no budge no weaponmdashha is no exerminaion

gas chamber and no vicim Tis false sory is mainained bya cabal largely of Jewish organizaionsrdquo27 wo years laer Smihand an associae debaed Michael Shermer he edior of Skeptic magazine on Phil Donahuersquos elevision show28

Te legal batles of Erns Zundel in Canada whose Holocausdenial was being prosecued for violaing he counryrsquos FalseNews laws also resuled in significan media coverage of ldquorevi-

sionisrdquo heories in he Unied Saes In a segmen covering heHolocaus denial phenomenon on he March 983090983088 983089983097983097983092 ediionof he elevision newsmagazine 983094983088 Minutes Zundel allowed haHiler had his ldquofoiblesrdquo including ha he ldquodidnrsquo paricularly like

Jewsrdquo bu ha no more han 983091983088983088983088983088983088 Jews died during World War II Clips of Bradley Smih also appeared in ha segmen29

In he lae 983089983097983097983088s Holocaus denial again became a media phe-

nomenon wih US coverage of he 983089983097983097983094 lawsui filed by Briishhisorian David Irving agains American academic Deborah Lip-sad aer she described him as a Holocaus denier Alhough he

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1213

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983096

lawsui was liigaed in he Unied Kingdom major US newspa-pers and wire services covered he rial

Te concep ha here was room o doub he sandard hisoryof he Holocaus coninued o appear in he media in oher formsas well Conservaive columnis Pa Buchanan quesioned henoion ha gas chambers a reblinka could have been used okill Jews again provoking media conroversy30

Te repeaed references o Holocaus denial in US media inhe 983089983097983096983088s and 983089983097983097983088s exposed average Americans of he firs sec-ond and hird generaions born aer World War II ha here

were hose who dispued he realiy of he Holocaus abou whichhey had learned in school or seen porrayed in many moviessuch as Claude Lanzmannrsquos Shoah (983089983097983096983093) and Seven SpielbergrsquosSchindlerrsquos List (983089983097983097983091)31 I recall waching an evening newscason he subjec of Holocaus denial in he 983089983097983096983088s I have a vividmemory of he news anchor earnesly warning his viewers ha al-hough here are hose who deny he Holocaus here are moun-

ains of evidence ha he Holocaus indeed happened I was aremarkable deparure from regular journalism and in rerospecI hink i spoke o a growing awareness of he exisence of Holo-caus deniers among mainsream Americans

Alhough awareness of Holocaus denial swep hrough parsof he US during hese wo decades he connecion ha manyof he deniers had o righ-wing exremism made i easier for

heir opponens o discredi hem Jewish organizaions and aca-demics generally did no engage hem on he subsance of heirspurious ldquohisoricalrdquo claims preferring insead o focus on heirgeneral sympahy for Hiler heir racism and heir anisemiismime and again i was poined ou ha if he deniers were noNazis like Leon Degrelle hey were neo-Nazis like David Mc-Calden Willis Caro and Mark Weber If hey were no neo-

Nazis hey were righ-wing exremiss raciss and anisemiespredisposed o vindicaing Hiler and obviously having a moivefor discouning he desrucion of European Jewry Te Ani-

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1313

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983097

Defamaion League famously described Holocaus deniers asldquoHilerrsquos apologissrdquo and included profiles of he mos imporandeniers in is publicaions on righ-wing exremism Te Ameri-can Jewish Commitee made his approach even more explici ina publicaion on Holocaus denial published in 983089983097983097983091 ldquoHolocausdeniers crave legiimacy above all else As long as hey are seenas neo-Nazi hacks and no scholars heir ask is harder Tedeniersrsquo claims can and mus be debunkedmdashno wih debae bu

wih exposeacute I is imporan ha people know ha deniers wan o rehabiliae Nazism and creae a new world order basedon he Tird Reichrdquo32 Tis unequivocal formulaion while cer-ainly rue of he pro-Nazi Holocaus deniers of he 983089983097983093983088s and983089983097983094983088s and of some of he neo-Nazi Holocaus deniers of he 983089983097983096983088sand 983089983097983097983088s was no necessarily rue of many oher Holocaus de-niers Te armchair pseudo-hisorians and conspiracy heoriss

who became par of he Holocaus denial movemen were almoscerainly anisemies and ani-Zioniss bu alhough hey were

ineresed in recasing he hisory of World War II and perhapsrehabiliaing he image of Hiler hey had no desire o revive heNazi movemen Moreover several of he foremos Holocaus de-niers including Arhur Buz Fred Leucher and Bradley Smihdid no have any discernible righ-wing views or affiliaions be-fore hey ook up wih he Holocaus denial movemen Bu be-cause he Holocaus denial movemen as a whole was predomi-

nanly composed of righ-wing anisemies calling hem ou for belonging o ha ideology was a convenien way of conveying ohe American people he disingenuousness and mendaciousnessof heir aemp o deny he exisence of gas chambers

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 513

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983089

Holocaus denial has shied away from atemps o valorize heNazis and rewrie he hisory of World War II Insead Holocausdenial now ends o be couched in argumens over free speechand he power of he ldquoJewishZionis lobbyrdquo o sifle debae andcreae ldquohough criminalsrdquo in he service of Israeli ineress Howand why hese generaional shis occurred can shed ligh onhe developmen of boh he exreme righ in he Unied Saesand on he dramaic increase of wha has been ermed he ldquonewanisemiismrdquo

983124 983144 983141 983109 983137 983154983148983161 983129 983141 983137 983154 983155

Holocaus denial in he Unied Saes emerged in he years im-mediaely aer World War II Troughou he 983089983097983093983088s and 983089983097983094983088sneo-Nazi and whie naionalis leaders including Francis Parker

Yockey Gerald L K Smih and George Lincoln Rockwell allproclaimed heir belief ha he deahs of six million Jews a he

hands of he Nazi regime was a hoax perperaed by hose same Jews o defame Hiler and advance heir own ineress1

Despie he someimes subsanial ideological differences be-ween hem Yockey Smih Rockwell and heir followers wereunied in heir over hared of Jews and heir avowed belief inhe ideals of Hiler and Naional Socialism Teir denials of heHolocaus read eiher as ransparen atemps a Jew baiing as

propaganda on he side of a war ha Hiler had already los oras elemens of neo-fascis whie supremacis manifesos Teirechnical argumens agains he Holocaus were usually no moresophisicaed han comparing published populaion saisics inEurope before and aer he war on he basis of which hey casdoub on he six million figure2

983089983097983095983088983155ndash983089983097983097983088983155

In he 983089983097983095983088s Holocaus denial in he Unied Saes assimilaed hemore sophisicaed pseudoacademic claims pioneered by Paul

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 613

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983090

Rassinier in France during he 983089983097983093983088s and early 983089983097983094983088s Rassinierrsquosargumens included deailed analyses of survivor esimony anddocumenary evidence Rassinier an avowed leis who was per-secued by he Nazis may have been an unlikely champion ofHolocaus denial Whaever his moivaion for his iniial criiqueof he hisory of he desrucion of European Jewry over ime i

became clear ha he was driven by conspiraorial beliefs abou Jewish power He differed from he likes of Yockey Smih andRockwell however in ha he was no a whie naionalis wih anover agenda of rehabiliaing Nazism as a pracical and acive po-liical ideology Rassinier was an anisemie bu no a neo-Nazi 3

Rassinier came o he atenion of he English-speaking worlddue o he praise heaped on him by he conroversial hisorianHarry Elmer Barnes who inspired he publishing of a small runof an English ranslaion of Rassinierrsquos Drame des Juifs Europeacuteens in 9830899830979830959830934 Rassinier became even more accessible o he US publicdue o he effors of Willis Caro5 Caro had been an acivis in

he US far-righ scene since 983089983097983093983093 and had creaed an eniy calledLibery Lobby in 983089983097983093983095 Tough Caro himself was a devoee of heracis anisemiic eachings of Francis Parker Yockey LiberyLobby eschewed he crude anisemiism of over neo-Nazis infavor of anicommunis racial segregaionis righ-wing lobbyingeffors in Washingon DC In his personal leters Caro conin-ued spewing over anisemiism and over he nex wo decades he

devoed much of his aciviy o disseminaing Holocaus denialTe firs vehicle Caro used for his purpose was Noonide

Press Among he earlies books Noonide prined was Yockeyrsquosmagnum opus Imperium which denied he Holocaus in 9830899830979830949830916 Over he nex few years he house published numerous racialis

works many of hem by Briish anhropologis and righ-wing ex-remis Roger Pearson In 983089983097983094983097 i added wha is probably he firs

book devoed o Holocaus denial in he Unied Saes Te Mythof the Six Million by David Hoggan A suden of Harry ElmerBarnes Hoggan spen his professional career wriing books in

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 713

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983091

German arguing ha Germany was in fac he vicim of Allied ag-gression during World War II and ha he Holocaus was a hoax

Trough Carorsquos effors Holocaus denial began o developino a cotage indusry which o some small degree had begunseparaing iself from is neo-Nazi roos in he 983089983097983093983088s and 983089983097983094983088sIn he following decade Noonide Press published Arhur BuzrsquosTe Hoax of the wentieth Century (983089983097983095983094) William Grimsadrsquos TeSix Million Reconsidered (983089983097983095983095) and Paul Rassinierrsquos Debunk-ing the Genocide Myth (983089983097983095983096) Caro adverised hese exs in hepages of his newspaper Spotlight

A seminal momen in he developmen of Holocaus denial inhe Unied Saes came in 983089983097983095983097 when Spotlight announced heformaion of he Insiue for Hisorical Review (983113983112983122) and heconvening of is firs inernaional Holocaus denial conference7 Some of he papers presened a ha conference were prined in983089983097983096983088 in he firs issue of 983113983112983122rsquos Journal of Historical Review a jour-nal ha aped he look and feel of convenional academic publi-

caions I was under he aegis of he 983113983112983122 ha Holocaus denial began o cohere ino an inernaional movemen ha could albei wih some difficuly be separaed from he ideology and aimsof he deniers from he 983089983097983093983088s and 983089983097983094983088s many of whom had sillheld ou hope of reviving overly ani-Jewish or even pro-Nazipopular movemens in he Unied Saes

o be sure 983113983112983122 atraced is share of neo-Nazis and neo-fasciss

Te firs edior of he Journal of Historical Review was David Mc-Calden who had been a member of he Briish neo-fascis groupcalled he Naional Fron before he came he Unied Saes andchanged his name o Lewis Brandon8 Mark Weber anoher earlyemployee of 983113983112983122 had been a member of he neo-Nazi Naional

Alliance and was he edior of is National Vanguard9 Revilo POliver also a member of he Naional Alliance served on he edi-

orial advisory board of he Journal of Historical Review hrough-ou he 983089983097983096983088s10 Wolf Rudiger Hess whose faher was Rudolf Hessatended 983113983112983122 conferences and conribued aricles o he journal

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 813

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983092

as did Oto Erns Remer who was a general in he Wehrmachduring World War II11 H Keih Tompson who had been a spe-cial agen for he Nazi Overseas Inelligence Uni during World

War II was also involved wih he 98311398311298312212 According o a reporfrom he Ani-Defamaion League during his speech a he 983089983097983096983091983113983112983122 conference Tompson ldquourged supporers o lsquosand by hehird Reichrsquo because lsquoif in he end he Holocaus did ake placehen so much he beterrsquordquo13

However no all he deniers atraced o he 983113983112983122 and Holo-caus denial a his ime were neo-Nazis or neo-fasciss Manyof hese ohers including many readers of Carorsquos Spotlight hadheir ideological roos in less exreme righ-wing populis move-mens Examples of such deniers include Keih Simely who

wroe Holocaus denial works and evenually became edior ofhe Journal of Historical Review Michael A Hoffman II a free-lance journalis and conspiracy heoris Black Naionalis Rob-er L Brock and Spotlight wrier Michael Collins Piper14

Ohers came o Holocaus denial wih no apparen connec-ions o righ-wing exremism oher han paricipaing in 983113983112983122conferences and wriing for is journal In his caegory onemigh include ordained miniser Rober Couness15 engineeringprofessor Arhur Buz16 James J Marin a liberarian scholar17 Fred Leucher auhor of he famed Leuchter Report18 and heforemos French Holocaus denier Rober Faurisson whose in-

fluence on he 983113983112983122 and Holocaus denial in he Unied Saescanno be oversaed19

Te Holocaus denial promoed by he 983113983112983122 and is supporersfeaured Barnes-syle World War II revisionism as well as echni-cal argumens for he impossibiliy of homicidal gas chambersIn many cases he revisionis hisory was exreme Tese deniersdid no merely claim ha Jews had no been gassed a Auschwiz

or ha Anne Frankrsquos diary was a fabricaion hey also arguedha Dr Mengele had noble inenions ha he SS was an hon-orable and heroic miliary uni and ha Nazism was a progres-

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 913

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983093

sive forward-looking movemen ha cared abou is people andhe environmen20 Many of hem believed ha he Nazis were jusified in inerning he Jews in camps or execuing hem aspoenial communis sympahizers moreover hey argued haHiler alone among he world leaders saw he danger of com-munism and selflessly se his German armies o defend he Wesagains he communis menace Te Journal of Historical Review serialized former SS Lieuenan Leon Degrellersquos rhapsodies abouHiler and published he wriings of oher former Nazis as wellTeir revisionism exended o he Allies whom hey cas as heaggressors in World War II Tey alleged ha Presiden Roosevelknew in advance ha he Japanese inended o atack Pearl Har-

bor bu allowed he atack o occur in order o bring he UniedSaes ino he war and claimed ha he Nazi admissions of guila Nuremberg were he resul of orure21

Of course he core argumen ha deniers urned o ime andagain was he echnical impossibiliy of he Nazis having killed six

million Jews many wih poison gas Aricles in he Journal of His-torical Review claimed o assess ldquoHolocaus demographicsrdquo hedisincion beween cremaion and incineraion of bodies he na-ure and consrucion of delousing chambers in he Nazi concen-raion camps and he prevalence of yphus Holocaus denierscraved any analysis ha had he rappings of objecive scienceo ake bu one example Fred Leucher a purpored engineer

and ldquogas chamber experrdquo who designed execuion devices forseveral US saes was hired by Canadian Holocaus denier ErnsZundel o conduc a forensic analysis of Auschwiz Leucher con-cluded ha he gas chambers here could no have been used forhomicidal gassing and his Leuchter Report became one of hefoundaional exs for he Holocaus denial movemen22 Oherdeniers who specialized in producing echnical sudies on Nazi

concenraion camps wihou generally addressing larger issuesperaining o World War II revisionism were Carlo MatognoFriedrich Paul Berg John Ball and laer Germar Rudolf

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1013

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983094

Te 983113983112983122 and he consellaion of deniers who surrounded i was a hybrid mixure of neo-Nazis whie naionaliss conspiracyheoriss and anisemies I produced pro-Hiler revisionis his-ory as well as sophisicaed argumens agains he exisence ofgas chambers mass shooings and oher aspecs of Holocaushisory

Te 983089983097983096983088s and 983089983097983097983088s were he golden age of Holocaus denial inhe Unied Saes By his ime he 983113983112983122 had refined is argumenso he poin ha is leadership fel i could ake is message o he

broader public As he 983113983112983122 launched is oureach campaigns hemainsream US media and he US public learned of he exis-ence of Holocaus denial

Beginning in he 983089983097983096983088s he 983113983112983122 and is allies launched severalsuns and oureach campaigns designed o increase he pub-licrsquos exposure o Holocaus denial In 983089983097983096983088 he 983113983112983122 sponsored a983076983093983088983088983088983088 challenge o anyone who could prove ha Jews had beengassed a Auschwiz A Holocaus survivor named Mel Mermel-

sein ook up he challenge which resuled in a lawsui covered bynewspapers in Los Angeles (where he sui ook place) as well as

by wire services he New York imes and he Washington Post23 983113983112983122 pamphles and oher Holocaus-denying lieraure were dis-ribued a public libraries and Holocaus deniers atemped o

book meeing rooms on college campuses and in public librariessomeimes atracing significan conroversy24

One of he mos imporan promoers of Holocaus denial inhe Unied Saes was Bradley Smih In 983089983097983096983092 Smih who hadearlier aspired o become a journalis bu had become enamoredof Holocaus denial aer reading he work of Rober Faurissonconvinced 983113983112983122 leaders o underwrie a newsleter o journalissarguing ha he Holocaus never happened and urging hem o

wrie sories abou i He received virually no responses from

ha enerprise so in 983089983097983096983094 he became he firs direcor of he 983113983112983122rsquosRadio Projecmdashquickly rebranded as he Media Projecmdashin

which he atemped o bring he message of Holocaus denial o

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1113

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983095

radio and elevision broadcass Smih claims o have done overfour hundred inerviews during ha period alhough ha num-

ber canno be verified25

In 983089983097983097983089 Smih hi on a sraegy ha would caapul Holocausdenial o a much larger audience He creaed he Commitee onOpen Debae on he Holocaus (983107983119983108983119983112) whose mission waso place adverisemens denying he Nazi genocide of European

Jewry in college suden newspapers Smih hoped ha he na- iumlveeacute of college sudens would make hem more likely o accephis propaganda bu his effors paid off in anoher way he lo-cal conroversies ha eruped when college newspaper ediors wresled wih he decision of wheher o publish Smihrsquos adshemselves atraced inense coverage in regional and naionalmedia26 Smih even appeared on he elevision newsmagazine 983092983096Hours on February 983090983094 983089983097983097983090 where he ried o convince a naionalaudience ha ldquohere was no plan o exerminae he Jews of Eu-rope no order no budge no weaponmdashha is no exerminaion

gas chamber and no vicim Tis false sory is mainained bya cabal largely of Jewish organizaionsrdquo27 wo years laer Smihand an associae debaed Michael Shermer he edior of Skeptic magazine on Phil Donahuersquos elevision show28

Te legal batles of Erns Zundel in Canada whose Holocausdenial was being prosecued for violaing he counryrsquos FalseNews laws also resuled in significan media coverage of ldquorevi-

sionisrdquo heories in he Unied Saes In a segmen covering heHolocaus denial phenomenon on he March 983090983088 983089983097983097983092 ediionof he elevision newsmagazine 983094983088 Minutes Zundel allowed haHiler had his ldquofoiblesrdquo including ha he ldquodidnrsquo paricularly like

Jewsrdquo bu ha no more han 983091983088983088983088983088983088 Jews died during World War II Clips of Bradley Smih also appeared in ha segmen29

In he lae 983089983097983097983088s Holocaus denial again became a media phe-

nomenon wih US coverage of he 983089983097983097983094 lawsui filed by Briishhisorian David Irving agains American academic Deborah Lip-sad aer she described him as a Holocaus denier Alhough he

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1213

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983096

lawsui was liigaed in he Unied Kingdom major US newspa-pers and wire services covered he rial

Te concep ha here was room o doub he sandard hisoryof he Holocaus coninued o appear in he media in oher formsas well Conservaive columnis Pa Buchanan quesioned henoion ha gas chambers a reblinka could have been used okill Jews again provoking media conroversy30

Te repeaed references o Holocaus denial in US media inhe 983089983097983096983088s and 983089983097983097983088s exposed average Americans of he firs sec-ond and hird generaions born aer World War II ha here

were hose who dispued he realiy of he Holocaus abou whichhey had learned in school or seen porrayed in many moviessuch as Claude Lanzmannrsquos Shoah (983089983097983096983093) and Seven SpielbergrsquosSchindlerrsquos List (983089983097983097983091)31 I recall waching an evening newscason he subjec of Holocaus denial in he 983089983097983096983088s I have a vividmemory of he news anchor earnesly warning his viewers ha al-hough here are hose who deny he Holocaus here are moun-

ains of evidence ha he Holocaus indeed happened I was aremarkable deparure from regular journalism and in rerospecI hink i spoke o a growing awareness of he exisence of Holo-caus deniers among mainsream Americans

Alhough awareness of Holocaus denial swep hrough parsof he US during hese wo decades he connecion ha manyof he deniers had o righ-wing exremism made i easier for

heir opponens o discredi hem Jewish organizaions and aca-demics generally did no engage hem on he subsance of heirspurious ldquohisoricalrdquo claims preferring insead o focus on heirgeneral sympahy for Hiler heir racism and heir anisemiismime and again i was poined ou ha if he deniers were noNazis like Leon Degrelle hey were neo-Nazis like David Mc-Calden Willis Caro and Mark Weber If hey were no neo-

Nazis hey were righ-wing exremiss raciss and anisemiespredisposed o vindicaing Hiler and obviously having a moivefor discouning he desrucion of European Jewry Te Ani-

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1313

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983097

Defamaion League famously described Holocaus deniers asldquoHilerrsquos apologissrdquo and included profiles of he mos imporandeniers in is publicaions on righ-wing exremism Te Ameri-can Jewish Commitee made his approach even more explici ina publicaion on Holocaus denial published in 983089983097983097983091 ldquoHolocausdeniers crave legiimacy above all else As long as hey are seenas neo-Nazi hacks and no scholars heir ask is harder Tedeniersrsquo claims can and mus be debunkedmdashno wih debae bu

wih exposeacute I is imporan ha people know ha deniers wan o rehabiliae Nazism and creae a new world order basedon he Tird Reichrdquo32 Tis unequivocal formulaion while cer-ainly rue of he pro-Nazi Holocaus deniers of he 983089983097983093983088s and983089983097983094983088s and of some of he neo-Nazi Holocaus deniers of he 983089983097983096983088sand 983089983097983097983088s was no necessarily rue of many oher Holocaus de-niers Te armchair pseudo-hisorians and conspiracy heoriss

who became par of he Holocaus denial movemen were almoscerainly anisemies and ani-Zioniss bu alhough hey were

ineresed in recasing he hisory of World War II and perhapsrehabiliaing he image of Hiler hey had no desire o revive heNazi movemen Moreover several of he foremos Holocaus de-niers including Arhur Buz Fred Leucher and Bradley Smihdid no have any discernible righ-wing views or affiliaions be-fore hey ook up wih he Holocaus denial movemen Bu be-cause he Holocaus denial movemen as a whole was predomi-

nanly composed of righ-wing anisemies calling hem ou for belonging o ha ideology was a convenien way of conveying ohe American people he disingenuousness and mendaciousnessof heir aemp o deny he exisence of gas chambers

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 613

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983090

Rassinier in France during he 983089983097983093983088s and early 983089983097983094983088s Rassinierrsquosargumens included deailed analyses of survivor esimony anddocumenary evidence Rassinier an avowed leis who was per-secued by he Nazis may have been an unlikely champion ofHolocaus denial Whaever his moivaion for his iniial criiqueof he hisory of he desrucion of European Jewry over ime i

became clear ha he was driven by conspiraorial beliefs abou Jewish power He differed from he likes of Yockey Smih andRockwell however in ha he was no a whie naionalis wih anover agenda of rehabiliaing Nazism as a pracical and acive po-liical ideology Rassinier was an anisemie bu no a neo-Nazi 3

Rassinier came o he atenion of he English-speaking worlddue o he praise heaped on him by he conroversial hisorianHarry Elmer Barnes who inspired he publishing of a small runof an English ranslaion of Rassinierrsquos Drame des Juifs Europeacuteens in 9830899830979830959830934 Rassinier became even more accessible o he US publicdue o he effors of Willis Caro5 Caro had been an acivis in

he US far-righ scene since 983089983097983093983093 and had creaed an eniy calledLibery Lobby in 983089983097983093983095 Tough Caro himself was a devoee of heracis anisemiic eachings of Francis Parker Yockey LiberyLobby eschewed he crude anisemiism of over neo-Nazis infavor of anicommunis racial segregaionis righ-wing lobbyingeffors in Washingon DC In his personal leters Caro conin-ued spewing over anisemiism and over he nex wo decades he

devoed much of his aciviy o disseminaing Holocaus denialTe firs vehicle Caro used for his purpose was Noonide

Press Among he earlies books Noonide prined was Yockeyrsquosmagnum opus Imperium which denied he Holocaus in 9830899830979830949830916 Over he nex few years he house published numerous racialis

works many of hem by Briish anhropologis and righ-wing ex-remis Roger Pearson In 983089983097983094983097 i added wha is probably he firs

book devoed o Holocaus denial in he Unied Saes Te Mythof the Six Million by David Hoggan A suden of Harry ElmerBarnes Hoggan spen his professional career wriing books in

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 713

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983091

German arguing ha Germany was in fac he vicim of Allied ag-gression during World War II and ha he Holocaus was a hoax

Trough Carorsquos effors Holocaus denial began o developino a cotage indusry which o some small degree had begunseparaing iself from is neo-Nazi roos in he 983089983097983093983088s and 983089983097983094983088sIn he following decade Noonide Press published Arhur BuzrsquosTe Hoax of the wentieth Century (983089983097983095983094) William Grimsadrsquos TeSix Million Reconsidered (983089983097983095983095) and Paul Rassinierrsquos Debunk-ing the Genocide Myth (983089983097983095983096) Caro adverised hese exs in hepages of his newspaper Spotlight

A seminal momen in he developmen of Holocaus denial inhe Unied Saes came in 983089983097983095983097 when Spotlight announced heformaion of he Insiue for Hisorical Review (983113983112983122) and heconvening of is firs inernaional Holocaus denial conference7 Some of he papers presened a ha conference were prined in983089983097983096983088 in he firs issue of 983113983112983122rsquos Journal of Historical Review a jour-nal ha aped he look and feel of convenional academic publi-

caions I was under he aegis of he 983113983112983122 ha Holocaus denial began o cohere ino an inernaional movemen ha could albei wih some difficuly be separaed from he ideology and aimsof he deniers from he 983089983097983093983088s and 983089983097983094983088s many of whom had sillheld ou hope of reviving overly ani-Jewish or even pro-Nazipopular movemens in he Unied Saes

o be sure 983113983112983122 atraced is share of neo-Nazis and neo-fasciss

Te firs edior of he Journal of Historical Review was David Mc-Calden who had been a member of he Briish neo-fascis groupcalled he Naional Fron before he came he Unied Saes andchanged his name o Lewis Brandon8 Mark Weber anoher earlyemployee of 983113983112983122 had been a member of he neo-Nazi Naional

Alliance and was he edior of is National Vanguard9 Revilo POliver also a member of he Naional Alliance served on he edi-

orial advisory board of he Journal of Historical Review hrough-ou he 983089983097983096983088s10 Wolf Rudiger Hess whose faher was Rudolf Hessatended 983113983112983122 conferences and conribued aricles o he journal

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 813

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983092

as did Oto Erns Remer who was a general in he Wehrmachduring World War II11 H Keih Tompson who had been a spe-cial agen for he Nazi Overseas Inelligence Uni during World

War II was also involved wih he 98311398311298312212 According o a reporfrom he Ani-Defamaion League during his speech a he 983089983097983096983091983113983112983122 conference Tompson ldquourged supporers o lsquosand by hehird Reichrsquo because lsquoif in he end he Holocaus did ake placehen so much he beterrsquordquo13

However no all he deniers atraced o he 983113983112983122 and Holo-caus denial a his ime were neo-Nazis or neo-fasciss Manyof hese ohers including many readers of Carorsquos Spotlight hadheir ideological roos in less exreme righ-wing populis move-mens Examples of such deniers include Keih Simely who

wroe Holocaus denial works and evenually became edior ofhe Journal of Historical Review Michael A Hoffman II a free-lance journalis and conspiracy heoris Black Naionalis Rob-er L Brock and Spotlight wrier Michael Collins Piper14

Ohers came o Holocaus denial wih no apparen connec-ions o righ-wing exremism oher han paricipaing in 983113983112983122conferences and wriing for is journal In his caegory onemigh include ordained miniser Rober Couness15 engineeringprofessor Arhur Buz16 James J Marin a liberarian scholar17 Fred Leucher auhor of he famed Leuchter Report18 and heforemos French Holocaus denier Rober Faurisson whose in-

fluence on he 983113983112983122 and Holocaus denial in he Unied Saescanno be oversaed19

Te Holocaus denial promoed by he 983113983112983122 and is supporersfeaured Barnes-syle World War II revisionism as well as echni-cal argumens for he impossibiliy of homicidal gas chambersIn many cases he revisionis hisory was exreme Tese deniersdid no merely claim ha Jews had no been gassed a Auschwiz

or ha Anne Frankrsquos diary was a fabricaion hey also arguedha Dr Mengele had noble inenions ha he SS was an hon-orable and heroic miliary uni and ha Nazism was a progres-

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 913

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983093

sive forward-looking movemen ha cared abou is people andhe environmen20 Many of hem believed ha he Nazis were jusified in inerning he Jews in camps or execuing hem aspoenial communis sympahizers moreover hey argued haHiler alone among he world leaders saw he danger of com-munism and selflessly se his German armies o defend he Wesagains he communis menace Te Journal of Historical Review serialized former SS Lieuenan Leon Degrellersquos rhapsodies abouHiler and published he wriings of oher former Nazis as wellTeir revisionism exended o he Allies whom hey cas as heaggressors in World War II Tey alleged ha Presiden Roosevelknew in advance ha he Japanese inended o atack Pearl Har-

bor bu allowed he atack o occur in order o bring he UniedSaes ino he war and claimed ha he Nazi admissions of guila Nuremberg were he resul of orure21

Of course he core argumen ha deniers urned o ime andagain was he echnical impossibiliy of he Nazis having killed six

million Jews many wih poison gas Aricles in he Journal of His-torical Review claimed o assess ldquoHolocaus demographicsrdquo hedisincion beween cremaion and incineraion of bodies he na-ure and consrucion of delousing chambers in he Nazi concen-raion camps and he prevalence of yphus Holocaus denierscraved any analysis ha had he rappings of objecive scienceo ake bu one example Fred Leucher a purpored engineer

and ldquogas chamber experrdquo who designed execuion devices forseveral US saes was hired by Canadian Holocaus denier ErnsZundel o conduc a forensic analysis of Auschwiz Leucher con-cluded ha he gas chambers here could no have been used forhomicidal gassing and his Leuchter Report became one of hefoundaional exs for he Holocaus denial movemen22 Oherdeniers who specialized in producing echnical sudies on Nazi

concenraion camps wihou generally addressing larger issuesperaining o World War II revisionism were Carlo MatognoFriedrich Paul Berg John Ball and laer Germar Rudolf

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1013

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983094

Te 983113983112983122 and he consellaion of deniers who surrounded i was a hybrid mixure of neo-Nazis whie naionaliss conspiracyheoriss and anisemies I produced pro-Hiler revisionis his-ory as well as sophisicaed argumens agains he exisence ofgas chambers mass shooings and oher aspecs of Holocaushisory

Te 983089983097983096983088s and 983089983097983097983088s were he golden age of Holocaus denial inhe Unied Saes By his ime he 983113983112983122 had refined is argumenso he poin ha is leadership fel i could ake is message o he

broader public As he 983113983112983122 launched is oureach campaigns hemainsream US media and he US public learned of he exis-ence of Holocaus denial

Beginning in he 983089983097983096983088s he 983113983112983122 and is allies launched severalsuns and oureach campaigns designed o increase he pub-licrsquos exposure o Holocaus denial In 983089983097983096983088 he 983113983112983122 sponsored a983076983093983088983088983088983088 challenge o anyone who could prove ha Jews had beengassed a Auschwiz A Holocaus survivor named Mel Mermel-

sein ook up he challenge which resuled in a lawsui covered bynewspapers in Los Angeles (where he sui ook place) as well as

by wire services he New York imes and he Washington Post23 983113983112983122 pamphles and oher Holocaus-denying lieraure were dis-ribued a public libraries and Holocaus deniers atemped o

book meeing rooms on college campuses and in public librariessomeimes atracing significan conroversy24

One of he mos imporan promoers of Holocaus denial inhe Unied Saes was Bradley Smih In 983089983097983096983092 Smih who hadearlier aspired o become a journalis bu had become enamoredof Holocaus denial aer reading he work of Rober Faurissonconvinced 983113983112983122 leaders o underwrie a newsleter o journalissarguing ha he Holocaus never happened and urging hem o

wrie sories abou i He received virually no responses from

ha enerprise so in 983089983097983096983094 he became he firs direcor of he 983113983112983122rsquosRadio Projecmdashquickly rebranded as he Media Projecmdashin

which he atemped o bring he message of Holocaus denial o

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1113

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983095

radio and elevision broadcass Smih claims o have done overfour hundred inerviews during ha period alhough ha num-

ber canno be verified25

In 983089983097983097983089 Smih hi on a sraegy ha would caapul Holocausdenial o a much larger audience He creaed he Commitee onOpen Debae on he Holocaus (983107983119983108983119983112) whose mission waso place adverisemens denying he Nazi genocide of European

Jewry in college suden newspapers Smih hoped ha he na- iumlveeacute of college sudens would make hem more likely o accephis propaganda bu his effors paid off in anoher way he lo-cal conroversies ha eruped when college newspaper ediors wresled wih he decision of wheher o publish Smihrsquos adshemselves atraced inense coverage in regional and naionalmedia26 Smih even appeared on he elevision newsmagazine 983092983096Hours on February 983090983094 983089983097983097983090 where he ried o convince a naionalaudience ha ldquohere was no plan o exerminae he Jews of Eu-rope no order no budge no weaponmdashha is no exerminaion

gas chamber and no vicim Tis false sory is mainained bya cabal largely of Jewish organizaionsrdquo27 wo years laer Smihand an associae debaed Michael Shermer he edior of Skeptic magazine on Phil Donahuersquos elevision show28

Te legal batles of Erns Zundel in Canada whose Holocausdenial was being prosecued for violaing he counryrsquos FalseNews laws also resuled in significan media coverage of ldquorevi-

sionisrdquo heories in he Unied Saes In a segmen covering heHolocaus denial phenomenon on he March 983090983088 983089983097983097983092 ediionof he elevision newsmagazine 983094983088 Minutes Zundel allowed haHiler had his ldquofoiblesrdquo including ha he ldquodidnrsquo paricularly like

Jewsrdquo bu ha no more han 983091983088983088983088983088983088 Jews died during World War II Clips of Bradley Smih also appeared in ha segmen29

In he lae 983089983097983097983088s Holocaus denial again became a media phe-

nomenon wih US coverage of he 983089983097983097983094 lawsui filed by Briishhisorian David Irving agains American academic Deborah Lip-sad aer she described him as a Holocaus denier Alhough he

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1213

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983096

lawsui was liigaed in he Unied Kingdom major US newspa-pers and wire services covered he rial

Te concep ha here was room o doub he sandard hisoryof he Holocaus coninued o appear in he media in oher formsas well Conservaive columnis Pa Buchanan quesioned henoion ha gas chambers a reblinka could have been used okill Jews again provoking media conroversy30

Te repeaed references o Holocaus denial in US media inhe 983089983097983096983088s and 983089983097983097983088s exposed average Americans of he firs sec-ond and hird generaions born aer World War II ha here

were hose who dispued he realiy of he Holocaus abou whichhey had learned in school or seen porrayed in many moviessuch as Claude Lanzmannrsquos Shoah (983089983097983096983093) and Seven SpielbergrsquosSchindlerrsquos List (983089983097983097983091)31 I recall waching an evening newscason he subjec of Holocaus denial in he 983089983097983096983088s I have a vividmemory of he news anchor earnesly warning his viewers ha al-hough here are hose who deny he Holocaus here are moun-

ains of evidence ha he Holocaus indeed happened I was aremarkable deparure from regular journalism and in rerospecI hink i spoke o a growing awareness of he exisence of Holo-caus deniers among mainsream Americans

Alhough awareness of Holocaus denial swep hrough parsof he US during hese wo decades he connecion ha manyof he deniers had o righ-wing exremism made i easier for

heir opponens o discredi hem Jewish organizaions and aca-demics generally did no engage hem on he subsance of heirspurious ldquohisoricalrdquo claims preferring insead o focus on heirgeneral sympahy for Hiler heir racism and heir anisemiismime and again i was poined ou ha if he deniers were noNazis like Leon Degrelle hey were neo-Nazis like David Mc-Calden Willis Caro and Mark Weber If hey were no neo-

Nazis hey were righ-wing exremiss raciss and anisemiespredisposed o vindicaing Hiler and obviously having a moivefor discouning he desrucion of European Jewry Te Ani-

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1313

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983097

Defamaion League famously described Holocaus deniers asldquoHilerrsquos apologissrdquo and included profiles of he mos imporandeniers in is publicaions on righ-wing exremism Te Ameri-can Jewish Commitee made his approach even more explici ina publicaion on Holocaus denial published in 983089983097983097983091 ldquoHolocausdeniers crave legiimacy above all else As long as hey are seenas neo-Nazi hacks and no scholars heir ask is harder Tedeniersrsquo claims can and mus be debunkedmdashno wih debae bu

wih exposeacute I is imporan ha people know ha deniers wan o rehabiliae Nazism and creae a new world order basedon he Tird Reichrdquo32 Tis unequivocal formulaion while cer-ainly rue of he pro-Nazi Holocaus deniers of he 983089983097983093983088s and983089983097983094983088s and of some of he neo-Nazi Holocaus deniers of he 983089983097983096983088sand 983089983097983097983088s was no necessarily rue of many oher Holocaus de-niers Te armchair pseudo-hisorians and conspiracy heoriss

who became par of he Holocaus denial movemen were almoscerainly anisemies and ani-Zioniss bu alhough hey were

ineresed in recasing he hisory of World War II and perhapsrehabiliaing he image of Hiler hey had no desire o revive heNazi movemen Moreover several of he foremos Holocaus de-niers including Arhur Buz Fred Leucher and Bradley Smihdid no have any discernible righ-wing views or affiliaions be-fore hey ook up wih he Holocaus denial movemen Bu be-cause he Holocaus denial movemen as a whole was predomi-

nanly composed of righ-wing anisemies calling hem ou for belonging o ha ideology was a convenien way of conveying ohe American people he disingenuousness and mendaciousnessof heir aemp o deny he exisence of gas chambers

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 713

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983091

German arguing ha Germany was in fac he vicim of Allied ag-gression during World War II and ha he Holocaus was a hoax

Trough Carorsquos effors Holocaus denial began o developino a cotage indusry which o some small degree had begunseparaing iself from is neo-Nazi roos in he 983089983097983093983088s and 983089983097983094983088sIn he following decade Noonide Press published Arhur BuzrsquosTe Hoax of the wentieth Century (983089983097983095983094) William Grimsadrsquos TeSix Million Reconsidered (983089983097983095983095) and Paul Rassinierrsquos Debunk-ing the Genocide Myth (983089983097983095983096) Caro adverised hese exs in hepages of his newspaper Spotlight

A seminal momen in he developmen of Holocaus denial inhe Unied Saes came in 983089983097983095983097 when Spotlight announced heformaion of he Insiue for Hisorical Review (983113983112983122) and heconvening of is firs inernaional Holocaus denial conference7 Some of he papers presened a ha conference were prined in983089983097983096983088 in he firs issue of 983113983112983122rsquos Journal of Historical Review a jour-nal ha aped he look and feel of convenional academic publi-

caions I was under he aegis of he 983113983112983122 ha Holocaus denial began o cohere ino an inernaional movemen ha could albei wih some difficuly be separaed from he ideology and aimsof he deniers from he 983089983097983093983088s and 983089983097983094983088s many of whom had sillheld ou hope of reviving overly ani-Jewish or even pro-Nazipopular movemens in he Unied Saes

o be sure 983113983112983122 atraced is share of neo-Nazis and neo-fasciss

Te firs edior of he Journal of Historical Review was David Mc-Calden who had been a member of he Briish neo-fascis groupcalled he Naional Fron before he came he Unied Saes andchanged his name o Lewis Brandon8 Mark Weber anoher earlyemployee of 983113983112983122 had been a member of he neo-Nazi Naional

Alliance and was he edior of is National Vanguard9 Revilo POliver also a member of he Naional Alliance served on he edi-

orial advisory board of he Journal of Historical Review hrough-ou he 983089983097983096983088s10 Wolf Rudiger Hess whose faher was Rudolf Hessatended 983113983112983122 conferences and conribued aricles o he journal

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 813

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983092

as did Oto Erns Remer who was a general in he Wehrmachduring World War II11 H Keih Tompson who had been a spe-cial agen for he Nazi Overseas Inelligence Uni during World

War II was also involved wih he 98311398311298312212 According o a reporfrom he Ani-Defamaion League during his speech a he 983089983097983096983091983113983112983122 conference Tompson ldquourged supporers o lsquosand by hehird Reichrsquo because lsquoif in he end he Holocaus did ake placehen so much he beterrsquordquo13

However no all he deniers atraced o he 983113983112983122 and Holo-caus denial a his ime were neo-Nazis or neo-fasciss Manyof hese ohers including many readers of Carorsquos Spotlight hadheir ideological roos in less exreme righ-wing populis move-mens Examples of such deniers include Keih Simely who

wroe Holocaus denial works and evenually became edior ofhe Journal of Historical Review Michael A Hoffman II a free-lance journalis and conspiracy heoris Black Naionalis Rob-er L Brock and Spotlight wrier Michael Collins Piper14

Ohers came o Holocaus denial wih no apparen connec-ions o righ-wing exremism oher han paricipaing in 983113983112983122conferences and wriing for is journal In his caegory onemigh include ordained miniser Rober Couness15 engineeringprofessor Arhur Buz16 James J Marin a liberarian scholar17 Fred Leucher auhor of he famed Leuchter Report18 and heforemos French Holocaus denier Rober Faurisson whose in-

fluence on he 983113983112983122 and Holocaus denial in he Unied Saescanno be oversaed19

Te Holocaus denial promoed by he 983113983112983122 and is supporersfeaured Barnes-syle World War II revisionism as well as echni-cal argumens for he impossibiliy of homicidal gas chambersIn many cases he revisionis hisory was exreme Tese deniersdid no merely claim ha Jews had no been gassed a Auschwiz

or ha Anne Frankrsquos diary was a fabricaion hey also arguedha Dr Mengele had noble inenions ha he SS was an hon-orable and heroic miliary uni and ha Nazism was a progres-

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 913

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983093

sive forward-looking movemen ha cared abou is people andhe environmen20 Many of hem believed ha he Nazis were jusified in inerning he Jews in camps or execuing hem aspoenial communis sympahizers moreover hey argued haHiler alone among he world leaders saw he danger of com-munism and selflessly se his German armies o defend he Wesagains he communis menace Te Journal of Historical Review serialized former SS Lieuenan Leon Degrellersquos rhapsodies abouHiler and published he wriings of oher former Nazis as wellTeir revisionism exended o he Allies whom hey cas as heaggressors in World War II Tey alleged ha Presiden Roosevelknew in advance ha he Japanese inended o atack Pearl Har-

bor bu allowed he atack o occur in order o bring he UniedSaes ino he war and claimed ha he Nazi admissions of guila Nuremberg were he resul of orure21

Of course he core argumen ha deniers urned o ime andagain was he echnical impossibiliy of he Nazis having killed six

million Jews many wih poison gas Aricles in he Journal of His-torical Review claimed o assess ldquoHolocaus demographicsrdquo hedisincion beween cremaion and incineraion of bodies he na-ure and consrucion of delousing chambers in he Nazi concen-raion camps and he prevalence of yphus Holocaus denierscraved any analysis ha had he rappings of objecive scienceo ake bu one example Fred Leucher a purpored engineer

and ldquogas chamber experrdquo who designed execuion devices forseveral US saes was hired by Canadian Holocaus denier ErnsZundel o conduc a forensic analysis of Auschwiz Leucher con-cluded ha he gas chambers here could no have been used forhomicidal gassing and his Leuchter Report became one of hefoundaional exs for he Holocaus denial movemen22 Oherdeniers who specialized in producing echnical sudies on Nazi

concenraion camps wihou generally addressing larger issuesperaining o World War II revisionism were Carlo MatognoFriedrich Paul Berg John Ball and laer Germar Rudolf

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1013

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983094

Te 983113983112983122 and he consellaion of deniers who surrounded i was a hybrid mixure of neo-Nazis whie naionaliss conspiracyheoriss and anisemies I produced pro-Hiler revisionis his-ory as well as sophisicaed argumens agains he exisence ofgas chambers mass shooings and oher aspecs of Holocaushisory

Te 983089983097983096983088s and 983089983097983097983088s were he golden age of Holocaus denial inhe Unied Saes By his ime he 983113983112983122 had refined is argumenso he poin ha is leadership fel i could ake is message o he

broader public As he 983113983112983122 launched is oureach campaigns hemainsream US media and he US public learned of he exis-ence of Holocaus denial

Beginning in he 983089983097983096983088s he 983113983112983122 and is allies launched severalsuns and oureach campaigns designed o increase he pub-licrsquos exposure o Holocaus denial In 983089983097983096983088 he 983113983112983122 sponsored a983076983093983088983088983088983088 challenge o anyone who could prove ha Jews had beengassed a Auschwiz A Holocaus survivor named Mel Mermel-

sein ook up he challenge which resuled in a lawsui covered bynewspapers in Los Angeles (where he sui ook place) as well as

by wire services he New York imes and he Washington Post23 983113983112983122 pamphles and oher Holocaus-denying lieraure were dis-ribued a public libraries and Holocaus deniers atemped o

book meeing rooms on college campuses and in public librariessomeimes atracing significan conroversy24

One of he mos imporan promoers of Holocaus denial inhe Unied Saes was Bradley Smih In 983089983097983096983092 Smih who hadearlier aspired o become a journalis bu had become enamoredof Holocaus denial aer reading he work of Rober Faurissonconvinced 983113983112983122 leaders o underwrie a newsleter o journalissarguing ha he Holocaus never happened and urging hem o

wrie sories abou i He received virually no responses from

ha enerprise so in 983089983097983096983094 he became he firs direcor of he 983113983112983122rsquosRadio Projecmdashquickly rebranded as he Media Projecmdashin

which he atemped o bring he message of Holocaus denial o

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1113

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983095

radio and elevision broadcass Smih claims o have done overfour hundred inerviews during ha period alhough ha num-

ber canno be verified25

In 983089983097983097983089 Smih hi on a sraegy ha would caapul Holocausdenial o a much larger audience He creaed he Commitee onOpen Debae on he Holocaus (983107983119983108983119983112) whose mission waso place adverisemens denying he Nazi genocide of European

Jewry in college suden newspapers Smih hoped ha he na- iumlveeacute of college sudens would make hem more likely o accephis propaganda bu his effors paid off in anoher way he lo-cal conroversies ha eruped when college newspaper ediors wresled wih he decision of wheher o publish Smihrsquos adshemselves atraced inense coverage in regional and naionalmedia26 Smih even appeared on he elevision newsmagazine 983092983096Hours on February 983090983094 983089983097983097983090 where he ried o convince a naionalaudience ha ldquohere was no plan o exerminae he Jews of Eu-rope no order no budge no weaponmdashha is no exerminaion

gas chamber and no vicim Tis false sory is mainained bya cabal largely of Jewish organizaionsrdquo27 wo years laer Smihand an associae debaed Michael Shermer he edior of Skeptic magazine on Phil Donahuersquos elevision show28

Te legal batles of Erns Zundel in Canada whose Holocausdenial was being prosecued for violaing he counryrsquos FalseNews laws also resuled in significan media coverage of ldquorevi-

sionisrdquo heories in he Unied Saes In a segmen covering heHolocaus denial phenomenon on he March 983090983088 983089983097983097983092 ediionof he elevision newsmagazine 983094983088 Minutes Zundel allowed haHiler had his ldquofoiblesrdquo including ha he ldquodidnrsquo paricularly like

Jewsrdquo bu ha no more han 983091983088983088983088983088983088 Jews died during World War II Clips of Bradley Smih also appeared in ha segmen29

In he lae 983089983097983097983088s Holocaus denial again became a media phe-

nomenon wih US coverage of he 983089983097983097983094 lawsui filed by Briishhisorian David Irving agains American academic Deborah Lip-sad aer she described him as a Holocaus denier Alhough he

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1213

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983096

lawsui was liigaed in he Unied Kingdom major US newspa-pers and wire services covered he rial

Te concep ha here was room o doub he sandard hisoryof he Holocaus coninued o appear in he media in oher formsas well Conservaive columnis Pa Buchanan quesioned henoion ha gas chambers a reblinka could have been used okill Jews again provoking media conroversy30

Te repeaed references o Holocaus denial in US media inhe 983089983097983096983088s and 983089983097983097983088s exposed average Americans of he firs sec-ond and hird generaions born aer World War II ha here

were hose who dispued he realiy of he Holocaus abou whichhey had learned in school or seen porrayed in many moviessuch as Claude Lanzmannrsquos Shoah (983089983097983096983093) and Seven SpielbergrsquosSchindlerrsquos List (983089983097983097983091)31 I recall waching an evening newscason he subjec of Holocaus denial in he 983089983097983096983088s I have a vividmemory of he news anchor earnesly warning his viewers ha al-hough here are hose who deny he Holocaus here are moun-

ains of evidence ha he Holocaus indeed happened I was aremarkable deparure from regular journalism and in rerospecI hink i spoke o a growing awareness of he exisence of Holo-caus deniers among mainsream Americans

Alhough awareness of Holocaus denial swep hrough parsof he US during hese wo decades he connecion ha manyof he deniers had o righ-wing exremism made i easier for

heir opponens o discredi hem Jewish organizaions and aca-demics generally did no engage hem on he subsance of heirspurious ldquohisoricalrdquo claims preferring insead o focus on heirgeneral sympahy for Hiler heir racism and heir anisemiismime and again i was poined ou ha if he deniers were noNazis like Leon Degrelle hey were neo-Nazis like David Mc-Calden Willis Caro and Mark Weber If hey were no neo-

Nazis hey were righ-wing exremiss raciss and anisemiespredisposed o vindicaing Hiler and obviously having a moivefor discouning he desrucion of European Jewry Te Ani-

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1313

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983097

Defamaion League famously described Holocaus deniers asldquoHilerrsquos apologissrdquo and included profiles of he mos imporandeniers in is publicaions on righ-wing exremism Te Ameri-can Jewish Commitee made his approach even more explici ina publicaion on Holocaus denial published in 983089983097983097983091 ldquoHolocausdeniers crave legiimacy above all else As long as hey are seenas neo-Nazi hacks and no scholars heir ask is harder Tedeniersrsquo claims can and mus be debunkedmdashno wih debae bu

wih exposeacute I is imporan ha people know ha deniers wan o rehabiliae Nazism and creae a new world order basedon he Tird Reichrdquo32 Tis unequivocal formulaion while cer-ainly rue of he pro-Nazi Holocaus deniers of he 983089983097983093983088s and983089983097983094983088s and of some of he neo-Nazi Holocaus deniers of he 983089983097983096983088sand 983089983097983097983088s was no necessarily rue of many oher Holocaus de-niers Te armchair pseudo-hisorians and conspiracy heoriss

who became par of he Holocaus denial movemen were almoscerainly anisemies and ani-Zioniss bu alhough hey were

ineresed in recasing he hisory of World War II and perhapsrehabiliaing he image of Hiler hey had no desire o revive heNazi movemen Moreover several of he foremos Holocaus de-niers including Arhur Buz Fred Leucher and Bradley Smihdid no have any discernible righ-wing views or affiliaions be-fore hey ook up wih he Holocaus denial movemen Bu be-cause he Holocaus denial movemen as a whole was predomi-

nanly composed of righ-wing anisemies calling hem ou for belonging o ha ideology was a convenien way of conveying ohe American people he disingenuousness and mendaciousnessof heir aemp o deny he exisence of gas chambers

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 813

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983092

as did Oto Erns Remer who was a general in he Wehrmachduring World War II11 H Keih Tompson who had been a spe-cial agen for he Nazi Overseas Inelligence Uni during World

War II was also involved wih he 98311398311298312212 According o a reporfrom he Ani-Defamaion League during his speech a he 983089983097983096983091983113983112983122 conference Tompson ldquourged supporers o lsquosand by hehird Reichrsquo because lsquoif in he end he Holocaus did ake placehen so much he beterrsquordquo13

However no all he deniers atraced o he 983113983112983122 and Holo-caus denial a his ime were neo-Nazis or neo-fasciss Manyof hese ohers including many readers of Carorsquos Spotlight hadheir ideological roos in less exreme righ-wing populis move-mens Examples of such deniers include Keih Simely who

wroe Holocaus denial works and evenually became edior ofhe Journal of Historical Review Michael A Hoffman II a free-lance journalis and conspiracy heoris Black Naionalis Rob-er L Brock and Spotlight wrier Michael Collins Piper14

Ohers came o Holocaus denial wih no apparen connec-ions o righ-wing exremism oher han paricipaing in 983113983112983122conferences and wriing for is journal In his caegory onemigh include ordained miniser Rober Couness15 engineeringprofessor Arhur Buz16 James J Marin a liberarian scholar17 Fred Leucher auhor of he famed Leuchter Report18 and heforemos French Holocaus denier Rober Faurisson whose in-

fluence on he 983113983112983122 and Holocaus denial in he Unied Saescanno be oversaed19

Te Holocaus denial promoed by he 983113983112983122 and is supporersfeaured Barnes-syle World War II revisionism as well as echni-cal argumens for he impossibiliy of homicidal gas chambersIn many cases he revisionis hisory was exreme Tese deniersdid no merely claim ha Jews had no been gassed a Auschwiz

or ha Anne Frankrsquos diary was a fabricaion hey also arguedha Dr Mengele had noble inenions ha he SS was an hon-orable and heroic miliary uni and ha Nazism was a progres-

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 913

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983093

sive forward-looking movemen ha cared abou is people andhe environmen20 Many of hem believed ha he Nazis were jusified in inerning he Jews in camps or execuing hem aspoenial communis sympahizers moreover hey argued haHiler alone among he world leaders saw he danger of com-munism and selflessly se his German armies o defend he Wesagains he communis menace Te Journal of Historical Review serialized former SS Lieuenan Leon Degrellersquos rhapsodies abouHiler and published he wriings of oher former Nazis as wellTeir revisionism exended o he Allies whom hey cas as heaggressors in World War II Tey alleged ha Presiden Roosevelknew in advance ha he Japanese inended o atack Pearl Har-

bor bu allowed he atack o occur in order o bring he UniedSaes ino he war and claimed ha he Nazi admissions of guila Nuremberg were he resul of orure21

Of course he core argumen ha deniers urned o ime andagain was he echnical impossibiliy of he Nazis having killed six

million Jews many wih poison gas Aricles in he Journal of His-torical Review claimed o assess ldquoHolocaus demographicsrdquo hedisincion beween cremaion and incineraion of bodies he na-ure and consrucion of delousing chambers in he Nazi concen-raion camps and he prevalence of yphus Holocaus denierscraved any analysis ha had he rappings of objecive scienceo ake bu one example Fred Leucher a purpored engineer

and ldquogas chamber experrdquo who designed execuion devices forseveral US saes was hired by Canadian Holocaus denier ErnsZundel o conduc a forensic analysis of Auschwiz Leucher con-cluded ha he gas chambers here could no have been used forhomicidal gassing and his Leuchter Report became one of hefoundaional exs for he Holocaus denial movemen22 Oherdeniers who specialized in producing echnical sudies on Nazi

concenraion camps wihou generally addressing larger issuesperaining o World War II revisionism were Carlo MatognoFriedrich Paul Berg John Ball and laer Germar Rudolf

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1013

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983094

Te 983113983112983122 and he consellaion of deniers who surrounded i was a hybrid mixure of neo-Nazis whie naionaliss conspiracyheoriss and anisemies I produced pro-Hiler revisionis his-ory as well as sophisicaed argumens agains he exisence ofgas chambers mass shooings and oher aspecs of Holocaushisory

Te 983089983097983096983088s and 983089983097983097983088s were he golden age of Holocaus denial inhe Unied Saes By his ime he 983113983112983122 had refined is argumenso he poin ha is leadership fel i could ake is message o he

broader public As he 983113983112983122 launched is oureach campaigns hemainsream US media and he US public learned of he exis-ence of Holocaus denial

Beginning in he 983089983097983096983088s he 983113983112983122 and is allies launched severalsuns and oureach campaigns designed o increase he pub-licrsquos exposure o Holocaus denial In 983089983097983096983088 he 983113983112983122 sponsored a983076983093983088983088983088983088 challenge o anyone who could prove ha Jews had beengassed a Auschwiz A Holocaus survivor named Mel Mermel-

sein ook up he challenge which resuled in a lawsui covered bynewspapers in Los Angeles (where he sui ook place) as well as

by wire services he New York imes and he Washington Post23 983113983112983122 pamphles and oher Holocaus-denying lieraure were dis-ribued a public libraries and Holocaus deniers atemped o

book meeing rooms on college campuses and in public librariessomeimes atracing significan conroversy24

One of he mos imporan promoers of Holocaus denial inhe Unied Saes was Bradley Smih In 983089983097983096983092 Smih who hadearlier aspired o become a journalis bu had become enamoredof Holocaus denial aer reading he work of Rober Faurissonconvinced 983113983112983122 leaders o underwrie a newsleter o journalissarguing ha he Holocaus never happened and urging hem o

wrie sories abou i He received virually no responses from

ha enerprise so in 983089983097983096983094 he became he firs direcor of he 983113983112983122rsquosRadio Projecmdashquickly rebranded as he Media Projecmdashin

which he atemped o bring he message of Holocaus denial o

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1113

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983095

radio and elevision broadcass Smih claims o have done overfour hundred inerviews during ha period alhough ha num-

ber canno be verified25

In 983089983097983097983089 Smih hi on a sraegy ha would caapul Holocausdenial o a much larger audience He creaed he Commitee onOpen Debae on he Holocaus (983107983119983108983119983112) whose mission waso place adverisemens denying he Nazi genocide of European

Jewry in college suden newspapers Smih hoped ha he na- iumlveeacute of college sudens would make hem more likely o accephis propaganda bu his effors paid off in anoher way he lo-cal conroversies ha eruped when college newspaper ediors wresled wih he decision of wheher o publish Smihrsquos adshemselves atraced inense coverage in regional and naionalmedia26 Smih even appeared on he elevision newsmagazine 983092983096Hours on February 983090983094 983089983097983097983090 where he ried o convince a naionalaudience ha ldquohere was no plan o exerminae he Jews of Eu-rope no order no budge no weaponmdashha is no exerminaion

gas chamber and no vicim Tis false sory is mainained bya cabal largely of Jewish organizaionsrdquo27 wo years laer Smihand an associae debaed Michael Shermer he edior of Skeptic magazine on Phil Donahuersquos elevision show28

Te legal batles of Erns Zundel in Canada whose Holocausdenial was being prosecued for violaing he counryrsquos FalseNews laws also resuled in significan media coverage of ldquorevi-

sionisrdquo heories in he Unied Saes In a segmen covering heHolocaus denial phenomenon on he March 983090983088 983089983097983097983092 ediionof he elevision newsmagazine 983094983088 Minutes Zundel allowed haHiler had his ldquofoiblesrdquo including ha he ldquodidnrsquo paricularly like

Jewsrdquo bu ha no more han 983091983088983088983088983088983088 Jews died during World War II Clips of Bradley Smih also appeared in ha segmen29

In he lae 983089983097983097983088s Holocaus denial again became a media phe-

nomenon wih US coverage of he 983089983097983097983094 lawsui filed by Briishhisorian David Irving agains American academic Deborah Lip-sad aer she described him as a Holocaus denier Alhough he

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1213

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983096

lawsui was liigaed in he Unied Kingdom major US newspa-pers and wire services covered he rial

Te concep ha here was room o doub he sandard hisoryof he Holocaus coninued o appear in he media in oher formsas well Conservaive columnis Pa Buchanan quesioned henoion ha gas chambers a reblinka could have been used okill Jews again provoking media conroversy30

Te repeaed references o Holocaus denial in US media inhe 983089983097983096983088s and 983089983097983097983088s exposed average Americans of he firs sec-ond and hird generaions born aer World War II ha here

were hose who dispued he realiy of he Holocaus abou whichhey had learned in school or seen porrayed in many moviessuch as Claude Lanzmannrsquos Shoah (983089983097983096983093) and Seven SpielbergrsquosSchindlerrsquos List (983089983097983097983091)31 I recall waching an evening newscason he subjec of Holocaus denial in he 983089983097983096983088s I have a vividmemory of he news anchor earnesly warning his viewers ha al-hough here are hose who deny he Holocaus here are moun-

ains of evidence ha he Holocaus indeed happened I was aremarkable deparure from regular journalism and in rerospecI hink i spoke o a growing awareness of he exisence of Holo-caus deniers among mainsream Americans

Alhough awareness of Holocaus denial swep hrough parsof he US during hese wo decades he connecion ha manyof he deniers had o righ-wing exremism made i easier for

heir opponens o discredi hem Jewish organizaions and aca-demics generally did no engage hem on he subsance of heirspurious ldquohisoricalrdquo claims preferring insead o focus on heirgeneral sympahy for Hiler heir racism and heir anisemiismime and again i was poined ou ha if he deniers were noNazis like Leon Degrelle hey were neo-Nazis like David Mc-Calden Willis Caro and Mark Weber If hey were no neo-

Nazis hey were righ-wing exremiss raciss and anisemiespredisposed o vindicaing Hiler and obviously having a moivefor discouning he desrucion of European Jewry Te Ani-

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1313

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983097

Defamaion League famously described Holocaus deniers asldquoHilerrsquos apologissrdquo and included profiles of he mos imporandeniers in is publicaions on righ-wing exremism Te Ameri-can Jewish Commitee made his approach even more explici ina publicaion on Holocaus denial published in 983089983097983097983091 ldquoHolocausdeniers crave legiimacy above all else As long as hey are seenas neo-Nazi hacks and no scholars heir ask is harder Tedeniersrsquo claims can and mus be debunkedmdashno wih debae bu

wih exposeacute I is imporan ha people know ha deniers wan o rehabiliae Nazism and creae a new world order basedon he Tird Reichrdquo32 Tis unequivocal formulaion while cer-ainly rue of he pro-Nazi Holocaus deniers of he 983089983097983093983088s and983089983097983094983088s and of some of he neo-Nazi Holocaus deniers of he 983089983097983096983088sand 983089983097983097983088s was no necessarily rue of many oher Holocaus de-niers Te armchair pseudo-hisorians and conspiracy heoriss

who became par of he Holocaus denial movemen were almoscerainly anisemies and ani-Zioniss bu alhough hey were

ineresed in recasing he hisory of World War II and perhapsrehabiliaing he image of Hiler hey had no desire o revive heNazi movemen Moreover several of he foremos Holocaus de-niers including Arhur Buz Fred Leucher and Bradley Smihdid no have any discernible righ-wing views or affiliaions be-fore hey ook up wih he Holocaus denial movemen Bu be-cause he Holocaus denial movemen as a whole was predomi-

nanly composed of righ-wing anisemies calling hem ou for belonging o ha ideology was a convenien way of conveying ohe American people he disingenuousness and mendaciousnessof heir aemp o deny he exisence of gas chambers

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 913

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983093

sive forward-looking movemen ha cared abou is people andhe environmen20 Many of hem believed ha he Nazis were jusified in inerning he Jews in camps or execuing hem aspoenial communis sympahizers moreover hey argued haHiler alone among he world leaders saw he danger of com-munism and selflessly se his German armies o defend he Wesagains he communis menace Te Journal of Historical Review serialized former SS Lieuenan Leon Degrellersquos rhapsodies abouHiler and published he wriings of oher former Nazis as wellTeir revisionism exended o he Allies whom hey cas as heaggressors in World War II Tey alleged ha Presiden Roosevelknew in advance ha he Japanese inended o atack Pearl Har-

bor bu allowed he atack o occur in order o bring he UniedSaes ino he war and claimed ha he Nazi admissions of guila Nuremberg were he resul of orure21

Of course he core argumen ha deniers urned o ime andagain was he echnical impossibiliy of he Nazis having killed six

million Jews many wih poison gas Aricles in he Journal of His-torical Review claimed o assess ldquoHolocaus demographicsrdquo hedisincion beween cremaion and incineraion of bodies he na-ure and consrucion of delousing chambers in he Nazi concen-raion camps and he prevalence of yphus Holocaus denierscraved any analysis ha had he rappings of objecive scienceo ake bu one example Fred Leucher a purpored engineer

and ldquogas chamber experrdquo who designed execuion devices forseveral US saes was hired by Canadian Holocaus denier ErnsZundel o conduc a forensic analysis of Auschwiz Leucher con-cluded ha he gas chambers here could no have been used forhomicidal gassing and his Leuchter Report became one of hefoundaional exs for he Holocaus denial movemen22 Oherdeniers who specialized in producing echnical sudies on Nazi

concenraion camps wihou generally addressing larger issuesperaining o World War II revisionism were Carlo MatognoFriedrich Paul Berg John Ball and laer Germar Rudolf

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1013

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983094

Te 983113983112983122 and he consellaion of deniers who surrounded i was a hybrid mixure of neo-Nazis whie naionaliss conspiracyheoriss and anisemies I produced pro-Hiler revisionis his-ory as well as sophisicaed argumens agains he exisence ofgas chambers mass shooings and oher aspecs of Holocaushisory

Te 983089983097983096983088s and 983089983097983097983088s were he golden age of Holocaus denial inhe Unied Saes By his ime he 983113983112983122 had refined is argumenso he poin ha is leadership fel i could ake is message o he

broader public As he 983113983112983122 launched is oureach campaigns hemainsream US media and he US public learned of he exis-ence of Holocaus denial

Beginning in he 983089983097983096983088s he 983113983112983122 and is allies launched severalsuns and oureach campaigns designed o increase he pub-licrsquos exposure o Holocaus denial In 983089983097983096983088 he 983113983112983122 sponsored a983076983093983088983088983088983088 challenge o anyone who could prove ha Jews had beengassed a Auschwiz A Holocaus survivor named Mel Mermel-

sein ook up he challenge which resuled in a lawsui covered bynewspapers in Los Angeles (where he sui ook place) as well as

by wire services he New York imes and he Washington Post23 983113983112983122 pamphles and oher Holocaus-denying lieraure were dis-ribued a public libraries and Holocaus deniers atemped o

book meeing rooms on college campuses and in public librariessomeimes atracing significan conroversy24

One of he mos imporan promoers of Holocaus denial inhe Unied Saes was Bradley Smih In 983089983097983096983092 Smih who hadearlier aspired o become a journalis bu had become enamoredof Holocaus denial aer reading he work of Rober Faurissonconvinced 983113983112983122 leaders o underwrie a newsleter o journalissarguing ha he Holocaus never happened and urging hem o

wrie sories abou i He received virually no responses from

ha enerprise so in 983089983097983096983094 he became he firs direcor of he 983113983112983122rsquosRadio Projecmdashquickly rebranded as he Media Projecmdashin

which he atemped o bring he message of Holocaus denial o

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1113

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983095

radio and elevision broadcass Smih claims o have done overfour hundred inerviews during ha period alhough ha num-

ber canno be verified25

In 983089983097983097983089 Smih hi on a sraegy ha would caapul Holocausdenial o a much larger audience He creaed he Commitee onOpen Debae on he Holocaus (983107983119983108983119983112) whose mission waso place adverisemens denying he Nazi genocide of European

Jewry in college suden newspapers Smih hoped ha he na- iumlveeacute of college sudens would make hem more likely o accephis propaganda bu his effors paid off in anoher way he lo-cal conroversies ha eruped when college newspaper ediors wresled wih he decision of wheher o publish Smihrsquos adshemselves atraced inense coverage in regional and naionalmedia26 Smih even appeared on he elevision newsmagazine 983092983096Hours on February 983090983094 983089983097983097983090 where he ried o convince a naionalaudience ha ldquohere was no plan o exerminae he Jews of Eu-rope no order no budge no weaponmdashha is no exerminaion

gas chamber and no vicim Tis false sory is mainained bya cabal largely of Jewish organizaionsrdquo27 wo years laer Smihand an associae debaed Michael Shermer he edior of Skeptic magazine on Phil Donahuersquos elevision show28

Te legal batles of Erns Zundel in Canada whose Holocausdenial was being prosecued for violaing he counryrsquos FalseNews laws also resuled in significan media coverage of ldquorevi-

sionisrdquo heories in he Unied Saes In a segmen covering heHolocaus denial phenomenon on he March 983090983088 983089983097983097983092 ediionof he elevision newsmagazine 983094983088 Minutes Zundel allowed haHiler had his ldquofoiblesrdquo including ha he ldquodidnrsquo paricularly like

Jewsrdquo bu ha no more han 983091983088983088983088983088983088 Jews died during World War II Clips of Bradley Smih also appeared in ha segmen29

In he lae 983089983097983097983088s Holocaus denial again became a media phe-

nomenon wih US coverage of he 983089983097983097983094 lawsui filed by Briishhisorian David Irving agains American academic Deborah Lip-sad aer she described him as a Holocaus denier Alhough he

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1213

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983096

lawsui was liigaed in he Unied Kingdom major US newspa-pers and wire services covered he rial

Te concep ha here was room o doub he sandard hisoryof he Holocaus coninued o appear in he media in oher formsas well Conservaive columnis Pa Buchanan quesioned henoion ha gas chambers a reblinka could have been used okill Jews again provoking media conroversy30

Te repeaed references o Holocaus denial in US media inhe 983089983097983096983088s and 983089983097983097983088s exposed average Americans of he firs sec-ond and hird generaions born aer World War II ha here

were hose who dispued he realiy of he Holocaus abou whichhey had learned in school or seen porrayed in many moviessuch as Claude Lanzmannrsquos Shoah (983089983097983096983093) and Seven SpielbergrsquosSchindlerrsquos List (983089983097983097983091)31 I recall waching an evening newscason he subjec of Holocaus denial in he 983089983097983096983088s I have a vividmemory of he news anchor earnesly warning his viewers ha al-hough here are hose who deny he Holocaus here are moun-

ains of evidence ha he Holocaus indeed happened I was aremarkable deparure from regular journalism and in rerospecI hink i spoke o a growing awareness of he exisence of Holo-caus deniers among mainsream Americans

Alhough awareness of Holocaus denial swep hrough parsof he US during hese wo decades he connecion ha manyof he deniers had o righ-wing exremism made i easier for

heir opponens o discredi hem Jewish organizaions and aca-demics generally did no engage hem on he subsance of heirspurious ldquohisoricalrdquo claims preferring insead o focus on heirgeneral sympahy for Hiler heir racism and heir anisemiismime and again i was poined ou ha if he deniers were noNazis like Leon Degrelle hey were neo-Nazis like David Mc-Calden Willis Caro and Mark Weber If hey were no neo-

Nazis hey were righ-wing exremiss raciss and anisemiespredisposed o vindicaing Hiler and obviously having a moivefor discouning he desrucion of European Jewry Te Ani-

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1313

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983097

Defamaion League famously described Holocaus deniers asldquoHilerrsquos apologissrdquo and included profiles of he mos imporandeniers in is publicaions on righ-wing exremism Te Ameri-can Jewish Commitee made his approach even more explici ina publicaion on Holocaus denial published in 983089983097983097983091 ldquoHolocausdeniers crave legiimacy above all else As long as hey are seenas neo-Nazi hacks and no scholars heir ask is harder Tedeniersrsquo claims can and mus be debunkedmdashno wih debae bu

wih exposeacute I is imporan ha people know ha deniers wan o rehabiliae Nazism and creae a new world order basedon he Tird Reichrdquo32 Tis unequivocal formulaion while cer-ainly rue of he pro-Nazi Holocaus deniers of he 983089983097983093983088s and983089983097983094983088s and of some of he neo-Nazi Holocaus deniers of he 983089983097983096983088sand 983089983097983097983088s was no necessarily rue of many oher Holocaus de-niers Te armchair pseudo-hisorians and conspiracy heoriss

who became par of he Holocaus denial movemen were almoscerainly anisemies and ani-Zioniss bu alhough hey were

ineresed in recasing he hisory of World War II and perhapsrehabiliaing he image of Hiler hey had no desire o revive heNazi movemen Moreover several of he foremos Holocaus de-niers including Arhur Buz Fred Leucher and Bradley Smihdid no have any discernible righ-wing views or affiliaions be-fore hey ook up wih he Holocaus denial movemen Bu be-cause he Holocaus denial movemen as a whole was predomi-

nanly composed of righ-wing anisemies calling hem ou for belonging o ha ideology was a convenien way of conveying ohe American people he disingenuousness and mendaciousnessof heir aemp o deny he exisence of gas chambers

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1013

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983094

Te 983113983112983122 and he consellaion of deniers who surrounded i was a hybrid mixure of neo-Nazis whie naionaliss conspiracyheoriss and anisemies I produced pro-Hiler revisionis his-ory as well as sophisicaed argumens agains he exisence ofgas chambers mass shooings and oher aspecs of Holocaushisory

Te 983089983097983096983088s and 983089983097983097983088s were he golden age of Holocaus denial inhe Unied Saes By his ime he 983113983112983122 had refined is argumenso he poin ha is leadership fel i could ake is message o he

broader public As he 983113983112983122 launched is oureach campaigns hemainsream US media and he US public learned of he exis-ence of Holocaus denial

Beginning in he 983089983097983096983088s he 983113983112983122 and is allies launched severalsuns and oureach campaigns designed o increase he pub-licrsquos exposure o Holocaus denial In 983089983097983096983088 he 983113983112983122 sponsored a983076983093983088983088983088983088 challenge o anyone who could prove ha Jews had beengassed a Auschwiz A Holocaus survivor named Mel Mermel-

sein ook up he challenge which resuled in a lawsui covered bynewspapers in Los Angeles (where he sui ook place) as well as

by wire services he New York imes and he Washington Post23 983113983112983122 pamphles and oher Holocaus-denying lieraure were dis-ribued a public libraries and Holocaus deniers atemped o

book meeing rooms on college campuses and in public librariessomeimes atracing significan conroversy24

One of he mos imporan promoers of Holocaus denial inhe Unied Saes was Bradley Smih In 983089983097983096983092 Smih who hadearlier aspired o become a journalis bu had become enamoredof Holocaus denial aer reading he work of Rober Faurissonconvinced 983113983112983122 leaders o underwrie a newsleter o journalissarguing ha he Holocaus never happened and urging hem o

wrie sories abou i He received virually no responses from

ha enerprise so in 983089983097983096983094 he became he firs direcor of he 983113983112983122rsquosRadio Projecmdashquickly rebranded as he Media Projecmdashin

which he atemped o bring he message of Holocaus denial o

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1113

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983095

radio and elevision broadcass Smih claims o have done overfour hundred inerviews during ha period alhough ha num-

ber canno be verified25

In 983089983097983097983089 Smih hi on a sraegy ha would caapul Holocausdenial o a much larger audience He creaed he Commitee onOpen Debae on he Holocaus (983107983119983108983119983112) whose mission waso place adverisemens denying he Nazi genocide of European

Jewry in college suden newspapers Smih hoped ha he na- iumlveeacute of college sudens would make hem more likely o accephis propaganda bu his effors paid off in anoher way he lo-cal conroversies ha eruped when college newspaper ediors wresled wih he decision of wheher o publish Smihrsquos adshemselves atraced inense coverage in regional and naionalmedia26 Smih even appeared on he elevision newsmagazine 983092983096Hours on February 983090983094 983089983097983097983090 where he ried o convince a naionalaudience ha ldquohere was no plan o exerminae he Jews of Eu-rope no order no budge no weaponmdashha is no exerminaion

gas chamber and no vicim Tis false sory is mainained bya cabal largely of Jewish organizaionsrdquo27 wo years laer Smihand an associae debaed Michael Shermer he edior of Skeptic magazine on Phil Donahuersquos elevision show28

Te legal batles of Erns Zundel in Canada whose Holocausdenial was being prosecued for violaing he counryrsquos FalseNews laws also resuled in significan media coverage of ldquorevi-

sionisrdquo heories in he Unied Saes In a segmen covering heHolocaus denial phenomenon on he March 983090983088 983089983097983097983092 ediionof he elevision newsmagazine 983094983088 Minutes Zundel allowed haHiler had his ldquofoiblesrdquo including ha he ldquodidnrsquo paricularly like

Jewsrdquo bu ha no more han 983091983088983088983088983088983088 Jews died during World War II Clips of Bradley Smih also appeared in ha segmen29

In he lae 983089983097983097983088s Holocaus denial again became a media phe-

nomenon wih US coverage of he 983089983097983097983094 lawsui filed by Briishhisorian David Irving agains American academic Deborah Lip-sad aer she described him as a Holocaus denier Alhough he

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1213

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983096

lawsui was liigaed in he Unied Kingdom major US newspa-pers and wire services covered he rial

Te concep ha here was room o doub he sandard hisoryof he Holocaus coninued o appear in he media in oher formsas well Conservaive columnis Pa Buchanan quesioned henoion ha gas chambers a reblinka could have been used okill Jews again provoking media conroversy30

Te repeaed references o Holocaus denial in US media inhe 983089983097983096983088s and 983089983097983097983088s exposed average Americans of he firs sec-ond and hird generaions born aer World War II ha here

were hose who dispued he realiy of he Holocaus abou whichhey had learned in school or seen porrayed in many moviessuch as Claude Lanzmannrsquos Shoah (983089983097983096983093) and Seven SpielbergrsquosSchindlerrsquos List (983089983097983097983091)31 I recall waching an evening newscason he subjec of Holocaus denial in he 983089983097983096983088s I have a vividmemory of he news anchor earnesly warning his viewers ha al-hough here are hose who deny he Holocaus here are moun-

ains of evidence ha he Holocaus indeed happened I was aremarkable deparure from regular journalism and in rerospecI hink i spoke o a growing awareness of he exisence of Holo-caus deniers among mainsream Americans

Alhough awareness of Holocaus denial swep hrough parsof he US during hese wo decades he connecion ha manyof he deniers had o righ-wing exremism made i easier for

heir opponens o discredi hem Jewish organizaions and aca-demics generally did no engage hem on he subsance of heirspurious ldquohisoricalrdquo claims preferring insead o focus on heirgeneral sympahy for Hiler heir racism and heir anisemiismime and again i was poined ou ha if he deniers were noNazis like Leon Degrelle hey were neo-Nazis like David Mc-Calden Willis Caro and Mark Weber If hey were no neo-

Nazis hey were righ-wing exremiss raciss and anisemiespredisposed o vindicaing Hiler and obviously having a moivefor discouning he desrucion of European Jewry Te Ani-

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1313

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983097

Defamaion League famously described Holocaus deniers asldquoHilerrsquos apologissrdquo and included profiles of he mos imporandeniers in is publicaions on righ-wing exremism Te Ameri-can Jewish Commitee made his approach even more explici ina publicaion on Holocaus denial published in 983089983097983097983091 ldquoHolocausdeniers crave legiimacy above all else As long as hey are seenas neo-Nazi hacks and no scholars heir ask is harder Tedeniersrsquo claims can and mus be debunkedmdashno wih debae bu

wih exposeacute I is imporan ha people know ha deniers wan o rehabiliae Nazism and creae a new world order basedon he Tird Reichrdquo32 Tis unequivocal formulaion while cer-ainly rue of he pro-Nazi Holocaus deniers of he 983089983097983093983088s and983089983097983094983088s and of some of he neo-Nazi Holocaus deniers of he 983089983097983096983088sand 983089983097983097983088s was no necessarily rue of many oher Holocaus de-niers Te armchair pseudo-hisorians and conspiracy heoriss

who became par of he Holocaus denial movemen were almoscerainly anisemies and ani-Zioniss bu alhough hey were

ineresed in recasing he hisory of World War II and perhapsrehabiliaing he image of Hiler hey had no desire o revive heNazi movemen Moreover several of he foremos Holocaus de-niers including Arhur Buz Fred Leucher and Bradley Smihdid no have any discernible righ-wing views or affiliaions be-fore hey ook up wih he Holocaus denial movemen Bu be-cause he Holocaus denial movemen as a whole was predomi-

nanly composed of righ-wing anisemies calling hem ou for belonging o ha ideology was a convenien way of conveying ohe American people he disingenuousness and mendaciousnessof heir aemp o deny he exisence of gas chambers

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1113

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983095

radio and elevision broadcass Smih claims o have done overfour hundred inerviews during ha period alhough ha num-

ber canno be verified25

In 983089983097983097983089 Smih hi on a sraegy ha would caapul Holocausdenial o a much larger audience He creaed he Commitee onOpen Debae on he Holocaus (983107983119983108983119983112) whose mission waso place adverisemens denying he Nazi genocide of European

Jewry in college suden newspapers Smih hoped ha he na- iumlveeacute of college sudens would make hem more likely o accephis propaganda bu his effors paid off in anoher way he lo-cal conroversies ha eruped when college newspaper ediors wresled wih he decision of wheher o publish Smihrsquos adshemselves atraced inense coverage in regional and naionalmedia26 Smih even appeared on he elevision newsmagazine 983092983096Hours on February 983090983094 983089983097983097983090 where he ried o convince a naionalaudience ha ldquohere was no plan o exerminae he Jews of Eu-rope no order no budge no weaponmdashha is no exerminaion

gas chamber and no vicim Tis false sory is mainained bya cabal largely of Jewish organizaionsrdquo27 wo years laer Smihand an associae debaed Michael Shermer he edior of Skeptic magazine on Phil Donahuersquos elevision show28

Te legal batles of Erns Zundel in Canada whose Holocausdenial was being prosecued for violaing he counryrsquos FalseNews laws also resuled in significan media coverage of ldquorevi-

sionisrdquo heories in he Unied Saes In a segmen covering heHolocaus denial phenomenon on he March 983090983088 983089983097983097983092 ediionof he elevision newsmagazine 983094983088 Minutes Zundel allowed haHiler had his ldquofoiblesrdquo including ha he ldquodidnrsquo paricularly like

Jewsrdquo bu ha no more han 983091983088983088983088983088983088 Jews died during World War II Clips of Bradley Smih also appeared in ha segmen29

In he lae 983089983097983097983088s Holocaus denial again became a media phe-

nomenon wih US coverage of he 983089983097983097983094 lawsui filed by Briishhisorian David Irving agains American academic Deborah Lip-sad aer she described him as a Holocaus denier Alhough he

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1213

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983096

lawsui was liigaed in he Unied Kingdom major US newspa-pers and wire services covered he rial

Te concep ha here was room o doub he sandard hisoryof he Holocaus coninued o appear in he media in oher formsas well Conservaive columnis Pa Buchanan quesioned henoion ha gas chambers a reblinka could have been used okill Jews again provoking media conroversy30

Te repeaed references o Holocaus denial in US media inhe 983089983097983096983088s and 983089983097983097983088s exposed average Americans of he firs sec-ond and hird generaions born aer World War II ha here

were hose who dispued he realiy of he Holocaus abou whichhey had learned in school or seen porrayed in many moviessuch as Claude Lanzmannrsquos Shoah (983089983097983096983093) and Seven SpielbergrsquosSchindlerrsquos List (983089983097983097983091)31 I recall waching an evening newscason he subjec of Holocaus denial in he 983089983097983096983088s I have a vividmemory of he news anchor earnesly warning his viewers ha al-hough here are hose who deny he Holocaus here are moun-

ains of evidence ha he Holocaus indeed happened I was aremarkable deparure from regular journalism and in rerospecI hink i spoke o a growing awareness of he exisence of Holo-caus deniers among mainsream Americans

Alhough awareness of Holocaus denial swep hrough parsof he US during hese wo decades he connecion ha manyof he deniers had o righ-wing exremism made i easier for

heir opponens o discredi hem Jewish organizaions and aca-demics generally did no engage hem on he subsance of heirspurious ldquohisoricalrdquo claims preferring insead o focus on heirgeneral sympahy for Hiler heir racism and heir anisemiismime and again i was poined ou ha if he deniers were noNazis like Leon Degrelle hey were neo-Nazis like David Mc-Calden Willis Caro and Mark Weber If hey were no neo-

Nazis hey were righ-wing exremiss raciss and anisemiespredisposed o vindicaing Hiler and obviously having a moivefor discouning he desrucion of European Jewry Te Ani-

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1313

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983097

Defamaion League famously described Holocaus deniers asldquoHilerrsquos apologissrdquo and included profiles of he mos imporandeniers in is publicaions on righ-wing exremism Te Ameri-can Jewish Commitee made his approach even more explici ina publicaion on Holocaus denial published in 983089983097983097983091 ldquoHolocausdeniers crave legiimacy above all else As long as hey are seenas neo-Nazi hacks and no scholars heir ask is harder Tedeniersrsquo claims can and mus be debunkedmdashno wih debae bu

wih exposeacute I is imporan ha people know ha deniers wan o rehabiliae Nazism and creae a new world order basedon he Tird Reichrdquo32 Tis unequivocal formulaion while cer-ainly rue of he pro-Nazi Holocaus deniers of he 983089983097983093983088s and983089983097983094983088s and of some of he neo-Nazi Holocaus deniers of he 983089983097983096983088sand 983089983097983097983088s was no necessarily rue of many oher Holocaus de-niers Te armchair pseudo-hisorians and conspiracy heoriss

who became par of he Holocaus denial movemen were almoscerainly anisemies and ani-Zioniss bu alhough hey were

ineresed in recasing he hisory of World War II and perhapsrehabiliaing he image of Hiler hey had no desire o revive heNazi movemen Moreover several of he foremos Holocaus de-niers including Arhur Buz Fred Leucher and Bradley Smihdid no have any discernible righ-wing views or affiliaions be-fore hey ook up wih he Holocaus denial movemen Bu be-cause he Holocaus denial movemen as a whole was predomi-

nanly composed of righ-wing anisemies calling hem ou for belonging o ha ideology was a convenien way of conveying ohe American people he disingenuousness and mendaciousnessof heir aemp o deny he exisence of gas chambers

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1213

983105 983154 983161983141983144 983124983157983139983144 983149983137 983150983091983093983096

lawsui was liigaed in he Unied Kingdom major US newspa-pers and wire services covered he rial

Te concep ha here was room o doub he sandard hisoryof he Holocaus coninued o appear in he media in oher formsas well Conservaive columnis Pa Buchanan quesioned henoion ha gas chambers a reblinka could have been used okill Jews again provoking media conroversy30

Te repeaed references o Holocaus denial in US media inhe 983089983097983096983088s and 983089983097983097983088s exposed average Americans of he firs sec-ond and hird generaions born aer World War II ha here

were hose who dispued he realiy of he Holocaus abou whichhey had learned in school or seen porrayed in many moviessuch as Claude Lanzmannrsquos Shoah (983089983097983096983093) and Seven SpielbergrsquosSchindlerrsquos List (983089983097983097983091)31 I recall waching an evening newscason he subjec of Holocaus denial in he 983089983097983096983088s I have a vividmemory of he news anchor earnesly warning his viewers ha al-hough here are hose who deny he Holocaus here are moun-

ains of evidence ha he Holocaus indeed happened I was aremarkable deparure from regular journalism and in rerospecI hink i spoke o a growing awareness of he exisence of Holo-caus deniers among mainsream Americans

Alhough awareness of Holocaus denial swep hrough parsof he US during hese wo decades he connecion ha manyof he deniers had o righ-wing exremism made i easier for

heir opponens o discredi hem Jewish organizaions and aca-demics generally did no engage hem on he subsance of heirspurious ldquohisoricalrdquo claims preferring insead o focus on heirgeneral sympahy for Hiler heir racism and heir anisemiismime and again i was poined ou ha if he deniers were noNazis like Leon Degrelle hey were neo-Nazis like David Mc-Calden Willis Caro and Mark Weber If hey were no neo-

Nazis hey were righ-wing exremiss raciss and anisemiespredisposed o vindicaing Hiler and obviously having a moivefor discouning he desrucion of European Jewry Te Ani-

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1313

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983097

Defamaion League famously described Holocaus deniers asldquoHilerrsquos apologissrdquo and included profiles of he mos imporandeniers in is publicaions on righ-wing exremism Te Ameri-can Jewish Commitee made his approach even more explici ina publicaion on Holocaus denial published in 983089983097983097983091 ldquoHolocausdeniers crave legiimacy above all else As long as hey are seenas neo-Nazi hacks and no scholars heir ask is harder Tedeniersrsquo claims can and mus be debunkedmdashno wih debae bu

wih exposeacute I is imporan ha people know ha deniers wan o rehabiliae Nazism and creae a new world order basedon he Tird Reichrdquo32 Tis unequivocal formulaion while cer-ainly rue of he pro-Nazi Holocaus deniers of he 983089983097983093983088s and983089983097983094983088s and of some of he neo-Nazi Holocaus deniers of he 983089983097983096983088sand 983089983097983097983088s was no necessarily rue of many oher Holocaus de-niers Te armchair pseudo-hisorians and conspiracy heoriss

who became par of he Holocaus denial movemen were almoscerainly anisemies and ani-Zioniss bu alhough hey were

ineresed in recasing he hisory of World War II and perhapsrehabiliaing he image of Hiler hey had no desire o revive heNazi movemen Moreover several of he foremos Holocaus de-niers including Arhur Buz Fred Leucher and Bradley Smihdid no have any discernible righ-wing views or affiliaions be-fore hey ook up wih he Holocaus denial movemen Bu be-cause he Holocaus denial movemen as a whole was predomi-

nanly composed of righ-wing anisemies calling hem ou for belonging o ha ideology was a convenien way of conveying ohe American people he disingenuousness and mendaciousnessof heir aemp o deny he exisence of gas chambers

8202019 Deciphering the New Antisemitism (excerpt)

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulldeciphering-the-new-antisemitism-excerpt 1313

983111983141983150983141983154 983137983156983145983151983150983137983148 983107983144983137983150983143983141983155 983145983150 983112983151983148983151983139983137983157983155983156 983108983141983150983145983137983148 983091983093983097

Defamaion League famously described Holocaus deniers asldquoHilerrsquos apologissrdquo and included profiles of he mos imporandeniers in is publicaions on righ-wing exremism Te Ameri-can Jewish Commitee made his approach even more explici ina publicaion on Holocaus denial published in 983089983097983097983091 ldquoHolocausdeniers crave legiimacy above all else As long as hey are seenas neo-Nazi hacks and no scholars heir ask is harder Tedeniersrsquo claims can and mus be debunkedmdashno wih debae bu

wih exposeacute I is imporan ha people know ha deniers wan o rehabiliae Nazism and creae a new world order basedon he Tird Reichrdquo32 Tis unequivocal formulaion while cer-ainly rue of he pro-Nazi Holocaus deniers of he 983089983097983093983088s and983089983097983094983088s and of some of he neo-Nazi Holocaus deniers of he 983089983097983096983088sand 983089983097983097983088s was no necessarily rue of many oher Holocaus de-niers Te armchair pseudo-hisorians and conspiracy heoriss

who became par of he Holocaus denial movemen were almoscerainly anisemies and ani-Zioniss bu alhough hey were

ineresed in recasing he hisory of World War II and perhapsrehabiliaing he image of Hiler hey had no desire o revive heNazi movemen Moreover several of he foremos Holocaus de-niers including Arhur Buz Fred Leucher and Bradley Smihdid no have any discernible righ-wing views or affiliaions be-fore hey ook up wih he Holocaus denial movemen Bu be-cause he Holocaus denial movemen as a whole was predomi-

nanly composed of righ-wing anisemies calling hem ou for belonging o ha ideology was a convenien way of conveying ohe American people he disingenuousness and mendaciousnessof heir aemp o deny he exisence of gas chambers