Deniers of the Holocaust: Who They Are, What They Do, Why They Do It

"There are two sides to every argument. However, the two sides are not always equal in truth, motive, or goodwill," declares Ted Gottfried. The author's succinctly written work admirably serves as an introduction to the bizarre phenomenon of holocaust denial. The art work of Stephen Alcorn beautifully compliments Gottfried's efforts to explain why many persist to believe the Nazi holocaust never occurred. Regardless of the overwhelming evidence, these anti-Semites rationalize away their disbelief by offering excuses that border on madness. No implausible conspiracy theory is avoided if it assists in maligning Jews and others deemed a threat to the Aryan majority. Some like the highly credentialled historian David Irving should know better. He is a well educated man who should laugh at the assertions of the deniers. Nonetheless, this self described "moderate fascist" goes so far as to reject all holocaust survivor testimony as instances of psychiatric illness. Irving's particular circumstances compel a democratic culture to distinguish between the freedom to publish, and the right to be taken seriously. A free society may have to permit Irving's weird ideas to enter the public debate, but he has no right to demand respect for such inept scholarship.The holocaust deniers believe that the Jews deserve punishment for their alleged betrayal of their respective homelands. They ironically argue that while the holocaust never happened, the Jews still deserved to be punished for their misdeeds. Ludicrous myths about the supposed duplicity and back stabbing behavior of the Jews contributed greatly to the beginnings of the Nazi "final solution." Moral relativists attempt to minimize the horror of the Nazi holocaust by comparing it other atrocities. Gottfried right fires back pointing out that two wrongs don't make a right. The author alerts us to the relatively new phenomenon of numerous Internet sites devoted to hate. Also, major prominent politicians such as Austrian Jorg Haider praise many former Third Reich policies. The book's only glaring weakness is its ignoring of the negative impact of holocaust denial theories on the Islamic militants. This is especially frightening after the attacks of 9/11. I'm sure that Ted Gottfried will make up for this oversight in a future work. "Deniers of the Holocaust" is a worthy addition to the area of your library devoted to holocaust studies.