Armchair Antisemites: a History of the Institute for Historical Review
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ARMCHAIR ANTISEMITES: A HISTORY OF THE INSTITUTE FOR HISTORICAL REVIEW JAMIE POLESKY SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTERS OF HISTORY NIPISSING UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES NORTH BAY, ONTARIO © Jamie Polesky, April 2015 ii Abstract This Major Research Paper (MRP) explores the history of Holocaust denial through the US denial organization, the Institute for Historical Review (IHR). It examines from where denial emerged, how the institute formed in the United States, and the individual motivations that encouraged IHR members to join the institute. It also comments on how Middle Eastern anti-Zionists have embraced the IHR’s ideas and methods. Using the IHR as an example, this MRP uses a social profile examining key members’ dates of birth, countries of birth, occupation, education, and political affiliations in order to compare and contrast their social backgrounds. The profile also provides insight into the discussion of denier motivation. Ultimately this paper argues that while situated in the US, the IHR represents a culmination of a history of antisemitism and Holocaust denial that began in Europe, and is now moving to receptive Middle Eastern audiences. iii Acknowledgments I owe thanks to many people who have provided assistance throughout this project’s duration. First, I want to thank my family for their endless love and encouragement. I would also like to thank Nipissing University, the graduate studies department, and the history department for providing the tools necessary to complete this project. Thank you to my classmates for the constant support during the school year, particularly Rachel Loewen and Peter Brath. I also want to thank Rory Currie for reading several drafts and providing very helpful suggestions. I am very grateful for the insightful comments from Christopher Browning and Michael Shermer. I appreciate that they took the time to respond to my e-mails. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Dr. Stephen Connor who spent a great deal of time with the final revisions and really helped focus my paper. Finally, and most importantly, I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Hilary Earl for the countless hours spent helping turn this paper into something of which to be proud. Without her constant support I would not have made it this far and I owe my success to her. iv Table of Contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... iv Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 Organizational History of the IHR................................................................................................ 5 A Note on Sources ........................................................................................................................ 9 Literature Review ....................................................................................................................... 10 Debating Deniers ........................................................................................................................ 14 Origins of Modern Western Antisemitism ................................................................................. 16 Nazis and Holocaust Deniers ...................................................................................................... 17 French Antisemitism .................................................................................................................. 18 Origins of Holocaust Denial ....................................................................................................... 20 The Rise of the IHR .................................................................................................................... 23 The IHR as an American Institution ........................................................................................... 25 David Irving vs. Deborah Lipstadt and Penguin Books ............................................................. 29 Middle Eastern Denial ................................................................................................................ 33 Holocaust Denial, Free Speech, and the IHR ............................................................................. 34 Who are the producers of denial and why do they matter? ….................................................... 35 i. Social Profile .......................................................................................... 37 ii. Education ................................................................................................ 38 What Motivates Deniers? i. Opportunism ............................................................................................41 ii. Search for Acceptance ............................................................................ 47 iii. True Believers and Antisemitism ........................................................... 49 iv. Germanophilia ........................................................................................ 52 “The Written Matter and the Spoken Word” ............................................................................. 58 Conclusion: The Collective Why and Why this Matters? ......................................................... 59 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 64 v 1 Introduction In 2006 Holocaust deniers from around the world gathered in Tehran, Iran at the “International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust,” or what commentators referred to as the “Holocaust denial conference.”1 According to Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki the conference convened “to provide an appropriate scientific atmosphere for scholars to offer their opinions in freedom about an historical issue.”2 Sixty- seven people from 30 countries including the United States, Canada, Germany, and France presented papers, lectures and speeches in which they discussed the “supposed gas chambers” and the “alleged final solution.”3 Collectively, their views reflected then-Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s contention that it is a “myth” that Nazi Germany systematically killed six million Jews, and furthermore, that Israeli leaders utilized the Holocaust to justify a “fake regime.”4 Although governments and the media in several countries lambasted the conference, describing it as a “disgrace” and an “affront to the entire civilized world[,]” the ideas presented at the conference were neither original nor surprising.5 Middle Eastern anti-Zionists countries, as in those opposed to a Jewish homeland, adopted Holocaust denial as another weapon against Israel and a means to challenge the state’s legitimacy. Ahmadinejad and his ilk believe that denying the Holocaust both delegitimizes Israel and justifies attacks against it. To Ahmadinejad, no Holocaust means no Israel. As such, for Israel and many Jews, Holocaust denial represents an existential crisis. Jewish existence in the Middle East is threatened when powerful people adopt Holocaust denial as a tool to delegitimize Israel. 1 “Iran Hosts Anti-Semitic Hatefest in Tehran: About the Conference,” Anti Defamation League (ADL), (December 14, 2006). http://archive.adl.org/main_international_affairs/iran_holocaust_conference.html#.VC6kl75N3zI. (Accessed October 6, 2014). 2 Robert Tait, “Holocaust deniers gather in Iran for ‘scientific’ conference,” The Guardian, (December 12, 2006). http://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/dec/12/iran.israel. (Accessed October 7, 2014). 3 Ibid. 4 “Iran Hosts Anti-Semitic Hatefest in Tehran,” ADL. 5 Ali Akbar Dareini, “Iran President: Israel Will Be Wiped Out,” The Washington Post, (December 12, 2006). http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/12/AR2006121200504.html. (Accessed October 6, 2014). 2 Although the conference took place in Iran, people from around the world attended, including members from the American Holocaust denial organization the Institute for Historical Review (IHR). The three IHR members in attendance were ex-French literature professor Robert Faurisson, British author David Irving, and Frederick Töben, founder of the Holocaust denial organization the Adelaide Institute. Their attendance is not surprising. Ahmadinejad and other Middle Eastern deniers began consulting with IHR members and referencing IHR material as early as the 1980s, but more so in the late 1990s and early 2000s.6 As such, the Tehran conference was a reflection of how Middle Eastern deniers adopted the so-called “scientific” approach to studying the Holocaust.7 More importantly, it reflected the IHR’s seemingly academic approach to denial. While Middle Eastern Holocaust denial is greatly based on the response to the political conflict between Israel and Palestine, the IHR’s style of seemingly academic denial emerges from a completely different context. In Europe and the United States, a group of deniers exists, including those in the IHR who, unlike those in the Middle East, are without influence in politics or media. These men, there are few active female deniers, wear cardigans and ties and sit with the like-minded, sharing work that does not, on cursory examination, immediately appear