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He sued her for defamation in the high court, alleging, correctly enough, that what she had written damaged his reputation as a popular writer on Nazi Germany and the Second World War. Moreover, I had to swear in court that I had written my report objectively and without any fear or favour, and sign an affidavit to the same effect. Together with my team of researchers, I discovered a huge number of manipulations and falsifications of the historical record in his work, with words inserted into or taken out of documents where they were not present in the original, mistranslations, mistranscriptions, misdatings and much more besides. But the effect was anything but random, indicating that the mistakes were deliberate and not accidental. All of this can Denial: Holocaust History on Trial read in the transcripts of the trial, available online, and in my book Telling Lies About Hitler Verso, The case received massive and worldwide publicity and became the subject of several books apart from my own. It had a powerful educative effect, as all the newspapers carried detailed reports of the factual aspects of the Holocaust, Auschwitz, the gas chambers and the role of Hitler in ordering the extermination of the Jews. That got his attention. He got up and I explained who I was. He remembered the occasion. Not long after this, Ridley Scott started to Denial: Holocaust History on Trial together a movie on the case, commissioning the playwright Ronald Harwood to write a screenplay. Harwood had just won an Oscar for The Pianist and knew a lot about the Nazi period, which he had covered in a number of plays and movies. As someone who was present for most of the three-month Irving trial, I can testify to the fact that trials are mostly tedious in the extreme, with lengthy periods of acute boredom punctuated only briefly by the occasional moment of high drama. These were very few and far between in the Irving v Lipstadt case. Also, there was no individual, personal story on which to hang the action. Movies need a human figure or figures on which to focus and with whom the audience can identify, and in a large and complex legal action there seemed to be nobody who could fit the bill. The book is her own, very personal, account of the trial, beginning with her consternation at being served with an English high court writ, and going on to depict her Denial: Holocaust History on Trial with the lawyers who handled her defence, the solicitor Anthony Julius and the barrister Richard Rampton in the lead. Lipstadt described in detail, often movingly, the frightening experience of a lone author with little or no means being sued for a large sum of money, and facing a complete loss of academic reputation if she Denial: Holocaust History on Trial. He came to see me as part of a series of interviews of participants in the Irving v Lipstadt trial and, as his assistant took copious notes, we talked for two hours about my memories and impressions of a case that now lay more than a decade in the past. In the film we see her shocked and dismayed when the writ is so unexpectedly served, and we follow her determination to defend herself in court as she makes her way to London. Once there, she is shocked all over again when Julius and Rampton tell her she will not be allowed to go onto the witness stand or indeed to say anything at all either inside the courtroom or outside it until the trial is over. Anything that distracted from this would allow him to shift this focus away and muddy the waters. The burden of the defence must rest on the contributions of the expert witnesses, they declare. Reluctantly, Deborah Lipstadt agrees. As we set to work on going through his writings, we became progressively more astonished at what we found. None of this sense of outraged surprise made it through to the movie. When Van Pelt arrived Denial: Holocaust History on Trial Canada, heavily jet-lagged, and took the witness stand, Irving ambushed him towards the end of the day with a specious point that would have taken a good deal of time to refute, much to our consternation. In addition, since movies of course need a touch of glamour, the role of Laura Tyler, a young paralegal assistant who helped prepare and organise the defence, is strengthened by scenes from her private life. The courtroom scenes are taken directly from the trial transcripts, as they ultimately had to be. Some of the dialogue surrounding the trial is invented, and the personality traits of some Denial: Holocaust History on Trial the characters are exaggerated Richard Rampton, for example, was, and is, a bit of a wine buff, but to have him appearing in virtually every scene outside the courtroom clutching a bottle of claret seemed to be rather over the top. But none of this, apart from the initial remarks of myself and my researchers at the preparatory conference, seems to me to betray the essence of what the trial was about or Denial: Holocaust History on Trial it was fought. Her allegations also affected his earnings, since his reputation was built not only on his racy and readable prose style but also on his claim to have discovered more original sources and to be more accurate and thorough than other historians were. That is where I came in. In the event, I found that Irving was indeed a Holocaust denier, at least after the late s. If Irving had merely Denial: Holocaust History on Trial careless, then his mistakes of fact and quotation would have had a random effect on his arguments, some telling for them, some against. The trial was also the subject of a hastily put together drama-documentary on Channel 4 television, in which I appeared in the witness box as an old man with a Denial: Holocaust History on Trial beard, which was evidently what the television people thought Cambridge professors Denial: Holocaust History on Trial like. Some time later, however, there was a more considered documentary on BBC Two, Holocaust on Trialfor which the producers phoned me up beforehand to ask me my age, height, weight and hair colour, with a view to casting an actor who at least looked vaguely like me. The programme was an effective and intelligent mix of archive footage, talking heads and courtroom scenes. Media interest in the case did not die down after the broadcast. The problem, I guess, was that it is notoriously difficult to make courtroom dramas work on the big screen. I told him I felt by this time that it had been a kind of black comedy: it was an action that should never have been brought, with many absurdities Holocaust denial being the most obvious, but Denial: Holocaust History on Trial no means the only oneat the same time as it dealt with the most profound and disturbing of historical issues. Hare commented that everyone he had talked to had Denial: Holocaust History on Trial the trial in a different light. As the two lawyers explain in the film — with the stiff-upper-lip Britishness contrasted with American brashness — the aim of the defence is Denial: Holocaust History on Trial focus exclusively on Irving and his writings and speeches. In a series of meetings to prepare for the trial we assembled a starry cast of experts including Christopher Browning, the leading American specialist on the Holocaust, Robert Jan van Pelt, the Dutch-Canadian historian of Auschwitz and its buildings, and Peter Longerich, author of the major German work in the field. David Hare reduced this team to just Van Pelt and myself. What it did do very well was to transform the tedious and often pedantic detail of the courtroom proceedings into a brief and dramatic summary. In fact, Van Pelt recovered strongly the next day, though this does not really come across on the screen. Perhaps all this means is that indeed, as David Hare had pointed out to me, everyone involved in the trial had a different perspective on it. Understandable though her anxieties were in retrospect, none of us on the defence side had the slightest doubt that we would win; the only question was by how much. Overall, the film is, I think, true to the spirit and mostly also true to the letter of the whole affair. The movie also — perhaps inevitably — plays on the familiar stereotypes of the feisty American and the restrained Brit. Professor Richard J Evans was regius professor of history at the University of Cambridge from until his retirement in What the film did very well was to transform the tedious and often pedantic detail of the courtroom proceedings Denial: Holocaust History on Trial a brief and dramatic summary. Your guide to the Roman empire: when it was formed, why it split and how it failed, plus its most colourful emperors. More on: United Kingdom. You may like. Second World War. The big questions of the Holocaust. How has public memory of the Holocaust changed over the years? The long shadow of Adolf Hitler. New views on the Holocaust and s Britain. Holocaust Denial On Trial: The Real Story Of Irving V Lipstadt In 'Denial' - HistoryExtra

The court ruled that Irving's claim of libel relating to Holocaust denial was not valid under English defamation law because Lipstadt's claim that he had deliberately distorted evidence had been shown to be substantially true. English libel law puts the burden of proof on the defence, meaning that it was up to Lipstadt and her publisher to prove that her claims of Irving's deliberate misrepresentation of evidence to conform to his ideological viewpoints were substantially true. Richard J. Evansan established historian, was hired by the defence to serve as an expert witness. Evans spent two years examining Irving's work, and presented evidence of Irving's misrepresentations, including evidence that Irving had knowingly used forged Denial: Holocaust History on Trial as source material. Of utmost importance was the role played by another expert witness for the defence, the Holocaust historian Christopher Browning. Upon mutual agreement, [6] the case was argued as a bench trial before Mr. Justice Graywho produced a written judgment pages long in favour of the defendants, in which he detailed Irving's systematic distortion of the historical record of the Holocaust and Hitler's role therein. One of the passages Irving later objected to was:. Irving is one of the most dangerous spokespersons for Holocaust denial. Familiar with historical evidence, he bends it until it conforms with his ideological leanings and political agenda. A man who is convinced that Britain's great decline was accelerated by its decision to go to war Denial: Holocaust History on Trial Germany, he Denial: Holocaust History on Trial most facile at taking accurate information and shaping it to confirm his conclusions. A review of his recent book, Churchill's Warwhich appeared in New York Review of Booksaccurately analyzed his practice of applying a double standard of evidence. He demands "absolute documentary proof" when it comes to proving the Germans guilty, but he relies on highly circumstantial evidence to condemn the Allies. This is an accurate description not only of Irving's tactics, but of those of deniers in general. Lipstadt ignored Irving, despite his repeated attempts to draw her into a debate. On 5 SeptemberIrving filed a libel suit concerning Lipstadt's book in English court. He named in his suit Lipstadt and Penguin Bookswhose division Plume had published a British edition of her book. In her book, Denying the HolocaustLipstadt called Irving a Holocaust denier and falsifier, as well as a bigot, and wrote that he manipulated and distorted real documents. Irving claimed to have been libelled on the grounds that Lipstadt had falsely labelled him a Holocaust denier and falsely claimed that he had falsified evidence or deliberately misinterpreted it, by which false accusations his reputation as an historian was defamed. He was able to file the lawsuit in England because the book was published there beforeif Irving had wished to sue Lipstadt, he would have had to launch his legal action in an American court; English libel law applies only to alleged acts of libel committed in England and Wales. As explained by the trial judge, Mr Justice Gray. Defamatory words are presumed under English law to be untrue. It is not incumbent on defendants to prove the truth of every detail of the defamatory words published: what has to be proved is the substantial truth of the defamatory imputations published about the claimant. As it is sometimes expressed, what must be proved is the truth of the sting of the defamatory charges made. Irving's decision to file his lawsuit in the English courts gave him the upper hand Denial: Holocaust History on Trial shifting the burden of proof. Under American libel lawa public figure who claims to have been libelled must prove that the statements in question are defamatory and false, and were made with actual malice or with reckless disregard for their truth or falsity. Reliance on reliable sources even if they prove false is a valid defence. English Denial: Holocaust History on Trial law requires only that the claimant show that the statements are defamatory. The burden of proof falls on the defendant to prove that the statements Denial: Holocaust History on Trial substantially true and reliance on sources is irrelevant. Lipstadt feared that such a verdict would confer legitimacy upon Irving's claims and felt compelled to defend herself. To succeed with a justification defencethe defence would need to prove as substantially true all of the defamatory claims made by Lipstadt against Irving. The judge understood these claims to be. Lipstadt hired the British solicitor Anthony Julius to present her case. Together they briefed the libel barrister, Richard Rampton QC. Penguin also instructed Heather Rogers as junior barrister. Penguin knew that they were going to have to dig deep to defend against Irving's claims. Lipstadt's claims would need to be backed up by experts and Penguin would foot the bill, retaining Professor Richard J. Van Pelt, Browning and Longerich were assigned to the first part. Funke wrote a report for the second and Evans the third. The lawyers for Lipstadt Mishcon de Reya and Penguin Davenport Lyons worked closely, for the most part agreeing on the way to deal with the claim. One minor setback came when Penguin and their lawyers Davenport Lyons were keen that the information provided by the experts they had instructed be incorporated in an amended defence which Heather Rogers drafted. Initially Mishcon were unpersuaded but Davenport Lyons were insistent, feeling that the amended document provided a clear statement of the strong evidence against Irving. The decision was eventually left to Richard Rampton and Heather Rogers as they would be presenting the case Denial: Holocaust History on Trial both were in favour of amending; Mishcon relented. The testimony of van Pelt and Evans proved to be the most substantial. During cross-examination, Irving was unable to undermine either Evans, who had been highly critical of his scholarship or van Pelt, whose report concentrated on the evidence that contradicted the holocaust deniers' arguments about Auschwitz Birkenau. Evans was assisted by two postgraduates as researchers Thomas Skelton-Robinson and Nik Wachsmann ; Evans and his students took 18 months to write a page report, finishing it in the summer of He also suggested to Penguin that they keep any terms confidential because he had no intention of settling with Lipstadt. Bays and Bateman made clear that the publisher rejected his terms. Lipstadt Denial: Holocaust History on Trial her lawyers to reject the offer. Lipstadt not to; D. Guttenplan 's book outlined how Penguin dismissed Irving for several reasons, including contempt for him and dismay over the certainty that the publisher would have been called by Lipstadt's lawyers as plaintiff advocates if they had settled the lawsuit. Evans and his two assistants Denial: Holocaust History on Trial more than two years examining Irving's work. This research found that Irving had misrepresented historical evidence to support his prejudices. In his report Denial: Holocaust History on Trial testimony, Evans suggested that in his view, Irving had knowingly used forged documents as sources, and that for this reason, Irving could not be regarded as a historian. His conclusions were that. Not one of [Irving's] books, speeches or articles, not one paragraph, not one sentence in any of them, can be taken on trust as an accurate representation of its historical subject. All of them are completely worthless as history, because Irving cannot be trusted anywhere, in any of them, to give a reliable account of what he is talking or writing about. During the trial, Evans was cross-examined by Irving. Guttenplan later wrote that the cross-examination of Evans by Irving contained a high degree of personal antagonism between the two men. It is because you want to interpret euphemisms as being literal and that is what the whole problem is. Every time there is an euphemism, Mr. That is part of InEvans described his impression of Irving after being cross-examined by him as "He [Irving] was a bit like a dim student who didn't listen. If he didn't get the answer he wanted, he just repeated the question. Longerich testified to the meaning of the often euphemistic language used by German officials during the war regarding the "Final Solution of the Jewish Question", and argued that from onwards, the term "resettlement in the East" was a metaphor for deportation to the death camps. During his testimony and a cross-examination by Irving, Browning countered Irving's suggestion that the last chapter of the Holocaust has yet to be written implying there were grounds for doubting the reality of the Holocaust by replying: "We are still discovering things about the Roman Empire. There is no last chapter in history. Browning testified that the Madagascar Plan of —41 was "fantastic" and "bizarre", but countered Irving's suggestion that this proves the alleged impossibility of the Holocaust by stating: " I do think they took it seriously. It is fantastic, but of course, Auschwitz is fantastic, too". They would have tried to implement it just as they tried to implement the Lublin reservation plan [Browning was referring to the Nisko Plan here] and just as they tried and succeeded in implementing the death camp plans. Browning categorically rejected Irving's claim that there was no reliable statistical information on the size of the pre-war Jewish population in Europe or on the killing processes and argued Denial: Holocaust History on Trial the only reason historians debate whether five or six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust is due to a lack of access to archives in the former Soviet Union. Browning responded to Irving's claim that because Browning had done work for the Yad Vashem centre in Jerusalem that made him an "Israeli agent" and thereby compromised his scholarly abilities by stating: "If that was the case, then since I had been at the [US] Holocaust Museum, I would also have been an agent of the American government, and since I have received scholarships in Germany, I would be an agent of the German government, so I must be a very duplicitous fellow to be able to follow these regimes. Robert Jan van Peltan architectural historian, was engaged by the defence as an expert witness. He prepared a page report, in which he examined the evidence for the existence of the gas chambers at Auschwitz. He also defended himself on cross-examination. Rampton and van Denial: Holocaust History on Trial had bonded on a trip to Auschwitz with Rogers and Bateman and they had spent hours talking through Irving's claims. Van Pelt took the three lawyers and Deborah Lipstadt around Birkenau showing them how Irving's claims were false and the mistake he had made about the physical layout. He later adapted the report he wrote into book form. In the trial, Irving represented himself. He called the American Kevin B. MacDonaldan evolutionary psychologistto testify on his behalf. Mayerwho Irving went to pains to point out was both a Marxist and a man who would have been considered Jewish in Nazi racial theory, in his book Why Did Denial: Holocaust History on Trial Heavens Not Darken? Irving also subpoenaed the diplomatic Denial: Holocaust History on Trial Donald Cameron Watt and the military historian John Keegan to testify in his case against Lipstadt; both men had refused an earlier offer to testify for Irving on their own and appeared to be very reluctant on the stand. Rather than focus on the defence's evidence against him, or on whether or not Lipstadt had defamed him, Irving seemed to focus mainly on his "right to free speech ". In his closing statement, Irving claimed to have been a victim of an international, mostly Jewish, conspiracy for more than three decades. The judgment was presented on 11 Aprilalthough the lawyers had received Denial: Holocaust History on Trial decision 24 hours earlier. The written judgment came out to pages. Having considered the various arguments advanced by Irving to assail the effect of the convergent evidence relied upon by the Defendants, Denial: Holocaust History on Trial is my conclusion that no objective, fair-minded Denial: Holocaust History on Trial would have serious cause to doubt that there were gas chambers at Auschwitz and that they were operated on a substantial scale to kill hundreds of thousands of Jews," [62] and "it follows that it is my conclusion that Irving's denials of these propositions were contrary to the evidence. Ultimately, the judge ruled that the defence succeeded in proving everything they claimed in trial but for two assertions: that Irving had broken an agreement with the Moscow archives and mishandled the glass plates containing Goebbels' diaries, and that he hung a portrait of Hitler above his desk. Irving has for his own ideological reasons persistently and deliberately misrepresented and manipulated historical evidence; that for the same reasons he has portrayed Hitler in an unwarrantedly favourable light, principally in relation to his attitude towards and Denial: Holocaust History on Trial for the treatment of the Jews; that he is an active Holocaust denier; that he is anti-Semitic and racist, and that he associates with right-wing extremists who promote neo-Nazism Irving subsequently appealed to the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal. In light of the evidence presented at the trial, a number of Irving's works that had previously escaped serious scrutiny were brought to public attention. He was also liable to pay all of the substantial costs of the trial between one and two million poundswhich ruined him financially and forced him into bankruptcy in InIrving pleaded guilty to the charge of denying the Holocaust in Austria, where Holocaust denial is a crime and where an arrest warrant was issued based on speeches he made in Irving knew that the warrant had been issued and that he was banned from Austria, but chose to go to Austria anyway. After he was arrested, Irving claimed in his plea that he changed his opinions on the Holocaust, "I said that then based on my knowledge Denial: Holocaust History on Trial the time, but by when I came across the Eichmann papers, I wasn't saying that anymore and I wouldn't say that now. The Nazis did murder millions of Jews. History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier by Deborah E. Lipstadt

From " Veronica Mars " to Rebecca take a look back at the career of Armie Hammer on and off the screen. See the full gallery. Lipstadt's Academy Award winner Rachel Weisz legal battle for historical truth against David Irving Cannes Award winner Timothy Spallwho accused her of libel when she declared Denial: Holocaust History on Trial a Holocaust denier. In the English legal system in Defamation, the burden of proof is Denial: Holocaust History on Trial the accused, therefore it was up to Lipstadt and her legal team to prove the essential truth that the Holocaust occurred. Producers are Gary Foster and Russ Krasnoff. Written by Bleecker Street. From the celebrated British playwright David Hare the film Denial is the prism through which the rigours of history are questioned and placed on trial, as is academia, the Denial: Holocaust History on Trial Criminal Justice System and its elitism. Indeed, the English Justice System is here compared to the American one with their opposing methodologies of ensuring justice is achieved. It subsequently pays homage to the English Justice System as imperfectly good. By that it's elitist, but democratic and fair according to the film's point of view that is! Academia is also put on trial by the film. This is accomplished by using British Holocaust denier, and Hitler fan David Irving as a tool by which truth is juxtaposed with postmodern ideas of truth as a subjective phenomena which needs questioning and re-interpreting. As such postmodern ideas of subjective truth of one's own interpretation of it as in this case 'history' is suggested as not merely corrupted but dangerous too. It can Denial: Holocaust History on Trial to all kinds of complications when we question truth! Other themes in this film include sexism, feminism, racism Zionism, and much more. This film is multilayered ad highly recommended for those who like to think! Looking for some great streaming picks? Check out some of the IMDb editors' favorites movies and shows Denial: Holocaust History on Trial round out your Watchlist. Visit our What to Watch page. Sign In. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Full Cast and Crew. Release Dates. Official Sites. Company Credits. Technical Specs. Plot Summary. Plot Keywords. Parents Guide. External Sites. User Reviews. User Ratings. External Reviews. Metacritic Reviews. Photo Gallery. Trailers and Videos. Crazy Credits. Alternate Versions. Rate This. Acclaimed writer and historian Deborah E. Lipstadt must battle for historical truth to prove the Holocaust actually occurred when David Irving, a renowned denier, sues her for libel. Director: Mick Jackson. LipstadtDavid Hare screenplay by. Added to Watchlist. From metacritic. The Denial: Holocaust History on Trial of Armie Hammer. Best Films of Movies I've Watched in Denial: Holocaust History on Trial this Rating Title: Denial 6. Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Another 2 nominations. Edit Cast Cast overview, first billed only: Rachel Weisz Deborah Lipstadt Tom Wilkinson Richard Rampton Timothy Spall David Irving Andrew Scott Anthony Julius Jack Lowden James Libson Caren Pistorius Laura Tyler Alex Jennings Sir Charles Gray Harriet Walter Vera Reich Mark Gatiss Richard Evans Nikki Amuka-Bird Libby Holbrook Pip Carter Anthony Forbes-Watson Jackie Clune Heather Rogers Will Attenborough Thomas Skelton-Robinson Max Befort Taglines: Based on a true story. Edit Did You Know? Trivia When Deborah visits Krakow the former capital city of Poland they hear the famous bugle call from St. Mary's Chapel Kosciol Mariacki in the main square. The call is played on the hour. The trumpeteer's call the "hejnal" is in remberance of the sentry who warned of the attack on Krakow from the oncoming Mongols with his bugle call. The call Denial: Holocaust History on Trial short suddenly and thus is interrupted as he is killed. The bugle call is played on the hour in his remembrance as he ultimately saved the city with his warning. It is not primarily to denote the time. Goofs The wrong BBC logo is used in the section of the film along with the wrong Channel 5 logo in the section. When Deborah Lipstadt is running, she passes a Clinton storefront also in the section. Quotes Richard Rampton : They're a strange thing consciences. Trouble is, what feels best isn't necessarily what works best. Connections Referenced in Film Episode User Reviews The film Denial puts much more than history on trial! Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report this. Add the first question. Language: English German Hebrew. Runtime: min. Color: Color. Edit page. October Streaming Picks. Back to School Picks. Clear your history. Deborah Lipstadt. Richard Rampton. David Irving. Anthony Julius. James Libson. Sir Charles Denial: Holocaust History on Trial. Nik Wachsman.