Deborah E. Lipstadt

A Few Observations on Holocaust Denial and Antisemitism

I begin with a cautionary remark. My observations should not be construed as a suggestion that Holocaust denial is a clear and present danger. Currently it is a small but persistent phenomenon. It is engaged in by disparate groups and individuals. Far more individuals worldwide engage in the study of the Holocaust than engage in its denial. But the latter does, however, have potentially potent implications for the future. This is particularly so because deniers have become exceptionally adept at the use of the Internet. Moreover, the Internet is particularly well suited for the dissemination of conspiracy theories, Holocaust denial among them.1 In these preliminary observations to this volume, I would like to explore the inexorable connection between Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism and argue that denial is nothing other than a form of anti-Semitism. In addition, it contrasts traditional Holocaust denial, which I call “hard-core” denial, with a newer variant, which I call “soft-core” denial. Therefore, I offer my observations not as a cry of alarm, but rather as a call for sustained and serious caution.

Against All Odds: Holocaust Survivors and the Successful Lives They Made in America.

Against All Odds is the first comprehensive look at the 140,000 Jewish Holocaust survivors who came to America and the lives they have made here. William Helmreich writes of their experiences beginning with their first arrival in the United States: the mixed reactions they encountered from American Jews who were not always eager to receive them; their choices about where to live in America; and their efforts in finding marriage partners with whom they felt most comfortable--most often other survivors. In preparation, Helmreich spent more than six years traveling the United States, listening to the personal stories of hundreds of survivors, and examining more than 15,000 pages of data as well as new material from archives that have never before been available to create this remarkable, groundbreaking work. What emerges is a picture that is sharply different from the stereotypical image of survivors as people who are chronically depressed, anxious, and fearful. This intimate, enlightening work explores questions about prevailing over hardship and adversity: how people who have gone through such experiences pick up the threads of their lives; where they obtain the strength and spirit to go on; and, finally, what lessdns the rest of us can learn about overcoming tragedy.