Holocaust denial debates: The symbolic significance of Irving v. Penguin & Lipstadt

This essay explores the legal and public significance of the recent British libel case of Irving v. Penguin & Lipstadt (2000). The author argues that the rhetorical dimensions of the trial were just as important as the technical, judicial issues involved in British libel cases. David Irving sued Penguin Books and Deborah Lipstadt for having labeled him a “Holocaust denier,”; and in the process they allegedly irreparably injured his reputation as a historian. While both the claimant and the defense argued that this case was not about the facticity of the Holocaust, the vast majority of the arguments that were presented at trial concerned that very issue. The trial may have portentous consequences because it interrogates the taken‐for‐granted collective memories of many communities.