If Auschwitz is Nothing: Against Denialism

Ever since the end of the Second World War when the sheer enormity of the Nazi crime against the Jews became apparent, there have been repeated attempts to deny that the Holocaust really happened. The existence of gas chambers was questioned and the testimony of survivors was thrown into doubt: the more witnesses spoke out, the more they were intimidated and attacked by a denialism that sought to present itself as a search for historical truth. The accusation of trickery and deception – so central to the centuries-old anti-Jewish hatred – continues to thrive in our times. Today denialism takes a new and more insidious form: Jews are accused of exploiting the ‘cult of the Holocaust’ not only to found the state of Israel but also in order to take the reigns of power in a New World Order. Holocaust denial has merged with conspiracy thinking, and the ‘world Jewish conspiracy’ has become the cornerstone of the new denialism. Concisely and authoritatively, acclaimed philosopher Donatella Di Cesare reconstructs the evolution of denialism and sheds new light on one of the most troubling phenomena of our time.