Anatomy of a Hoax: Holocaust Denial

Abstract

The phenomenon of Holocaust denial, once considered a fringe manifestation with very little impact, has, more or less, entered the mainstream of historiographical and academic debate in recent years. The main danger associated with the deniers discourse is that of forcing into the public conscience the awareness of the fact that there might be more sides to the Holocaust history than previously known based on written documents, testimonies of survivors and other types of proofs. The following paper is a review of the emergence, development and extent of Holocaust denial, especially in the United States, as well as an attempt to summarise the deniers arguments, claims and motivations, following the line opened by Deborah Lipstadt and other historians.