Deborah Lipstadt: Behind the lies of Holocaust denial
Deborah Lipstadt: Dietro le bugie della negazione dell'Olocausto
Deborah Lipstadt's research focuses on the development of Holocaust denial and how to fight for the truth in an era marked by "alternative facts." Full bio
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about Holocaust denial,
della negazione dell'Olocausto,
the dubious distinction
meglio documentato al mondo?
genocide in the world?
che non è accaduto?
avessero ragione,
their harrowing stories.
le loro dolorose storie.
of towns and villages and cities
nelle miriadi di città e villaggi
be rounded up --
i loro vicini --
giovani, anziani --
to the outskirts of the town
fino ai confini della città
lasciati cadavere nelle fosse.
around the death camps,
attorno ai campi di sterminio,
pieni di persone
chi dovrebbe avere torto?
"L'abbiamo fatto.
I was forced to do it."
sono stato obbligato a farlo."
"L'ho fatto".
since the end of World War II
dalla fine della II Guerra Mondiale
ever said, "It didn't happen."
ha mai detto: "Non è scuuesso."
but never that it didn't happen.
"Mi hanno obbligato",
going to be on my agenda;
non sarebbe stata sulla mia agenda;
to write about, to research,
di cui preoccuparmi,
of the Holocaust --
dell'Olocausto --
that we think is perfect for you."
che pensiamo sia perfetta per te."
that they came to me with an idea
che fossero venuti da ma con un'idea
to believe what they say?"
la gente a credere a quello che dicono?"
it was worthwhile,
che ne valesse la pena,
un periodo di pausa --
three, maybe even four --
tre, forse anche quattro --
è brevissimo.
with a number of things,
e sono arrivata a delle cose,
with you today.
vorrei condividere con voi oggi.
travestiti da agnelli.
nazisti, neonazisti,
to put a "neo" there or not.
un "neo" o no.
as respectable academics.
come rispettabili accademici.
una rivista furba --
one inch below the surface,
andare un millimetro sotto la superficie,
parading as rational discourse.
presentati come discorso razionale.
a pensare che esistono fatti e opinioni --
there are facts and there are opinions --
is take their lies,
prendere le loro bugie,
parte della conversazione.
Assault on Truth and Memory,"
Crescente a Verità e Memoria",
and ready to move on.
ed ero pronta ad andare avanti.
was bringing a libel suit against me
mi stava facendo causa per diffamazione
negazionista dell'Olocausto.
uno scrittore di saggi storici,
of historical works,
II Guerra Mondiale,
took the position
prendevano posizione
non erano poi così cattivi,
non erano poi così buoni.
qualunque cosa accadde loro,
to get this opinion.
da arrivare a questa opinione.
un negazionista,
was this was a man
era anche che quest'uomo
dell'Olocausto,
the battleship Auschwitz."
la corazzata Auschwitz".
on a survivor's arm and said,
al braccio di un sopravvissuto e ha detto:
tattooed on your arm?"
nell'auto del senatore Kennedy
but you can look it up.
ma potete trovarlo.
at all ashamed or reticent
provare vergogna o essere reticente
colleagues counseled me --
accademici mi consigliarono:
ignore a libel suit,
semplicemente ignorare una denuncia,
believe him anyway?"
put the burden of proof on me
l'onere della prova a me,
la verità di ciò che dicevo,
been in the United States
che sarebbe successo negli USA
provare la falsità.
se non avessi lottato,
is a legitimate version.
di David Irving è legittima.
mi ha diffamato
to have libeled me
dell'Olocausto.
am not a Holocaust denier."
non sono un negazionista".
per uccidere gli ebrei,
with any suffering that went on,
con nessuna sofferenza inflitta
and abettance of the allies --
e l'incoraggiamento degli alleati --
and planted the evidence.
i documenti e le prove.
a responsible historian.
una storica responsabile.
non ha visto "Denial",
who haven't seen "Denial,"
che David Irving
era tendenziosa,
in over 25 different major instances.
in più di 25 grandi esempi.
in this audience write books,
molti di noi qui scrivono libri,
we're glad to have second editions:
siamo felici delle seconde edizioni:
in the same direction:
sempre nella stessa direzione:
back to his sources.
dei suoi lavori fino alle fonti.
he made some reference to the Holocaust,
in cui faceva riferimento all'Olocausto,
he didn't have the evidence.
lui non aveva le prove.
non lo dimostravano.
ciò che accadde.
quello che lui ha detto che accadde --
because he either quotes them
perché o lui li cita
per dimostrarlo.
more than just the story
è più della storia
six-year, difficult lawsuit,
difficile e lunga 6 anni,
being dragged into a courtroom
trascinata in tribunale
declared in its judgment
ha dichiarato
of the question of truth,
alla questione della verità,
sono sotto attacco.
the gifts it has given us,
siano molto preziosi,
between facts -- established facts --
tra i fatti -- i fatti accertati --
da Ku Klux Klan,
white supremacist language.
suprematista bianco.
"National Front" -- pick your names.
"Fronte Nazionale".
that I found in Holocaust denial
che ho trovato nel negazionismo
where truth is on the defensive.
in cui la verità è sulla difensiva.
una vignetta del New Yorker.
in "The New Yorker"
di recente un quiz
is saying to one of the contestants,
dice uno dei concorrenti:
ha risposto esattamente.
more loudly than you did,
ha gridato più forte di lei,
by rational appearances.
da apparenze razionali.
that truth is not relative.
che la verità non è relativa.
qualcosa di oltraggioso,
one of the highest offices in the land,
una delle più alte cariche del paese,
are the same as the facts.
le bugie fossero uguali ai fatti.
truth is not relative.
la verità non è relativa.
in the world of the academy
nel mondo accademico
everything is open to debate.
che tutto è aperto al dibattito.
to recant by the Vatican
dal Vaticano a smentire
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Deborah Lipstadt - HistorianDeborah Lipstadt's research focuses on the development of Holocaust denial and how to fight for the truth in an era marked by "alternative facts."
Why you should listen
Dr. Deborah E. Lipstadt, Dorot professor of Holocaust Studies at Emory University in Atlanta, was sued for libel in 1996 by David Irving for having called him a Holocaust denier. After a ten-week trial in London in 2000, in an overwhelming victory for Lipstadt, the judge found Irving to be a "neo-Nazi polemicist" who "perverts" history and engages in "racist" and "anti-Semitic" discourse. The Daily Telegraph (London) described the trial as having "done for the new century what the Nuremberg tribunals or the Eichmann trial did for earlier generations." The Times (London) described it as "history has had its day in court and scored a crushing victory." According to the New York Times, the trial "put an end to the pretense that Mr. Irving is anything but a self-promoting apologist for Hitler."
The movie Denial, starring Rachel Weisz and Tom Wilkenson with a screenplay by David Hare, tells the story of this legal battle. It is based on Lipstadt's book, History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier (Harper Collins, 2006), and recently reissued as Denial (Harper Collins, 2016). The film was nominated for a BAFTA as one of the best British films of the year.
Lipstadt has written most recently Holocaust: An American Understanding (Rutgers, 2016), which explores how America has understood and interpreted the Holocaust since 1945.
Her previous book, The Eichmann Trial, (Schocken/Nextbook, 2011) published in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Eichmann trial, was called by Publisher's Weekly, "a penetrating and authoritative dissection of a landmark case and its after effects." The New York Times Book Review described Lipstadt as having "done a great service by … recovering the event as a gripping legal drama, as well as a hinge moment in Israel's history and in the world's delayed awakening to the magnitude of the Holocaust."
She has also published Beyond Belief: The American Press And The Coming Of The Holocaust, 1933-1945 (Free Press, 1986), which surveys what the American press wrote about the persecution of the Jews in the years 1933-1945. She is currently writing a book, The Antisemitic Delusion: Letters to a Concerned Student which will be published in 2018.
At Emory, Lipstadt directs the website known as HDOT, Holocaust Denial on Trial, which contains a complete archive of the proceedings of Irving v. Penguin UK and Deborah Lipstadt. It also provides answers to frequent claims made by deniers. Lipstadt has won the Emery Williams Teaching Award, and she was selected for the award by alumni as the teacher who had most influenced them.
Lipstadt was a historical consultant to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, helping design the section of the Museum dedicated to the American Response to the Holocaust. She has held a Presidential appointment to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council (from Presidents Clinton and Obama) and was asked by President George W. Bush to represent the White House at the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
Lipstadt has a BA from the City College of New York and an MA and PhD from Brandeis University.
Deborah Lipstadt | Speaker | TED.com