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Michael Shermer

Denying History: Who Says the Holocaust Never Happened and Why Do They Say It? Updated and Expanded Paperback – Illustrated, April 1, 2009

by Michael Shermer (Author), Alex Grobman (Author), Arthur Hertzberg (Foreword)

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Denying History takes a bold and in-depth look at those who say the Holocaust never happened and explores the motivations behind such claims. While most commentators have dismissed the Holocaust deniers as antisemitic neo-Nazi thugs who do not deserve a response, historians Michael Shermer and Alex Grobman have immersed themselves in the minds and culture of these Holocaust "revisionists." In the process, they show how we can be certain that the Holocaust happened and, for that matter, how we can confirm any historical event. This edition is expanded with a new chapter and epilogue examining current, shockingly mainstream revisionism.

Print length

360 pages
Language

English
Publisher

University of California Press
Publication date

April 1, 2009
Dimensions

6 x 0.9 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

0520260988
ISBN-13

978-0520260986
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Should be required reading for everyone!”

, Martyrdom & Resistance

“Their book offers a crash course in dialectics, a rogue’s gallery of deniers, and refutation to claims the premeditated Nazi genocide of six million Jews is history’s greatest hoax.”

, International Jerusalem Post

"Shermer and Grobman have written a very useful book."

, History and Theory

From the Inside Flap

"You won't be able to stop reading this great, gripping story."Jared Diamond, author of Collapse

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of California Press; First edition (April 1, 2009)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 360 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0520260988
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0520260986
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.2 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.9 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,236,583 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #821 in Jewish Social Studies
- #1,129 in Historiography (Books)
- #1,651 in History of Judaism

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69 ratings

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John Barry Kenyon

What really happened at Auschwitz?

Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2000

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This is the most comprehensive book yet to appear which seeks to refute the claims of Holocaust deniers and revisionists. It seeks to put the nature of historical "truth" in a semi-philosophical framework as well as tackling the empirical claims of deniers head on. There is a strong section attacking Fred Leuchter's so-called research on the bricks at the Auschwitz crematoria (no wonder no traces of cyanide remain after 50 years in the open air) and a thorough account of the nazis' own incriminating records and confessions. Will the book actually convince any Holocaust deniers themselves? Probably not. They will doubtless pin-prick the book, for example Heydrich's death at one point is wrongly given as 1943. And they will continue to maintain that Eichmann's confessions in custody were his last ditch effort to cooperate and thus save his life. As Sherman and Grobman make very clear, Holocaust deniers are ideologically motivated and devoted to rehabilitation of nazism. A final thought: the main media organ of deniers these days is the Internet. There is still scope for a detailed analysis of the content and impact of these hate pages. The authors have written a valuable book, but the debate (like it or not) will go on.

24 people found this helpful

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Convincing treatment of a sensitive subject

Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2000

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This book is the most convincing refutation that I've seen of the claim that there was no systematic Nazi plan to murder Europe's Jews, and the most penetrating analysis of why some people make that claim. Shermer and Grobman are to be commended for dealing with the subject from the standpoint of historiography, avoiding the shrill ad hominem arguments that are, alas, all too frequent in this sensitive area, and for making an attempt to figure out exactly why people believe what they do. Their analysis of David Irving is especially enlightening: Irving is certainly an intelligent man, and doesn't appear to be a vicious anti-Semite. The authors' explanation of how this otherwise sensible historian was led down the garden path by the ex-Nazi "in crowd" is one of the most interesting, and thoroughly convincing parts of the book.

18 people found this helpful

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Historiography applied to Holocaust Denial

Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2009

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"Denying History" is best seen as a case study of historiography; the authors' take on the issue of defining the difference between history, revision, and denial. Shermer and Grobman argue that there is a very real difference between revisionism and denial, and that, despite arguments to the contrary, Holocaust deniers' are engaged in exactly that - denial.

The book gets into many of the relevant issues of historiography; bias, what are facts, the interpretation of facts, etc. and applies it to Holocaust denial. First the authors' discuss the issue of historiography in their introduction, "Who Speaks for the Past," and in Chapter 2, "The Noble Dream: How We Know Anything Happened in History." The next two chapters address who the deniers are, and why they say the Holocaust never happened - this gets into motivation and bias. Chapter 5 then addresses, "the flaws, fallacies and failings in the Denier's Arguments."

The next three chapters are spent addressing denier arguments and "facts" and demonstrating how and why their "facts" do not fit into a rational historiography-based argument. Essentially Shermer and Grobman argue that the volume of data and the variety of sources overwhelmingly demonstrate the Holocaust was real; the sources all converge on a single conclusion. And the authors' are not just talking about the number of eye witness accounts, but also legal proceedings, archaeology, scientific and forensic evidence, and a variety of other historical documents from a wide variety of allied and even Nazi sources. As they point out, the deniers' discrediting of one eye witness account, or several, does not negate the volume of other eye witness accounts nor does it negate other types of evidence. Nor does their attempt at making an equivalency argument (the idea that what was done was no worse than what others did) negate the evidence.

The authors' finish off the book with, "The Rape of History: Denial, Revision, and the Search for a True and Meaningful Past." This chapter has a brief review of other examples of denial, such as the Japanese and the rape of Nanking, and examples of legitimate revision, such as Martin Bernal's "Black Athena" among others. Essentially the authors' conclude that, "The difference between denial and revision is not in the extremity of the claim..., but in the purposeful distortion of the past for personal reasons...." (p. 241), and, "If there is no method of discriminating between true and false interpretations of the past, between history and pseudo-history, between revisionism and denial, then there is no point in even having a discipline of history." (p. 244)

Of particular interest are Shermer's and Grobman's ten tests for denial (pp. 248-250):
1. How reliable is the source of the claim?
2. Has this source made other claims that were clearly exaggerated?
3. Has another source verified the claim?
4. How does the claim fit with what we know about the world and how it works?
5. Has anyone, including and especially the claimant, gone out of the way to disprove the claim, or has only confirmatory evidence been sought?
6. In the absence of clearly defined proof, does the preponderance of evidence converge on the claimant's conclusion or a different one?
7. Is the claimant employing the accepted rules of reason and tools of research or only ones that lead to the desired conclusion?
8. Has the claimant provided a different explanation for the observed phenomena rather than just denying the existing explanation?
9. If the claimant has proffered a new explanation, does it account for as many phenomena as the old explanation does?
10. Do the claimant's personal beliefs and biases drive the conclusions or vice versa?

8 people found this helpful

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Avihoo Ilan

We know the Holocaust happened, but how do we know?

Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2018

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Being an Israeli Jew, living in a society that reveres the memory of the Holocaust and having partaken in an education system that teaches the details of the Holocaust in detail, there was something missing.

Having encountered Holocaust deniers on the internet and hearing their arguments I simply had no tools to counter their points. It wasn't that I didn't know enough details (though I did lack some of that), it wasn't that I wasn't exposed to experiences that led me to believe wholeheartedly that the Holocaust happened (you can't get better than first hand testimonies from actual survivors).

What I lacked was an understanding of how History is established - how do we know what we know about History. The Holocaust is THE case study for how faulty evidence handling and faulty reasoning motivated by ideology can lead to denial whereas sound reasoning and historical analysis can lead to true fact finding.

It's not enough to know that the Holocaust happened - one needs to know how we know. A must read.

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Top reviews from other countries

Melody Bidwell

Essential Reading

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 5, 2018

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An excellent book by Michael Shermer and Alex Grobman, and an absolutely essential read for Holocaust historians especially. But this is an easy and captivating book for any reader, to understand the roots of Holocaust denial and anti-antisemitism in the present day.

A K Garner

A fascinating read. Answers the questions Holocaust deniers ask ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2016

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A fascinating read. Answers the questions Holocaust deniers ask and throughly shows that the questions asked by deniers are all based on lies.

Sauniere

Excellent survey of the subject

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 6, 2012

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This is an excellent survey of a controversial subject. This book looks at those who deny the holocaust, such as david irving and pulls apart their case. It looks in detail at holocaust denial and debunks the denier's arguments.

It provides all the evidence you need to prove to anyone that the holocaust did happen. On top of this it also looks at other debates, such as hitler's knowledge of the holocaust. It covers all the angles and debates really well.

6 people found this helpful

R. Stewart

A good introduction to what is an odd ball subject.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 14, 2009

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You would think that in this day and age that a well documented and demonstrated act of genocide such as "The Final Solution" would be beyond doubt - you would be wrong.

There exists a group of "scholars" and "experts" ( many self appointed ) who would have us believe that the "Holocaust" is far from a proven chapter in history and that in fact "it never happened".

This book introduces you to who these folks are and why they say what they say and believe in what they are saying.
Is it an eye opener - yes it is - was I impressed by their arguments - not in the least.

This book documents a series of are basically lies and distortions imparted by "experts" who insist that they have a case to make , the authors look at who says what , their background , their expertise (or otherwise) and how what they have said has been received by way of impact.

The authors point to the interesting fact that this so called " revisionist" approach has been instrumental in having historians verify that the genocide did take place and to review the process by which it took place and the decision making process which governed the direction of the SS / NSDAP.
The various legal wrangles which have come from this bizarre and ridiculous approach to the subject is explored and one quickly learns that revisionists are no strangers to set back and defeat - they simply see this as being proof of the nature of the conspiracy which they are upagainst.

The events of this book have since been overtaken by the Libel action of David Irving which he comprehensively lost and the major pieces of evidence presented at that tiem.
See "Telling Lies About Hitler, "The Case For Auschwitz" and "The Unwritten Order".

5 people found this helpful

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