The Holocaust on Trial: History, Justice and the David Irving Libel Case

D. D. Guttenplan

If you don't read non-fiction I guess you aren't going to pick this kind of book up. But for those of us who do, this book has non-fiction in layers. It's the account of David Irving's libel action three years ago after Deborah Lipstadt and Penguin Books had branded him a Holocaust denier. If you like, this is the book of the trial of the book about the man who lies about the Holocaust.

It was a sensational case and it's a poor piece of art that can't make a drama out of a trial, as fiction writers and film makers know. So it is with non-fiction too. Especially when the trial's protagonist is as alarmingly fascinating as David Irving. And Guttenplan doesn't disappoint. It will be interesting to compare it with the other accounts of the trial - at least two others have already been published while at least a further three are planned (1).

As a book about history in both theory and practice it's gripping. I imagine in history departments in universities all across the country whole modules will be devoted just to this trial because, in examining what constitutes a historical fact, who decides and whether we should believe them, this case went to the heart of the matter. As Guttenplan explains, there have been libel (and criminal) trials of Holocaust-related material before, but this was the first trial of its kind not to call any survivors as eyewitnesses. Instead it focussed wholly on the documentary and architectural evidence.

(1) In keeping with one of the trial's themes - documented sources - I thought I would include a footnote. Books by Richard Evans and Eva Menasse have already been published. Guttenplan, on page 166, cites planned books by Anthony Julius, Hajo Funke and Lipstadt herself. And, as Guttenplan says, doubtless Irving's own account will one day emerge.