Irving v. Lipstadt

Defense Documents

David Irving, Hitler and Holocaust Denial: Electronic Edition, by Richard J. Evans

Table of Contents

• 1. Introduction
  • 1.1 Purpose of this Report
  • 1.2 Material instructions
  • 1.3 Author of the Report
  • 1.4 Curriculum vitae
  • 1.5 Methods used to draw up this Report
  • 1.6 Argument and structure of the Report
• 2. Irving the historian
  • 2.1 Publishing career
  • 2.2 Qualifications
  • 2.3 Professional historians and archival research
  • 2.4 Documents and sources
  • 2.5 Reputation
  • 2.6 Conclusion
• 3. Irving and Holocaust denial
  • 3.1 Definition of 'The Holocaust'
  • 3.2 Holocaust denial
  • 3.3 The arguments before the court
    • (a) Lipstadt's allegations and Irving's replies
    • (b) The 1977 edition of Hitler's War
    • (c) The 1991 Edition of Hitler's War
    • (d) Irving's biography of Hermann Göring
    • (e) Conclusion
  • 3.4 Irving and the central tenets of Holocaust denial
    • (a) Numbers of Jews killed
    • (b) Use of gas chambers
    • (c) Systematic nature of the extermination
    • (d) Evidence for the Holocaust
    • (e) Conclusion
  • 3.5 Connections with Holocaust deniers
    • (a) The Institute for Historical Review
    • (b) Other Holocaust deniers
  • 3.6 Conclusion
• 4. Irving's writings on Hitler
  • 4.1 Admiration
  • 4.2 Exculpation
  • 4.3 Historical method: case-studies
    • (a) Irving's 'chain of documents'
    • (b) Evidence at Hitler's trial in 1924
      • (i) Historical background
      • (ii) David Irving's argument
      • (iii) Inconsistencies and omission of references
      • (iv) Misrepresentation of documents; invention and falsification.
      • (v) Use of unreliable sources
      • (vi) Skewing reliable sources
      • (vii) Conclusion
    • (c) 'Reichskristallnacht' November 1938.
      • (i) Background
      • (ii) Irving's Account of the Events of the Night of 9-10 November 1938
        • (A) Misquotation and Skewing of Documents: The Goebbels Diary
        • (B) Suppression of relevant evidence: the Eberstein testimony and the Goebbels speech in the Old Town Hall
        • (C) Manipulation of evidence: The involvement of the SA in the pogrom
        • (D) Invention and manipulation of evidence: the Eberstein testimony
        • (E) Use of unreliable evidence, suppression of reliable testimony, and invention: von Below and Schaub
        • (F) False attribution of conclusions to reliable sources: the Heydrich telex
        • (G) Bending a reliable source to fit the argument: the Hess order
        • (H) Manipulation of evidence (Wiedemann testimony, Hederich testimony) and suppression of reliable documentation (Goebbels diary, Supreme Party Court Report)
        • (I) Use of insignificant evidence and suppression of important evidence: the Groscurth and von Hassell diaries
        • (J) Conclusion
      • (iii) Irving's Account of Events After the Night of 9-10 November 1938
        • (A) Misquotation, manipulation, and discounting of reliable evidence to fit a preconceived argument: the Goebbels diary
        • (B) Suppression of important aspects and concentration on insignificant aspects of reliable evidence to divert attention from its significance
        • (C) Suppression of evidence: Memoirs of Hans Kehrl and Correspondence of Carl Burckhardt
        • (D) Misquotation and suppression of evidence: the von Hassell diaries
        • (E) Misrepresentation of reliable documents: the Communication of the SA Leadership
        • (F) Misconstrual of books that directly contradict Irving's arguments: the Goebbels diary
        • (G) Invention of evidence: the Ribbentrop memoirs
        • (H) Misrepresentation and presentation of irrelevant evidence: the Wolff memoirs
        • (I) False attribution of a conclusion to a reliable source: the Goebbels diary
        • (J) Misrepresentation of reliable sources: the reports to the British Foreign Office
        • (K) Use of a discredited and disreputable source: Ingrid Weckert
        • (L) Invention of evidence: testimony of Schirmeister and Fritzsche
      • (iv) Conclusion
    • (d) The expulsion of Jews from Berlin, 1941
      • (i) Historical Background
      • (ii) Hitler's table talk of 25 October
        • (A) Irving's argument
        • (B) Bending and wilfully mistranslating reliable sources
        • (C) Hitler's involvement in the deportations
      • (iii) Goebbels's article in 'Das Reich' of 16 November 1941
        • (A) Irving's claim
        • (B) The deliberate omission of relevant evidence: The article in 'Das Reich'
        • (C) Further suppression of evidence of Hitler's antisemitism, July-December 1941
        • (D) The deliberate omission of evidence: Goebbels's diary entry of 22 November 1941
        • (E) Suppression of relevant evidence: Friedrich Jeckeln's testimony The Systematic Killing of Jews in the Baltic
        • (F) Suppression of relevant evidence: Testimony of Walter Bruns
        • (G) Manipulation and Suppression of Evidence. The testimony of Dieter Wisliceny
        • (H) Manipulation of statistics: the number of Jews killed in Riga
      • (iv) Himmler's phone call of 30 November 1941
        • (A) Irving's claim in Hitler's War (1977)
        • (B) Bending and misinterpreting reliable sources: The Himmler phone log of 30 November 1941
        • (C) Inventing documentary evidence: Himmler's phone call to Pohl
      • (v) Irving's later repetition, and amendment, of his falsifications
        • (A) Continued misrepresentation of the Himmler phone log of 30 November 1941
        • (B) New misrepresentations and omissions: The testimony of Walter Bruns and the letter of Dr. Otto Schulz-Du Bois
        • (C) Irving's partial withdrawal of his original claims about the Himmler phone log for 30 November 1941
    • (e) The Schlegelberger note
      • (i) The document in question
      • (ii)Nazi policy towards 'half-Jews' and 'mixed marriages'
      • (iii) Conclusion
    • (f) The Goebbels diary entry of 27 March 1942
      • (i) Historical context
      • (ii) David Irving's claims in the first edition of Hitler's War
        • (A) Omission of reliable sources: the Goebbels diary entry of 27 March 1942
        • (C) False attribution of quotes and manipulation of evidence: the Goebbels diary entry of 30 March 1942
      • (iii) Evaluation of Irving's defence of his claims
        • (A) Irving's defence
        • (B)Irving's misrepresentation and misunderstanding of the sources: the Goebbels diary entry of 27 April 1942 and Hitler's table talk of 15 May 1942
        • (C) Irving's suppression, misrepresentation and misunderstanding of the sources: the Goebbels diary entry of 30 May 1942
        • (C) Irving's suppression and manipulation of the Goebbels diary entry of 30 May 1942 and the table talk of 29 May 1942.
        • (D) Irving's misrepresentation and misunderstanding of the sources: the Hitler table talk of 24 July 1942
      • (iv) Conclusion
    • (g) The Himmler minute of 22 September 1942
      • (i) Historical background
      • (ii) Hitler and the 'final solution': the Himmler minute of 22 September 1942
      • (iii) Irving and the Himmler note
    • (h) The Antonescu/Horthy Meetings with Hitler in April 1943
      • (i) Background
      • (ii) The meeting between Hitler and Horthy on 16 and 17 April 1943.
      • (iii) Irving's account of the meeting between Hitler and Horthy: Bending reliable sources to fit preconceived ideas, invention and fabrication
        • (A) Hiding key statements in footnotes
        • (B) Citing other documents to discredit the minutes of the meeting.
        • (C) Invention, fabrication and falsification: placing Hitler's remarks at the meeting with Horthy on 17 April 1943 into a false context, in order to bend a reliable source.
      • (iv) Further suppression of evidence of Hitler's radical antisemitism.
      • (v) Conclusion
    • (i) The Deportation and Murder of the Roman Jews in October 1943.
      • (i) Background
      • (ii) Irving's suppression of two key documents.
      • (ii) Irving's manipulation of reliable sources.
      • (iv) Other relevant documentation.
      • (v) The fate of the Roman Jews: the question of language.
      • (vi) Conclusion.
    • (j) Ribbentrop's testimony at Nuremberg and his evidence from his cell in Nuremberg.
      • (i) Introduction
      • (ii) Irving's manipulation of the source.
      • (iii) Irving's use of an unreliable source.
      • (iv) Irving's suppression of a contradictory source.
      • (v) Irving's further arguments.
      • (vi) Conclusion.
• 5. Irving's use of evidence
  • 5.1 Introduction
  • 5.2 The Bombing of Dresden in 1945.
    • (a) Background
    • (b) Irving's The Destruction of Dresden.
    • (c) Misstatement, misrepresentation, misattribution.
      • (i) Misstatement of circumstances: low-level strafing in Dresden.
      • (ii) Misrepresentation of eyewitness testimony.
      • (iii) False attribution of conclusions to reliable sources.
    • (d) Falsification of statistics.
      • (i) Introduction
      • (ii) Unreliable evidence: the testimony of Hans Voigt.
      • (iii) The use of forged evidence: Tagesbefehl 47 [Order of the Day no. 47].
        • (A) Misattribution of authorship and responsibility.
        • (B) Suppression of internal inconsistencies.
        • (C) False attribution and manipulation of corroborating testimony confirming the authenticity of TB 47.
        • (D) Unreliable testimony: the Red Cross, Walter Kleiner, and Karl Mehnert.
        • (E) Suppression of contradictory evidence: testimony of Theo Miller.
        • (F) Use of unreliable testimony: two United States Strategic Bombing Survey interrogations.
        • (G) Use of unreliable evidence: testimony of Wilfred von Oven.
        • (H) Falsification of statistics: official estimates.
      • (iv) The 'Final Report' of 15 March 1945.153
      • (v) The real TB 47.
      • (vi) Further bending of reliable sources.
      • (vii) Further misuse of figures: refugees, burials, and excavations.
    • (3) Dresden and Holocaust Denial
    • (f) Conclusion.
  • 5.3 The evidence of Hitler's adjutants
    • (a) Background
      • (i) Introduction
      • (ii) General Knowledge of the 'Final Solution'
      • (iii) General Problems of Oral History and Memoir Literature30
    • (b) Hitler's entourage and its post-war evidence
      • (A) Irving's misrepresentation of Hitler's staff as 'ordinary people'
      • (B) Pressures on Hitler's entourage after the war
      • (C) Irving's relations with Hitler's entourage
      • (D) Conversation in Hitler's inner circle.
      • (E) The 'Table Talk'
    • (c) Individuals in the entourage
      • (i) Double standards dealing with a source Unjustified dismissal of a source containing material counter to Irving's arguments - : the "diaries" of Gerhard Engel.
      • (ii) Uncritical treatment of a biased source favourable to Irving's argument: the diaries of Wilfred von Oven
      • (iii) Suppression of relevant information: the memoirs of Nicolaus von Below
      • (iv) Manipulation of two further affidavits: Karl Jesco von Puttkamer and Wilhelm von Brückner.
      • (v) Manipulations and suppressions: the evidence of Hitler's stenographers.
      • (vi) Double standards in the evaluation of evidence: the memoirs of Karl Wilhelm Krause
      • (vii) Deliberate suppression of relevant evidence: the testimony of Heinz Linge
      • (vii) Deliberate suppression of evidence: the annotation of Hans Pfeiffer
      • (ix) Suppression of relevant information: the diary of Otto Bräutigam
      • (x) Misrepresentation of source material: the evidence of Hitler's secretary
      • (xi) The suppression of relevant evidence: the memoirs of Franz von Sonnleithner
      • (xii) Suppression of relevant information: Karl Brandt
      • (xiii) Neglect of relevant information: the reports of Hermann Fegelein
      • (xiv) Use of an unreliable source: the testimony of Karl Wolff
        • (xiv) Use of an unreliable source: the testimony of Karl Wolff
        • (A) Harald Turner's letter264
        • (B) The Minsk Shooting
        • (C) The correspondence between Wolff and Dr. Albert Ganzemüller277
      • (xv) Additional evidence.
    • (d) Hitler's decision-making process.
    • (e) Conclusion
  • 5.4 Explaining Nazi Antisemitism
    • (a) Introduction
    • (b) Jewish criminality in Berlin
    • (c) The Boycott of 1 April 1933
    • (d) Chaim Weizmann's alleged 'declaration of war' on Germany in 1939>
    • (e) The Eichmann memoirs
    • (f) The 'Kaufman plan'.
• 6. General Conclusion