As I have said a number of times on this page. He refused to recognize that his words and his actions have consequences.
Jailed: Historian David Irving
David Irving stumbled from court stunned and humiliated yesterday after receiving a three-year jail sentence for denying the Holocaust happened.
The Right-wing British historian had expected to be given a suspended term in Vienna after pleading guilty and recanting his previous claims. He had even booked a flight back to London last night.
But he failed to win over the three judges and eight jury members who jointly decided to make an example of him. Judge Peter Liebtreu compared him to a "prostitute who has not changed her ways for decades".
Irving, 67, said he was "very shocked" as he was led from court.[…]
The prosecution had condemned his sudden conversion to conventional historical thinking as a "theatrical exhibition"
designed to save him from the maximum jail term of 10 years.[…]
Ever the showman, he entered the main courtroom of the Imperial-era State Court in Vienna 20 minutes ahead of the trial clutching a copy of his book Hitler's War to his chest.
He said Austria would be "stupid" to sentence him to jail, claiming: "I am not a Holocaust denier nor have ever been."
[…]
Irving told Judge Liebtreu yesterday that it was only after 1991, when he had access to the papers of the former deputy commander of Auschwitz and the private papers of Nazi logisitician Adolf Eichmann, that he came to believe in the Nazi extermination programme.
[...]
Addressing the court in fluent German. "I'm not a Holocaust denier. Obviously, I've changed my views. I spoke then about Auschwitz and gas chambers based on my knowledge at the time, but by 1991 when I came across the Eichmann papers, I wasn't saying that any more and I wouldn't say that now. The Nazis did murder millions of Jews."
[Then how come he sued me in 2000??]
State prosecutor Michael Klackl ... scoffed at Irving's '1991 enlightenment' and quoted articles and speeches by him afterwards, including a statement in 1994 that the gas chambers were "a great lie".
Addressing the jurors he added: "He has played a role for you today. The thread of anti-Semitism runs through him."
[…]
He blamed a "failure of judgment" for his claim that there were no gas chambers in Auschwitz.Irving's twin brother said:… "All his life, he's fallen on his feet. This time he's fallen on his backside."
4 comments:
Santi:
Thatis exactly what I have been saying all along. However, I also think we should not lose sight of the fact that Irving, who was well aware of his legal situation, sought this out.
He thought it would be big nothing which would get him some PR. Instead it turned out to be something quite serious.
As much as I don't like laws vs. Holocaust denial, we have to recognize that for him this whole thing was a big joke until the judge said: 3 years.
Dear Professor, I have a very important question to ask you. Earlier today, while my husband was perusing through the internet, he came across some holocaust denial and anti-semetic sites. On these sites, he found books that people good buy. Of course, they were holocaust denial books and anti-semetic literature. Going forward a little bit, my husband found many of these books on Amazon.com. These books also come up under keywords like holocaust, gas chambers, myth, etc. Therefore, I can find your books right above or beneath a book like The Leuchter Report or The Auschwitz Myth.
My husband was completely astounded by this; that a company like Amazon.com would willingly be selling these books. So, he wrote them a letter. Essentially, he inquired as to what Amazon.com's policy was toward allowing holocaust denial and openly anti-semetic literature on their site.
Their response was as follows:
Thank you for writing to Amazon.com with your concerns about Ant-
semetic books and also Holocaust Denial books.
As a retailer, our goal is to provide customers with the broadest
selection possible so they can find, discover, and buy any item
they might be seeking. That selection includes some items which
many people may find objectionable. Therefore, the items offered on
our web site represent a wide spectrum of opinions on a variety of
topics.
Amazon.com believes it is censorship not to sell certain titles
because we believe their message is objectionable. Therefore, we
will continue to make controversial works available in the United
States and everywhere else, except where they are prohibited by
law. We also allow readers, authors, and publishers to express
their views freely about these titles and other products we offer on
our web site. However, Amazon.com does not endorse any opinions
expressed by individual authors, musical artists, or filmmakers.
We value all feedback from our customers, and I thank you again for
taking the time to send us your comments about this issue. We hope
you will allow us to continue to serve you.
Best regards,
David
Amazon.com Customer Service
http://www.amazon.com
I thought you would be the best person to ask as to whether we should write back to them. I distinctly remember you talking about the freedom of speech issue regarding holocaust denial in "Denial of the Holocaust". Since Amazon.com is not a government entity, they don't have to abide by freedom of speech, do they? They can make a decision to not sell objectionable or outright false material, right? I mean, it's not like these are books debating evolution. The holocaust is a matter of fact, so some-one who writes a book about holocaust "myths", they're not expressing another point of view. They're expressing lies. Therefore, wouldn't that mean that if Amazon decided not to sell these books, it wouldn't be censorship. I'm confused.
I really would like to do something and contest Amazon's policy. Should I even start? Is there any advice you can give me? Thanks so much.
-OC
Many people have tried to address this issue with Amazon but to no avail. I have not been involved in that battle so I can't give you any details on it.
nickM:
The Iranians come with a political agenda. They have made that clear.
Furthermore, the evidence has repeatedly been studied by reputable historians and scientists.
The Iranians want to turn the place into a political and antisemitic football.
Good for the Poles for seeing right through them.
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