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Holocaust denier David Irving to speak in Cleveland suburb
Cleveland Jewish News, Aug. 25, 2002
http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/
By MARILYN H. KARFELD
Notorious Holocaust denier and British historian David Irving, who lost a libel suit in April 2000 that he brought in England against Emory University Prof. Deborah Lipstadt, is coming to Cleveland again.
His speech Sunday, Aug. 25, in suburban Fairview Park has apparently been organized by the neo-Nazi group, the National Alliance.
Irving’s appearances are usually shrouded in secrecy. But reached at the toll-free number listed on his Web site, Irving confirmed that he would speak at 6 p.m. at 22001 Brookpark Road, near the airport.
The address belongs to an American Legion Hall, which has been rented by David Daams from 6 to 11 p.m. for an American Veterans History Conference, a Legion representative told the CJN.
However, Daams denied that he rented the hall or arranged the meeting. Information about the conference was “only going out to a select group of people,” Daams said, referring questions to Erich Gliebe, the new head of the National Alliance.
Gliebe, the longtime head of the Cleveland unit of the white supremacist group, was promoted to the top job after the July death of founder William Pierce. At publication time, Gliebe, who maintains a home in North Royalton, had not returned a CJN phone call.
Irving, who has a home in Key West and runs a book publishing business in London, travels around the U.S. to raise money and sell his books, says Mark Pitcavage, director of fact-finding for the Anti-Defamation League.
Irving will hold his fourth annual conference on “Real History” Aug. 30-Sept 2 at Greater Cincinnati Airport Marriott. Attending the conference costs a single adult $420 plus the hotel charges.
The speakers scheduled at the “Real History” conference will discuss a variety of conspiracy theories about Sept. 11, Irving’s Web site said. Typically, such theories charge that the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence organization, working with U.S. agents, were responsible for the World Trade Center tragedy, says Pitcavage.
Other appearing at the Cincinnati conference will talk about the Holocaust. For instance, Dr. Robert Countess will dispute a witness for Lipstadt who detailed operations at the Auschwitz gas chamber.
Secrecy is important to right-wing radicals like Irving, because “extremism thrives in the darkness, where it can communicate its message with no opposing viewpoints,” Pitcavage says. He described Irving as particularly “pernicious” because he is highly intelligent and communicates well.
At secret meetings, “there’s nobody debunking their conspiracy theories or extreme claims, no one to provide a dose of common sense,” Pitcavage adds. “The ADL likes to shine a light on that, so everybody can see it for what it really is.”
Irving sued Lipstadt and her publisher, Penguin, because he said her book, Denying the Holocaust–the Growing Assault on Truth and Memory, damaged his reputation as a historian. In her book, Lipstadt described Irving as a “one of the most dangerous spokespersons for Holocaust denial.”
Irving does not deny that the Nazis killed Jews, but he insists that only a small number were murdered and that Hitler didn’t know about it.
In his ruling, London High Court Judge Charles Gray found the allegations true that Irving was a “racist, an anti-Semite, an active Holocaust denier, who associates with right-wing extremists.”
Irving is liable for the costs of the suit–an estimated 2 million British pounds–including Lipstadt’s defense costs. After losing his suit, Irving declared bankruptcy.
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