Dear Sidney: Because of you, I saw a wonderful movie. I shared my thoughts with friends. Doc

I would like to encourage you to see the movie, Denial. The movie is based upon the acclaimed book History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier—David Irving.

The movie focuses on a trial in England, where the author of a book about the Holocaust, Deborah Lipstadt, is accused of libel because she depicted David Irving as a Holocaust-Denier. The legal system in Great Britain is considerably different than the United States. Ms. Lipstadt and her legal team had to prove the essential truth that the Holocaust occurred.

Interestingly enough, Ms. Lipstadt’s legal team neither put her or Holocaust survivors on the stand. The reason was their fear that David Irving could pinpoint inaccuracies in their testimony and therefore undermine their credibility.

While we all think that it is a “slam dunk” to prove

  1. The Holocaust occurred
  2. Hitler and his accomplices approved the mass extermination of Jews
  3. Six million Jews Died.

In fact, while we believe these things, it is not easy to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt. For example, we have no written record that Hitler ordered the killing of Jews. Secondly, the Nazis used terms such as “final solution” rather than boldly stating their murderous intentions. Thirdly, much of the data on deaths was in Eastern Europe where the Soviet authorities created a ring of silence around the killing of Jews.

In conclusion, unlike most movies today where there is much action and little words, this movie is almost all “words.” If you see the movie, please share with me your thoughts.