Robert Faurisson
Encyclopedia
Robert Faurisson is a French
academic who is a Holocaust denier
. Faurisson generated much controversy with a number of articles, published in the Journal of Historical Review
and elsewhere, as well as various letters he has sent to French newspapers (especially Le Monde
), which deny various aspects of the Holocaust, including the existence of homicidal gas chambers
in Nazi
concentration camps, the reality of the systematic killing of European Jews using gas during World War II
, the authenticity of The Diary of Anne Frank
, and the veracity of Elie Wiesel
's accounts of his wartime suffering.
After the passage of the Gayssot Act against Holocaust denial in 1990, Faurisson was prosecuted and fined. In 1991, he was dismissed from his academic post.
, receiving his agrégation
(license to teach) in 1956, and his doctorate
in 1972. He was lecturer, then professor of French literature at the University of Lyon
between 1973 and 1990.
Faurisson's activism as a Holocaust denier first surfaced in 1974, when he contacted Yad Vashem
with a lengthy letter detailing a variety of arguments which he claimed demonstrated that there had been no genocide
of Jews during World War II. These assertions were based on his own interpretation of archival records and his skepticism about the assertions and testimony of various historical figures, including Nazi officials such as Rudolf Höss.
He became involved with the Institute for Historical Review
during the 1970s, lecturing and publishing prolifically. He twice testified in defense of Canadian-German Holocaust denier Ernst Zündel
, and his testimony has been associated with laying the groundwork for the "Leuchter Report
", a Holocaust-denial publication which has been influential. Faurisson's activism garnered him several dedicated critics, including the Jewish French historian Pierre Vidal-Naquet
.
In 1978, Faurisson authored a French-language text entitled "The Diary of Anne Frank—Is It Authentic?". It appeared in Dutch-language
translation in 1985, with the modified title, "The Diary of Anne Frank—A Forgery". The text questioned various elements of the Diary of Anne Frank, including the use of a vacuum cleaner by the family while they were in hiding. Faurisson continued,
Faurisson interviewed Otto Frank
in researching the article, though much of what Faurisson asserted Frank had said was later contradicted by Frank himself. Faurisson's writing on the subject first came into the spotlight amidst a court case between Otto Frank and Heinz Roth, a publishing-house owner who was responsible for the circulation of various neo-Nazi writings, including several publications impugning the authenticity of Anne Frank's diary; Faurisson's writing on the subject was entered into the court record as an expert opinion in defense of Roth. (The 1978 finding of the court was that Roth must refrain from publishing any more pamphlets claiming that the diary was a fraud.)
Further controversy was sparked when one of Faurisson's revisionist works was published with an introduction by Noam Chomsky
. It turned out that the Chomsky piece was not written to be used as an introduction, although Chomsky had authorized its use to defend Faurisson in a different context. Chomsky's piece was a general defense of freedom of speech, including Faurisson's. Chomsky stated that he had "no evidence to support [the] conclusion" that Faurisson was antisemitic. Chomsky was accused of supporting Faurisson's views, rather than merely defending his right to speech, which Chomsky denied. Noting that he had described the Holocaust as "the most fantastic outburst of collective insanity in human history", Chomsky answered that his views were "diametrically opposed" to those of Faurisson on the subject.
In September 1989, Faurisson was beaten severely by unknown assailants who called themselves "The Sons of the Memory of the Jews". This is an organization about whom nothing is known, either before or since the incident.
Shortly after the passing of the Gayssot Act in 1990, Faurisson was convicted of Holocaust denial
, and the conviction was upheld by the UN
Human Rights Committee
in 1996.
In 1991, Faurisson was removed from his university chair on the basis of his views under the Gayssot Act, a French statute passed in 1990 that prohibited Holocaust denial
. He challenged the statute as a violation of international law at the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
and Human Rights Committee
. The Human Rights Committee upheld the Gayssot Act as necessary to counter possible antisemitism. Further trials followed, among them one in connection with a publication on the website of the "Association des anciens amateurs de récits de guerre et d'Holocauste" (AAARGH
) in 1998, of which he was absolved due to lack of evidence of his authorship.
Faurisson was charged again in a trial on July 11, 2006. He was accused of denying the Holocaust in an interview with the Iran
ian television station "Sahar 1" in February 2005. On October 3, 2006 he was given a three-month probationary sentence and fined €7,500 for this offence. In December 2006 Faurisson gave a speech at the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust
, which was sponsored by the government of Iran. He repeated his theories about gas chambers and said that for the past 32 years he has been waiting for someone to show him just one of those chambers.
Since late 2008, Faurisson has become close to the comedian and political activist Dieudonné M'bala M'bala
, appearing with him publicly on stage and in video, and celebrating his 80th birthday in his theater. Antisemitic utterances made during the stage appearance ultimately earned M'Bala M'Bala another court conviction in a long series.
Faurisson counts among his acquaintances and friends a number of Holocaust deniers, including Ernst Zündel
, Ditlieb Felderer and Ahmed Rami.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
academic who is a Holocaust denier
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
. Faurisson generated much controversy with a number of articles, published in the Journal of Historical Review
Journal of Historical Review
The Journal of Historical Review is a non-peer reviewed serial, periodical, or journal published by the Institute for Historical Review in Torrance, California. Its subject is primarily Holocaust denial...
and elsewhere, as well as various letters he has sent to French newspapers (especially Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
), which deny various aspects of the Holocaust, including the existence of homicidal gas chambers
Gas Chambers
Gas Chambers is a fast, hollow and shallow point break type of wave. Being that it is a high performance wave it is well suited for the average to pro level surfer. Gas Chambers is located on the North Shore of Oahu about a 1/4 of a mile north of Ehukai Beach Park and 1/2 a mile west of Sunset...
in Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
concentration camps, the reality of the systematic killing of European Jews using gas during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the authenticity of The Diary of Anne Frank
The Diary of a Young Girl
The Diary of a Young Girl is a book of the writings from the Dutch language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. The family was apprehended in 1944 and Anne Frank ultimately died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen...
, and the veracity of Elie Wiesel
Elie Wiesel
Sir Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel KBE; born September 30, 1928) is a Hungarian-born Jewish-American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of 57 books, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz, Buna, and...
's accounts of his wartime suffering.
After the passage of the Gayssot Act against Holocaust denial in 1990, Faurisson was prosecuted and fined. In 1991, he was dismissed from his academic post.
Biography
Faurisson is the son of a french father and a scotish mother, Jessica Hay Aitken. He was trained as a professor of French literatureFrench literature
French literature is, generally speaking, literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than French. Literature written in French language, by citizens...
, receiving his agrégation
Agrégation
In France, the agrégation is a civil service competitive examination for some positions in the public education system. The laureates are known as agrégés...
(license to teach) in 1956, and his doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in 1972. He was lecturer, then professor of French literature at the University of Lyon
University of Lyon
The University of Lyon , located in Lyon and Saint Etienne, France, is a center for higher education and research comprising 16 institutions of higher education...
between 1973 and 1990.
Faurisson's activism as a Holocaust denier first surfaced in 1974, when he contacted Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
with a lengthy letter detailing a variety of arguments which he claimed demonstrated that there had been no genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
of Jews during World War II. These assertions were based on his own interpretation of archival records and his skepticism about the assertions and testimony of various historical figures, including Nazi officials such as Rudolf Höss.
He became involved with the Institute for Historical Review
Institute for Historical Review
The Institute for Historical Review , founded in 1978, is an American organization that describes itself as a "public-interest educational, research and publishing center dedicated to promoting greater public awareness of history." Critics have accused it of being an antisemitic "pseudo-scholarly...
during the 1970s, lecturing and publishing prolifically. He twice testified in defense of Canadian-German Holocaust denier Ernst Zündel
Ernst Zündel
Ernst Christof Friedrich Zündel is a German Holocaust denier and pamphleteer who was jailed several times in Canada for publishing literature which "is likely to incite hatred against an identifiable group" and for being a threat to national security, in the United States for overstaying his visa,...
, and his testimony has been associated with laying the groundwork for the "Leuchter Report
Leuchter report
The Leuchter report is a pseudoscientific document authored by American execution technician Fred A. Leuchter. For the defense in the trial of Holocaust denier Ernst Zündel, Leuchter compiled the report in 1988 with the intention of investigating the feasibility of mass homicidal gassings at Nazi...
", a Holocaust-denial publication which has been influential. Faurisson's activism garnered him several dedicated critics, including the Jewish French historian Pierre Vidal-Naquet
Pierre Vidal-Naquet
Pierre Emmanuel Vidal-Naquet was a French historian who began teaching at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales in 1969....
.
In 1978, Faurisson authored a French-language text entitled "The Diary of Anne Frank—Is It Authentic?". It appeared in Dutch-language
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
translation in 1985, with the modified title, "The Diary of Anne Frank—A Forgery". The text questioned various elements of the Diary of Anne Frank, including the use of a vacuum cleaner by the family while they were in hiding. Faurisson continued,
Vacuum cleaners at that time were exceptionally noisy. I must ask: 'Is this credible?' My question is not just a formality. It is not rhetorical. Its purpose is not to astonish. My question is simply a question. An answer will have to be found.
Faurisson interviewed Otto Frank
Otto Frank
Otto Heinrich "Pim" Frank was a German-born businessman and the father of Anne Frank and Margot Frank...
in researching the article, though much of what Faurisson asserted Frank had said was later contradicted by Frank himself. Faurisson's writing on the subject first came into the spotlight amidst a court case between Otto Frank and Heinz Roth, a publishing-house owner who was responsible for the circulation of various neo-Nazi writings, including several publications impugning the authenticity of Anne Frank's diary; Faurisson's writing on the subject was entered into the court record as an expert opinion in defense of Roth. (The 1978 finding of the court was that Roth must refrain from publishing any more pamphlets claiming that the diary was a fraud.)
Controversies
Faurisson was fined by a French court in 1983, for having declared that "Hitler never ordered nor permitted that anyone be killed by reason of his race or religion."Further controversy was sparked when one of Faurisson's revisionist works was published with an introduction by Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
. It turned out that the Chomsky piece was not written to be used as an introduction, although Chomsky had authorized its use to defend Faurisson in a different context. Chomsky's piece was a general defense of freedom of speech, including Faurisson's. Chomsky stated that he had "no evidence to support [the] conclusion" that Faurisson was antisemitic. Chomsky was accused of supporting Faurisson's views, rather than merely defending his right to speech, which Chomsky denied. Noting that he had described the Holocaust as "the most fantastic outburst of collective insanity in human history", Chomsky answered that his views were "diametrically opposed" to those of Faurisson on the subject.
In September 1989, Faurisson was beaten severely by unknown assailants who called themselves "The Sons of the Memory of the Jews". This is an organization about whom nothing is known, either before or since the incident.
Shortly after the passing of the Gayssot Act in 1990, Faurisson was convicted of Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
, and the conviction was upheld by the UN
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Human Rights Committee
Human Rights Committee
The United Nations Human Rights Committee is a United Nations body of 18 experts that meets three times a year for four-week sessions to consider the five-yearly reports submitted by 162 UN member states on their compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,...
in 1996.
In 1991, Faurisson was removed from his university chair on the basis of his views under the Gayssot Act, a French statute passed in 1990 that prohibited Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
. He challenged the statute as a violation of international law at the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 16, 1966, and in force from March 23, 1976...
and Human Rights Committee
Human Rights Committee
The United Nations Human Rights Committee is a United Nations body of 18 experts that meets three times a year for four-week sessions to consider the five-yearly reports submitted by 162 UN member states on their compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,...
. The Human Rights Committee upheld the Gayssot Act as necessary to counter possible antisemitism. Further trials followed, among them one in connection with a publication on the website of the "Association des anciens amateurs de récits de guerre et d'Holocauste" (AAARGH
Association des anciens amateurs de récits de guerre et d'holocauste
AAARGH is a French association which was founded in 1996. It publishes and circulates texts and writings from mainly French and German Holocaust deniers in different languages on the internet, including Robert Faurisson, Germar Rudolf, the right-wing politician and former NPD member Günter...
) in 1998, of which he was absolved due to lack of evidence of his authorship.
Faurisson was charged again in a trial on July 11, 2006. He was accused of denying the Holocaust in an interview with the Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian television station "Sahar 1" in February 2005. On October 3, 2006 he was given a three-month probationary sentence and fined €7,500 for this offence. In December 2006 Faurisson gave a speech at the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust
International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust
The International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust was a two-day conference that opened on December 11, 2006, in Tehran, Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the conference sought "neither to deny nor prove the Holocaust.....
, which was sponsored by the government of Iran. He repeated his theories about gas chambers and said that for the past 32 years he has been waiting for someone to show him just one of those chambers.
Since late 2008, Faurisson has become close to the comedian and political activist Dieudonné M'bala M'bala
Dieudonné M'bala M'bala
Dieudonné M'bala M'bala , generally known simply as Dieudonné, is a French comedian, actor and political activist....
, appearing with him publicly on stage and in video, and celebrating his 80th birthday in his theater. Antisemitic utterances made during the stage appearance ultimately earned M'Bala M'Bala another court conviction in a long series.
Faurisson counts among his acquaintances and friends a number of Holocaust deniers, including Ernst Zündel
Ernst Zündel
Ernst Christof Friedrich Zündel is a German Holocaust denier and pamphleteer who was jailed several times in Canada for publishing literature which "is likely to incite hatred against an identifiable group" and for being a threat to national security, in the United States for overstaying his visa,...
, Ditlieb Felderer and Ahmed Rami.
Faurisson's publications
- A-t-on LU Rimbaud ?, Bizarre, no. 21-22, 1961. 2nd edition under the title A-t-on lu Rimbaud ? Suivi de l'Affaire Rimbaud, Paris: J.J. Pauvert, 1971. 3rd edition published by La Vieille TaupeLa Vieille TaupeLa Vieille Taupe is a publishing house and bookshop in Paris, France. The establishment went through two distinct phases in its history. Between 1965 and 1972, it had a politically ultra left slant...
, 1991. - A-t-on bien lu Lautréamont ?, Paris: Gallimard, 1972.
- La clé des Chimères et autres chimères de Nerval, Paris: J.J. Pauvert, c.1977.
- Mémoire en défense: contre ceux qui m’accusent de falsifier l’histoire, Paris: La Vieille TaupeLa Vieille TaupeLa Vieille Taupe is a publishing house and bookshop in Paris, France. The establishment went through two distinct phases in its history. Between 1965 and 1972, it had a politically ultra left slant...
, 1980. - (edited by Serge ThionSerge ThionSerge Thion is a French sociologist. A former researcher at the French National Center for Scientific Research, he was dismissed from his position there for Holocaust denial activities.- Career :...
) Vérité historique ou vérité politique : le dossier de l’affaire Faurisson : la question des chambres à gaz, Paris: La Vieille TaupeLa Vieille TaupeLa Vieille Taupe is a publishing house and bookshop in Paris, France. The establishment went through two distinct phases in its history. Between 1965 and 1972, it had a politically ultra left slant...
, 1980. - Réponse à Pierre Vidal-Naquet, Paris: La Vieille Taupe, 1982.
- "Chronique sèche de l'Épuration – Exécutions sommaires dans quelques communes de Charente limousine", Revue d'Histoire révisionniste, no. 4, February-April 1991.
- Réponse à Jean-Claude Pressac, published by AAARGHAssociation des anciens amateurs de récits de guerre et d'holocausteAAARGH is a French association which was founded in 1996. It publishes and circulates texts and writings from mainly French and German Holocaust deniers in different languages on the internet, including Robert Faurisson, Germar Rudolf, the right-wing politician and former NPD member Günter...
, 1993 - Écrits révisionnistes (1974-1998), 4 volumes, privately printed, 1999.
- (With Siegfried VerbekeSiegfried VerbekeSiegfried Verbeke is a Belgian revisionist publisher and Holocaust denier.-History:Verbeke became a public figure in 1977 when, together with the later Vlaams Blok ideologist and senator Roeland Raes, he founded the Flemish denial magazine Haro...
) Het «Dagboek» van Anne Frank : een kritische benadering
External links
- Holocaust Deniers and Skeptics Gather in Iran, The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
- Quand le négationnisme s'invite à l'université, by Didier Daeninckx, amnistia.net, March 20, 2000 (French)
- French Holocaust Denier on Ban of Al-Manar: 'The Big Lie of the Alleged Holocaust ... is the Shield of Jewish Tyranny... Destroy it', Faurisson in an interview to IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
's Mehr News Agency (MNA) about France's decision to ban Al-ManarAl-ManarAl-Manar is a Lebanese satellite television station affiliated with Hezbollah, registered as Lebanese Media Group Company, broadcasting from Beirut, Lebanon. It has an offering a "rich menu" of high production news, commentary, and entertainment. The self-proclaimed "Station of the Resistance" ,...
TV, intelligence.org.il / MEMRIMiddle East Media Research InstituteThe Middle East Media Research Institute is a Middle Eastern not for profit press monitoring organization with headquarters located in Washington, DC. MEMRI was co-founded in 1998 by Yigal Carmon, a former colonel in the Israeli military intelligence and Meyrav Wurmser, an Israeli-born, American... - nizkor.org, Nizkor ProjectNizkor ProjectThe Nizkor Project is an ongoing Internet-based project run by B'nai Brith Canada which is dedicated to countering Holocaust denial. It was founded by Ken McVay as a central Web-based archive for the large numbers of documents made publicly available by the users of the newsgroup alt.revisionism...
's entries on Faurrison - holocaust-history.org, Holocaust History Project's entries on Faurrison