(c)2016
All week I've been trying to think of how to do a review for "Denial," the new docudrama about the landmark case brought against Emory professor Deborah Lipstadt by outspoken Holocaust denier David Irving.
The day after seeing "Denial" I saw "The Dressmaker" staring Kate Winslet- that review fell out of my fingers like tender, sauce drenched baby back ribs off their respective bones. (I'm also quite hungry at present.) But the "Denial" review has been sticking in the gears. So, after much thought I've decided to comment in essay format rather than trying to sound objective in my critique.
When I saw "Denial" at the Tara theater in Atlanta I was pleasantly surprised to see Deborah Lipstadt there as well. I was seeing the 10:00 screening and she was speaking after the earlier screening so I caught the last 20 minutes or so of her talk. It was a sobering and emotionally wrenching discussion. As I listened to her speak I felt the veneer of objectivity drop away and knew that I would become too emotionally invested in this movie to give it a proper review.
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| Deborah Lipstadt @ Tara in Atlanta, photo by me |
With a film like this an op-ed is inevitable, so here's mine:
To speak briefly on the film itself I will say that it was outstanding. There is a moment where Lipstadt (played to perfection by Rachel Weisz) is shown weeping at Auschwitz. We then see a match cut to rain water dripping off of the barbs on the camp's wire fence. It's that kind of design that underscores the harsh nature of the film with gorgeous subtlety, making for a glorious cinematic experience. Timothy Spall does a wonderful job of making David Irving come off as the odious creature he that is despite looking very little like the man himself (this has, incidentally, been a big bone of contention with holocaust denial groups who think that the homely Spall was chosen intentionally to make Irving look bad. Sorry chaps, but Pierce Brosnan could not make Irving seem appealing.)
As I watched the film, however, I was constantly thinking about how the Holocaust denial bit has had a resurgence thanks to the conspiracy friendly internet. Here's a few that I've heard and some quick responses:
Body Disposal: Denialists claim that it would have been impossible for the ovens used to incinerate the bodies to dispose of them at a rate that would allow thousands to be burned every day, citing cobbled together statistics on the cremation process. This mishandling of information by unqualified propagandists is the same thing that allows phrases like "jet fuel can't melt steel beams" to persist despite being roundly refuted. In actuality, there was extensive documentation including correspondence between Nazi officials and patent papers for the ovens themselves that demonstrated this capacity. Additionally, this claim comes from a one Fredrick Leuchter who was forced to admit in court that he was unqualified to comment on the cremation process. Having heard me say all that, holocaust deniers will now be responding that those documents were obviously fabricated. Sorry, but speculation is not confirmation.
Gas Chamber Ventilation: Denialists will often assume that gas chambers wouldn't be ventilated. This is also courtesy of Leuchter. Well guess what- you need to be able to ventilate those rooms to get the gas out before you send in the people that will remove the bodies.
Modifications at Auschwitz: One of the reasons Auschwitz is hyper analyzed by Holocaust deniers like David Irving is that it was not originally designed as a death camp. As such there were extensive modifications made for that purpose. This is why so many things about the facility seem impractical for the mass murdering.
No Official Nazi Plan to Exterminate the Jews: The Final Solution was discussed and agreed upon by senior Nazi officials at the Wansee Conference, the transcripts of which were entered as evidence at the Nuremberg Trials.
There's no proof that Hitler ordered the Holocaust: if you're such an incompetent leader that your top brass can carry out mass extermination under your nose without your knowledge then you deserve to be hanged.
That's just a few examples. There are countless more. I'm sure on hearing these words the Holocaust deniers out there are springing to their keyboards, linking to a bevy of videos with more outrageous denial claims and daring me to refute them. Why won't I bother? Well because 20+ years on David Irving is still pushing as fact the same things he was proven in a court of law to have been willfully and consciously lying about with the intention of obfuscating the truth about the Holocaust and you probably still believe all of them. That is why I won't waste time refuting whatever claptrap you've cobbled together this time. Also, cornering one blogger on the internet with arguments that they cannot refute has no bearing whatsoever on the historical accuracy of the Holocaust.
What's amazing is that no matter how roundly and thoroughly these claims are debunked, they persist. I think the reason for this lies in the same mindset that allows creationism and vaccine denial to persist and it is one that is alluded to in the film: the common man wants to feel superior to the experts. Something mentioned in Denial is that David Irving fancies himself an intellectual but comes from a working class background and has no real qualifications. This seems to be a running theme in a lot of conspiracy theorist types: wanting to be an intellectual for the common man. As such they attach themselves to pseudo-scientific nonsense and espouse it as a cheap way to sound superior to the accredited experts who they claim are just part of a vast global conspiracy to silence the truth. From Kent Hovind to L. Ron Hubbard, this plays out time and again.
Awhile ago I tweeted about a ridiculous book on witchcraft that I bought in college by Christopher Penzcak called "The Inner Temple of Witchcraft." One of the many spells contained therein was one designed to change traffic lights at the user's command. I think the appeal of things like Holocaust denial and "intellectuals for the common man" like David Irving is similar to the appeal of hogwash like that: it gives people a sense of order and command over the wild randomness and chaos of the world around them.
Whatever the case, Denial offers a stunning reminder of why we must always be ready and able to shut down the absurdities of wild conspiracy theorists. You never know- one of those cretins might one day become a major party nominee for president.
Cheers,
-Jordan
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