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“HOLOCAUST DENIAL” Law Library Lunch & Learn: - Social Justice Discussion
As part of the annual Holocaust observance, The Richmond Public Law Library presents “HOLOCAUST DENIAL”, a Social Justice Discussion of Holocaust denial focusing on Deborah E. Lipstadt’s 2016 book and film Denial.
DENIAL (2016), a “drama for the Misinformation Age,” is about the remarkable true story of the Irving v Penguin Books Ltd case. The film stars Rachel Weisz playing Deborah E. Lipstadt, an American professor of Holocaust studies, who is hounded and sued by David Irving, a scholar of Nazi Germany. Irving sues Lipstadt for libel because she called him a Holocaust denier. To win the case in court, she had to prove her claims that Irving twisted facts to suit his view of history and that the Holocaust was a fact. The burden of proof, which fell on Lipstadt, took her on a journey through Holocaust history. The movie is available at the Richmond Public Library through Libby and Hoopla.
In her acclaimed 1993 book Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory, Deborah Lipstadt called David Irving, a prolific writer of books on World War II, "one of the most dangerous spokespersons for Holocaust denial." The following year, after Lipstadt's book was published in the United Kingdom, Irving led a libel suit against Lipstadt and her publisher. She prepared her defense with the help of a first-rate team of solicitors, historians, and experts, and a dramatic trial unfolded. The book Denial: Holocaust History on Trial (2016), previously published as History on Trial (2005), is Lipstadt's riveting, blow-by-blow account of this singular legal battle, which resulted in a formal denunciation of a Holocaust denier that crippled the movement for years to come. Denial is available through Hoopla and Libby.
Reviews
"A fascinating and meritorious work of legal-and moral-history." Kirkus Reviews
"Powerful…. No one who cares about historical truth, freedom of speech or the Holocaust will avoid a sense of triumph." Publishers Weekly
"Lipstadt gives a detailed account of the trial that never loses its suspense, readability or momentum. Or humor." Salon.com
Of Added Interest:
Lying About Hitler: History, Holocaust and The David Irving Trial (2001) by Richard J. Evans
The Landscape of History: How Historians Map the Past (2002) by John Lewis Gaddis
History on Trial: My Day in Court with David Irving (2005) by Deborah E. Lipstadt
Event Organizer
Meldon Jenkins-Jones is the Richmond Public Library / Community Services Manager at Hull Street Branch Library.
Meldon also chairs the Get Lit Advisory Committee which supports the Richmond Public Library Get Lit Reading Initiatives including the Black Male Emergent Readers (BMER) program and the Lit Chicks Read book clubs.
Meldon is a graduate of the Leadership Metro Richmond Class of 2022. She was the first recipient of the Virginia Library Association (VLA) Librarians of Color Forum Award in 2021 and is an active member of VLA. She presented “Libraries Bringing Community Together” at the 2023 VLA Annual Conference.
In 2011, Meldon received her Master of Library and Information Studies from Florida State University. She received her Juris Doctor degree from Rutgers University School of Law—Newark and practiced law in New Jersey until her retirement in 2003. Meldon received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, where she studied African American Studies and Russian Civilization.
A Metro Richmond resident, Meldon is the mother of two adult children and enjoys spending time with her grandchildren.