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In the Supreme Court of Western Australia         No. 1676 of 1993

BETWEEN:

DAVID JOHN CAWDELL IRVING

Plaintiff

- and -

JEREMY JONES

First Defendant

- and -

AUSTRALIA ISRAEL PUBLICATIONS

Second Defendant

Facts/Irwing/Translation from German original text [spelling and translation errors are left unchanged].


SOURCE "Revisionism in the Federal Republic of Germany"

State (Land) of Bavaria
Department for the Defence of the Constitution
(Bayrisches Landesamt fuer Verfassungsschutz)

Second supplemented Edition: Situation as of January 1993

Publisher:

Bayrisches Landesamt fuer Verfassungsschutz
Knorrstr. 139
8000 Munich 45

 

Page 20 to 26

 

4. REVISIONIST AGITATORS

Outstanding representatives of the revisionist agitators are David Irving and Ernst Zuendel.

4.1 DAVID IRVING

Irving is regarded as a self-educated contemporary historian. Starting with his first book "The Demise of Dresden" (Der Untergang Dresdens), this British subject forced colleagues in the profession many times to check conventional theses and at least to modify some interpretations. Irving has discovered new source material. This however tempted him, according to history colleagues, to believe in files in a haphazard way, allowing him to ignore other historical facts and indicators. He also shows an increasing tendency to make extreme right-wing judgements. With his book "Hitler's War" which was published in the 70s, he got himself completely into the firing line of critics in his profession. In this book he claims i.a. that the murder of the European Jews was perpetrated without the knowledge and against the wishes of Hitler. One of the historians accused Irwing that he sees and samples whatever suits his picture of history. Irwing increasingly slided into the extreme right camp. Thus he was honoured in 1982 with the "European Freedom Prize of the Nationalzeitung" (an extreme right-wing newspaper -- Transl.) and in 1965 the "Hans-Ulrich-Rudel Prize" of the "Deutsche Volksunion- DVU) (A rightwing extremist organisation -- Transl.)

In July 1989 the Austrian neo-nazi journal SIEG (Victory) reported in detail under the headline "The Holocaust did not happen. Word Jewry gets into a panic!" a press conference held on the 23 June 1989 by Irving in London. Pointing to the Leuchter-Report Irving claimed -- in contrast to the view he had expressed earlier -- that there were never any mass murders through poison gas and that this horror story is one of the most horrifying propaganda lies of world history. The "Lie about the gassing" was an invention by the British Psychological Warfare Executive (PWE) of the year 1942. As to the science base of the Leuchter-Report Irving stated: People may err and they may say untruth. Laboratories, machines and ultramodern equipment cannot be bribed.

On 20 June 1989, 86 MPs of the British Lower House petitioned parliament against the Leuchter-Report quoting the claims made by Irving. Irving, who attacked Members of Parliament personally reacted with utmost cynicism and suggested the following test: I should go into the 'gas chamber' of Auschwitz and you and your friends may throw in Zyklon B according to the wellknown procedures and circumstances. I guarantee you that you will not be satisfied with the result! In an interview Irving answered the question how he evaluates the credibility of eye-witnesses by saying that the psychiatrist should deal with this matter. There were many instances of mass hysteria. This way Staeglich had before (Irving) defamed the survivors of genocide when he talked on respect of eye-witness reports as mass-suggested creation of images.

Irving started a propagandistic campaign in autumn 1989. Before September 1990 Irving had toured Germany, according to his own reports, ten times already. During these tours he had given over 50 lectures to an audience of thousands. Interest was greater than ever and among the audience there had been a remarkable number of young people.

The first stop of Irving was Austria. However, he was unable to finish his lecture tour of November 1989 because the Austrian authorities put out a warrant for his arrest. Already from 1984 to 1986 a prohibition of entry into Austria had existed because of national-socialist (Nazi) revivalist activity.

In the Federal Republic of Germany Irving is on the list of people to be rejected at the border since March 1990. In spite of this he succeeds to enter (Germany) again and again.

On the 3 March 1990 Irving gave a lecture in Hamburg at the invitation of the "National List" (Nationale Liste): Auschwitz as only a dummy (Attrappe) accepted by the German historians without research. The genocide was nothing but a legend, invented by the "British propaganda machine", in order to be able to demand huge payments of reparation from Bonn.

The Neo-Nazi Ewald Althans organised an Irving function in Munich or the 21 April 1990 with the subject "Germany's way to unity and neutrality"' to which about 500 people appeared. After the function, which concluded in vociferous applause and a standing ovation, a group of about 200 persons formed themselves into a demonstration. intent on marching to the Feldherrnhalle (a location in Munich identified with Hitler's Putsch, Transl.) The unauthorised demonstration was stopped by the police and in the process Irving was temporarily arrested as leader (of the march).

About a dozen additional functions followed in June 1990 in what was the DDR (German Democratic Republic) i.a. in Dresden, Leipzig and Gera under the motto "An Englishman fights for the honour of the Germans". On the 30 September 1990 Ewald Althans organised a revisionist lunch "again in Munich to which the Canadian lawyer of Zuendel, Doug Christie, was invited as speaker. According to the wording of the invitation this function was to be the curtain raiser for a big event in Munich on 23 March 1991.

Irving, who is said to have a well developed business sense in addition to his zeal for revisionism, plans a three volume book under the title "Adolf Hitler and the Jewish Question".

Irving was sentenced in May 1992 at the Munich county court (Amtsgericht) for his postulation of the "Auschwitz lie" for offence and defamation of the memory of the Dead according to Para. 185. 189 of the state law (StGB) to a fine of DM 10,000.

The reason for this conviction was the denial of the mass murder of Jews in concentration camps in his speech in the Lowenbraeukeller (a beer hall -- Tranl.) in Munich on 21 April 1991. He appealed against the conviction immediately.

Irving was arrested in Victoria (Canada) on 27 October 1992 after ...

...turing function. At a hearing of the immigration authorities in Vancouver on 30 October 1992 he was directed to leave Canada by the 2 November 1992. Since he did not follow this direction, he was re-arrested and deported on 13 November 1992 by plane to Great Britain.

Irving had been deported already from Italy on 13 June 1992.

Reasons for these measures was in each case his revisionist agitation .

At the hearing of his appeal before the high court (Landesgericht) in Munich I on 13 January 1993 the above mentioned conviction to a fine of DM 10.000 (100 days Tariff<Tagessaetze> of DM 100 pe day) was increased to DM 30,000 (150 days tariff of DM 200 per day). The court substantiated this conviction commenting on the considerable effect on the masses (Breitenwirkung) which the pronouncements of Irving had in addition to the fact that he did not accept the conviction in the first instance as a warning. The defence has advised that the conviction is being appealed against.

On the 13 January 1993 the state capital Munich (State of Bavaria) permanently prohibited Irving according to Para. 37 (1) of the Aus1G (regulations) any political activity in Munich.

....ultaneously he was granted, after his conviction, a judicial hearing regarding his planned deportation from Germany.


© Focal Point 1999 F Irving David Irving