July 27, 2005

Original Letter to David Irving - 07/25/05

Below see the text of my email to David Irving. If you are interested in reading what he published on his website (that includes additional email exchange but it is not complete), please go to http://www.fpp.co.uk/Letters/hate_05/Schon_by_name_270705.html



Dear Mr. Irving,

It was with great delight that I watched your lawsuit against Deborah Lipstadt take a turn for the worst. As much as I prize my and everybody else’s right to free speech, I cannot understand how people like you proceed in life as if decency and honesty were abstract concepts which have no impact on them whatsoever. Also, your initial claim that Lipstadt was attempting to curb your right to free speech was ironic at best; after all, you’re the one who took her to court when she, exercising her own right to free speech, made comments about you that you considered unflattering.

I am not even half your age, but I know myself to be mature, well-educated and respectful of people’s heritage and personal history. Unlike you, I do have degrees which, if nothing else, provide me with the ability to step outside of my own familiar environment and realize that what is foreign is not per se malignant. You, Mr. Irving, seem to be unable to understand the nature of true, unbiased debate. The fact that your bogus revision of history went unpunished (or only mildly challenged) for so long does not surprise me: on one hand, there are plenty of people who subscribe to ridiculous theories such as your Holocaust ones (people like you, ignorant and xenophobic by nature); and on the other, I really do believe that the scholarly world did not really take you that seriously – they rather perceived you as a clown of sorts.

The ultimate fallacy is having you actually deny Auschwitz and the gas chambers, where part of my family perished. In doing so, you even defy reports by your own government (and others around world) about the existence of the same. Do you really think us Jews so powerful as to be able to perpetuate a lie of this magnitude in so many different countries, during such a long period of time?

Probably the hardest thing for you Holocaust deniers/anti-Semites to deal with is the fact that not only Hitler and his culprits did not succeed in completely annihilating the Jews but the ordeal has, in many ways, made them stronger. This must be very hard to swallow, Mr. Irving.
In any case, we Jews can’t complain. We can now call you by your proper epithet – Mr. Irving the Anti-Semite (thanks to Judge Charles Gray’s conclusion). Great things you’ve accomplished, dear sir.

Sincerely,
Gisela Schön

David Irving's website:
http://www.fpp.co.uk/

6 comments:

Gisela said...

I agree, Philippe. But certain things bother me - why is he living in Florida? The man is British; was banned from Germany, Israel, Austria, Australia, New Zealand, Canada to name a few; and now he sits in Florida, receiving financial support from supremacist groups. And is it legal for him to publish my address and telephone number online? Does this qualify as freedom of speech? Plus, the problem is not Irving, but the people behind him.

Anonymous said...

Hi, Gisela!

Here's my experience with David 'Skunky Liar' Irving:

http://p102.ezboard.com/frodohforumfrm10.showMessage?topicID=805.topic

It is not the only one, but it is perhaps the most illustrative.

Gisela said...

Yes - Irving is like a broken record. The emails I have been getting from people who agree with his theories are also strikingly similar: they are all pretty much absurd... My question remains - is it okay for him to be here in the US? Who is financing his lunacy?

Anonymous said...

Gisela, I have invaded your blog!

I have enjoyed the occasional correspondence with Mr. Irving, usually about inconsistencies in his position on various topics, which I believe cannot be justified even with his peculiar worldview. He's posted a couple of letters of mine but I think I've mostly escaped the "HATER" label. Anyway, as I wrote to you before, I found your comments perfectly lucid and his responses utterly meaningless.

Enjoy your occasional foray into Irvingland, which like a train wreck is repulsive yet too compelling to ignore for long. Just be sure to wash up after!

Andrew E. Mathis said...

Hi, Gisella,

I provided a link to your blog on mine. I am a board member of the Holocaust History Project, and I've met Irving in person. He's a Grade A scumbag. Who's financing him? Elderly Germans living here in America and very wealthy fascists. I met him in New York two-and-a-half years ago, and the event was filled with very rich folks. They have the means to keep Irving in the black, even if he has lost his flat so far.

Don't give up the fight. Irving's thugs are, to a person, vulgar bastards, but they are as cowardly as he is.

Kol tuv,
Andrew E. Mathis

Gisela said...

Thank you so very much, Dave!! I appreciate the support. David Irving is definitely a bully, it is the right description for the kind of person he is.

I have bookmarked your websites as well, and I hope you become a regular at my little blog here!

All the best,
Gisela