Month: November 2023

Robert Jan van Pelt: The Case for Auschwitz

By John Wear ∙ November 30, 2023

British historian David Irving was viciously smeared by the media after his testimony at the 1988 Ernst Zündel false-news trial in Toronto. As part of the smear campaign against Irving, Deborah Lipstadt writes in her book Denying the Holocaust that “on some level Irving seems to conceive himself as carrying on Hitler’s legacy.” David Irving filed a libel suit against Deborah Lipstadt in British courts to attempt to end these and other similar statements. Canadian-Jewish architectural historian Robert Jan van Pelt was hired by Lipstadt’s defense team to act as an expert witness for Lipstadt’s defense. Van Pelt wrote for this trial a 700-page report addressing the historical and forensic evidence for the gas chambers at Auschwitz-Birkenau. He subsequently wrote the book, The Case for Auschwitz, which presents the bulk of the evidence he submitted in his expert report for this trial. This article discusses some weaknesses in van Pelt’s research which was designed to discredit David Irving’s views of the “Holocaust.”

Christopher Browning on the “Holocaust”

By John Wear ∙ November 29, 2023

U.S. American historian Christopher Browning is a professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research focuses on National-Socialist Germany and the so-called Holocaust. He has written extensively about German policy and decision making regarding the “Holocaust”; the behavior and motives of various German personnel involved in implementing National-Socialist Germany’s Jewish policy; and the use of survivor testimony to explore Jewish responses and survival strategies. Browning has also served as a paid expert witness in at least two major trials. This article discusses some of the weaknesses of Browning’s research regarding the “Holocaust.”

William Joyce: “Lord Haw-Haw”

By John Wear ∙ November 28, 2023

William Brooke Joyce, also known as “Lord Haw-Haw,” holds the distinction of being the last man ever to be hanged for high treason by the British Crown. Joyce was born an American and grew up in western Ireland. He was hanged for high treason by the British Crown at Wandsworth Prison, London, in the early morning of January 3, 1946. His offense was that he had given “aid and comfort to the King’s enemies” and assisted Germany “in her war against our country and our King” by making pro-German radio broadcasts during World War II. By the end of the war, Joyce was, after Adolf Hitler, the most detested man in Britain. This article discusses the life and career of William Joyce, and whether he should have been hanged for high treason after World War II.

Sophie Scholl: Germany’s Celebrated Woman of the Twentieth Century

By John Wear ∙ November 28, 2023

Sophie Magdalena Scholl is one of the most famous members of the German resistance movement during World War II. She and her brother Hans took enormous risks to undermine Adolf Hitler’s power. Hans and Sophie Scholl were dead at ages 24 and 21, respectively, so left behind no careers or life’s work. However, a series of actions over the course of only six or seven months have made them world famous and national heroes in modern Germany. This article discusses the short life of Sophie Scholl, and why she was so determined to end Hitler’s reign.

Otto Skorzeny: Hitler’s Special Operations Commander

By John Wear ∙ November 28, 2023

Otto Skorzeny was one of the most colorful men of the Third Reich and its most successful special-operations commander. Skorzeny made it clear that, after the Allied demand at Casablanca for an unconditional German surrender, he had no other alternative but to fight to the bitter end. This article examines some of Skorzeny’s special missions and his good fortune in surviving World War II and its aftermath.

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