Holocaust Denial and Holocaust Memory: The Case of Ernst Zündel

Until his extradition to Germany in 2005, Ernst Zündel was the largest promoter of Holocaust denial literature in the world. In 1985, Zündel was even put on trial in Toronto for his fallacious publications. The trial was brought by Holocaust survivors seeking to safeguard Holocaust memory, which had grown in Canada's public consciousness during the 1960s and 1970s, but which had been viciously attacked by Zündel. This article explores the origins and history of Zündel's denial, and offers a new perspective on a well-known denier. While antisemitism played an essential role, the author argues that to understand Zündel's denial requires contextualizing his deplorable beliefs, as denial can also serve a special role in deniers' sense of themselves. By taking issues of identity seriously, such as how one fabricates a historical web of meaning, we can better understand what causes some people to deny the undeniable.