Deborah E. Lipstadt, Professor of Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies at Emory University, to Lecture at W&L
Deborah E. Lipstadt, Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies at Emory University, will give a public lecture at Washington and Lee University on March 4 at 4:30 p.m. in the Stackhouse Theater of Elrod Commons.
The title of Lipstadt’s lecture, which is free and open to the public, is “History on Trial: My Day in Court with David Irving.”
Lipstadt’s most recent book is “The Eichmann Trial” (2011). Her earlier book, “History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier” (2005) is the story of her libel trial in London against David Irving who sued her for calling him a Holocaust denier and right-wing extremist. The judge found Irving to be a Holocaust denier, a falsifier of history, a racist and an anti-Semite.
She is also the author of “Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory” (1993), which is the first full-length study of those who attempt to deny the Holocaust; and “Beyond Belief: The American Press and the Coming of the Holocaust” (1986), which is an examination of how the American press covered the news of the persecution of European Jews between the years 1933 and 1945.
Lipstadt was an historical consultant to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and helped design the section of the museum dedicated to the American response to the Holocaust. She was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council on which she served two terms. She was a member of its executive committee and chaired the Educational Committee and Academic Committee of the Holocaust Museum.
She has been called upon by members of Congress to consult on political responses to Holocaust denial. From 1996 through 1999, she served as a member of the State Department Advisory Committee on Religious Freedom Abroad. In this capacity she, together with a small group of leaders and scholars, advised Secretary of State Madeline Albright on matters of religious persecution abroad.
Lipstadt has appeared on CNN, “60 Minutes,” “Today Show,” “Good Morning America,” NPR’s “Fresh Air,” the BBC and is a frequent contributor to and is widely quoted in a variety of newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and the New York Times.
At Emory she created the Institute for Jewish Studies and was its first director from 1998-2008. She has received numerous teaching awards, including Emory’s student government association’s award for being the teacher most likely to motivate students to learn about new and unfamiliar topics and the Emory Williams award, for her courses on modern Jewish and Holocaust studies.
Lipstadt received her B.A. from City College of New York and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Brandeis University. She has taught at UCLA and Occidental College in Los Angeles.
