British Holocaust Denier To Lead Tour of Nazi Sites

By Josh Tapper September 17, 2010

Controversial British Holocaust denier and “historian” David Irving (to call him a historian, sans quotations, seems a tad irresponsible) will lead a group of British and American tourists on an “unforgettable journey” next week to Nazi sites in Germany and Poland.

Needless to say, Irving’s trip hasn’t gone over well.

“For Holocaust survivors, the planned visit by David Irving to the sites of the Treblinka death camp and the Warsaw Ghetto is a deliberate act of hate and contempt by this notorious racist,” Elan Steinberg, vice president of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants, told JTA. “His tour is an insult to all victims of Nazi brutality, Jew and non-Jew.”

The trip, which costs $2,650 a head, also includes stops at Hitler’s headquarters at Ketrzyn, Himmler’s headquarters and Auschwitz. The tour is fully booked, according to Irving.

Auschwitz, in particular, has elicited strong words from Irving in recent days. Irving told a British newspaper that Polish authorities have turned the camp into a “Disney-style … money-making machine.” Irving accused the site’s curators of going so far as to construct phony watchtowers.

“Forget the phony allures, mass-tourism and ‘reconstructions’ modern-day Auschwitz — the erstwhile slave-labour camp turned into a tourist attraction, complete with hot-dog vendors and souvenir stands,” he wrote on his website, Focal Point Publications.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO