Release date: Dec. 19, 2006
Contact: Elaine Justice at 404-727-0643 or elaine.justice@emory.edu

Holocaust Site to be Translated Into Farsi, Arabic by Emory

Emory University is seeking to increase access to a Web site on Holocaust denial by translating its content into Farsi (the major language of Iran), Arabic and other languages. In this way, says Emory historian Deborah Lipstadt, "people in countries where Holocaust denial is widespread can have access to the historical facts."

"Emory is actively engaged in building a $2 million endowment to support the Holocaust Denial on Trial Web site and Deborah Lipstadt's efforts to refute Holocaust denial and educate others," says Robert Paul, dean of Emory College. The university is using a combination of its own funds and private gifts toward the effort.

"I'm convinced that there are people in predominantly Muslim countries, especially in the Middle East, who are being inundated with Holocaust deniers' claims and don't know that the deniers are fabricating and distorting. The problem is that there is no place where they can find sources in their languages to refute these lies," says Lipstadt. Referring to last week's Holocaust denial conference in Tehran hosted by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Lipstadt said that "for those in countries were Holocaust denial is frequently in the press and who don't speak English, there is no way to access the truth."

The Holocaust Denial on Trial Web site presents the legal and historical documents from the British Holocaust denial libel trial, David Irving v. Penguin UK and Deborah Lipstadt (1996-2001). Lipstadt won a resounding victory in the trial in which a British judge ruled that Irving was a Holocaust denier and falsifier of history.

"While the Web site has established itself as the leading scholarly resource on Holocaust denial, Emory is committed to making it easier for teachers, journalists and the interested general public to learn about Holocaust denial and its connection to anti-Semitism, racism and attacks on Israel, such as Ahmadinejad's comment that he intends to wipe Israel off the face of the map," says Lipstadt.

Emory plans to create subject-specific resource guides, which will include materials in Farsi, Arabic, Russian "and other languages representing cultures where Holocaust denial is spread," says Lipstadt.

Also included on the enhanced site will be lesson plans for educators and a new structure that will allow users to more easily navigate the site and locate information relevant to their needs.

The Web site already is being used in college and law school classes to demonstrate Holocaust denial's inherent fallacy. The site has seen increased traffic in the last few months, attributable in part to the increase in expressions of anti-Semitism and the rise of Holocaust denial in the Arab world, says Lipstadt.

"One of the unique things about the materials on which we will draw is that three different British courts used this material to conclude that Holocaust deniers are liars and fabricators," says Lipstadt.

Emory University is one of the nation's leading private research universities and a member of the Association of American Universities. Known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities, Emory is ranked as one of the country's top 20 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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