The recent David Irving libel trial raised a whole series of crucial issues, not only as to the ways in which the memory of the Holocaust is preserved, but also, and more generally, as to the nature of historical truth and how it relates to legal proof, and the limits of historical interpretation.
Richard Evans, in this book, unpacks the issues raised by the trial, from the career of Irving and the exposing of his methods, to the wider questions of the preservation of the cultural memory of the Holocaust and the social and cultural functions of the historian in society.
'Telling Lies About Hitler' is a major contribution to our understanding of the Holocaust, of the nature of historical writing and evidence, and the social role of the historian. This book is not only by a central participant, but, unlike other quickie books arising out of the trial, it is also the fruit of the two years of research and writing the author spent working on the historical depositions.
