Years before the invention of the phrase “alternative facts,” historian Deborah Lipstadt found herself in a London court room compelled not only to defend herself against an allegation of libel but to defend the very truth of history itself. The verdict delivered by the judge ten weeks later was a resounding victory for Lipstadt and a huge defeat for the plaintiff, Holocaust denier David Irving. The Times (London) reported “history has had its day in court and scored a crushing victory.”

Professor Lipstadt is the author of numerous books, including most recently The Eichmann Trial (Schocken/Nextbook, 2011) and Holocaust: An American Understanding (Rutgers, 2016). Appointed by President Bill Clinton, Dr. Lipstadt served two terms on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Council. From 1996 through 1999, she was a member of the United States State Department Advisory Committee for Religious Freedom Abroad. Dr. Lipstadt is currently at work on a new book, The Antisemitic Delusion: Letters to a Concerned Student, scheduled for publication in 2018.

Book signing of History on Trial and Holocaust: An American Understanding will follow the lecture.