The producer was amazed when historian Deborah Lipstadt turned down an opportunity to debate a Holocaust denier on television.

In a last-ditch effort, the producer said, "I certainly don't agree with them, but don't you think our viewers should hear the other side?"

Lipstadt didn't think there was another side. Hitler-led Nazi Germany murdered or starved to death 6 million Jews during World War II. The historical record confirms that, and she didn't want to legitimatize anyone by debating uses that the historical record had already settled.

Lipstadt will talk about "Holocaust Denial: A New Form of Anti-Semitism" at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Cultural Center, Capitol Complex. The lecture is free, jointly sponsored by Federated Jewish Charities of Charleston, First Presbyterian Church, Charleston's two synagogues, Kanawha County Schools and the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts.

A professor of Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies at Emory University in Atlanta, Lipstadt is the author of "Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory" and "History On Trial: My Day In Court With David Irving."

The second book grew out of the first, in which Lipstadt called Irving a Holocaust denier, falsifier, and bigot, and said that he manipulated and distorted historical documents. Irving is a British citizen who has written more than 30 books, many about Nazi Germany. Other historians have come to see him as an apologist for the Nazi excesses, especially during the World War II years of 1939 to 1945.

Irving filed a libel lawsuit in England against the British publisher, Penguin Books, and against Lipstadt. In Britain, the burden of proof in a libel case falls on defendants, who must prove the validity of their statements.

The judge who presided over the bench trial found in favor of Lipstadt and Penguin. The appeals court upheld that decision, declaring that Irving "portrayed Hitler in an unwarrantedly favorable light, principally in relation to his attitude towards and responsibility for the treatment of the Jews; that he is an active Holocaust denier; that he is anti-Semitic and racist, and that he associates with right-wing extremists who promote neo-Nazism."

"Nothing makes you want to work in a field more than someone trying to stop you from doing it," said Lipstadt, 60, who spoke by phone from Jerusalem. "Instead of running the other way, I decided I have to work on this."

Lipstadt also will speak to George Washington, Riverside and South Charleston high school students earlier in the day at George Washington High.

"It's important they be exposed and begin to think about it. Because many haven't been exposed to it, their questions are often refreshing, and sometimes they help me see things in ways I haven't seen them before."

To contact staff writer Bob Schwarz, use e-mail or call 348-1249.

The producer was amazed when historian Deborah Lipstadt turned down an opportunity to debate a Holocaust denier on television.

In a last-ditch effort, the producer said, "I certainly don't agree with them, but don't you think our viewers should hear the other side?"

Lipstadt didn't think there was another side. Hitler-led Nazi Germany murdered or starved to death 6 million Jews during World War II. The historical record confirms that, and she didn't want to legitimatize anyone by debating uses that the historical record had already settled.

Lipstadt will talk about "Holocaust Denial: A New Form of Anti-Semitism" at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Cultural Center, Capitol Complex. The lecture is free, jointly sponsored by Federated Jewish Charities of Charleston, First Presbyterian Church, Charleston's two synagogues, Kanawha County Schools and the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts.

A professor of Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies at Emory University in Atlanta, Lipstadt is the author of "Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory" and "History On Trial: My Day In Court With David Irving."

The second book grew out of the first, in which Lipstadt called Irving a Holocaust denier, falsifier, and bigot, and said that he manipulated and distorted historical documents. Irving is a British citizen who has written more than 30 books, many about Nazi Germany. Other historians have come to see him as an apologist for the Nazi excesses, especially during the World War II years of 1939 to 1945.

Irving filed a libel lawsuit in England against the British publisher, Penguin Books, and against Lipstadt. In Britain, the burden of proof in a libel case falls on defendants, who must prove the validity of their statements.

The judge who presided over the bench trial found in favor of Lipstadt and Penguin. The appeals court upheld that decision, declaring that Irving "portrayed Hitler in an unwarrantedly favorable light, principally in relation to his attitude towards and responsibility for the treatment of the Jews; that he is an active Holocaust denier; that he is anti-Semitic and racist, and that he associates with right-wing extremists who promote neo-Nazism."

"Nothing makes you want to work in a field more than someone trying to stop you from doing it," said Lipstadt, 60, who spoke by phone from Jerusalem. "Instead of running the other way, I decided I have to work on this."

Lipstadt also will speak to George Washington, Riverside and South Charleston high school students earlier in the day at George Washington High.

"It's important they be exposed and begin to think about it. Because many haven't been exposed to it, their questions are often refreshing, and sometimes they help me see things in ways I haven't seen them before."

To contact staff writer Bob Schwarz, use e-mail or call 348-1249.