Robert Faurisson

Robert Faurisson, who died in 2018, remains one of the most infamous figures in the world of Holocaust denial. A French academic, he spent much of his life challenging widely accepted truths—not only in literature, where his career began, but also in history, where his revisionist theories would earn him notoriety.

Born in Great Britain in 1929, Faurisson initially carved a niche for himself by questioning mainstream interpretations of literary figures like Rimbaud and Apollinaire. As a philologist, he claimed to uncover what he saw as fabrications in literary criticism, saying that "people fabricated stories about texts without bothering to read them line by line, word by word." His 1972 doctoral thesis on Lautréamont already hinted at the revisionist approach he would later apply to history, specifically to the Holocaust.

By the late 1970s, Faurisson had shifted his attention to the genocide of the Jews during World War II. A lecturer at Lyon 2 University, Faurisson’s growing interest in Holocaust denial wasn’t entirely surprising. His work often combined a pseudo-scholarly approach with an anti-historical stance. He framed himself as a non-conformist, but his critics saw him as a provocateur intent on spreading dangerous falsehoods.

His claim to be apolitical is undermined by his clear connections to far-right politics. Faurisson’s involvement in radical political circles, including membership in the "Association for the Defense of Marshal Pétain’s Memory" and the "Friends of Robert Brasillach," pointed to his ideological leanings. His antisemitic rhetoric and repeated denials of the Holocaust further cemented his reputation as a figure of the far right.

“French writers on the political margins began denying the Holocaust not long after the war ended,” the New York Times commented in its obituary. “But Mr. Faurisson distinguished himself by making a rare breakthrough into the country’s mainstream media, publishing a notorious opinion article in France’s most respected newspaper, Le Monde, in 1978.”

“Faurisson is of course the theoretician of Holocaust denial,” Paul Berman wrote in The Tablet magazine.  “He contributed to Le Monde an “ideas” piece titled “The Debate Over the ‘Gas Chambers,’ ” with the extra quotation marks signifying his belief that Nazi gas chambers are a Zionist lie. And Le Monde has needed, ever since, to make the point over and again that publishing his article was a big mistake, and Faurisson is, in fact, a professional liar and a falsifier of history.”

Just months before his outing in Le Monde, Faurisson had provocatively written: "The number of Jews ‘exterminated’ by Hitler is happily... zero." His inflammatory claims shocked the public and heralded a new phase in the spread of Holocaust denial.

At the 1987 trial of Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie, Faurisson reiterated his belief that gas chambers were a myth, claiming that at Auschwitz, "they gassed... lice!" This "technical" form of Holocaust denial, which argued that the gas chambers were physically impossible, became Faurisson’s signature approach. His ideas were supported by elements of both the far right and the ultra-left, particularly through Pierre Guillaume and his bookstore La Vieille Taupe. Among Faurisson’s sympathizers were figures like American linguist Noam Chomsky, Jean-Gabriel Cohn-Bendit (elder brother of May 1968 icon Daniel Cohn-Bendit), and CNRS researcher Serge Thion. These individuals, along with others, framed Holocaust denial as a revolutionary stance and a defense of free speech, despite the widespread condemnation of such views.

As the 21st century dawned, Faurisson shifted his focus from pseudo-technical arguments to conspiracy theories about a "Judeo-Zionist plot." He became a key figure in the politicization of Holocaust denial, which increasingly merged with antisemitic conspiracy theories. In December 2008, Dieudonné M’Bala M’Bala, a controversial comedian with a large following, invited Faurisson to appear on stage at the Zénith in Paris, marking the start of a troubling collaboration between Holocaust deniers and conspiracy theorists. This partnership continued with Dieudonné’s 2012 film L’Antisémite, which featured Faurisson.

Faurisson’s influence extended beyond France. In 2012, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad awarded him a prize for "courage, resistance, and combativeness" at an international film festival in Tehran. Faurisson’s role in spreading Holocaust denial in the Middle East, particularly in Iran, cannot be understated.

Despite multiple convictions in French courts for Holocaust denial, Faurisson remained unrepentant. In 2017, he lost a defamation lawsuit against Le Monde journalist Ariane Chemin, a verdict that was upheld on appeal in 2018. Faurisson had argued for the "truth exception" in his case, but the courts rejected his claims. His lawyer, Damien Viguier, indicated that Faurisson intended to appeal.

When Faurisson died on October 22, 2018, the antisemitic conspiracy sphere was quick to honour him. Two figures in particular—Dieudonné and Alain Soral—publicly praised him. Dieudonné tweeted, "Robert Faurisson has left us, I lost a friend, an exceptional man who inspired me greatly. I know that the thirst for truth to which he was chained is now quenched; it made his life a unique work. In a normal world, you would be in the Panthéon. We will not forget you, Robert." Soral, another conspiracist and antisemitic figure on the French far right, released a 20-minute video lauding Faurisson as a "master of moral rectitude," suggesting streets and schools should be named after him.

Faurisson’s legacy lives on in the murky corners of the internet, where conspiracy theorists and Holocaust deniers continue to cite his work. In a 2019 article on Soral’s site Egalité & Réconciliation, Maria Poumier referenced the "work of Professor Robert Faurisson" in support of her own Holocaust denial, proving that his dangerous ideas continue to resonate.

Faurisson in his own words

Faurisson’s worldview can perhaps be best encapsulated by his statement from 1980: "The so-called ‘gas chambers’”.