To say the Holocaust is not true is obscene

Having lost relatives to the Nazis’ genocide, David Baddiel examines why some deny their crimes

CONFRONTING HOLOCAUST DENIAL WITH DAVID BADDIEL BBC2, 9pm

DAVID BADDIEL says he feels the history of the Holocaust in his bones. “I wouldn’t be here if my grandparents hadn’t escaped Nazi Germany,” says the 55-year-old Jewish comedian.

“My extended family didn’t make it. They were murdered. So I’ve never understood how the Holocaust could be denied.”

It’s a deeply personal and slightly apprehensive journey for David as he attempts to understand the phenomenon of Holocaust denial.

Despite the slaughter of six million Jews in Nazi Germany being one of the most documented, witnessed and written about events in history, it seems denial is back on the political agenda.

David wants to find out what has happened in the 75 years since the liberation of the camps to have so skewed the picture.

There are many shocking moments as

David talks to academics across Europe and looks at documents to trace how denial has evolved.

He also wrestles with his latent fear that this film will “fan the flames” of Holocaust denial, but decides he wants to explore this “noisy false history”.

It all builds towards the one thing he really doesn’t want to do – to meet a Holocaust denier.

It’s a tense and bizarre encounter for David, who says: “If you’re going to talk about the devil, at some point you’ve got to meet the devil.”

And bringing this powerful film back round to truth, David meets Holocaust survivor Rachel Levy, whose personal testimony is heartbreaking.

David says: “It’s so deeply true what she’s saying. To say it’s not true is obscene.”

David meets Holocaust survivor Rachel Levy