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the publisher, had earlier brought out in French the book entitled
"Historical truth or political truth? The dossier of the Faurisson
affair. The question of the gas chambers."· This had been written by
sociologist Serge Thion of the CNRS (National Center for Scientific
Research) in collaboration with others, including Gabriel Cohn–
Bendit, brother of Daniel. The book had a long introduction by
Thion to explain his position, and a large selection of Faurisson's
writings).
In
Memoire in Defense,
Faurisson claimed that the well-known
scholar of the history of anti-Semitism and of Holocaust studies,
Leon Poliakov, had falsified history, and this statement resulted in
Faurisson's being summoned to court on May 29, 1981, for the first··
9f three trials. But it was perhaps the book's preface by Noam
Chomsky, entitled "Some rudimentary comments on the right to
freedom of expression," that provoked the strongest reaction.
Chomsky attacked French intellectuals, blaming them for their
totalitarian tendencies. He cited the collaboration with Germany,
the influence of Leninism, and the existence of the New Right. On
the issue of civil liberties, he reaffirmed the general principle of the
absolute necessity of defending freedom of speech, and cited
supporting examples of petitions he had signed in favor of Russian
dissidents with whom he was in complete political and ideological
dis~greement.
As for Faurisson, Chomsky acknowledged that he
knew little about his work and expressed no opinion on the subject
itself, since on these matters he claimed to have no "special enlight–
enment." About Faurisson's "alleged 'antisemitism'," Chomsky said
he had found no proof to permit such a conclusion; for him,
Faurisson was a "kind of relatively apolitical liberal."
Very few people have actually read Chomsky's statement.
However, since Chomsky is well known and respected in France as a
scholar and a political thinker, the association of his name with that
of Faurisson brought wide publicity to the issue. This public concern
was probably increased by the bombing of the synagogue on the
Rue Copernic in Paris.
The media resonate to the general interest in these issues, and
one of the repercussions of the renewed publicity was the appearance
of Faurisson on radio station Europe
I,
where he was interviewed
• This is the English title of the book noted earlier.
"Charged with defamation under the penal code.
