Daving Irving rattles Spanish authorities

The controversial David Irving, author and historian, has just made headlines after delivering a speech in Barcelona. European Jewish Press:

During his speech at a Barcelona bookstore, Irving, a historian who has written over 20 books, said "there is no proof" dictator Adolf Hitler was aware of what was happening in Nazi Germany’s concentration camps, the Europa Press news agency reported.

But he said "there was no doubt" that the Nazis killed two or three million Jews.

David Irving is an interesting character. I've read his Hitler's War and The Path to War, and while I felt there were perhaps tones of sympathy for Hitler, I also found them fascinating and scholarly. I recommend them to everyone, just as countless, respected historians and book reviewers have. He does, however, say things publicly that are counter to conventional thinking about the Nazis and the Holocaust - things that have resulted in his imprisonment.

It is interesting that in free societies, as Western European countries claim to be, merely stating an opinion about history can be illegal and punishable. The other side of the coin is that the Holocaust and WWII were so horrible that European laws about denying the Holocaust stand as worthy exceptions in genuinely free societies.

I am two generations removed from anyone who witnessed WWII, and being from Middle America -- as opposed to Europe -- am quite removed from the carnage. Therefore I won't be too critical of laws that seem counter to freedom.

I'll state again that I'm not a Nazi sympathizer, and I do not deny the Holocaust. That said, the link to David Irving's website will remain on my sidebar and I will continue to read his books.