Deborah Lipstadt to Speak at USC Shoah Foundation Community Event in Aspen

Acclaimed writer and Holocaust historian Deborah Lipstadt will be a special guest at an evening of conversation with USC Shoah Foundation at Aspen Jewish Community Center Wednesday, August 9 at 5 p.m. The program is complimentary and open to the public.

The event is hosted by USC Shoah Foundation Board of Councilors member Melinda Goldrich.

Lipstadt will open the evening with remarks about Holocaust denial and its role in global antisemitism.

Lipstadt is the author of Denying the Holocaust (1993), History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier (2005), and The Eichmann Trial (2011). She is the Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies at Emory University.

She is most known for the libel suit Irving v. Penguin Books Ltd, in which David Irving accused her of libel for characterizing his writing and public statements as Holocaust denial in her book Denying the Holocaust. Lipstadt won the case by arguing that her accusations against Irving were true and therefore not libelous; in other words, that the Holocaust did happen and any claims otherwise are lies.

The suit is the subject of the 2016 film Denial, directed by Mick Jackson and starring Rachel Weisz as Lipstadt. All guests will receive a DVD of the film.

USC Shoah Foundation Chief Technology Officer Sam Gustman and Managing Director of Advancement Jayne Perilstein will speak about the power of eyewitness testimony and technology to change the world. The conversation will be moderated by Laura Lauder, an Aspen Institute trustee and general partner of Lauder Partners, LLC.

The evening will conclude with a reception and a demonstration of New Dimensions in Testimony, USC Shoah Foundation’s interactive Holocaust survivor testimony. Guests will have the opportunity to learn more about the technology and even ask the “virtual” survivor their own questions.

Though the event is free, suggested sponsorships range from the Bronze level, $180, to the Diamond level, $3,600.

To RSVP and/or sponsor the event, visit jccaspen.com, call 970-544-3770 or email info@jccaspen.com.