The Future of a Negation: Reflections on the Question of Genocide

by Alain Finkielkraut, Mary Byrd Kelly (Translator), Richard J. Golsan (Introduction)

The Future of a Negation is a crucial statement on the Holocaust—and on Holocaust denial—from Alain Finkielkraut, one of the most acclaimed and influential intellectuals in contemporary Europe.

The book examines the Holocaust, its origins in modern European thought and politics, and recent “revisionist” attempts to deny its full dimensions and, in some cases, its very existence as historical fact. Finkielkraut’s central topic is the impulse toward “negation” of the Nazi the arguments made by many people, of varying political orientations, that “the gas chambers are a hoax or, in any case, an unverifiable rumor.” In addition, Finkielkraut looks at other instances of twentieth-century mass murder and at arguments made by contemporary politicians and intellectuals that similarly deny the full extent of these other atrocities. An original, fearless book, The Future of a Negation is an essential contribution to our understanding of the Holocaust and of genocidal politics and thought in our century.

149 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Alain Finkielkraut, né le 30 juin 1949 à Paris, est un philosophe, écrivain, essayiste et producteur de radio français.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviews the history of ultra-leftist anti-semitism from the time of the Dreyfuss Affair to the Faurisson affair with Chomsky and the La vVelle Taupe mileau.