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It was only a few weeks ago, while participating in a discussion on History News Network (HNN), the Website “for historians by historians,” that I first thought to ask that someone give me the name of one person, with proof, who had been killed in a gas chamber at Auschwitz. No one told me the question was irrelevant, and no one tried to answer it.

After I had asked the question several times, I realized I had never heard anyone else ask the question. Why was that? If four millions – or as we must say nowadays -- maybe a million, were killed in gas chambers at Auschwitz, surely there was one academic on one campus somewhere in America who could provide the name of one person, with proof, who was killed there.

It occurred to me to ask Professor Deborah Lipstadt herself. She is the key public spokesperson for the Holocaust Lobby on the American campus. Of course, she did not respond. It is against her principles – I understand this and do not mean to complain about it, though every once in a while I will probably mention it – it is against her principles to discuss anything with anyone who doubts what she believes about the use of WMD (gas chambers) by Germans during WWII.

So I would write Professor Lipstadt directly, and copy my original letter to her to academics and journalists at Emory and other campuses and see if anyone was interested in the question. I would pretend that such folk can afford to be interested responding to the question. Who among them will be willing to risk their reputation, their career, and their income, over this simple question?

As of this writing I have begun my lonely quest for that one name, with proof – one out of a million names. It has been suggested to me that that is about what my chances are of any academic risking it – one in a million. I cannot believe that that will prove to be so. Surely one professor, on one campus somewhere in America, will rise to the occasion.

Regarding your comments, I will follow Professor Lipstadt’s example: I will post those that interest me. And as Professor Lipstadt has it, I will not correct ‘typos’ in email. It may turn out that Professor Lipstadt will be my model in many ways. I believe that would be wise of me. She is a real pro, she is very successful, she is above criticism, she has access to substantial funding, and she is taken seriously by the mainstream press. Who else would I better follow?