The Roots of Holocaust Denial

The defense strategy employed by Rudolf Aschenauer during a prominent war crimes trial involved both justifying Nazi actions and denying the occurrence of atrocities. Francis Yaki, linked to this defense, used his role in the American War Crimes Trials to illicitly procure documents that aided the case. He notably claimed that gas chambers did not exist and that the supposed victims misrepresented their experiences, contributing to the foundation of Holocaust denial in American discourse through his work, Imperium. This text is recognized as one of the earliest American instances of Holocaust denial, illustrating the dangerous narratives that emerged in the post-war period.