Trigger warning: Holocaust, transgender persecution, mentions of Nazis
J.K. Rowling threatened legal action against a Jewish journalist who accused her of Holocaust denial, prompting an alleged forced public apology and retraction from the accuser. Meanwhile, people have continued to call out the author’s transphobic rants in the context of persecution by Nazis.
- J.K. Rowling threatened legal action over Holocaust denial accusation by journalist Rivkah Brown.
- Rivkah was legally forced to retract the statement and apologize to J.K.
- The Institute of Sexology's pioneering transgender research burnt by Nazis in 1933 was highlighted.
Taking to her X page (formerly known as Twitter) on March 13, the Harry Potter author shared a screenshot of a post seemingly directed at her that read: “The Nazis burnt books on trans healthcare and research, why are you so desperate to uphold their ideology around gender?” to which J.K. responded: “I just… how? How did you type this out and press send without thinking ‘I should maybe check my source for this because it might’ve been a fever dream’?”
According to the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, on 6 May 1933, the Institute of Sexology, an academic foundation devoted to sexological research and the advocacy of homosexual rights, was broken into and occupied by Nazi-supporting youth. Several days later, the entire contents of the library were removed and burned.
During the institute’s existence, thousands of patients were seen and treated, often for free, achieving a global reputation for its pioneering work on transsexual (now replaced by the more inclusive and respectful term transgender) understanding.
J.K. Rowling faced criticism over alleged Holocaust denial, leading to a legal threat against a Jewish journalist amid Rowling’s views on transgender issues
Image credits: Mike Marsland/Gettyimages
J.K.’s X post sparked outrage, with Harvard Law School clinical instructor Alejandra Caraballo commenting: “You’re engaging in Holocaust denial Joanne,” along with screenshots highlighting research on Nazis persecution of transgender people.
“Neither of your articles supports the contention that trans people were the first victims of the Nazis or that all research on trans healthcare was burned in 1930s Germany,” the writer replied. “You are engaging in lying, Alejandra.”
“I know reading is hard but where did anyone say they were the first victims or that they burned all books?” Alejandra replied, adding: “The facts are that trans people were targeted and the Hirschfeld’s Sex Institute was sacked by the Nazis, and its contents burned on May 6, 1933.”
Image credits: HarryPotterAdmirer
Amid J.K.’s controversial statements on X, self-proclaimed Jewish journalist Rivkah Brown also took to X to claim that the 58-year-old author “is a Holocaust denier.”
It didn’t take long before J.K. rebutted, quoting the now-deleted post: “This, from @rivkahbrown, a journalist who wrote a tweet celebrating the Hamas attack of October 7th and was forced to apologize for it, is staggering.
“I’d be delighted to meet you in court, Rivkah, to discuss holocaust denial.”
For context, Rivkah has been outspoken against the genocide of Palestinian people, advocating against the misconception that all Jews are zionists and using herself as an example of a Jewish woman who does not agree with zionist ideologies.
The Institute of Sexology, known for its groundbreaking research on transgender understanding, was burned by Nazi supporters in 1933
Image credits: jk_rowling
Nevertheless, on April 15, the journalist wrote on X: “On 13 March I tweeted that JK Rowling ‘is a Holocaust denier’.
“That allegation was false and offensive.
“I have deleted it and apologize to JK Rowling.”
A source familiar with the incident told BuzzFeed that J.K.’s lawyers contacted Rivkah after her post had been deleted and requested that she further publicly apologize.
The source further alleged that the lawyers required the Vashti editor-in-chief to change her initial phrasing of the apology to omit that her grandparents were Holocaust survivors.
Additionally, the source cited J.K.’s wealth as a reason why the matter was not further pursued from Rivkah’s side.
Following Rivkah’s apology, “JK Rowling is a Holocaust [denier]” began to trend on X, Buzzfeed reported.
Bored Panda has contacted Rivkah for comment.
Jewish journalist Rivkah Brown was legally threatened by the author
This, from @rivkahbrown, a journalist who wrote a tweet celebrating the Hamas attack of October 7th and was forced to apologise for it, is staggering. I’d be delighted to meet you in court, Rivkah, to discuss holocaust denial. https://t.co/3qiLnR2T6Q
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 14, 2024
Last month, “world’s first transgender newsreader” India Willoughby reported J.K. to British police over “hateful” comments the author had made on X.
The police said at the time that they had received a complaint from India alleging the writer had committed a hate crime for misgendering her.
India made the accusation after J.K. posted on X: “India didn’t become a woman. India is cosplaying a misogynistic male fantasy of what a woman is.”
J.K.’s rants ignited heated reactions
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It's not often talked about compared to the mass slaughter of Jewish Europeans during the Nazi regime, but trans people in Germany at the time were subject to the same level of cruelty as gay, disabled, Romany and Jewish Germans. In fact, the Institute for Sexual Research was ransacked and all the studies therein were destroyed in 1933, the start of Hitler's crusade of brutality against the "undesirables" of European society. In 2022, the Regional Court of Cologne ruled that denying transgender people were victims of the Nazis, is a denial of the holocaust, which in Germany is a punishable offense, and by that definition, J.K. Rowling is a holocaust denier for saying quote "How did you type this out and press send without thinking ‘I should maybe check my source for this, because it might’ve been a fever dream’?" Heavily implying that trans people were not persecuted by the Nazis, when retweeting an X that was directed at Rowling that read "The Nazis burnt books on trans healthcare and research, why are you so desperate to uphold their ideology on gender". There is no doubt, JKR was engaging in the denial of Hitler and his regime's crimes, lets hope she wasn't planning a trip to Germany...
As you already mentioned, it's not often talked about, so I would argue there might be more ignorance than actual denial. I never thought about it before and I wouldn't have be able to tell you if the Nazis even knew of the concept of trans people. In older literature, which is probably the literature JKR is familiar with, there isn't much about trans people during the Holocaust. They are probably just put together with either gay people or mentally handicapped/ill people.
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Hope Rowling sues her socks off. I've found the anti-Rowling crowd to be just some of the nastiest hive minded people.
Ah, it's JK's opinions I find particularly repulsive. Although I can't see where she might be denying the Holocaust in the section above. JK engages in a particular form of 'debate' whereby she take what a person says, and inflates it, then called them out on the inflated version. She doesn't really engage with what is being said, but takes a little side step.
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It's not often talked about compared to the mass slaughter of Jewish Europeans during the Nazi regime, but trans people in Germany at the time were subject to the same level of cruelty as gay, disabled, Romany and Jewish Germans. In fact, the Institute for Sexual Research was ransacked and all the studies therein were destroyed in 1933, the start of Hitler's crusade of brutality against the "undesirables" of European society. In 2022, the Regional Court of Cologne ruled that denying transgender people were victims of the Nazis, is a denial of the holocaust, which in Germany is a punishable offense, and by that definition, J.K. Rowling is a holocaust denier for saying quote "How did you type this out and press send without thinking ‘I should maybe check my source for this, because it might’ve been a fever dream’?" Heavily implying that trans people were not persecuted by the Nazis, when retweeting an X that was directed at Rowling that read "The Nazis burnt books on trans healthcare and research, why are you so desperate to uphold their ideology on gender". There is no doubt, JKR was engaging in the denial of Hitler and his regime's crimes, lets hope she wasn't planning a trip to Germany...
As you already mentioned, it's not often talked about, so I would argue there might be more ignorance than actual denial. I never thought about it before and I wouldn't have be able to tell you if the Nazis even knew of the concept of trans people. In older literature, which is probably the literature JKR is familiar with, there isn't much about trans people during the Holocaust. They are probably just put together with either gay people or mentally handicapped/ill people.
Load More Replies... Hope Rowling sues her socks off. I've found the anti-Rowling crowd to be just some of the nastiest hive minded people.
Ah, it's JK's opinions I find particularly repulsive. Although I can't see where she might be denying the Holocaust in the section above. JK engages in a particular form of 'debate' whereby she take what a person says, and inflates it, then called them out on the inflated version. She doesn't really engage with what is being said, but takes a little side step.
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