Leaflets claiming that the Holocaust never happened were distributed at Australian universities in September. They have been referred to university authorities for investigation, and have led to calls for tougher action against racism on university campuses.

The leaflets asserted that the Nazi genocide against Jewish and other communities during WWII never occurred, and that historical evidence of the Holocaust is “the greatest swindle of all time”. Michael Fisher, national chairman of the Australasian Union of Jewish Students, called the distribution of the leaflets “part of a co-ordinated campaign aimed at intimidating Jewish students and academics”.

“Although the leaflets are closely similar to one another in content and appearance, they have appeared in three slightly different forms, suggesting that there have been three separate print runs,” he said.

Fisher described the leaflets as “toxic propaganda” and “a contemptible attempt to abuse and isolate Jewish students and staff, many of whom lost family in the Holocaust and whose grandparents in Australia are survivors of the genocide”. Fisher identified “neo-Nazi groups” as the most likely authors and distributors of the leaflets.