Examples Of Historical Negationism

History defines the way we see and understand the modern world. It is the template for many decisions and, while it is defined as the study of the past, helps shape current affairs that will change the course of the future. But history can also be dangerous, when it is manipulated, reinvented, or erased, often for political gain — collectively termed ‘historical negationism’ by the French historian Henry Rousso. History can become a weapon, as is seen in the past and the present, from the Nazis to North Korea.
The mass falsification of history throughout the twentieth century by totalitarian nations such as Nazi Germany and the USSR is one clear example of how historical negationism can become a tactic of dangerous regimes, and pose a threat …show more content…
The Soviet Union also used historical reinvention and …show more content…
Indeed, Rousso first coined the term ‘negationism’ to refer specifically to the phenomenon. Holocaust denial has seen an alarming rise in recent years, particularly online, where conspiracy theories have a wider reach and impact. The pseudo-historian David Irving, who has repeatedly claimed that Hitler did not know about the Jewish genocide and who became the subject of the film Denial, is a high profile example of Holocaust denial, distorting historical information to portray the Nazi regime in a positive light. The views of Irving, which can now be spread by social media, encourage intolerance and violence, and even infiltrate liberal politics, as has been recently observed in sections of the British Labour Party. Holocaust denial is not only an attack on historical truth, but also a way in which antisemites have attempted to perpetuate violence and discrimination against Jews. Indeed, the use of lies and distortion of fact by Holocaust deniers can be connected to the propaganda that the Nazis used to justify genocide in the first place. It is a clear example of how history can be dangerous when it is forgotten or negated by the prejudiced and