For the second week in a row, the reading provokes me to recall Intro to the Study of History…. Dr. Walker would be proud.
Chapter 3 in this week’s reading focuses on a similar aspect of political correctness that was the focus of last week’s discussion on the Enola Gay. How can you properly pay homage to an event that was so devastating for an entire nation, and is still recent enough in our history to raise concerns about offending direct decedents, or those who actually experienced the atrocities. I will not focus on that, though… (as I’m sure it’s going to be a popular blog subject)
My focus for this analysis is in the role history deniers play in the public’s perception of an event such as the Holocaust. An overwhelming majority of the global population acknowledges the Holocaust had happened, and with little dispute to the facts and figures attributed to the event. However, a small percentage of individuals claim that this never happened. These people are a part of a larger group known as ‘historical deniers’, and can also range from those who think that 9/11 was an inside job or other conspiracy theories involving national or global events.
A popular notion is that history is written by the victors. While true in the case of the Enola Gay and the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there weren’t any true ‘winners’ in the Holocaust; the Jews were submissive, and the Nazis eventually surrendered. This is one of the truly tragic events that require a great deal of care when telling the story. Because of the timidness of the event itself, this leaves room for deniers to gain a sense of proof in their claims.
Deniers not only hold lectures, write books, and appear on the news and talk shows, but they also influence pop culture. Controversial images can be seen in art work and other mediums, such as music. A group that seems to embody the historical denier stance in regards to the Holocaust is the pop duet, Prussian Blue. This set of fraternal twins of Aryan descent sing largely about white supremacy, but also recall a history that they not only didn’t live, but also likely were taught a distorted view from like-minded individuals. Even their name, ‘Prussian Blue’, is referring to the blueish residue left in the gas chambers by the chemical Zyklon B, of which history deniers claim that the lack of this residue in the chambers prove that this execution style never took place. Rather than looking at the large picture, such as the millions of Jews who went ‘missing’ during this era, they find miniscule details and attempt to discredit the case of scholarly Historians.
My hope in bringing this up, is to reaffirm the point that history is largely bias. When reading a text, listening to a lecture, or viewing an exhibit, keep in mind that both the original event or document as well as the analysis were written by people – and by nature, people are bias to their own cause. While our case may sound sane and correct, there will always be someone out there who views it differently. Who knows, we may be the crazy ones who are out of touch with society. Even us noble Historians…