Historical revisionism is the attempt to change commonly held ideas about the past. ^[1] In its legitimate form (see historical revisionism) it is the reexamination of historical facts, with an eye towards updating historical narratives with newly discovered, more accurate, or less biased information, acknowledging that history of an event, as it has been traditionally told, may not be entirely accurate. For the denial and distortion of well-established historical facts see Historical revisionism (negationism. ^[1]

"Historical revisionism" (also but less often in English "negationism"^[2]), as used in this article, describes the process that attempts to rewrite history by minimizing, denying or simply ignoring essential facts. ^[3] Perpetrators of such attempts to distort the historical record often use the term because it allows them to cloak their illegitimate activities with a phrase which has a legitimate meaning. ^[4] Illegitimate historical revisionists rely on a number of Illegitimate techniques to advance their views such as presenting as genuine documents which they know to be forged, inventing ingenious but implausible reasons for distrusting genuine documents, attribute their own conclusions to books and other sources that say the opposite, manipulating statistical series to support their views, and deliberately mistranslate foreign languages sources to support their views. ^[5]

Examples of historical revisionism (negationism) include: Japan's comfort women, Holocaust denial and Soviet history. Comfort women is a Euphemism for women forced into Prostitution and Sexual slavery for Japanese military brothels during World War Holocaust denial is the claim that the Genocide of Jews during World War II —usually referred to as The Holocaust —did not occur in the History of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union is covered in the following series of articles Negationism is also used by hate groups on the Internet, and its effects can be found described in literature (e. A hate group is an organized group or movement that advocates Hate, Hostility, or Violence towards members of a race ethnicity religion gender sexual g. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell). Nineteen Eighty-Four (also titled 1984) by George Orwell (the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair) is a 1949 English Novel Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950 who used the Pseudonym George Orwell, was an English writer In some countries historical revisionism (negationism) of certain historical events is a criminal offense.

Contents 1 Politically motivated historical revisionism 2 Techniques used by politically motivated revisionists 3 Law and historical revisionism 3.1 International law 3.1.1 Additional protocol to the convention on cybercrime 3.2 Domestic law 3.2.1 February 23, 2005 French law on the "positive value" of colonialism 3.2.2 Holocaust denial 3.2.3 Turkey and the Armenian Genocide 4 Examples of historical revisionism 4.1 Japanese war crimes 4.2 Soviet and Russian history 4.2.1 Russian textbooks on the 20th Century 4.3 Colonial and Imperial revisionism 5 Historical revisionism in literature 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 9 Footnotes

Politically motivated historical revisionism

Historical revisionism can be used as a label to describe the views of self-taught historians who publish articles that deliberately misrepresent and manipulate historical evidence. This usage has occurred because some authors who publish articles that deliberately misrepresent and manipulate historical evidence (such as David Irving, a proponent of Holocaust denial), have called themselves "historical revisionists". David John Cawdell Irving (born 24 March 1938 is a British writer specializing in the Military history of World War II. Holocaust denial is the claim that the Genocide of Jews during World War II —usually referred to as The Holocaust —did not occur in the ^[6] This label has been used by others pejoratively to describe them when criticizing their work. Words and phrases are pejorative if they imply disapproval or contempt

• Holocaust and Nazism: for example, some people have published popular histories that challenge the generally accepted view of a given period, such as the Holocaust. The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as They do this by downplaying its scale and whitewashing other Nazi war crimes while emphasizing the suffering of the Axis populations at the hands of the Allies and stating or implying that the Allies committed war crimes as well. War crimes are "violations of the laws or customs of war" including but not limited to "murder the ill-treatment or deportation of civilian residents of an occupied The Axis powers also known as the Axis alliance Axis nations Axis countries or sometimes just the Axis were those Countries The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis powers during the Second World War.

• Communism: similar examples can be drawn from the otherside of the political scale, with communists and socialists who, like the Nazi revisionists, attempt to whitewash or downplay major atrocities carried out under some of those regimes. Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based Such as the Great Leap Forward under Mao where 43 million starved to death, the Killing Fields of Cambodia, the Gulag forced labour camps of the Soviet Union as well as the Holodomor genocide against the people of the Ukraine. The Great Leap Forward ( of the People's Republic of China (PRC was an economic and social plan used from 1958 to 1960 which aimed to use China 's vast population Mao Zedong ( 26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976) was a Chinese Military and political leader who led The Killing Fields were a number of sites in Cambodia where large numbers of people were killed and buried by the Khmer Rouge regime during its rule of the country The Gulag was the government agency that administered the penal labor camps of the Soviet Union. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The Holodomor (Голодомор is the famine that took place in Soviet Ukraine during the 1932-1933 agricultural season Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. ^[7]

Techniques used by politically motivated revisionists

Further information: Criticism of Holocaust denial

It is sometimes hard for a non-historian to distinguish between a book published by a historian doing peer-reviewed academic work, and a bestselling "amateur writer of history". Virtually all mainstream Historians reject the claims of Holocaust denial. Peer review (also known as refereeing) is the process of subjecting an author's scholarly work research or Ideas to the scrutiny of others who are For example, until David Irving lost his British libel suit against Deborah Lipstadt and was found to be a "falsifier of history", the general public did not realize that his books were outside the canon of acceptable academic histories. David John Cawdell Irving (born 24 March 1938 is a British writer specializing in the Military history of World War II. Deborah Esther Lipstadt (born March 18 1947 New York City) is an American Historian and author of the book Denying the Holocaust. ^[8]

The distinction rests on the techniques used to write such histories. Accuracy and revision are central to historical scholarship. A scholarship is an award of access to an institution or a financial aid award for an individual student scholar for the purpose of furthering their Education As in any scientific discipline, historians' papers are submitted to peer review. Peer review (also known as refereeing) is the process of subjecting an author's scholarly work research or Ideas to the scrutiny of others who are Instead of submitting their work to the challenges of peer review, revisionists rewrite history to support an agenda, often political, using any number of techniques and logical fallacies to obtain their results. A fallacy is a component of an Argument which being demonstrably flawed in its Logic or form renders the argument invalid in whole

Richard Evans describes the difference thus:

Reputable and professional historians do not suppress parts of quotations from documents that go against their own case, but take them into account and if necessary amend their own case accordingly. Richard Evans and its variations Richie Evans and Dick Evans is a name shared by the following individuals Literary figures Richard They do not present as genuine documents which they know to be forged just because these forgeries happen to back up what they are saying. They do not invent ingenious but implausible and utterly unsupported reasons for distrusting genuine documents because these documents run counter to their arguments; again, they amend their arguments if this is the case, or indeed abandon them altogether. They do not consciously attribute their own conclusions to books and other sources which in fact, on closer inspection, actually say the opposite. They do not eagerly seek out the highest possible figures in a series of statistics, independently of their reliability or otherwise, simply because they want for whatever reason to maximise the figure in question, but rather, they assess all the available figures as impartially as possible in order to arrive at a number that will withstand the critical scrutiny of others. They do not knowingly mistranslate sources in foreign languages in order to make them more serviceable to themselves. They do not wilfully invent words, phrases, quotations, incidents and events for which there is no historical evidence in order to make their arguments more plausible. ^[5]

Law and historical revisionism

Historical revisionism of some issues (such as the Holocaust), in some countries, is a criminal offense. The Council of Europe defines it as "Denial, gross minimisation, approval or justification of genocide or crimes against humanity" (article 6, additional protocol to the convention on cybercrime - see below). The Council of Europe (Conseil de l'Europe is the oldest International organisation working towards European integration, being founded in 1949 Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction in whole or in part of an ethnic racial religious or national group In Public international law, a crime against humanity is an act of Persecution or any large scale atrocities against a body of people and is the highest level of

International law

Additional protocol to the convention on cybercrime

An additional protocol to the Council of Europe Cybercrime Convention, addressing materials and "acts of racist or xenophobic nature committed through computer networks," was proposed by some member States. The Council of Europe (Conseil de l'Europe is the oldest International organisation working towards European integration, being founded in 1949 The Convention on Cybercrime is the first international Treaty seeking to address Cybercrime and Internet crimes by harmonizing national Laws This additional protocol was the subject of negotiations in late 2001 and early 2002. Final text of this protocol was adopted by the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers on 7 November 2002^[9] under the title "Additional Protocol to the Convention on cyber-crime, concerning the criminalisation of acts of a racist and xenophobic nature committed through computer systems, ("Protocol"). The Committee of Ministers is the Council of Europe 's highest decision-making body Events 1492 - The Ensisheim Meteorite the oldest Meteorite with a known date of impact strikes the Earth around noon in a Wheat See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ^[10] The Protocol opened on 28 January 2003 and entry into force is 1 March 2006. Events 1077 - Walk to Canossa: The Excommunication of Henry IV Holy Roman Emperor is lifted Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 86 BC - Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army enters in Athens, removing the Tyrant Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. By 17 February 2006 6 States had ratified the Protocol and a further 24 had signed the Protocol but had not yet followed with ratifications. Events 1500 - Battle of Hemmingstedt. 1600 - Philosopher Giordano Bruno is burned alive at Campo de' Fiori Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ^[11]

The Protocol requires participating States to criminalize the dissemination of racist and xenophobic material through computer systems, as well as of racist and xenophobic-motivated threats and insults. ^[12] Article 6, Section 1 of the Protocol specifically covers the denial of the Holocaust and other genocides recognized as such by other international courts set up since 1945 by relevant international legal instruments. The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as Section 2 of Article 6 allows a Party to the Protocol at their discretion only to prosecute if the offense is committed with the intent to incite hatred, discrimination or violence; or to make use of a reservation, by allowing a Party not to apply – in whole or in part – Article 6. ^[13]

The Council of Europe Explanatory Report of the Protocol states "European Court of Human Rights has made it clear that the denial or revision of “clearly established historical facts – such as the Holocaust – [. The European Court of Human Rights ( ECtHR) (Cour européenne des droits de l’homme in Strasbourg was established under the European Convention on Human Rights . . ] would be removed from the protection of Article 10 by Article 17” of the ECHR (see in this context the Lehideux and Isorni judgment of 23 September 1998)". The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (also called the "European Convention on Human Rights" and "ECHR" was adopted under the Lehideux and Isorni v France (case no 55/1997/839/1045 application no Events 1122 - Concordat of Worms. 1459 - Battle of Blore Heath, the first major battle of the English Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) ^[14] However, the United States government does not believe that the final version of the Protocol is consistent with the United States' constitutional guarantees and has informed the Council of Europe that the United States will not become a Party to the protocol. ^[15]

Domestic law

There are various domestic laws concerning negationism and/or hate speech (under which negationism is then included), such as the Belgian Holocaust denial law or the 1990 French Gayssot Act, which prohibits any "racist, anti-Semitic or xenophobic" speech. Hate speech is a term for speech intended to degrade intimidate or incite violence or prejudicial action against a person or group of people based on their race, Gender The Belgian Holocaust denial law, passed on March 23, 1995, bans public Holocaust denial. The Gayssot Act ( Loi Gayssot) voted for on July 13, 1990, makes it an offense in France to question the existence of the category of Crimes Xenophobia is an intense and/or irrational dislike and sometimes fear of people from other countries Other European countries which have outlawed Holocaust denial are Switzerland (article 261bis of the Penal Code), Germany (§ 130 (3) of the penal code), Austria (article 3h Verbotsgesetz 1947), Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, and Poland (article 55 of the law creating the Institute of National Remembrance 1998). Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania Slovakia (long form Slovak Republic; Slovak:, long form, is a Landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of over five million The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Institute of National Remembrance — Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation (Instytut Pamięci Narodowej — Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu

February 23, 2005 French law on the "positive value" of colonialism

Main article: French law on colonialism

On February 23, 2005, the UMP (Union for a Popular Movement) conservative majority at the French National Assembly voted a law compelling history textbooks and teachers to ". The February 23, 2005 French law on colonialism was an act passed by the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP conservative majority which imposed Events 1455 - Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western Book printed from Movable Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The French National Assembly. The other is the Senate ( “Sénat”) . . acknowledge and recognize in particular the positive role of the French presence abroad, especially in North Africa. "^[16] Criticized by many historians and teachers, among whom Pierre Vidal-Naquet, who refused to recognize that the French Parliament had a right to influence the way history is written (while France already has laws against Holocaust denial, see Loi Gayssot). Pierre Emmanuel Vidal-Naquet ( July 23 1930 &ndash July 29, 2006) was a French Historian who began teaching at the Holocaust denial is the claim that the Genocide of Jews during World War II —usually referred to as The Holocaust —did not occur in the The Gayssot Act ( Loi Gayssot) voted for on July 13, 1990, makes it an offense in France to question the existence of the category of Crimes The law was also challenged by left-wing parties and in former French colonies. France was a dominant empire in the world from the 1600s to the late 1960s possessing many colonies in various locations around the world Several critics also argued that this amounted to a refusal to acknowledge the racism involved in French colonialism and was itself a form of revisionism. List of racism-related topics|Racism by country Racism, by its simplest definition is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that See Colony and Colonization for examples of colonialism which do not refer to Western colonialism

In retaliation against the law, Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika refused to sign the prepared "friendly treaty" with France. Algeria ( ar [[Arabic]] الجزائر, Al Jaza'ir ælʤæˈzæːʔir Amazigh: ⴷⵥⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer) officially the People's Abdelaziz Bouteflika (abdəlazɪz butəflika ( عبد العزيز بوتفليقة) (born March 2 1937 in Oujda, Morocco) has been the President In Martinique, Aimé Césaire, the famous author of the Négritude literary movement, refused to receive UMP leader Nicolas Sarkozy, the current president of France. Martinique is an Island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, having a land area of 1128 km² Aimé Fernand David Césaire (26 June 1913 &ndash 17 April 2008 was a Afro-[[Martinique Martinican]] Francophone Poet, Author and Politician Nicolas Sarkozy (pronounced, On June 26, 2005, Bouteflika declared that the law ". Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian is killed during the retreat from the Sassanid Empire. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. . . approached mental blindness, negationism and revisionism. "^[17]

Supporters of the law were decried as a resurgence of the "colonial lobby," a term used in late 19th century France to label those people (deputies, scientists, businessmen, etc. ) who supported French colonialism. The public uproar surrounding this law finally pushed president Jacques Chirac to oppose himself to it and to his own majority (the UMP which had voted the law). In defiance of this revisionism, Chirac stated that "In a Republic, there is no official history. It is not to the law to write history. Writing history is the business of historians. "^[18] He then passed a decree charging the president of the Assembly, Jean-Louis Debré (UMP), with modifying the controversial law, taking out the revisionist article about the "recognition of the positive role of the French presence abroad. A decree is an order made by a Head of state or government and having the force of Law. Jean-Louis Debré (born 30 September 1944) is a conservative French political figure " In order to do so, Chirac ordered Prime minister Dominique de Villepin to seize the Constitutional Council, whose decision would permit the legal repeal of the law. Dominique de Villepin (born Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin (dɔminik də vilpɛ̃ &mdash) on 14 November 1953 in Rabat, Morocco The Constitutional Council ( Conseil Constitutionnel) was established by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic on 4 October 1958 ^[19] The Constitutional Council judged that history textbooks regulation is not the domain of the law, but of administrative reglementation. [regulation] As such, the contested amendment was repealed in the beginning of 2006.

The debate lifted on the February 23, 2005 law point out, however, to a further debate in France concerning colonialism, which is linked to immigration. Events 1455 - Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western Book printed from Movable Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Immigration refers to the movement of people among countries While the movement of people has existed throughout human history at various levels modern immigration implies long-term As the historian Benjamin Stora pointed out, colonialism is a major "memory" stake that is influencing the way various communities and the nation itself represent themselves. A nation is a Human Cultural and Social Community. In as much as most members never meet each other yet feel a common bond it may be considered Official state history always had a hard time accepting the existence of past crimes and errors. Historian Olivier LeCour Grandmaison also criticized the law. Olivier LeCour Grandmaison ( September 19, 1960, Paris) is a French Historian. Indeed, the Algerian War (1954-1962), previously qualified as a "public order operation," was only recognized as a "war" by the French National Assembly in 1999. The Algerian War ( French: Guerre d'Algérie; 1954-1962 also known as Algerian War of Independence, led to Algeria 's independence from ^[20] In the same sense, philosopher Paul Ricœur (1981) has underlined the needs for a "decolonization of memory," because mentalities themselves have been colonized during the "Age of imperialism. Paul Ricœur (born February 27, 1913 in Valence France; died May 20, 2005 in Chatenay Malabry, France was a Decolonization refers to the undoing of Colonialism, the establishment of governance or authority through the creation of settlements by another country or jurisdiction Imperialism has two meanings one describing an action and the other describing an attitude "

Holocaust denial

Main articles: Holocaust denial and Criticism of Holocaust denial

Many Holocaust deniers do not accept "denier" as an appropriate term to describe their point of view, using the term "Holocaust revisionist" instead. Holocaust denial is the claim that the Genocide of Jews during World War II —usually referred to as The Holocaust —did not occur in the Virtually all mainstream Historians reject the claims of Holocaust denial. ^[21] Scholars, however, prefer the term "Holocaust denier" to differentiate Holocaust deniers from historical revisionists who consider their goal to be historical inquiry using evidence and established methodology. ^[22] According to the Holocaust historian Alan Berger, Holocaust deniers argue to support a preconceived theory, namely that the Holocaust simply did not take place or was largely a hoax, ignoring extensive historical evidence to the contrary. ^[23]

Holocaust-deniers have attached themselves to the issue of the Heimatvertriebenen, and have in the view of their opposition attempted to use the sympathy for the plight of those Germans who suffered to blame the Jews for the suffering of the Heimatvertriebenen, or to retroactively minimize the suffering of the Holocaust. Heimatvertriebene ( German for "expellees" are Ethnic Germans who fled or were expelled after World War II from many countries who

David Irving, discredited^[24] author, lost his English libel case against Deborah Lipstadt and her publisher Penguin Books (for identifying him as a Holocaust denier^[25]). David John Cawdell Irving (born 24 March 1938 is a British writer specializing in the Military history of World War II. David John Cawdell Irving (born 24 March 1938 is a British writer specializing in the Military history of World War II. Deborah Esther Lipstadt (born March 18 1947 New York City) is an American Historian and author of the book Denying the Holocaust. Penguin Books is a British Publisher founded in 1935 by Allen Lane. The trial judge Justice Charles Gray concluded that:

Irving has for his own ideological reasons persistently and deliberately misrepresented and manipulated historical evidence; that for the same reasons he has portrayed Hitler in an unwarrantedly favorable light, principally in relation to his attitude towards and responsibility for the treatment of the Jews; that he is an active Holocaust denier; that he is anti-semitic and racist and that he associates with right wing extremists who promote neo-Nazism. ^[26]

On February 20, 2006, Irving was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison for Holocaust denial under Austria's 1947 law banning Nazi revivalism and criminalizing the "public denial, belittling or justification of National Socialist crimes". Events 1472 - Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a Dowry payment Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ^[27] Besides Austria, eleven other countries^[28]-- including Belgium (1995 Belgian Holocaust denial law), France (1990 Loi Gayssot), Germany, Lithuania, Poland and Switzerland (article 261bis of the Penal Code)-- have passed laws which make denial of the Holocaust a criminal offense punishable by prison sentence. ^[29]

Turkey and the Armenian Genocide

Main article: Denial of the Armenian Genocide

Turkey has drafted laws like Article 301 that state "A person who publicly insults Turkishness, or the Republic or Turkish Grand National Assembly of Turkey, shall be punishable by imprisonment". Denial of the Armenian Genocide is the assertion that the Armenian Genocide did not occur in the manner or to the extent described by scholarship Article 301 is a controversial article of the Turkish Penal code making it illegal to insult Turkey the Turkish ethnicity or Turkish government institutions Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches This law has been used, for example, to bring charges against writer Orhan Pamuk for stating that "Thirty thousand Kurds and a million Armenians were killed in these lands and nobody but me dares to talk about it". Ferit Orhan Pamuk (born on 7 June 1952 in Istanbul) generally known simply as Orhan Pamuk, is a Turkish Novelist and professor of Comparative The Armenians (Հայեր Hayer) are a Nation and Ethnic group originating in the Caucasus and in the Armenian Highlands A large ^[30] The charges were later dropped. ^[31]

On Tuesday 7 February 2006 the trial opened against five journalists charged with insulting the judicial institutions of the State, and also of aiming to prejudice a court case (Article 288 of the Turkish penal code). Events 457 - Leo I becomes emperor of the Byzantine Empire. 1074 - Battle of Montesarchio in which the Prince Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ^[32] The five were on trial because they criticized a court order to shut down a conference in Istanbul about the mass killing of Armenians by Turks during the Ottoman Empire – the conference was nevertheless eventually held after having been transferred from a state university to a private university. The case was adjourned until 11 April, when four of the journalists were acquitted on a technicality. Events 491 - Flavius Anastasius becomes Byzantine Emperor, with the name of Anastasius I. The case against the fifth journalist, Murat Belge, proceeded. Murat Belge, born 1943 in Ankara, Turkey, is a Left-liberal Turkish intellectual translator Literary critic, scholar publisher Civil On 8 June 2006, Murat Belge was acquitted by the Istanbul court. Events 68 - The Roman Senate accepts emperor Galba. 536 - St Silverius becomes Pope (probable Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The trial is seen as a test case between Turkey and the European Union (EU), which insists that Turkey must allow increased rights to free expression as part of the negotiations on EU membership. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in ^[33][34]

The aim of the conference, organized by a number of academics and intellectuals, was to offer a critical look at the official approach to the events of 1915, a topic that has long been taboo in Turkey. A taboo is a strong Social prohibition (or ban) against words objects actions or discussions that are considered undesirable or offensive by a group culture ^[35]

Turkish-Armenian editor Hrant Dink was assassinated by Ogün Samast due to his personal recognition of the Armenian genocide, which he had also been legally prosecuted for previously. Hrant Dink (Հրանդ Տինք həɹɑnt diːnk (September 15 1954 – January 19 2007 was a Turkish-Armenian editor, Journalist and Columnist Ogün Samast (b 1990 in Trabzon) is a Turkish ultra-nationalist who killed Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink on January 19, While much of the Turkish community condemned the act,^[36] several ultranationalist factions lauded it, and even after the assassin was captured, a photo of him was leaked showing Samast posing in front of a Turkish flag and a poster of Ataturk with two police officers on either side, suggesting that such nationalist elements are working within the Turkish government. Turkish nationalism is a political ideology that promotes and glorifies the Turkish people, as either a National ethnic or linguistic group Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (19 May 1881 &ndash 10 November 1938 was an army officer revolutionary Statesman ^[37]

Article 301 was introduced as part of a package of penal-law reform introduced to bring Turkey up to EU standards, in the process preceding the opening of negotiations for Turkish EU membership. ^[38] The Republic of Turkey does not deny the Ottoman Armenian casualties, but claims that they were not genocide. The number of Ottoman Armenian deaths between 1914 to 1923 during the Armenian Genocide and what followed during the Turkish War of Independence is a subject Specifically, the authorities claim that the deaths were due to wartime upheaval plus crimes committed outside the government of the Ottoman Empire and that the crimes were committed without said government's approval.

Examples of historical revisionism

Japanese war crimes

See also: Japanese imperialism

After-the-action attempts at downgrading the various war crimes committed by Japanese imperialism are examples of historical revisionism. The following locations represent the maximum extent of Japanese control of lands in the Pacific during the peak of its empire in World War II. The following locations represent the maximum extent of Japanese control of lands in the Pacific during the peak of its empire in World War II. ^[39] For example, some modern Japanese revisionists claim that Japan's invasion of China and World War II was a justified reaction against racist Western practices of the time, just as contemporary political thinkers did so at the time of the invasions. On 2 March 2007, Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe denied that the military had forced women into sexual slavery during World War II in an orchestrated way. Events 986 - Louis V becomes King of the Franks. 1127 - Assassination of Charles the Good Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Sexual slavery refers to the organised coercion of persons into various different sexual practices forced Prostitution single-owner sexual slavery He stated, "The fact is, there is no evidence to prove there was coercion. " Before he spoke, a group of Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers also sought to revise Yohei Kono's 1993 apology to former comfort women.

Yasukuni Shrine has been criticised by people such as Tsuneo Watanabe (editor in chief of conservative newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun) as a bastion of revisionism: "The Yasukuni Shrine runs a museum where they show items in order to encourage and worship militarism. is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is dedicated to the Kami (spirits of Soldiers is a Japanese businessman He leads Yomiuri Shimbun, and he has a great influence on Japanese sports and Japanese politics The is a Japanese Newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities It's wrong for the prime minister to visit such a place". ^[40] Others point out that multiple individuals that would today be seen as "Korean" or "Chinese" are enshrined for their military actions carried out as subjects of the Japanese Empire.

The history textbook controversy centres on how a Junior-High history textbook called the "Atarashii Rekishi Kyōkasho" or "New History Textbook" allegedly downplays or "whitewashes" the nature of Japan's military aggression in the First Sino-Japanese War, in Japan's annexation of Korea in 1910, and in World War II. The Japanese history textbook controversies are about Government -approved History Textbooks used in the Secondary education ( Junior high Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, or calsomine is a very low cost type of Paint made from Slaked lime (calcium hydroxide and The First Sino-Japanese War ( 日清戦争 Romaji: Nisshin Sensō ( 1 August 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a war fought between World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The textbook was created by the Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform, a conservative Japanese organization, which, as its name implies, aims to alter the traditional and international view of Japanese history in that period. is a group founded in December 1996 to promote a revised view of Japanese history.

In Japan, the Ministry of Education vets all Japanese history textbooks. Any submitted textbook which does not mention several atrocities committed by Japan during the WWII cannot pass this vetting process. . However, this particular textbook places less emphasis on the nature of wartime atrocities and de-emphasizes the subject of the Chinese and Korean comfort women, which some feel is at least partly inappropriate at the junior high level. Comfort women is a Euphemism for women forced into Prostitution and Sexual slavery for Japanese military brothels during World War

Hibakusha and various historians have often criticized the attempts of downgrading the importance of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which they sometimes call "nuclear holocaust", as an example of revisionist history. is the term widely used in Japan referring to victims of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks near the end of World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States at Nuclear holocaust refers to the possibility of nearly complete annhilation of human Civilization by Nuclear warfare. ^[41][42]

Soviet and Russian history

See also: Soviet historiography

During the rule of dictator Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union, a variety of revisionist tactics were employed to ignore unpleasant events of the past. Soviet historiography is the history of the academic study of history as written by scholars of the Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin ( ნამდვილი გვარი ჯუღაშვილი|Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili; March 5 1953 was General Secretary of the Communist Party The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Soviet school books would constantly be revised to remove or alter photographs and articles that dealt with politicians who had fallen out of favor with the regime. Joseph Stalin rose to power in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and became Soviet leader, he initiated a number of purges that eliminated perceived History was frequently re-written, with past events modified so they always portrayed Stalin's government favourably. The continual Soviet and current Russian historical revisions have led many people to joke, "Russia is a country with an unpredicatable past. "

Lenin speaking at a meeting in Sverdlov Square in Moscow on 5 May 1920. Theatre Square (Театральная Площадь Teatralnaya Ploschad) known as Sverdlov Square between 1919 and 1991 is a City square within the Events 553 - The Second Council of Constantinople begins 1215 - Rebel Barons renounce their allegiance to King John Year 1920 ( MCMXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920 of the Gregorian calendar Original photo with Trotsky and Lev Kamenev standing on the steps of the platform. Leon Trotsky ( Russian:, Lev Davidovich Trotsky, also transliterated Leo, Lyev, Trotskii, Trotski, Trotskij ( Russian: Лев Борисович Каменев born Rosenfeld, Розенфельд ( – August 25, 1936) was a Bolshevik [43]

Censored photograph with Trotsky and Kamenev removed.

Full version of above photo. Nikolai Yezhov is clearly visible to Stalin's left. Biography His character Yezhov was born in Saint Petersburg according to his official Soviet biography though he stated he was born in Mariiampole Lithuania The photo was later altered by censors.

In the later version, Yezhov's presence is undetectable.

Russian textbooks on the 20th Century

The textbook History of Russia and the World in the 20th Century, written by Nikita Zagladin, in 2004 replaced Igor Dolutsky's National History: 20th Century. Zagladin's text was implemented under the guidance and encouragement of Vladimir Putin who wanted a textbook that was more "patriotic". Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (; born 7 October 1952 in Leningrad, USSR; now Saint Petersburg, Russia was the second President of Russia Patriotism is commonly defined as love of and/or devotion to one's country Critics of the new book cite a lack of detail in addressing historical events such as the Siege of Leningrad, Gulag labor camps, Soviet attack on Finland and the First and Second Chechen Wars as serious factual inaccuracies. The Siege of Leningrad, also known as The Leningrad Blockade ( Russian: блокада Ленинграда ( transliteration: blokada Leningrada The Gulag was the government agency that administered the penal labor camps of the Soviet Union. The Winter War (Talvisota Советско-финляндская война - official Зимняя война - unofficial Vinterkriget began when the The First Chechen War also known as the War in Chechnya was fought between Russia and Chechnya from 1994 to 1996 and resulted in Chechnya's The Second Chechen War, in a later phase better known as the War in the North Caucasus, was launched by the Russian Federation starting August 26 According to these critics, the Holocaust is not mentioned and the rule of Joseph Stalin is glorified in the book. The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as Joseph Stalin ( ნამდვილი გვარი ჯუღაშვილი|Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili; March 5 1953 was General Secretary of the Communist Party ^[44]

Colonial and Imperial revisionism

Revisionism is also noted in the historiography of Colonialism and Imperialism, including those of Britain, Imperial Germany, and France. See Colony and Colonization for examples of colonialism which do not refer to Western colonialism Imperialism has two meanings one describing an action and the other describing an attitude The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from 1871 to 1918 when it was a semi- Constitutional monarchy: beginning with the Unification This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. ^[45][46] Some authors point out that “revisionism” shift the ground from oppression and exploitation for the benefit of a colonial power to one of benefit of the colonies. ^[47] While colonial authors like Rudyard Kipling had famously been associated with the term Imperial Apologist. Joseph Rudyard Kipling (30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936 was an English Author and poet ^[48][49]

Historical revisionism in literature

In George Orwell's 1984, the government of the main character's country, nominally led by the enigmatic Big Brother, is constantly revising history to be in harmony with the current political situation. Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950 who used the Pseudonym George Orwell, was an English writer Nineteen Eighty-Four (also titled 1984) by George Orwell (the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair) is a 1949 English Novel Big Brother is a Fictional character in George Orwell 's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, the For instance, if the country is at war with another, then the official position is that they have always been at war with that country. If the situation changes, the civilians are brainwashed accordingly. In this novel, historical revisionism is one of the main policies of the propaganda arm ("Ministry of Truth") of Oceania's government. The Ministry of Truth (or Minitrue, in Newspeak) is one of the four ministries that govern Oceania in George Orwell 's novel

See also

• Armenian Genocide Denial
• Big Lie
• Black Legend
• Cognitive dissonance
• Dunning School
• Doublethink
• Genocides in history
• Genocide denial
• Hate speech
• Historical revision of the Inquisition
• Historical revisionism
• Holocaust Denial
• Denial of the Holodomor
• History wars (Australia)
• Information warfare
• French Loi Gayssot
• Neo-Confederate
• Propaganda
• List of wars and disasters by death toll

References

• John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, In Denial: Historians, Communism, and Espionage, Encounter Books, September, 2003, hardcover, 312 pages, ISBN 1-893554-72-4
• "Lying About Hitler: History, Holocaust, and the David Irving Trial" , by Richard J. Evans, 2001, ISBN 0-465-02153-0. Professor Richard Evans (born 1947 is a British Historian of Germany. The author is a Professor of Modern History, at University of Cambridge and he was a major expert witness at the Irving v. The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University) located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the Lipstadt trial, and this book presents both his view of the trial, and much of his expert witness report, including his research on the Dresden death count.
• O'Day, Alan (2008), Reviews of Books. Europe: Early Modern and Modern. Evi Gkotzaridis. Trials of Irish History: Genesis and Evolution of a Reappraisal, 1938-2000. The American Historical Review, 113:588–588, April 2008, The American Historical Association.
• Fletcher, Roger (1988), Revisionism and Wilhelmine Imperialism. Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 23, No. 3 (Jul. , 1988), pp. 347-366, SAGE publictions. , ISSN: 00220094.

Further reading

• Untruth in the Classroom, 1994
• Why "revisionism" isn't
• Mad Revisionist: A parody site on historical revisionism
• Expert Witness Report by Richard J. Evans FBA presented at the trial "Irving vs. (1) Lipstadt and (2) Penguin Books"
• Revisionist History - a satirical look at historical revisionism
• Article about revisionism concerning the Amerindians by The Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law.
• Nizkor Project - website answering Holocaust deniers

Footnotes

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