Historical Revisionism

Can language and literature cure psychological trauma? If so, what forms do they (have to) take
in doing so? When does language hit the wall where the unspeakable mandates silence? And
where might literature come in as the rescuing hand by offering forms of expression which are
rooted in speech but transcend the merely spoken? This study confronts these issues through
the double lenses of Sebastian Barry’s oeuvre and the complex of dissociative disorders that
are at work both in his creative output and the ways in which he fictionalizes dark and traumatic
biographical data.
Re-negotiated in the process are the deconstructivist trauma paradigm that has come to
dominate trauma discourse in the humanities as well as the duality of Barry’s critical reception.
Barry is either being hailed as a rescuer of marginalized, ‘subaltern’ histories or admonished as
too radical a proponent of historical revisionism. A dissociative reading of literature’s
capabilities and limitations in addressing trauma and Barry’s literary mission to work-through
family trauma in his work moves the discourse beyond radical dualities towards a more
integrated understanding of posttraumatic literature.

Legal governance of memory has played a central role in establishing hegemony of monumental history, and has forged national identities and integration processes in Europe and beyond. In this book, a range of contributors explore both the nature and role of legal engagement into historical memory in selected national law, European and international law. They also reflect on potential conflicts between legal governance, political pluralism, and fundamental rights, such as freedom of expression. In recent years, there have been numerous monumental commemoration practices and judicial trials about correlated events all over the world, and this is a prime opportunity to undertake an important global comparative scrutiny of memory laws. Against the background of mass re-writing of history in different parts of the world, this book revisits a fascinating subject of memory laws from the standpoint of comparative law and transitional justice.

Mayor Gillespie: «Apenas habían transcurrido dos años y medio desde nuestra llegada a Inglaterra [invasiones inglesas de 1806-1807 al Río de la Plata], cuando estallaron las llamas de una revolución, que formará el tema final del presente volumen, en estas provincias de América del Sur que habíamos dejado tan recientemente, y fue al contemplar sus resultados futuros sobre los intereses políticos y comerciales de mi país [que] fui influenciado para dirigirme al Honorable Sr. Perceval, quien luego presidió sus consejos sobre el tema de que yo fuera el depositario de un registro quizás de referencia útil al gobierno de Su Majestad, ya que contiene nombres que algún día podrían parecer llamativos (...) No pasó mucho tiempo antes de que tuviera el placer de comentar que la anticipación que había concebido se hizo realidad: de los seis miembros que constituyeron la Primera Junta revolucionaria de Buenos Aires, tres de ellos, registrados en esa lista (…) estarán listos para salir como celosos órganos y abogar por proclamar nuestros deseos mutuos y para promover los intereses recíprocos de Gran Bretaña y el Río de la Plata».

Vortrag online: https://youtu.be/s3EA_uww0iQ
Die Proteste von "Querdenken" und anderen gegen die Corona-Schutzmaßnahmen haben nicht nur zu einer massiven Verbreitung von im Kern häufig antisemitischen Verschwörungslegenden geführt, sondern waren und sind auch häufig durch einen deutlichen Geschichtsrevisionismus geprägt, indem die NS-Verbrechen durch ahistorische Gleichsetzungen instrumentalisiert und zugleich verharmlost werden. Prof. Dr. Jens-Christian Wagner, Direktor der Stiftung Gedenkstätten Buchenwald und Mittelbau-Dora, geht in seinem Vortrag den damit verbundenen Geschichtsbildern auf den Grund.

The article tries to understand the dynamics of Japanese national identity and Abe Shinzo's revisionism. It argues that although Abe has launched the strongest ever attack on Japanese pacifist identity, there remain institutional and emotional constraints that prohibit this change from materializing. Theoretically, it tries to reconcile social constructivist and post-structural approaches to Japan's policy change and presses forward a sedimentation model that can explain the contemporary dynamics. Methodologically, the article builds on narrative analysis – it uncovers the revisionist narratives and shows how these interact with societal pressures. This is shown on two particular case studies: Abe's push for constitutional revision and Abe's attempt to transform school education. Within these case studies, the article shows that although Abe commands strong popular support and a hugely revisionist mindset, his societal and political changes have been rather limited.

What does the backlash against Critical Race Theory, the Capitol insurrection, Trumpism, Twitter, and neo-Nazis have in common? From Twitter to Capitol Hill:  Far-right Authoritarian Populist Discourses, Social Media, and Critical Pedagogy delves deep into conservative social media and far-right extremist platforms to understand the revival and proliferation of far-right authoritarian populist discourses after Trump’s ascent to power. After the January 6th Capitol insurrection and the role social media have played in normalizing and promoting far-right populist authoritarianism, there is a renewed interest to study digital discursive aggression. Inspired by Critical Theory, Panayota Gounari masterfully uses Critical Discourse Studies to analyze social media data and articulate a discursive, pedagogical and historical project.

Apstrakt: U radu se u uvodnom izlaganju daje jasna teorijska distinkcija između pojmova "fašizam" i "nacionalni socijalizam" a potom u kraćim crtama prezentuje uspon popularnosti tokom tri-desetih godina XX veka u Evropi i kod nas, ove dve ideologije pre-točene u politički, društveni i ekonomski sistem u Italiji i Nemačkoj. Najveći deo rada odnosi se na fašizam i nacional-socijalizam koje kvislinški režim u Nedićevoj Srbiji prihvata za osnovu svog društve-no-ekonomskog uređenja u budućoj Novoj Evropi. Ključni pojmovi: Fašizam, nacional-socijalizam, narodna zajednica, Srpska zajednica rada, zadružna seljačka država, solidarnost. Uvod Sličnost italijanskog fašizma i nemačkog nacional-socijalizma kao i razarajuće posledice koje su ostavili po čovečantvo, dopustili bi mogućnost da ih u naslovu ovog rada i u daljem tekstu nazovemo jednim imenom na-cifašizam. Međutim, to ipak ne činimo upravo stoga što postoje određene razlike koje, istina, nisu od suštinskog značaja za njihova istorijska vred-novanja, ali ih u sadržajnom smislu, i pored sličnosti, ipak treba teorijski razgraničiti. Ono što je slično ogleda se u činjenici da i jedan i drugi pokret imaju svoj izvor u u nacionalizmu i da su nastali u periodu svetske krize kapitaliz-1 Savez antifašista Srbije.

In this paper I argue that the overwhelming success of the television drama Il cuore nel Pozzo (dir. Alberto Negrin, 2005) signals a shift in the conception of national history and identity in the Italian popular imagination. I read Il cuore nel pozzo in conjunction with Negrin’s earlier film Perlasca—un eroe italiano (2002) as a calculated and politically motivated attempt to re-code the memory of the Second World War as one of heroism and shared victimhood. Ultimately, Il cuore nel pozzo forms part of the broader movement to establish the foibe as the ‘Italian Holocaust’, deflecting attention away from the crimes of Fascism.
The crucial difference between the two films is that Perlasca is based on the real historical person of Giorgio Perlasca, whereas the characters in Il cuore nel pozzo are purely fictional and their story is merely set against a specific historical backdrop. The film nevertheless makes various explicit and implicit claims to historical veracity, e.g. the intercalation of ostensibly documentary footage, which, however, turns out to be a fabrication. The intrusion of this documentary idiom into this fictional representation in fact mirrors the ongoing campaign to superimpose a fictional narrative on the historical record more generally in contemporary Italy.

¿Fue San Martín el jefe de una tercera invasión inglesa, oculta, maquillada? Éste es el tema central de la obra. Sejean contradice todo lo que se ha escrito sobre el prócer acerca de los motivos, las causas, los objetivos que lo movilizaron para incursionar en la guerra contra los españoles en América. También pone al desnudo la política desplegada por Gran Bretaña desde fines del siglo XVIII para obtener la dominación económica de América del Sur. Con lenguaje ameno y directo, Sejean intenta demostrar que después de las frustradas invasiones de 1806 y 1807 los ingleses cambiaron su estrategia de conquista, poniendo en cabeza de San Martín la responsabilidad de llevar adelante los planes que no pudieron concretar Beresford, primero, y después Whitelocke. Sus argumentos, originales y sólidos, se apoyan en bibliografía argentina de la que extrajo fragmentos tan interesantes y sorprendentes como poco conocidos. Al poner en crisis la figura mitológica del Padre de la Patria -nadie lo hizo hasta hoy- este ensayo abre una polémica que seguramente será apasionante.

RESUMO: Avaliando o período da modernidade e o conceito de flâneur, esse observador urbano burguês, procuro promover um espaço crítico para a discussão sobre uma mulher que também vaguea, viaja, divaga e perambula, compreendendo suas particularidades de gênero e suas estratégias de subversão. Considerar as experiências das mulheres artistas nessa perspectiva nos leva a compreender as tensões e nuances de ideologias históricas, que continuam a afetar a produção cultural, como podemos ver nas trajetórias de Virgínia Woolf, Lee Miller, Marianne Breslauer, Ruth Orkin, Sophie Calle, Agnès Varda e outras, nas questões sobre errância urbana, espaço e lugar,  mostrando assim como uma mulher caminhante - uma flâneuse - reivindica a subjetividade. //

ABSTRACT: Evaluating the period of modernity and the concept of flâneur, this bourgeois urban observer, I try to promote a critical space for discussion about a woman who also wanders, travels, wanders and wanders, understanding her gender peculiarities and her subversion strategies. Considering the experiences of women artists in this perspective leads us to understand the tensions and nuances of historical ideologies that continue to affect cultural production, as we can see in the trajectories of Virginia Woolf, Lee Miller, Marianne Breslauer, Ruth Orkin, Sophie Calle, Agnès Varda and others, in questions about urban wandering, space and place, thus showing how a woman walking - a flâneuse - claims subjectivity.

I make two arguments in this paper. The first is that the Court’s approach—cutting out history from its ruling—is a farce. The Court engaged in judicial historical revisionism by presenting the dictator stripped of his faults. The refurbished judicial version of Marcos is a soldier who defended the country against foreign invaders and not a politician who was responsible for the erosion of Philippine democracy and who pillaged the national coffers. This decision constitutes history, and it cannot be justified as a purely legal and ahistorical document. The second argument I make is that the Court abandoned its judicial history-writing function and declined to provide the narrative of oppression and injustice that the victims of the martial law regime deserved. This judicial history-writing function is typically expected from international criminal courts, but Ocampo implicated issues that are similar to those before these criminal courts. For this reason, I argue that it was incumbent upon the Court to provide the historical record of Marcos’ atrocities.

The quranic Noah narratives provide a fascinating window into the making of Muhammad as an eschatological prophet. This book examines their form, content, and sources as a means of deciphering the scribal and intertextual nature of the Qur'an and the Jewish-Christian background of the messianic controversy out of which Islam emerged. The view that Muhammad was once tentatively though of as a new Messiah challenges our picture of Islam's origins.

Hasta donde sé no existe en español alguna obra sobre los orígenes del expansionismo norteamericano, asunto que tan de cerca nos atañe, y para salvar la deficiencia, proyecté y escribí este libro, hueso duro de roer, erizado de problemas qué más de una vez pusieron a prueba la decisión de consumarlo, a sabiendas de que el tema justificaba el esfuerzo, y que los resultados, aunque no sea yo quien los enjuicie, satisfarán siquiera en parte la injustificable laguna historiográfica.
En las páginas que siguen advertirá el lector la importancia conferida a un material sólo parcialmente utilizado por quienes, en Estados Unidos, se han ocupado del colapso del Imperio español y las subsecuentes guerras hispanoamericanas de independencia. Me refiero a la abundante literatura periodística que entre 1810 y 1822 notició los acontecimientos de la Península y el sur del continente, circulando opiniones para orientar el criterio de sus lectores en beneficio de los insurgentes, pues es evidente que a partir de 1810 la mayoría de periódicos y gacetas se inclinaron por la causa de los colonos en armas. Al lado de tan valioso material periodístico, y por supuesto de notas y declaraciones del gobierno norteamericano, figuran los despachos diplomáticos de don Luis de Onís, ministro de España en Washington, y las actas del Consejo español de Estado. Si la prensa proporciona la “versión popular” de la hipertrofiada ambición angloamericana; las notas y proclamas de la Secretaría de Estado y la Presidencia la “versión oficial” de la misma, y la correspondencia de Onís y las actas del Consejo la interpretación y reacción españolas ante el fenómeno expansionista, de omitirse algún elemento se afectaría la inteligencia de acontecimientos que figuran entre las manifestaciones más peculiares del espíritu moderno, y en consecuencia de la historia de los siglos XIX y XX.

‫این کتاب ترجمه ای است از:
Rudolf, Germar, “Holocaust Skepticism: 20 Questions and Answers about Holocaust Revisionism”, Castle Hill Publishers, United States, 2018
گرمار رودلف در این اثر خود رایج ترین پرسش هایی را که در مورد بازنگری در هولوکاست برای عموم مردم پیش می آید، یک به یک پاسخ داده ، اصول بنیادین پژوهش های علمی را به مخاطب یادآوری می کند و تصویری کلی از شرایط تاریخ نگاری در مورد هولوکاست پیش چشم مخاطب به تصویر می کشد.

Philippine history is viewed as a mosaic of various cultural backgrounds and diverse events which account for its perceived complexity and beauty. However, it is often overlooked that its history is more likely to deify historical icons, rather than to present historical chronicles in an objective manner – and instead of focusing on the events, people tend to concentrate on these personalities. This paper aims to show how Philippine history was shaped by the historical icons, and how it was primarily written by the victors.

The virus that were unleased in Tejeros and at Maragondon continued up to the Second Phase of the revolution. Sad but true, but the said virus continues up to this day. Just consider the viruses of marcosianism and #Fentanylismo!
Hence, our problem did not begun in 1898. That is idiotic. Our continuing curse and abominable shame started on May 10, 1897.
To claim that that felon, opps I mean fellow is a hero is not only an insult to all those true blue heroes and genuine revolutionaries who fought, struggled and died for us, but also an eternal shame to whatever foundation this nation claims it has.
Therefore, it is incontestable that my views about this mass murderer will not change, for to do so will lead to the bastardization and prostitution of the truth, which I will never ever allow myself to do even if I reach a 100 years old.
Finally to all those who denies historical truth, peddlers of distortionism, script writers of revisionism and spin doctors of political rehabilitation, you all have to be ashamed of yourselves! It is written, fear history for nothing can escape its vengeance.
In the immortal words of Emile Zola: If you shut up truth and bury it under the ground, it will but grow, and gather to itself such explosive power that the day it bursts through it will blow up everything in its way.

This article examines how historians use evidence when explaining the destruction by fire and explosion of Ireland’s national archive in 1922. At the commencement of the Irish Civil War in late June 1922, some historians attribute responsibility for Ireland Public Record Office’s (PRO) destruction to the IRA faction then occupying the Dublin Four Courts of Justice (then encompassing the PRO). Problems arise when it is acknowledged no credible evidence has come to light to support these interpretations. The article argues, interpretations of the PRO’s destruction as a premeditated act of IRA cultural vandalism form part of a historiography associating Irish republicanism with fascistic values among them, ethnic violence, including ‘ethnic cleansing’, sexual violence, anti-democracy, criminality and book burning. Where little or no evidence exists to these support polemic interpretations, some historians may resort to what Bernard Lewis calls ‘invented history’. Lewis’ invented history involves abandoning any strictly empirical methodology (i.e. historical research), when interpreting the past. Instead, invented history enhances stories deemed useful in the present. For example, republicanism in Ireland historically has been a species of fascism. But these enhancements often demand a creative approach to the use of sources repugnant to historical research. Simply put, invented history does not let the evidence get in the way of a ‘good story’. Rather, it demands evidence selection bias and in some extreme cases the fabrication of sources.

The increasing incidence of disinformation in the Philippines promotes romanticized recollections of Ferdinand Marcos' martial law (1972–1981). While the general scholarship remembers the era for its horrors and atrocities, narratives circulated online claim that Marcos' rule made the nation great and that several groups and institutions conspired to distort people's memory, serving the purpose of Marcos' political enemies. These narratives, shared by Marcos and Duterte supporters, echo a desire to return to a fantastical "golden age." This study investigates the nostalgia for the Marcos golden age, magnifying the salient features of whitewashed memories of Marcos' martial law in online communities, as well as techniques that turn the Marcos propaganda into a basic grammar that frames people's articulation of their frustrations and aspirations. The study found that the described propaganda embeds the light-darkness-light perspective in its us-versus-them narrative. Within such a framework, nostalgia can set the stage for the expression of polarizing phrases, hate speech, conspiracy theories, discontent, and hope, which complete the grammar of the Marcos propaganda.

Reseña de una conferencia oficial presentada ante la "Liga Patriótica Universitaria" (Ciudad del Este, Paraguay) sobre Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector de la República de Gran Bretaña, considerado por el conferencista como el precursor de la Revolución Francesa.

The Kilmichael Ambush Centenary
Talk by Niall Meehan for Independent Left, 9pm, 28 November 2020

Here is the historical Nine O'Clock News. I am going to talk about and event that took place this day one hundred years ago, about five hours earlier.

The Kilmichael Ambush on 28 November 1920 occurred two years after Sinn Fein’s November 1918 General Election victory, taking 73 of 105 Irish seats with approximately 70% support, and refusal to sit in the British House of Commons. It was over a year since Britain outlawed the separatist parliament, the Dáil, set up in January 1919. Many of the newly elected members were in British jails. The IRA emerged as a force that defended Dáil institutions and defied British jurisdiction, in a situation of contested dual power. The armed struggle was part of a campaign of resistance that involved strikes against British militarism, refusal by Irish workers to transport British forces and materiel (inspired by British workers who refused to transport munitions for use attempting to overthrow the new Soviet Union), trenching of roads, setting up alternative courts and local administration, as well as demonstrations and vigils. The hotbed of defiance and resistance was in Ireland’s largest and southernmost county, Cork.

Le verità più precise – e inesorabili perché precise – sulla macchina dello sterminio. Quarant’anni di testimonianze, in gran parte inedite, di essenziale importanza storica.

Nel 1945, all’indomani della liberazione, i militari sovietici che controllavano il campo per ex prigionieri di Katowice, in Polonia, chiesero a Primo Levi e a Leonardo De Benedetti, suo compagno di prigionia, di redigere una relazione dettagliata sulle condizioni sanitarie del Lager. Il risultato fu il Rapporto su Auschwitz: una testimonianza straordinaria, uno dei primi resoconti sui campi di sterminio mai elaborati. La relazione, pubblicata nel 1946 sulla rivista scientifica «Minerva Medica», inaugura la successiva opera di Primo Levi testimone, analista e scrittore. Nei quattro decenni successivi, Levi non smetterà mai di raccontare l’esperienza del Lager in testi di varia natura, per la maggior parte mai raccolti in volume. Dalle precoci ricerche sul destino dei propri compagni alla deposizione per il processo Eichmann, dalla «lettera alla figlia di un fascista che chiede la verità» agli articoli apparsi su quotidiani e riviste specializzate, Cosí fu Auschwitz è un mosaico di memorie – e di riflessioni critiche – dall’inestimabile valore storico e umano. Una raccolta di testimonianze, di indagini, di approfondimenti che, grazie alla sua coerenza, alla chiarezza dello stile, al rigore del metodo, ci restituiscono il Primo Levi che abbiamo imparato a riconoscere come un classico delle nostre lettere.

Niall Meehan contribution to Howth Peninsula Heritage Society debate, Howth Angling Centre, West Pier, Howth, 23 April 2019. The late Frank Callanan SC and Dr. Niall Meehan, chaired by Philip O’Connor, discussed O'Brien's historical legacy. For all three contributions, Meehan, Callanan, O’Connor: The Polariser, Dublin Review of Books, https://drb.ie/articles/the-polariser/. Meehan talk begins: One of the difficulties with assessing Conor Cruise O'Brien is that there were one-two many Conor Cruise O'Briens. I hope to talk about a couple of them. Frank [Callanan] mentioned being born in 1956 and his excitement as a young teenager when Conor Cruise O'Brien was elected to the Dáil in 1969. I was born in October 1955 and also was excited by the same event. The difference between us is that I was equally enthusiastic when O'Brien lost his seat in 1977.

Discussing Italian Fascism, scholars start with the year 1922, not just the last years of the system, including the 1938-1943 racial laws.  It appears that it takes some time for a fascist system to establish itself (Lyttelton, 2004).  Therefore, it is essential to recognise the early warning signs of fascism to avoid its emergence in full bloom.

Clerical fascism is a specific type of fascism.  It is a nationalistic political system rejecting liberal democracy considered hostile to the ‘Christian tradition’, social changes, including women’s rights and sexual liberalism, and a notion of ‘restoring’ Western culture (Pollard, 2007, p. 434).

This publication argues why it is justifiable to consider the Poland of Andrzej Duda and Law and Justice as a multi-party clerical fascist state, where many parties exist, creating an impression of pluralism, but the ruling parties are ideologically identical in practical terms.  Establishing what the system is and how it works will help to address the source of the problems and the outcomes it produces, e.g. through internal awareness of the situation and pressure from the international community.

It also attempts to present a brief case study of a modern fascist state and how it operates.  It explores various aspects of the state, particularly the troika of crucial actors: the far-right propagandists, the powerholders, and the Roman Catholic Church.  While religious fundamentalism and authoritarianism is important, money also plays an important part in the regime, including lucrative contracts and prestigious jobs.

The timescale examined in this publication is the recent past, from 2015 until the date of publication. The language is simplified for the purpose of accessibility.  Sources are of highest possible quality.

The publication also calls for more research on modern fascism.  It also serves as a warning to democracies to keep and create safeguards protecting people and institutions from abuse of power.

The Kilmichael Ambush, 28 November 1920:
2012 History Ireland discussion with historians, relatives of Kilmichael Ambush participants and of IRA veterans.
Maureen Deasy (daughter of IRA veteran Liam Deasy (brother of Kilmichael Ambush casualty Pat Deasy); Sean Kelleher (son of IRA veteran Tom Kelleher); Maura O’Donovan (daughter of Kilmichael Ambush veteran Pat O’Donovan); Marion O’Driscoll (wife of solicitor Jim O’Driscoll;  John Young (son of Kilmichael Ambush veteran Ned Young);  plus historians Niall Meehan, Eve Morrison, Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc. Also two appendices: statement by John Young (son of Ned young) and Sunday Times report of statement