Negationnism

The term negationnism indicates, in its significance first, the negation of the reality of the Génocide practiced by the Nazi Germany during the Second world war against the Juif S and the Gypsies. The negationnism thus consists in claiming, in particular by the negation of the existence of the gas chambers of extermination or of the will of extermination of the Jews of Europe by the Nazis, that the reality of these crimes would concern Mythe S. the public expression of these remarks is sanctioned in many countries. January 26th, 2007, the General meeting of the United Nations adopted by consensus a resolution condemning the negation of the genocide of the Jews by the Nazi Germany during the Second world war.

By extension, the term is regularly employed to indicate the negation, the dispute or the minimization of other historical crimes. It was the case for the Armenian genocide by the government Young person-Turks of the Ottoman Empire during the First World War, the Massacre of Nankin perpetrated by the Armée imperial Japanese woman, the Génocide in Rwanda, the massacres practiced by the Khmer Rouge with the Kampuchea, of the colonial massacres…

The question however arises of defining a clear limit between the concept of “dispute of crimes histories” and that of “negationnism”. The step negationnist has this of private individual whom it uses of a partial methodology and dishonest person, operative the selection , the dissimulation , the diversion or the destruction of information corroborating the existence of the crime (even the creation of false evidence “implying” the inexistence of the last events). One can legitimately speak about negationnism when such methods are employed, when the motivations are not exclusively the research of the historical factuality (motivation anti-semite, partisane; to see part motivations of the negationnists ) and when the disputed facts were undoubtedly established. In the same order of idea, the Dénégation of responsibility for the authors of the crimes does not raise of the negationnism.

“Négationnisme” and “revisionism”

The concept of “negationnism” is basically to distinguish from that of “revisionism”.

The neologism “negationnism” was created by the historian Henry Rousso in 1987. Its utility is to correctly indicate the historical step of falsification like that of Robert Faurisson or Henri Roques, which qualifies themselves unduly “revisionists”. He thus intends to mark the difference between what he estimates to raise above all of an ideology been useful by the negation dishonest person of “reality” of the facts, and the historical revisionism, normal aspect of the scientific activity carried on by the historians when they re-examine a former “interpretation” of facts.

It is thus a question mainly of denouncing the methods employed by the negationnists: untruths, falsifications, discredit thrown upon the witnesses, etc

The negationnism comes in perfect contradiction from the events which actually proceeded, when the revisionism tries to reinterpret or give in prospect for the facts, in agreement with the objective data, without operating selection in those.

Motivations of the negationnists

Principal motivations

The motivations of the negationnists can be varied. In the case of the negation of the Jewish genocide made by the Nazis, they appear being mainly the “Antisémitisme” and “the will to defend” - by denying the reality of the facts - “the Nazi regime and his/her collaborators” (like the mode of Vichy in France).

But there exists also a negationnism of the Ultra-gauche (as that of the French group the Old crone founded by Pierre Guillaume) which initially aimed at demolishing the political thought of the consensus of the Antifascisme considered to be prejudicial to the possibility of the revolution. This very minority group is, in fact, conduit to attend the Extrême right-hand side negationnist.

The negation of a genocide (Shoah, Armenian genocide, Rwanda, etc) aims in particular, de facto , to obtain a Non-lieu as regards allowed like a crime, and to withdraw with the victims or their having very right to least repair (in the absence of crime there are neither criminals no more nor victims). The negationnism can be thus used to as well protect the authors from a genocide, as the accomplices of a genocide and the heirs ideological to a genocide.

The theses negationnists generally rest on made up facts or the omission deliberated on dependant elements. It is estimated consequently that these theses are the fact of extremists (anti-semitism, etc).

Authors of the crime and negationnism

The negationnism is presented like prolongation of the genocide by several journalists, like Philippe Val, of the essay writers such Bernard-Henri Levy. However, negationnism supported forever by the persons in charge Nazis of Shoah and Porrajmos. The deportation of the Jews of Hungary was done, in 1944, whereas the population Jew, the Hungarian government and the Allies knew that the deportation meant the setting with death. Hans Frank declared, on January 25th, 1943:

“We wish to recall that we all, here present, we are reproduced on the list of the war criminals of Mr. Roosevelt. I have the honor to occupy the first place. We all are thus, to some extent, accomplices in this context of the world history. ”

At the time of the Lawsuit of Nuremberg, Frank renonça to draw glory from its crimes, but did not seek to dissimulate them:

“- Doctor Seidl : Did you never take part in the extermination of the Jews? - Hans Frank : I answer “yes”. Because having lived the five months of this lawsuit, and especially after having heard the deposition of the Höss witness, it seems to me that my conscience does not authorize me to let fall down the responsibility on the only people who had only one influence of second order. Thousand years will pass without this responsibility for Germany being unobtrusive. ”

On their side, Rudolf Hoess and Adolf Eichmann wrote their Memories, where they describe their process of destruction and the role which was theirs. Eichmann, far from approving the negationnists, “often referred to works of Leon Poliakov as an authority and better source of the events”.

No leader Nazi denied the existence of the crimes against the Jews and the Gypsies. Those which were judged pled ignorance or obedience with the orders.

“Négationnisme” and “denial of responsibility”

According to an improper use, the term “negationnism” is sometimes used to indicate the denial of responsibility for the crime . The defendants or their defenders defend themselves in particular:

by denying any direct or indirect participation in the events;
while putting forward good deeds;
while carrying a symmetrical and at least equivalent charge (for example: the massacre is only one defense reaction following another genocide);

Thus let us insist on the fact that the negationnism relates on the reality of the crime, not to the responsibility or the excuses of the authors (or of the accomplices, or of people who did not do anything well that they “knew”, or even the responsibility that some charge to the victims themselves…).

When well even the defense of this point would rest only on historical handling or lies (inventions of false aggressions, etc), it does not constitute any therefore the negationnism .

Historical facts objects of the negationnism

The Shoah

Armenian genocide

Between April 1915 and July 1916 were methodically massacred two thirds of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire by the government Young person-Turk . This genocide made nearly 1.200.000 died.

The Turkish State denies, not the existence of a deportation of the Armenians nor the death of a great part of them, but the use of the term “genocide” to qualify these crimes, and the extent of the tragedy (the majority of the historians Turkish, with the boot of the state, claim that there were more Moslems killed - without specifying the Turks). The Turkish diplomacy undertakes an important work of Lobbying to be opposed to the recognition of the genocide.

A certain number of turcologists call in question the genocide, others did not study the facts.

War crimes Japanese

detailed Article: Revisionism in Japan

The China, the Filipino South Korea and the denounce the attempts of the Japanese nationalist right regularly to deny the war crimes perpetrated on the continent of Asia by the Armée imperial Japanese woman during the expansion with the Japanese empire.

The massacre perpetrated by the Armed imperial Japanese woman with Nankin at the time of the invasion of China, the sexual slavery imposed on the civil ones and the experiments carried out on the human ones by bacteriological research units constitutes in particular abominable episodes of this history occulted a long time for political reasons. Within the framework of the Cold war, the government of the United States, for example, did not want to alienate its Japanese ally and many criminals were exonerated of continuations in front of the Tribunal of Tokyo.

The annual visit of the former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi with the Sanctuary of Yasukuni, where certain war criminals are honoured was the subject of regular protests, just as the declarations of Shinzo Abe on the implication of the mode shôwa in the removal of the Femmes of comfort.

In 1990, the mayor of Nagasaki, Motoshima Hitoshi, was cut down to have raised the question of the responsibility for the emperor Hirohito in the Second world war.

Massacre of Srebrenica

The Massacre of Srebrenica, regarded by the International penal court for ex-Yugoslavia and the the International Court of Justice as “genocide”, is disputed in this dimension by some.

Negationnism of the genocide in Rwanda

the purpose of

the theory of the “double genocide” is to transform the genocide of the Tutsi into an “interethnic” massacre to clear the temporary Gouvernement Rwandan of 1994, of which two thirds of the members were continued by TPIR. It aims also to clear the Western authorities which supported it passively or actively. This negationnism, very widespread in the francophonie, is often expressed by plural: the genocides with the Rwanda. This expression was used in particular in France by François Mitterrand in the written version of its speech in Biarritz of November 8th, 1994.
the myth of the plot hamite rests on documents of comparable nature that the Protocole of wise of Sion. It was used as document in proof with the Génocide in Rwanda. It is about the systematization of the speculations of the first colonizers of the area who saw in the Tutsi of Rwanda and of Burundi of the descendants of the hamite S having emigrated with the Rwanda several centuries ago.

Steps and methods of the negationnism

There exists a general methodology of the negation, which borrows sometimes from a true historical step (historical Révisionnisme) obviously canted, but also with very subtle processes rhetorics sometimes.

Certain historical facts have a particular context which can support the emergence of specific methods of negation. For accurate information on the methods employed in the case of a particular event, to refer temporarily in the pages reserved for the negation of each facts history.

Argument of retro-analyzes

The most suitable events for questioning negationnist seem to be events around whose strong mythical contents developed, and which are used as support with a title or another (ideological justification, causes military action, etc) This allows the negationnists to forge a fallacious and however effective argumentation, namely that it would be exclusively the attachment with the myth which would be at the origin of various testimonys on the events. Some will be able to thus claim, without any demonstration in support of their very free assertion, that the gas chambers are only posterior constructions with the war set up to accredit the thesis of Shoah and diaboliser the Nazi Germany. The various witnesses will be in fact introduced like as many agents manipulators (stipendiés by the KGB, the CIA, the DGSE, for example). Their low number (due to the genocide) will be used like a proof of the “secondary” character of the event.

The negation of Soviet Gulag, particularly widespread in France for and by the French Communist party at one time, made it possible this party to preserve a long time its influence and to maintain the prestige of its doctrines.

This reversed approach of reality conversely implies to inflate a real event or to create an imaginary event (theory of a “international Jewish plot”, Théorie of the plot premeditated, the victim seeking a pretext, or a third party having interest with release of the hostilities). Thus, the fact that an event served as a pretext for an action (military, legal, etc) could be used to call of it into question its reality in whole or part, although there is no logical implication between the two terms of the argumentation. The required effect is “to sap” the legitimacy of the action and to reverse the responsibilities.

Neutralization of the witnesses

Silence on the events by all the means, the neutralization (of the ridiculisation to elimination) of the people who affirm the existence of genocides are of the constants of this type of step (which one can summarize by the formula “no witness should not survive”).

Use of the media

The negationnists, according to Pierre Vidal-Naquet, exploit the ignorance of the journalists. Vidal-Naquet quotes the description which makes Marshall Sahlins ( New York Review off books of the March 22nd 1979) of this handling:

“the book of Arens follows a traditional model of the companies journalistico-scientists to America: professor X emits some monstrous theory - for example: the Nazis truly did not kill the Jews; or: human civilization comes from another planet; or finally: the cannibalism does not exist. As the facts plead against him, the principal argument of X consists in expressing, on the highest tone which is, its own contempt for all the evidence which speaks against him. All that causes Y or Z to publish a development such as this one. X becomes from now on very discussed professor X and its book receives respectful reports written by non-specialists in Time , Newsweek and the New Yorker . Then open the radio, the television and the columns of the daily press. ”

Historical and political stake

The Révisionnisme of the modern history supposes an “objective” history, containing undeniable facts. In practice, it can be a question only of one “official” history (written in particular by the courts of the crimes against humanity), able to affirm the reality of the facts and to repress any deviation effectively.

However, as long as the official story did not integrate events, one can be marked to wrongly use the term “negationnism” in connection with these events. Symmetrically, one can show the official story to make negationnism. The question is not alleviating on the political plan. It is banal to note that the history is written by the survivors and the winners, thus if Germany crushed and occupied in 1945 could only recognize the crimes Nazis, allies could write their official story and minimize their own crimes and in particular massive bombardments on the civil populations of the Japanese and German cities.

Questions of this kind emerge in connection with the Armenian genocide, denied by the Turkish state but officially recognized by France, or in connection with the war crimes of Japan during its occupation of Korea and China (subject which remains source of tensions between these countries), or of the multiple colonial crimes, of which the least which one can say is that they remain not very present in the official story of the colonizing countries.

Rhetoric use and policy of the term “negationnism”

In addition, one finds the rhetoric use and policy of the term “negationnism” like an equivalent of “lie” but more extremely and more odious because of the denied crime. This use is found even among negationnists with the most strict direction (by showing the allies to hide the German civilian victims).

See too

History
Revisionism
Japanese Revisionism
Anti-semitism
mémorielle Law
black Legend
Hypercritical
Paranoia

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