Interesting, but as they say, when in the wrong hands these documents could be used as Neo Nazi propaganda. They should maybe be limited to libraries with a limited access. It is the eternal oppostion between liberty of speech and liberty of indiciduals who are discriminated in those documents. Besides German laws do not allow these printings so the lawsuit is legitimate in my opinion.
Boy, that's a tough one. I understand that reading the original papers has some intrinsic historical value. If I was studying the development of Nazi propaganda, I certainly would want to read these papers. I just don't understand what Peter McGee's purpose is in printing them for general distribution. Someone who is not interested in reading a historical text probably doesn't understand the context in which these papers originally appeared. For the neo-Nazis, they would seem to be a bonanza of propaganda. Free speech is obviously at issue, but the German laws about Nazi propaganda are quite clear. I don't see how printing them serves any "educational purpose".
Money, I should think. All this 'historical interest' and 'freedom of the press' stuff seems like a load of tripe. I've just Googled Mr McGee without success to find out his publishing credentials ( he's also described in some reports as a 'historian' - how many of Mr McGee's books are on your shelves ? ). But for sure he's getting lots and lots of publicity over this. In any case, 'Volkischer Beobachter' was fairly clumsy propaganda which I can't really see will be taken over-seriously today ( it's certainly not as bad as 'Der Sturmer', for instance....). I think that this story will quietly fade away.....as probably will Mr McGee, who seems to want to be a minor David Irving.
The money aspect makes sense , but in that case it would be even more disgusting, as the editor would get money on the back of the victims of Nazism. I still think there is some ideology behind this too. He could get just as rich by publishing papers from the Kaiser area.
Ah, but don't forget the now-legendary remark made by the ( Jewish ) publisher of those pictorial 'Bison Books' in the 70s/80s : - ' Swastikas sell ! '
In the U.S. we have general access to these sorts of racialy charged documents. Anyone can go to Barnes and Nobles and grab a book containing racial slurs against blacks. Reproduction issues of Harper's Weekly are available for anyone to view with racial epithets in them. However, this does not prove generally harmful to society. Anyone who would take this and use it as propoganda probably already has their own, or creates their own, without having to rely on 70 year old propoganda pieces. I also do not believe by 'general distribution' they mean passing copies out on the street or in the manner of some sort of promotional material. What they mean is accessible by the general public. I think there would be more people in Germany showing this sort of thing to thier children and saying "this is wrong" than there would be showing it to thier children and saying "this is the truth". The dilemma whether or not people will take something and use it as propoganda is ever present and cannot be avoided. If a certain group or individual is determined to use something, they will. And they can use almost anything.
Generally, I agree with you. However, the United States does not have laws, such as they do in Germany, prohibiting the publication of fascist or Nazi material. If McGee wanted to put the information in a book to sell at Barnes and Noble, he should feel free to do so. Its publication in Germany would still be problematic. I think Skipper is on the right track - it's all about the money and notoriety.
It is because of the laws that they want to publish these papers as educational material. I dont see this as being any different than displaying the same material in a museum, which they do in Germany. Barnes and Nobles already has similar publications on their shelves, which might be why he hasnt tried that. What is questionable is his apparent lack of credentials. Also, pretending something does not exist or shielding it from the public has never fixed or prevented anything. Education works much better.
This issue does seem to have become one of ownership and control rather than any concern over educational value. Within a museum copies of these can presented in a way as to try to control what the opinion of them might be. Ultimately it's something for Germany to sort out, we're all typically allowed any range of materials. Germans have a different perspective, much of it healthy- some of it questionable, but it's still down to them. I wouldn't want my historical sources defined by any government, it's questionable. There has been for a long time a feeling within Germany, which has grown beyond, that any interest in this period is a bad thing verging on the neo-nazi. So we do have to keep an eye on developments like this.
I would disagree. More literature has been published about this period than any other period in German history. Museums, memorials, etc are prevelant in Germany. The vast amount of attention to this period shows that interest in this topic is anything but viewed as a bad thing. How some people go about that pursuit, naturally, is viewed with some concern, but not the topic as a whole. The frequency with which these articles appear in the mainstream media conveys the prevelance of period discussion in Germany. I also feel the mainstream media's treatment of this period borders on paranoia. It's more of the same sensationalism they use everywhere else.
We'll have to beg to differ. I've found most German chums uneducated in this part of their history, unwilling to learn and genuinely perplexed to how anyone might still be interested. As the decades have rolled on I've found similar amongst my young British compatriots alongside an unforgivable lack of knowledge of history as a whole. I agree that more has been written about this period than any other though, however I'd dare to suggest that the bulk of it being written by non-Germans.
Very true. I think this is partly because of the original issue this post discussed. Too many people outside of Germany fear German interest in the topic as Nazi resurgence. In typical fashion we Americans tend to feel that we have a greater degree of moral capability, and thus are better equiped to handle sensitive topics more objectively. This is probably why we author more Second World War literature than anyone. What is the old saying; history is written by the victors?
This is the key. Everywhere you go this is an increasing problem, whether America, the U.K. or Germany. Heaven forbid we look at French historiography of the period. It is almost non-existent.
Very good point. I think most of us here are delighted by German producing something WWII, I remember when Das Boot first came out it was such a delight, same is true of Downfall, and also of Stalingrad for a lot of folk even though I found the latter a little poor in comparison. One interesting development has been how some Germans have concentrated, when writing, with revealing inconvenient truths such as Anna Rasmus did with her books on Passau. A brave stance revealling something very rotten not just on the edges of German politics, especially when as a result of her writing she effectively fled to the US for her safety. Sefton Delmer suffered harsh criticism from Germany when he wrote about Nazi influence in the modern German government. Perhaps this is an overlooked angle, an honest and objective German writer who goes beyond the merely technical is likely to suffer grief not only from the extremists, but also from those who don't want any further criticism on the subject. Another option is for a glowing and misleading appraisal of the Third Reich, and to simply become a more modern propagandist for the far right. The third is similarly regressive, that's to echo the discredited wisdom of the old DDR and Soviet Bloc, similar problems with that of course. Given those choices I don't think it's any wonder there's a lack of German interest. What do others think?
I do not think it is possible for any historian to be completely objective. Everyone comes into and argument or discussion with some bias. But I echo your call for an author who can produce work that is at least as objective as possible. We have the same problem with history in the United States. Every historian is either either a Marxist, supports the liberal left, or right wing conservative. Each side presents their evidence in a way that shows their view to be correct and the others ridiculous and unfounded. At the same time, this diversity of opinion and evidence gives us a more accurate view of history. The conflicting angles push the historical debate forward. The key is to keep the inherent bias in mind when analysing information. As for the films you mentioned, I too am always glad to see those made by the Germans, about the Germans. If we relied on strictly American portrayals of history on the screen we would all be ludicrously biased and ignorant. But that is my biased opinion.
