Censorship of History in France and the Netherlands (1945-2014): a Survey
Censorship of History in France and the Netherlands (1945-2014): A Survey Antoon De Baets* table democracies protect the human rights of their citizens. The more democratic the regime, the more evidence-based facts and Sopinions circulate freely in the public debates about history. Traces of censorship, however, are sometimes recognizable in restrictions put upon historians living in those democracies, especially in two domains. To begin with, the area of public information and secrecy needs regulation. When secrecy rules for current and archival records are excessive, illegal, or both, they lead to censorship. Furthermore, histories commissioned by governments or others are sometimes subtly adapted to avoid unwelcome messages. In these histories, the precarious subjects are mostly tied to the international wars and internal conflicts of the past—frequently (but not always) in combination with imperial or colonial expansion—that in the long run come to be seen as adversely affecting the democratic NÉERLANDAISES - legitimation of power and the construction of a collective identity, in short, as sources of shame. The present essay is an attempt to survey FRANCO * The author acknowledges the support of NWO (The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research) for facilitating this study. I thank all those who over the years sent me information about relevant cases: Eric van den Bergh, Jan Blaauw, Hans Blom, Doeko Bosscher, Flip Bosscher, Hans Brinks, Marga Coesèl, Pieter Drooglever, Donald Haks, Anja Hansen, Piet Kamphuis, Eric Ketelaar, the late Ernst Kossmann, RELATIONS Johanna Kossmann-Putto, Wessel Krul, Selma Leydesdorff, Marcel Metze, Martijn van Oorschot, Kevin Passmore, Dick Stapert, Homme Wedman and Huub Wijfjes.
[Show full text]