The Journal of Historical Review Volume 03 Number 2 1982

The Journal of Historical Review his Issue: Dr Robert Robert Fau Faurisson risson

Analysis

t h e A n n e F r a n k D ia i a ry ry

Dr Serban Andronoscu

Tlzc H oloctrzrst oloctrzrst a n d R o m a n i a Dr Charles E Wober

The

S i x M i l l i o n Thesis Clri

Bono?

Samuel E Konkin

E l S a l v a d o r : The W a r t o C o m e Dr M u t i n A Larson

Wlzrrtever a p p e n e d o t h D e n d S e n S c r o llll s ?

Volume Volum e Th Thre ree e Nurn be berr Two

Summer 982

T h o Jou rna l of His torical Ro Rovi viow ow is publis published hed qu nrter ly b by y the Institute for Historical Review. P.O. Box 1306, Torrance, Californi Cali fornia a 905 90505, 05, Unit United ed S ta te s o off Ame rica. S ubscr iption pri ces a r o os fo foll llow ows: s: One ye ar , $ $30 30;; two yea rs , $ $50 50:: t hro e ye ar s, $ $7 70or the equivalent in foroi~ncurrency. foroi~ncurrency. Foreign subscribors must ridd$5 i payin paying g by rom itt un ce dr aw n on a fo foro roig igri ri bo bonk. nk. For domest dom estic ic ffirs irstt class del delive ivery ry ad d $ $5 5 per year . For overseas air delivery deliv ery ad d $12 per y ear . Quu Quuntit ntity y sub scription an d bul bulk k issue r r it o ~ vn vnil ilnb nblo lo o n rnquoat. Approprinto mnnriscripta nro wnlcorned b y th tho o edito r, but must be accompa nied by rotu rn postago. Liatod: Llbrc~y of Col~groee British Librar y I<r~c:yr~lol)c~tllli f AHHO :IIII O I ~ Wri lor s Market 10 1002 02 IJ I LA C n l n l o g EBSCO Lib rar ian s Ma Mari ridb dboo ook k

ISSN: 0195-6752

Institute for Historical His torical Reviow P.O. Box13 Box1306, 06, To rr an ce . California 90505, U.S.A.

Permission is hereby granted for reprints of any article contained herein, providing that no changes or alterations are made prior to off-printing, a n d also providing t ha t t he fol follo lowi wing ng a ttri ttrihutio hution n n pp ea rs with the ortic orticla: la: Rep rin ted b by y permiss ion o off The Jo ur urna na l o Historical Review, P. P.O. O. Box 1306, To rr an ce , California 90505, United St at es o off America. Subsc ription ra te: $3 $30 0 pe r year. Two copies o off e a c h of off-pri f-print nt should be s ubm itte d to the Edit Editor or of The Jo ur urna nall of Historical Review.

ONTENTS

Note F ro m

ditor

With the re ce nt (second) fire-bo fire-bombing mbing of th e IHR offices offices,, one could cou ld sa y th at this this-ou -ourr first 2 8 pag e Jou rnal o off Historical Review-has Review-h as been launched with a re al bang Our gain is sub sta nti al an d last lasting. ing. That of t he "Jewish Defenders" w a s but a mo momen mentt of typical dest ruct ive g glee. lee. IIow invidious t o minds must b o th r~ t erpetrate erpetrate or e eve ven n sympathize with t hes e ju juve veni nile, le, fr an ti c a c t s o off cowardly violon violonce. ce. Aro they capuble of perceiving the dnmag e they're do doin ing g to thei r very ver y own cau su s b bell elli? i? Or iiss tha t thei r unanno unce d int intention? ention? When Revi Revision sionists ists re reek ek havoc on t he oppos oppositio ition, n, we a t l eas t take t he civil civilized ized rout e o off open de ba te . Th at , in in fac t, is one o off t he rnoro ro~ ono rr ~l iv o u r~l r~lit itio ioss f tho lit lito o ro rotu tu rre e we m ~ k e v ~ i l n b l e . Typical Typ ically, ly, thou though, gh, this appr oa ch ca rr ie s litt little le we weight ight wit with h tho unsocial unso cial-min -minded ded who c an on only ly scr ee ch in turbulent protest, sl and er , an d toss expl explos osiv ives es in th e nigh night. t. But bombs bombs don' t o bliterate trut h. They on only ly se rv e tto o ign ignite ite the que st for it it.. Th re at s a n d public demonstrations of vict victim imiti itiss won't frighten or emote emote the facts aw ay. S mea rs an d calculated me men ndacity can 't nega te the ines capa ble conclusio conclusions ns of honest researchers. No,, thei r t rucu lenc e isn't working s o wel No well. l. The simp simple le an d total media medi a blackout o off ye ar s ago w a s a f a r more eff effecti ective ve d device, evice, And w e sa y this even a t the ri risk sk o off hav having ing th e sugg suggesti estion on taken seri se rio ou usl sly y. Bu utt it' it'ss too la late te to re rev v er ert, t, we tth h in ink k , ~ n de might just have open war fa re on our hands , no do doubt ubt tto o mak make e hi histo story ry sa fe for democracy. But in in the meantimo we have a new an d g rea ter Journa Journall o off Misloriccll Hoviow lo i~ilroduco. Dr. Robert Faur is so n iiss with us ag ai n. We think you'll you'll fin find d the loug-uwuilotl lrrl~~vlulio~l f I I ~ o x l o r ~ ~ i v oork on tho Anne Fra nk Dinry Din ry a s potent ns it is pure jo joy to rea d. Com1)1imorlIi1i~lioI c cllro ~ o v o r r ~f ltho tho pnpors delivered a t the November ber:: D r Webe r offers his I H R s nnnunl conference lnst Novem insights into the ben benofit ofitss uc crui ng to the non-J non-Jewish ewish pro pag ato rs of th e exterm ination thesis; Dr. Androne scu writ es on the purnpo pur npod-u d-up p IIolocausl st ntis tics nttr ibut ed to his native Roman Romania: ia: Dr.. Lar son give Dr givess us som some e very interes ting backgroun d on the Dead S ea Scro Scrolls: lls: a n d Sam Ko Konk nkin in lo look okss a t the w a r to come in E l Salvador. Let us know w h a t yo you u think think..

Correspondence

MIRACLE A T M A JDANEK?

T h e M a j d a n e k g a s c h a m b e r s a r e n o l on o n g e r a m y s te t e ry r y . F in i n a llll y, y, a f t e r talks with the Majdanek director, Mr. Edward Dziadosz, and the c u s to t o s , M a d a m H e n r y k a T e le le sz s z , it it h a s a t la l a s t b e e n a d m i t te te d t h a t t h e g a s c h a m b e r s a r e n ot o t a u t h e n t i c . T h e y w e r e b u il il t a n d s e t iinn o r d e r after the war. D z ia ia do d o sz s z i nnff or or m e d u s t h a t t h e g a s c h a m b e r s w e r e e r e c t e d a f t e r t h e w a r o n t h e b a si s i s of of w i t n e s s e s s ' a c c o u n t s . W h o t h e s e w i t n e s s e s a r e h e h a s n e v e r t ooll d u s a n d m o st s t llii k el e l y n e v e r w il i l l . W h e n w e s p o k e t o im f o r the first time time in 1978 h e c o u ld l d n ot o t g iv iv e u s e v e n o n e p e r s o n i n P o l a n d w h o h a d w i t n e s s e d t h e g a s s i n g s , s o w e c a n j us u s t i m a g i n e w h a t k in in d of w i t n e s s e s h is i s w i t n e s se se s r e a l l y a r e . leer sw e tw hyi sa ny eda rt a, kwee awd ed ni tti oi nnnttaol odne et a iooflfe tdh eph c hW a mhbi le o esrteu dayt M th thae jmd a cnlo leokse s etly lhi p h ogto taosg r a p h s . T h e a r e a iiss c l o s e d o ffff , b u t a s b e f o re re , w e m a n a g e d t o s n e a k i n . IItt s o h a p p e n e d t h a t w h i le le w e w e r e i n ssii ddee t h e g a s c h a m b e r s , t h e c u s t o s , M a d a m T e le l e sz s z , c a m e s t ru r u t ti t i n g a lo l o n g w it it h a W e s t G e r m a n g r o u p s h e w a s guidi gui ding. ng. Attentively, Attenti vely, w e listened lis tened t o he r tell tellin ingg he r true story. W e ha d to pr es s our bodies bodies tight tightly ly again st th e w all, lest l est the poopl poo plee an d tho tho custos herself would notice us 8 s they w er e gazi g azing ng into the gns cllambor. l llis g us u s c l ~ u n l b u r by by t l ~ o a y is o n u of lia t w o with 1110 holes on the ceiling ceiling w h er e it is c l a i m e d Z yk yk lo lo n B w a s d i s c h a r g e d . N oott u w o r d w a s m e n t io io n e d by by T e l e s z t h a t t h i s b u il il di d i ng ng h a d b e e n a l t e r e d a f t e r t h e w a r bu b u t s h e m a d e i t o u t a s if if e v e r y th th i n g w a s a u t h e n t i c . S h e e v e n w e n t s o f a r a s t o fo fo ol ol t h e t o u r is i s t s i n t o b e li li ev e v in i n g t h a t i n s i d e t h is is p a r t i c u l n r g a s c h a m b e r , p e o p le l e w e r e a l s o s h o t , a n d t h a t t h e bbuu ll l l et e t h o llee s f ro ro m thes e events w er e clea rly vis v isibl iblee on the wall. Why s uc h shoot shootings ings did not a l s o t a k e p l a c e i n t h e o t h e r g a s c h a m b e r s , o nnll y s h e h e r ssee l f a n d h e r fellow Exterminationists would know. Evidently these holes were also m a d e b y t h e M a j d a n e k , H o ll ll y w oo o o d s t a g e a r t i s t s a n d , ooff c o u r s e , a l l b a s e d on som e m ysterious witnesses. D u r i ng n g a n a n i m a t e d d i s c u s s i o n i n t h e s u m m e r ooff 1981 b e t w e e n m y s e llff , M r . E d w a r d D z ia ia do d o sz sz a n d t h e c u s t o s M a d a m H e n r y k a T e l e s z , a r a t h e r interesting thing happened which illustrates the point nicely how our r i v a l s a r e u s in in g t r e s s a s e v i d e n c e f o r e x t e r m i n a t i o n . B e in i n g u n a b l e t o g iv iv e u s a n y p rroo of of o f d e l i b e r a t e e x t e r m i n a t i o n a t M a j d a n e k , M a d a m T e le l e sz sz , w h o w a s vi v i s i b llyy s h a k e n , r e t o r t e d t h a t t h e e v i d e n ce ce f o r d e l i b e r a t e ep xl at ne rt emdi nt raet ei os n. Fw t hl de nfot o ra smy myc loewa rnl ys a kp er o, vI ej us uns tb cyo uul oatc ct atthceh ht heer rGe ea rs m o nainnsg ,hfaodr if the planting of trees gave clear evidence of extermination, then a n y t h i n g c a n p r o v e e x t e r m i n a t i o n . A t a n y r a t e , a s k e d h e r : D o y oouu m e a n t h a t t h e G e r m a n s p la l a n t e d t r e e s h e r e a t M a j d a n e k t o c o ve v e r u p a l l tthh e t r a c e s of t h e i r c r im im e s ? No, no, bu t a t those other places, Telesz said.

102

T H E J O U KN A L O

I IISTOKICAL REVIEW

"What places?" I asked her. Unabl Unable e to gi give ve m me e a n an swe r and a s she, b by y this time, was thoroughly confused, I decide decided d to help her. "P erhaps yo you u mean such places place s a s Chelm Chelmno, no, Belze Belzec, c, Sobibor an d Treblinka?" "Yes, yes," she nodded back to me. then told her straight in her face: "Dear Madam, we have made te tests sts of those tre ss an d the they y a r e no ol older der tha n 2 0 years. an and d using yo your ur logi logic c that th at would mean it wa wass the Pol Poles es who did the exterminating, in that, I assume, it must have been the Poles who planted those trees. Or are you suggesting that these camps were first libera ted iin liberated n the 1960's?" In the vo voice ice o off an utter utterly ly defe defeated ated person sh e managed to reply: "NO "NO-we -well ll," ," an d by this ti time me sh she e probably wished she had never brought up the matter about the final, clear evidence, those thos e tr tree eess which by some st stra rang nge e fat e c cons onstit titute ute the absolute pro proof of of mass extermination. Ditlie Dit lieb b Feld Feldere ererr Taby. Tab y. Sweden OMMENTS ON L

S T I S S UE

With respect to The lournal, issue for Spring, 1982, Mr. Richard Landwehr's detailed letter is excellent. One wishes the same could be said sa id for th the e most rec recen en t le lett tt er of Dr. Way Waylan land d D D.. Smith Smith.. For one so easily irritated, as is Dr. Smith, how surprising is his contented pu rr on the th e su bj bjec ec t of "psy "psycho-history. cho-history." " Except for its ostent ostentati atious ous jargon, jarg on, t he here re is noth nothing ing n new ew in this lat es estt "discipline." Every Everythin thing g in D Dr. r. Stein's origina originall arti cl cle e ((Winter Winter,, 1980 1980)) c an be ful fully ly explai explained ned by com common mon sense and without resorting to the unhealthy and convoluted obsession with sex. Dr. Stein a nd Dr. Smi Smith th both st r es s the importa importance nce o off empathy in understanding. Empathy, in fa fact ct,, is of little o orr n no o cons consequ equenc ence. e. Understanding standin g re qu quir ires es like like-min -mindedn dedness, ess, not em empathy. pathy. Like Like-mind -mindedne edness ss means that the alien mind is not present, whereas empathy (often indistiguishable from sentimentality) implies sympathy for what is foreign. History shows us again and again that two peoples cannot under stand ea ch othe other: r: they a r e esse essential ntially, ly, ineradicably, alien to ea ch other. And And this is generally tr ue even if they a r e of the sam e ra race ce.. Ho How w many Englishmen, even those who admire things German, have ever understood the German, entered into his spirit, and become one with him? Not even Houston Stewart Chamberlain, who married Wagner's younger daughter, spoke and wrote perfect German, lived and died in Germany, could do that. Listen to how an English or a Jewish musician plays German music, and the listener will understand that empathy is a trivial factor. A German musician's instinctive feeling for the music of his peo people ple constitute s an understan ding in which which empat empathy hy and intel intelleclectuall comprehe tua comprehension nsion play no rol role. e. As for the source, of Dr. Smith' s irritation-namely Dr. An dr ea s Wesse Wesserle's rle's llett ett erWesserle (Wi (Winte nter, r,stresses 198 1981)1)-it it(and is imp impos ossib sible le tto o ers tan d his annoyance. Dr. rightly so) theund incomparably more destructive nature of Allie Allied d bombin bombing. g. In the context of his hi s let lette terran d outside th at context, a s we well ll --hi hiss poin pointt is perfec perfectly tly ap t. D Dr. r. Smith's observati obse rvation on t ha t Germany lacked lacked the re resou sou rce s to ans we r in kin kind d is not germane. It w a s never pa rt of Germ any's st strateg rateg y to c com ommi mitt such atrocities. Had it been, Germany would have manufactured the

Correspondence

necessary bombers before the war. As it was, in fact, Germany's intention intent ion to remain a att pe peac ace, e, while redressing redre ssing the viscious viscious wrongs of the Versailles Versaill es Treaty, he r orname nts generally generally we re scanty. Ronald Klett Greenda le, Wis.

CREMATE t is claimed th that at the Nazis use d cremation crem ation-a -a very inefficient method for disposing of m milli illions ons of corps corpseses-for for th the e purp pu rpos ose e of cau causi sing ng th the e bodies to vanish vani sh without a tr ac e, thus thu s destroying e eviden vidence ce o off th the e genocide crime. Most people, not being familiar with the cremation process, assume that cremation reduces a corpse completely to ashes. This is not the cas e. I have bee been n inf infor ormed med by by a n und erta ker th at cremation reduces the soft soft tissues to as h but not the bones. The bones bones must then be groun ground d up in a machine built built for the purpose. The ashe s of a cre crema mated ted corpse consist cons ist mostl mostly y of ground groun d bone, some pieces being a s lon long g as a s one-h one-half alf inch. W

would in notmass makegraves. sense sens e to tOne o crem cr em at e milli mi llions ons obury f c corp orp sescorpses, an d the then nasbury theIt bones would simply the the corp ses w woul ould d take up little little more sp ac e, especially if if ema emaciat ciated, ed, th an the bones alone. Therefore, if the Nazi Naziss had murder mu rder ed and c re rema mated ted mi mill llio ions ns of Je Jews, ws, they must have ground the bones and there would exist today vast deposits of bon bone e in a re as whe re the camp s we re located. Ba rb ar a B. B. Clark Clark San Diego, Calif. JUDICI JUDI CIAL AL BA MBO OZLE re ad with some some amazeme ama zement nt in your publication tha t

jucicial notice notice

had been been taken that Jews we re gassed to de at h a t Auschwi Auschwitz tz con concencentration Camp in Poland during the summer of 1944. fear that such a judicial notice opens up wh at w e common common folk folk call a c a n of worms. worms. To begin, wh what at is a Jew ? No one seems to really kno know. w. A r ac e? A re reli ligi gion on? ? Jude ans? Khazars? belie believe ve a court in Isre al dec lare d that a Jew Je w wa s a person b born orn of a Jewish Jewi sh mother. Bu Butt would would th at also apply a pply iiff a Jewish wo woman man were rape d and impregnated by by a Ja pa ne se or N Neg egro ro? ? Wa s Karl Marx a J ew? ew ? It is my my recollecti recollection on t ha t he w a s a member of the Lutheran Church an d wrote var ious anti-Jewish anti-Jewish articles. Wha t about Trotsky? A Communist and Atheist and also a Jew? What about the sc xa lle d secret Jews the Marran os. Are th they ey Jews in fact? Gassed Gass ed to death? Pe rh ap s by accident. Or murdered b by y other Jews. Or mu rd rder ered ed by Poles or Russians Russi ans.. Or O r by by SS men in violation of SS regulations. Gassed to to death de ath c a n mean anything. And how many? Jewss could mean only Jew only two. Auschwitz Auschwit z concent con centratio ratio n Camp? Wa s Auschwit Auschwitz z rea really lly a concentra tio n Camp Camp? ? W as it not a n industr industrial ial comp complex lex? ? Now this is nit nit-pi -picki cking ng but whe when n judicial judicial notice notice is take taken, n, tha t judici judicial al notice notice must be carefully, care fully, even tedi tediously, ously, examined.

TFlE JOURNAL OF HISTORICAL REVIEW

That Auschwitz was in Poland seems pretty safe, but, again, to nitpick, pic k, wa s Auschw Auschwitz itz n not ot actua actually lly in the se c a ll e d General Gov Govern ernmen mentt which had been s et up by by the German Occupation authorities? Why Wh y rofor upecif upecificnll icnlly y to th tho o ~ u m m o r of 19441 This seem se emss to indic:clte that ~omotl~ingpociol happenod during that summer. Were only ga~8odo ga~8od o de deat at h dur durin ing g tho uummor of 1944 19447 7 If so, wer e they they JOW gassod during the ontiro summer? f only two Jewa were involved then ono on o day would havo beon enough. And th the e judicia judiciall notice gives us no reason to think that more than two were involved. If thousands or millio mil lions ns we were re in involv volved, ed, why does the judici judicial al no notice tice not say so? Suppose we knew nothing about Auschwitz other than the information provided by the judici judicial al notice. If that were truu, we might well think tha t the Je ws inv involv olved ed wer e crimina criminals ls execu ted by t he Pol Polish ish gov govern ern-ment. We would have no reason to think that the German government wa s invo involved lved in an any y way. Wh What at conclusions would we d drr a w iiff told tha t Jews were gassed to deat h at Sacramento, Californ California? ia? We mi migh ghtt wel welll think the reference wae to criminals executed by the State in that era when California used cyanide cy anide to remov remove e un unwa want nted ed members of societ society. y. We certainly would not think the German government or the Mexican government gover nment or t he Chinese gov government ernment wa s invol involved ved iin n the affa affair. ir. judicial al noti notice ce ch char ar ged ge d the Germ German an I t would not help even if the judici government a nd sp specifically ecifically the SS with having Je ws gasse gassed d to death death.. We would would have to have a copy of t he o rder rd er to do the gassing. And by whom wh om we re our two Jews dispatche dispatched? d? SS men in general cou could ld not have done the gassing, it wou would ld hav have e to be a pa part rtic icul ular ar individual or group o off individuals. Or maybe it was done by Himmler personally. We do not know kn ow bec aus e the judicial not notice ice does not tell us anything a t all about the circ*mstances. Well. I think I have b ea t this de dead ad ho horse rse lon long g enoug enough. h. I did wa nt you tb know kn ow tha thatt you yourr publica publication tion sti rr ed up m my y thin thinking king an and d so put down thes e idle thoughts thoughts.. Do not take ta ke judici judicial al notice of them. They a r e too confused and too lacking in concrete data. If yo you u tak take e judicia judiciall notice of someth something ing make s ur e yo you u a r e on firm ground. Judici Judicial al notic notice e th at th e Earth g goes oes aro und the Sun seems sa fe en enough. ough. Bu Butt to take judici judicial al notice tha t wat er runs down hil notice illl m mig ight ht be less sur e. I seem to remember t h ~ the the famous Believ Believe e o orr No Nott man, Rober Robertt Ripley Ripley,, foun found d a riv river er so~newhor*hat so~newhor* hat run uph uphill ill.. Best Wishes in your work. We must be free to question any event in history, histo ry, an d re ready ady to change our minds if new information comes along. W E udley Los Vogas, Nev. SEE S

As reg ard s the Zioni Zionist st provo provocation cation of Hitler whe the r I sub sc scrib rib e to th at viewp viewpointoint-II do believ believe e that the ugl ugly y see ds o off World Wa r II1 1 we re laid in the anti-Hitler ba rr ag e of 193 1933 3 193 1934. 4. The re wer e anti-J ewis h incidents to be sure but nothing like the stuff put out by irresponsible journalists a nd people like Samue Samuell Unter Untermyer. myer. Another c cas as e o off makin making g political mounta mountains ins out of rac ia iall mol molehi ehills lls.. You c a n ' s e e th e same process at work in the curre nt Tim Timmerm merman an aff affair air.. Bezalel Chaim D - ~ - l l ~ r - ~ T ~ Y nTr k

Cui Bono An American Veteran's Views on Non-Jewish Toleration and Propagation of the Extermination Thesis D r . CHARLES E. WEBER

(Presented a t the 1981 Revi Revisi sioni onist st Co nfere nce ) A c c o ~ ~ d i n go C i c e r o , L. C a s s i u s L o h n g i n u s R a vi v i llll a , w h o w a s C o n s u l o f t l i e R o m a n R e p u b l i c i n 1 2 7 B.C., a d m o n i s h e d j u d g e s involvud in criminnl trials t o i nvost i gut o t ho quoet i on t o whoso adv anta ge a criminal a c t m mii g ht h t h a v e b e e n c o m m it i t ttee d . H i s f a m o u s q u e s ti t i o n , w h i c h h a s h a d a n i n fl f l u eenn c e o n w e s t e r n j u r i d i c a l p r a c t i c e e v e r s i n c e , c o n s i s t e d of of o n l y t w o w o r d s : Cui h a n o ? I t i s m y i n te t e n ti ti o n i n t h i s p a p e r t o p o s e t h i s q u e s t i o n in o r d e r t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e m o t i v at a t iioo n s of of s e v e r a l n o n -J - J e w is is h g r o u p s w h o s e m e m b e r s f r e q u e n t l y n o t on o n ly l y t o l e r a t e b u t a c t u a ll ll y p r o p a g a t e a p a t e n t l y q u e s t i o n a b l e h i s t o r i c a l t h es e s iiss . B o t h m a t e r i a l a n d p ssyy c h o lo l o g ic i c u l m o l iv i v a ti t i o ns ns a r e to b o o x u m i n o d here. J e w i s h , a n d e s p e c i a l l y Z iioo n iiss tt,, e x p l o it i t a ti ti o n a n d c o n t i n u e d p r o p a g a t i o n of t h e H o l o ca c a u s t m a t e r i a l h a v e r a t h e r o b v io io u s e c o n o m i c rl r l n d p s y c h o l o g i c aall m o t i v ~ t i o n s w h i c h l i n vo vo b e o n d e s c r i b e d b y a n u m b e r of of a u t h o r s , l b u t t h e s t r a n g e , i n o t a p p a r e n t l y m a s o c h i s t ic i c , t o le l e r a ti t i o n a n d e v e n p r o p a g a t i o n ooff t h e m a t e r i a l b y n o n - J e w i sh s h g r o u p s h a v o n o t h e e n s u ff f f ic i c iiee n tl tl y s u m m a r iz iz e d a n d d i s c u s s e d . T h e e v i d e n c e a g a i n s t t h e c la l a im i m t h a t s o m e s ix i x m il illio n J e w s w e r e d e l i b e ra r a t e ly l y k il i l llee d ( l a r g e ly ly b y l e t h a l g a s ) o n a m a s s i v e s c a l e i n l a b o r a n d r e lo l o c a ttii o n c a m p s a s a r esul t of a g e n e r a l e x te t e r m in i n a ti t i o n p ol o l i c y o n t h e p a r t of o f G e r m a n y a n d i ttss w a r t i m e a ll l l i e s, s , h a s lloo nngg b e e n a v a i l a b le l e t o a n y o n e w h o w a s o bj b j e ct ctiv e a n d

1 8

T H E J O U R N A L 1: t ISTORICAL REVIEW

int erested interes ted en enough ough to examin examine e even th the e ssimplest implest o off d emographic emogra phic data available in readily accessible reference works. A s early a s 1951, for example, Col. John Beaty pointed out the demographic evidence against the claim in his important little book, T ho I ro r o n C u r t a iin n O v e r A m e r i c a pp. 1 3 4 f f In more recent yours such bri brillit llit ~nt nnnlys nnnlysos os o tho extermination thesis as those bythe Prof. Arthur Butzwho and objective Dr. Wilhelm Stliglich have merited atten attentio tion n o offR .those objectively ly seek the tru t ru th in this area. The most obvious group which we must consider are the Germans themselves. Before considering their present sentiments rind espociully those of their governments with regard to t h o oxterminntion thesis, we must first undertake a cursory analys is o off th the e sentim ents which prevailed in German lands during 1933 and later, along with the conditions which caused them In 1945, Germany and those who had held leading positions in the National Socialist government during 1933 to 1945 we re at

t h e mercy of victorious and very vindictive powers. Indeed, tlioy wero ovcm dopo~idont n tho victors for vital food supplies. In the wuko o f terrible military dofeat with staggering costs i n blood, to torri rrito tory ry ttind ind trecisure, former form er members membe rs o off the t he National Soc Social ialist ist German Workers Party also faced considerable hostili host ility ty from the r es estt of the the Ge Germ rman an population,2 alth although ough a mere ten years before 1945 the National Socialist movement had been enjoyin enjoying g a gr grea eatt popularity a s a result of of its notable successes during the first years after its accession to power in early 1 9 3 3 . ~ One me as asur ur e of of this popularity w a s the th e S a a r plebiscit plebiscite e of of 1 3 January 1 9 3 5 , in which about 90010 of th e S a a r population voted to return to Germany and only about 8 . 8 to continue under the League of Nation Nat ions. s. Not Not onl only y did Nationa Nati onall Socialism Soc ialism e enjoy njoy considerable popula popularity rity in Ger Germany many its itsel elf, f, but a t least a fai r mea sur e of of ad admirati miration on and ap pro val in non-German non-German lands. An indication indicati on of this sen sentiment timent c an be se en in the Olympi Olympic c games held in Berlin in 1936. In co cont ntra rast st to the massive boycott o off th e Olympic games gam es held h eld in the U US SSR in 1980, there was certainly no massive boycott o off the g game amess in 1936. Perhaps the most important tolerant reaction to National Socialism abroad was to be found in th e atti at titu tude de of the v as t majority of A Amer merican icanss to it. They wanted no formal involvement in a war against Germany man y in spi spite te o off powerf powerful ul a nd influential inter ests est s which wanted such a n i n v ~ l v e m e n t . ~rom the present vangtage, there is certain ly no rea so n to doubt the res ult ultss of of man many y private polls which show ed th a t about 5/6ths of the Am American erican popula population tion

uiBono B ono

.wanted no formal pa rt o off the w a r raging raging in Europe a nd th at this sentiment persisted persi sted ra t he r constantly right down to Decemb ce mber er 1 194 941 1 in spit spite e o off t he massive massi ve unempl unemploymen oymentt whi which ch still existed in the United States, even throughout the years 1940 and 1 1941 941,, an d in in spite of of the powerful forc forces es which favore favored d formal entry into the war against Germany, a land comparable in a r e a to the St Stat at e of Texas. Texas . During the years 1940 and following, many individuals in the occupied lands voluntarily helped the German cause. Some of them were quite distinguished persons, such as the famous Norwegian author Knut Hamsun (1859-1952). who had won the Nobel Prize in 1920. The military figures, Marshal Petain and Admiral Horthy, to mention only two examples, also cooperated with National Socialist Socialist Germany. Notwithstanding the popularit popu larity y of National Sociali Socialism sm which existed during the years before the tide started to turn against the German armed forces in 1942-3, we are now confronted with German governments which not only tolerate the extermination thesis and Hol Holoca ocaust ust mat materia erial l but actively cute those who dare to question them5 To understand this perse seemingly paradoxical phenomenon, we must understand the present posit po sition ion of of thes these e governments a n d the their ir hi histori storical cal background. Both the German Federal Republic and the German Democratic Republic, its Communist counterpart in central Germany, are states which developed from the military occupation zones that existed during 1945 1945-1 -194 949. 9. (The ea st er n q u a r t e r o off the a r e a of the Reich as it existed in 1937 was incorporated into Poland and the USSR. Within strict limitations and directives, Germans were gradually permitted ever greater authority to govern themselves and finally the two republics were founded in 1949. Even if these two states enjoy a nominal sovereignty today, they they remain rema in essentially cre ati ons of of tthe he occ occupy upying ing powers: The Un Unit ited ed Sta tes, te s, Britain and Fr an ce in the ca se of west we st er ern n German Germany y a nd the t he US USSR in the c as e o off ce nt ra l Germany. Somewhat parallel developments took place on a much smaller scale in Austria, which was not accorded full sovereignty until 1955, and then only with many stipulations by the victors. Austria, for example, had to promise never to join Germany again. Many German politici politicians ans of of the pre sen t genera generation tion founded and furthered their careers while disavowing National Socialism or any connections which they might have had with it e. g. , Will Wi lly y Br Brand and t). Having thu s commit committed ted themselves, they a r e hardly in a position to be receptive or even just tolerant to historical revisionism, no matter what its merits or validity.

1 8

JQIJKNAL

0 1

IISTORICAL

All three of the present German republics are faced with. delicate problems problems with reg ard ar d to the appr oval of other nations, for economic reas re as on s, if if nothi nothing ng else. Since about abo ut 1 8 7 0 Germany h a s been inca in capa pabl ble e of growing sufficient suffic ient food food for its population, which was expanding especially rapidly between about 1 8 7 0 and 1 9 4 1 . Germany was therefore forced to export or starve, a circ*mstance which has brought it into conflict with other European nations that must also compete for overseas markets. This problem became even more acute after the large territorial losses of 1 9 1 8 and 1 9 4 5 . I recall vividly a plea for mercy made to me shortly after the war by a former National Socialist in Internment Camp No. 7 5 in Kornwestheim, north nor th of Stutt Stu ttga gart rt.. He pointed out th at people of of his nation ha had d not had enough to eat for 3 0 years. As a resul re sultt of of the th e ove overwhelmi rwhelming ng pr prop opag agan anda da deluge of World Wor ld War I1 against National Socialist Germany, the present German republic repu blicss have ha ve be been en forced to disavow all th at the th e Germany of ha s gener generally ally been the poli policy cy of the 1 9 3 3 1 9 4 5 rep res ent ed. It has three German republics to represent the German government in power during 1 9 3 3 1 9 4 5 or 1 9 3 8 to 1 9 4 5 in the case of Austria) as an illegal usurpation and a gross discontinuity in German history. Officially, western Germany in particular has had a tendency to glorify the Weimar Republic and to consider itself its elf the legal succe su cce sso r of the Weimar Weima r Republic whose flag an d mot motto to it it h as readopt ed), even even thou though gh t here a r e importan importantt differences between the Weimar Republic and the Bundesrepublic. The German Democratic Republic, on the other hand, represents itself as an innovation, namely the first German government of pe as ants an ts a an n d workers. Perhaps the chief immediate reason why the Bundesrepublik, h as . ma d e a gr ea t ost ostenta entation tion o off prosecuting former former National Socialists is that it has thus sought to counter a collective guilt thesis which would have been disavantageous to the German nation as a whole. So strong has been the reaction against the defeated Nationa l Socialist Socialist government th at in a num ber of ways wa ys th e BundesBundesrepublik seems to go out of its way to pursue policies which a r e the mirror mirro r opposite of the th e poli policie ciess prevalen prev alentt in 1 9 3 3 and followi lo wing ng yea years rs even if su such ch poli policie ciess en enda dang nger er the economic economic,, social a n d ethnic ethn ic fa br bric ic of of Germany. One One notab notable le example is the toleratol eration of th the e massiv mas sive e assimilati assim ilation on econo economic, mic, if no nott also cultural and biological) biologi cal) into the German Ge rman populat po pulation ion of of foreign industr indu strial ial workers who are markedly different culturally from Germans, notably those from Turkey and Yugoslavia. The present very

uiBono?

low birthrate in German Germany y could very well be a re sult su lt of destruction structio n o off a whole wholesom some e an d construc tive natio nal pride. Both in general and in particular with regard to the extermination thesis, th esis, the p poli olicies cies of of th e Bundes Bundesrepublik republik must be as se ss ssed ed on the basis of of a psycho psychologi logical cal reaction to th e c rus hing military defea defeatt of its pr pred ed ec eces esso sorr government, the th e circ*mst an ce s of the creation of of th the e Bundesrepublik a n d the economic economic realities which the Bundesrepublik faces, both internally and externally. Turnin g now now fr from om the atti tud es tow ard the Holoca Holocaust ust material which prevail in the three present German republics th at evolved evolved in p a rt of of th e former territorie s of the Reich, let us now examine the tole tolerati ration on an d exploitation of the th e Holo Holo-cau st material mater ial in the ca se of groups o outsi utside de Germany. Since the United States became the leading and most effective adversary of Germany during the course of of World W a r 11, let us cons co nside iderr fi firs rstt o off all al l the rela relatio tions nship hip of no nonn-Jew Jewish ish group s in the Uni Unite ted d St Stat at es to the Holocaust Holocaust materi material. al. In 1945 the tremendous damage which had been inflicted on the German population and such outstanding monuments of European civilization as Nuremberg and Dresden were there to be s ee n by all, incl includin uding g the millio millions ns of of young Americ Am erican an men who served in the American occupation forces. Many American soldiers were inclined to be sympathetic to the German population, particularily the men from the former Confederate states, whose not-all-too-remote ancestors had also known a tough enemy occupation after dsfeat i n a war also fought largely over racial issues. On the ot other her han d, I know a fellow ve ter an of World W a r II1 1 who still boa boasts sts o off his exploits iin n th that at tragic trag ic conflict. He is a Germanophobe and claims t o have been present at tho capture of wllicli 11 lik s 1 d o s c r i h ~ with : o i t i o tit considerable exaggeration. H e still proudly sliows u propuganda book put o u t by h i s division just nftor the wnr. Such a man has an obvious vested psychological interest in continuing his beliefs in the flood o f Germanophobic propaganda in which he has joyfully bathed during the past 35 years. s Friedrich Nietzsche observed in his Also sprach arathustra with ironic ac cur acy : Der Der gut gute e Kr Krie ieg g ist es , de r jed jede e Sa ch e heiligt. heiligt. (It is the good war which hallows every cause.) The higher officers carrying out the occupation policies on the basis of of ord ers and directi directives ves fr from om Washington we re con con-cerned about the sympathy toward the German population which wa s prese nt iin n many o off the lower-ranking officers and enlisted men, who typically had much closer contact with a

br oad broa d spec trum tr um o off tthe he Germ German an population. Allegation Allegationss of atrocities committed by the Germans were a most welcome aid in inhibiting this sympa sympathy thy on the p a r t of Am American erican military personnel, as well as subduing psychologically the German population, which was receiving rationed food supplies hardly above the starvation level. I recall a motion picture widely shown in German civilian theaters (around 1946 I think) concerning conditions in German labor and relocation camps. The Germnn title was Dic Todesmiihlcn (Mills of Death). On n hrociclor scnlo t h ~ n h o immediat immediate e proble problems ms of of th e militciry oc:c:upclliori W ~ S 11 8eic:r 8ei c:rifi ifico co of time ti me,, blood blood an and treasure which t h o Americnn pooplo lint1 liad t make to dofent an enemy which had been involved in a titanic struggle against communism, which many farsighted Americans had perceived as a far more dangerous enemy than National Socialist Germany. Before December 1941 bitter political battles had been fought fou ght over the question o off inter interventi vention, on, an d some some time time aft er the hostilities were over no less a figure than Senator Taft of Ohio had the wisdom, decency and courage to question the legal basis of of th the e Nuremberg tri trials als.. The Democr Democratic atic Party Party,, which had its men men in the presidential p residential office from 1933 to 1953 and thus bore the essential responsibility for the conduct of the war and the postwar relationship with the U US SSR, welc welcomed omed any a ny me mean anss of of rationaliza ratio nalization tion a n d justification of of its conduc conductt dur during ing this period. Democrats Democr ats fur fur-ther welcomed any means to discredit their former adversaries on the intervention question and to counterbalance the emerging mergi ng recognition on on the p pa art o off many Amer Americans icans th at some dismal an d unjust mistakes had b been een made in the conduct cond uct of of the war, which were now beginning to pose such serious problems a s the blockade of Berlin a an n d the communi communist st domindomination of of e a st e r n Europe. It is sti still ll c com ommo mon n in cer ta tain in circles circl es to refer ref er to the emerg emerging ing recognit recognition ion of of t he mistakes which ha d be en committed commit ted a n d the wr a t h o off the th e broa br oa d mass masses es o off the Amer American ican people re su lt ltan an t from th the e recognition o off them a s McCarthyi McCarthyism. sm. In reality, wh at we subsume un under der the term McCa McCart rthy hyis ism m wa s the quite understandable anger at the Roosevelt and Truman administra admin istrations tions for their naive, iiff not crimina criminally lly irrespons irres ponsible, ible, furt fu rthe heri ring ng of communist aim aims. s. Many Man y oppone opp onents nts of McCarthyism McCarth yism continue to look look to the Holoca Holocaust ust mat materi erial al a s a politi political cal wea weapon pon an d ratio rationaliz nalization ation o off th e behavio behaviorr o off the th e Democratic Par Party. ty. Even Ev en today, ove overr thr ee de cad es af te r the the end of of World W a r 11 it is st ra ng e to observe obser ve th the e composi composition tion of the t he supin su pine e audiaud iences enc es a t the Holoca Holocaust ust sem inars ina rs sponsored spons ored in many many cities citie s of the United States by Jewish organizations, often on university campus cam puses. es. Muc Much h of the t he aud a udie ienc nce e con consis sists ts of non-Jews who feel

he app roval of of Je ws and perh aps, in some

ca se ses, s, still still feel a ne neces cessity sity o off rationalizing th e conduc conductt of of the th e war b by y tthe he Democratic Party. Par ty. As a res result ult of heavy Jewish influence in the American news media, especially in television, typical American political figures would not dare to question the Holoca Hol ocaust ust materi mat erial, al, althou although gh many of tthem hem a r e doubtl doubtless ess a w a r e of the rea reason sonss for doubting its validity. validity. So effectiv effective e an d persistent persist ent ha s been the propag propagation ation of th e Holocaust Holocaust material that few few adult Americans a r e n not ot a w a r e o off the clai claim m tha t six mi milllion Jews we re murdered murde red in German reloca relocation tion an d labor camps during World War 11 but it is doubtful that even 1 of the Ame America rican n populat population ion would be a bl e to explain the term Operation Keelhaul, even though it re fe rs to one of the most mo st disgraceful an d unfor unfortunate tunate episodes in American histor history. y. Even if only abou ab outt 3 of th e American popula population tion is Jewish Jew ish,, th at component component ha s a polit political ical influence compl completely etely out -of proportion to its number numbers. s. The Holoc Holocaust aust ma mate teri rial al is deepl deeply y woven into into the very fa fabr bric ic of of A Amer merica ican n political lif life. e. Let us now turn briefly to England, which undertook the grave gra ve step of dec declari laring ng w a r on Germany Germany on 3 September 1939 and thus staked its very sxisto~lceon sxisto~lceon tho defout of Germany. Thore cnn 11 l t t l o doubt todny that this stop was hnrdly occasioned by an idealistic concern for the continued existence of the Pol Polish ish st at e, a nationalistic d ict ictato atorsh rship ip hardl ha rdly y mild milder er and less hostile to its large Jewish population than Germany. A fortnight after aft er the German Germ an invasio invasion n o off Dan Danzig zig an d we west ster ern n Poland had begun, the US USSR launche laun ched d its occu occupat pation ion o off ea st e rn Poland against some resistance. However, England and its somewhat less eager companion-in-arms, France, hardly made a whimper whimp er of pro protest, test, let alone a de decla clarat ration ion of of w a r , against the second invader of poland6 The Englis English h problem problemss with the oc occup cupati ation on of of Germany duri during ng 1945 and the year s aft a fter er , ha d a vague ssimila imilarity rity to those those o off the Unite Uni ted d State Statess in som some e re resp sp ects ec ts,, bu butt we must al also so be a r in mi mind nd that England Engl and had been a long long-tim -time e competitor o off Germa Ge rmany ny for oversea over seass markets.. N markets No ow Eng England land w a s in a posi position tion which en enab able led d he r to play play a major role role in keeping Ger German man good goodss out o off the th e in inte tern rnat atio iona nall trade channels of the world, at least for a few years. Paralysis of German industrial production could be maintained by such monetary policies that England helped to impose as the continued, forced circul cir culatio ation n o off the old Reichsm Reichsmark ark not notes, es, which was not ended until June, 1948. Many of of the imp importa ortant nt factor factor-ies in the British Zone were dismantled and sent to Russia, as grotesque a s that th at migh mightt seem to today. day. England had strong economic motivation motivationss for the psychologica psychologicall discrediti discre diting ng of iits ts old commercial and industrial rival, and these were certainly not fr frus ustr trat ated ed by by the conti continuing nuing inundation of the bi bitte tterr hate ha te

propag anda ag ainst a p ro str ate Germany, incl including uding,, of co urse, the Holocaus Holocaustt material. mate rial. England was also most heavily involved in the almost Carthaginian thag inian destructio destru ction n of of Germ an ci cities ties durin during g the long period a f t e r the dec larat ion of the unconditional su surr rr en de r poli policy cy to the end of of the wa r , a per period iod o off abo ut 2 years.7 Although a g re at dea l of publicit publicity y ha s bee been n gi give ven n to to the bomb dama damage ge which Eng Engla land nd suffered during World W a r (e.g (e.g., ., Coventry), this damage wa s onl only y a very s mall fraction of w ha t Germany suffered.8 f the English had any self-recriminations for the destruction o Gorrnun c i t i o ~ n n d tho genuinely holocaustal killing of h u n d re d s of tho th o u sa n d s of civiliu civ iliuns ns in tho procoss, what could have been better for assuaging their consciences th an the Holoca Holocaust ust material? Let us fina finally lly consider consi der a gro group up o off st at es wh which ich have exploited ploi ted the Holocaust Holocaust mate rial in a mo most st ener geti c manne r: the USSR and its satrapal governments in eastern Europe. As we shall see, the communist lands have had compelling reas ons to continue to pr op ag agate ate the Holoc Holocaust aust material. At first, however, we are confronted with the question as to what extent we are dealing with a non-Jewish group in this case. There can be little doubt that in its earlier years the government of the USSR was a government largely dominated by Jews. Jew s. Ther Th ere e is oven considerable body of literature on this question and even Winston Churchill, the shrewd political opportunist pa r e xcellence, expressed his his obser vations of of the largely larg ely Jewish Jew ish composition of the ear ly Soviet government in 19208 192 08 The middle middle class es of of we ste rn Europe we re well aw a r e of the ethn et hnic ic real reality ity of of communism an d the br bruta utalit lity y o off communism in practice. This circ*mstance, perhaps more than any other p a number of of fac tor s, caus ed the hostil hostility ity to Jew s tha t prevailed in so many lands west of the Soviet Union during the period between the two world wars. Even in their own backya rd , the ephe ep heme meral ral government o off Bela Kun (1919) mad made e its quite negative impression on the middle classes in western European countries. Be tha t a s it may, let us now con consider sider motivat motivations ions which the USSR and its postwar sotrapies have hcld for emphasizing the Holocaust Holoc aust an d si similar milar materia l in their p pos ostt-19 1945 45 propaganda. The behavior of the USSR externally during recent decades has struck foor into tho hoarts of decent, successful people through thro ughout out the wo world. rld. Befo Before re the Ger ma man n invasi invasioxi oxi of Russia in Ju ne , 194 1941 1 the U US SSR h had ad taken by fforce orce or th re at s of for force ce larg e ar ea s of ea ste rn Europe, Europe, a fact which is now not commonly recalled. Going from north to south, we first consider the

Cui Bono

113

war which the USSR waged in Finland. The Finns fought back bravely during the w a r in the winter of 1939 1939-1 -194 940 0 a n d gained the sympathy of of the world wo rld,, but we were re finally force forced d to give give iin n an d make make p painf ainful ul t er rit or ial ia l concessions. The US USSR anne annexed xed the three Baltic republics, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in the middle middl e of of 1940, the e a s te rn p a r t o off Poland in Sept Septemb emb er 1939 an d an p ar t of in ea st er n Rumania Ruma in 1940 1940.. The trea tment ofimportant the populations these lands,nia especially the Baltic st at es with with their German min minori oriti ties, es, wa s undoubtedly undoubtedly a n important factor in Hitler s deci decision sion to invade Russi Russia, a, in ad dition to the frightening Soviet buildup o off ar m s , pa parti rti cu cula larly rly its tank strength, which was essentially an attack asset.1° In spi spite te of the gro gross ss nume numerica ricall super superiori iority ty in terms te rms of n nationationa l population an d nu mb er erss o off tank ta nkss which the US USSR had a t the outsett of the w a r bet wee n the Sov outse Sovie iett Unio Union n a n d Germ any, GerGerman forces were able to penetrate so far into Russia (beyond the Baltic states and Poland) that its two major cities, St. ersburg (communist name: Leningrad) and Moscow, were thre th reat aten ened ed within a few mont months. hs. T To o the sout h, much of of the agriculturally important Ukrc~ino w a s occupiotl. Undout~todly this catastrophe for the communists was due in large measure to the ha tre d o off the br ut al regime regime un de r whic h massive massive tyrann y, famines, industri indu stri al stagn stagnation ation a n d oppression of minorities had occured. It had to become clear to the Soviet leaders what inherent weaknesses their regime had and how close clo se tthe hey y were to defea t, iin n spite o off the f act t ha t the w a r w as inheren inhe rently tly a David-Goliath cont co ntes est. t. By e arly ar ly 1943 the th e tide of battle began to to turn a s a result, due tto o a considerable ext extent ent tto o moral and material support from abroad, notably from the Uni Unite ted d S tates. of 1 45 Hriw tho finnl dofont of tho numericnlly Tlio spring far inferior German forces and by 1948 the new Soviet empire wuu (:o1111*ol f I I O ~ I I 1~t 1~ I r r 111 K I I I * ~ o ~ x ~: l ~ ~ d i n gcl~nclinavia av ia)) which had existed wes westt of of the Sov Soviet iet bo rder rd erss iin n 1038 including almost exactly h al alff of Germany a s it existe existed d in its 1937 borders. During Juno 9 4 U to Muy 1949 tho whole world was astonished and sobered b y the affrontivenuss shown b y the th e new Soviet empi em pire re in its blockad blockade e of B Berlin. erlin. By By 1949 the th e world was also terrorized by the knowledge that the masters of this empire now had atomic bombs at their disposal, having been aided aid ed by by a numb er of spi spies es iin n this a r e a , nearly nearl y all of of whom we re o off Jewish Jew ish origin an d two of whom we w e r e exec e xecuted uted for their tre treaso aso n in 19 1953, 53, af te r a lo long ng jud judic icial ial process. proce ss. As a result of of a num ber o off fac factor tors, s, but especially a s a result res ult bf the gullibility, ignorance of foreign affairs, and even treason on the pa r t of memb members ers of the th e Roosevel Rooseveltt an d Tru m an admin-

T 1E J O U R N A L OF I IISTORICAL REVIEW

istrations, the Soviet Union had been lifted from the depths to a position posit ion o off g re a t power an d secu securit rity. y. Howev However, er, in spi spite te o off a sophisticated ap p ar at u s fo forr the suppr essio n o off the populations in the occupied countries and satrapies, massive deportations and the like, a number of revolutionary movements developed against the oppressors, which culminated in the very important Hun Hungaria garian n Revolu Revolutio tion n o off 1956, whic which h haind defeat. treme tremendo ndous us psyc psychohological and political repercussions even Skill Ski llfu full an d ene energe rgetic tic propag and a efforts o on n the p ar t o off the Soviet rulers have undoubtedly been a big factor in the upward climb of th the e Sovie Soviett Unio Union, n, whic which h s ta r te d ffrom rom a na nadi dirr of its fortunes fortu nes in 1943. The Holocaust ma mater ter ial ha s proved to be especially valuable to tho Soviet Union Union for a n num umbe berr o off objectives. It has not been without design that memorials relating t tho Ilo loc nu ~t cl clni nims ms oro to be found in many places throughoutt the Sovi throughou Soviet et ompi ompiro ro an d tha t tho sites o off form former er relocation relocati on a nd labo laborr camps in which largo numbe numbers rs o off J ew s we re interned inte rned during th the e las t year s of of the wa r have been preserved an d alter ed iin n such a way a s to m make ake the Hol Holoca ocaus ustt claims seem plnusible, at least to the superficial viewer. Even postage stamps issued y tlie satrupios ovor a long period keep up the publicity of the Holocaust. An ess en entia tiall obj objecti ective ve of of this prop p rop ag agan anda da effort is the demonstration that in spite of the obvious and continued oppressiveness of the Soviet empire, a German victory would have meant a worse life life.. The Holocaus Holocaustt mat eria eriall thu thuss plays a n ess en entia tiall role iin n the pacification of the many nations a an nd ethnic eth nic grou groups ps o off the Sovi Soviet et em empir pire, e, including a number of l an ds which fought u s sovereig sovereign n st at e s on on the sid e of Germany during its titanic struggle against Communism during 1941-19 5: Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria and Slovakia. The material is continually continuall y used a s a justif justificat ication ion to the outside w worl orld d for the retention reten tion o off e eas as te rn Eur Europe ope in the Sovie Soviett empire. A further adva ad va nta ge to the S Sovi oviet et empire fr from om sstressing tressing the Holo Holocaus caustt material. lies in its appeal to the Jewish minorities in various 'lands, especially in the United States. The Holo Holocaus caustt mat erial h as proved to he a useful supplement in a number of other Soviet propaganda efforts, including the Nurembe Nuremberg rg trial trialss a nd the obliterating obliterating by con contrast trast o off the aw ar en e ss of of many crimes o off the th e Sov Soviet iet Un Unio ion n aga a gains ins t ot he r nations, s uch a s the Kat Katyn yn massacr massacres. es.11 11 By way o off co contr ntr ast , the massive sufferings on the p a r t o off non-Jews remain little known and virtually unmentioned in the popular pop ular a n d school histor history y books of the Unit United ed Sta States tes . We ne need ed only onl y think of the star va vati tion on o off Ukra Ukrainian inian p ea sa nt s in th early 1930s, the massive depo d eportatio rtations ns of populations from the Baltic

st at es and the staggering num numbers bers of d dea eath thss of Germans Germ ans during their expulsion from the eastern German areas of 1945 1946. t is estimated that some 2 000 000 Germans died or were murdered during these expulsions.12 Obvious Obvi ous though the use usefuln fulness ess of the Holocaust ma mater teria iall to Zionists may be, its continuous exploitation by various nonason onss is of a Jewish groups in various lands for various re as continuing importance that has heretofore not been generally realized. As corrosive, divi divisive sive a n d destructive a s the Ho Holo lo-caust material and exte extermina rmination tion thesi thesiss ar e, we mu must st certainly not consider Jews exclusively responsible for their continued propagation.

ijrger

vieler Nationen von

Faschisten ermordet

TI1E J O U R N L OF FIISTORIC L REVIEW

In Communist lands even postage stamps are used in the continuing propaganda campaign against a government which passed out of existence existe nce deca des ago. ago. (1) German Democratic Republic, April, 1961, On the Sachsenhausen nation al monument, the enscription national enscr iption on on the lable means: means: In the t he Sachsenhau Sachs enhausen sen concen c oncen tratio n camp 100,000 100,000 citizens citizens o off many many nations wer e murd ered by by Fascists. In honor honor of of the t he de ad an d for the admonishment and commitment of the living the national admonitory and comme co mmemo mora rati tive ve str uct ur e a t Sachsenhausen was erected. (Not (Note: e: In Commun Com munis istt lands lan ds the word wo rd Fascist is used us ed in place of national nation al socialist.) German n Democratic Republic, August, Augu st, 1963. Treblinka Memorial. Memorial. 2 ) Germa 3 ) German Democratic Republic, 1980. Majdanek Memorial. (4) Poland, Poland, July, 1956. 1956. W ar sa w Ghetto Ghetto Monument. Monument. (5) Poland, Oct., 1967. Stutthof Monument. (6) Czechoslovakia, May, 1967. Pinkas Synagogue Memorial. Menorah and an d list of camps: camps : Terezin Terezi n (T here he resi sien enst stad adt) t),, BelZ BelZec ec,, Osvgtim Osvgtim (Auschwitz), Gliwic Gliwice e (Gleiwitz (Gleiwitz), ), Buchenwald, Majdanek, Majd anek, Riga, Riga, M authausen autha usen,, Ravensbriick. (7)Czechoslovakia, Feb., 1972. 1972. Lidice Lidice Memorial, Memo rial, d at es 1942 1942 an d 1972. 1972.

Notes

The huge payments paym ents of repara rep aratio tions ns by the German Germa n Fede Fe dera rall Republic to the Zionist state in Palestine (which did not even exist before befor e 1948) were we re made on the basis bas is of of the Luxembourg Luxembourg agre a greeme ement nt of 10 Septem Sep tember ber 1952. See Encyclopedia Encyclopedia Br itan it anni nica ca,, 1970 edition, Vol Vol. 2 page 88. For a discu di scussi ssion on of of the psychological motivations, se e H. Stein, Ste in, vol. vol. 1 no. 4.. 4.. pp. 309-32 309-322 2 of The Th e Jour Jo urna nall ofH ofHist istori orica1 ca1 Review. 1.

Cui Bono

The auth or of this pa pe r lived lived in Germany during 1945- 1948 an d 2 was in involved iin n tth h e s ~ c a l l e d denazific denazification" ation" act activi ivi tie tiess of the Un United ited Sta tes mil milita itary ry forces, of which he wa s a member. He w a s thus in a positi pos ition on to he ar a var variet iet y o off views on th e wa war. r. 3. The rea so ns for the gen era l popularity o off the Nati National onal Socialist government in Germany to some in extent even beyond the itGerman borders are too complex and to describe detail here. Suffice to say tha t the ma main in re ason s wer e probably the reduction o off the r a t e o off unemployment unemploy ment fr from om th a t o off th the e fin final al ye year ar s o off tthe he Wei Weima ma r Republic an d tthe he restoration of a mea sure of national s elf-respect af te r the humiliations resulting from the Versailles Treaty. John Kenneth Galbraith Galbr aith , a n econ economis omistt de a r tto o the he art s o off "liberals" in many land s, ch ara cteri ct eri ze zess th e res results ults of National Socialist econo economic mic poli policies cies a s a "signal accomplishment." (Mon (Money, ey, Bantam edit edition ion o off Septe September, mber, 1976, pp. 174-5.) 4 . Again, there were factors involved here which are far too compl plex ex to analyze within the sc ope o off thi s paper paper.. 5 . For documentation o off su ch perse persecuti cution, on, ssee ee Der modern e Index, published publish ed b by y the Verlag Fiir Volk Volkstum stum and Ze Zeit itges geschi chicht chte, e, Vlo Vlotho tho o on n the Weser. June 1 9 8 0 (Historishce Tatsachen Nr. 7). 6 . I recall broadcasts by the Deutschlandsender during the early yuors yuo rs of tho wnr wnr.. A Att the signoff before bef ore the pluying o off tthe he n noti otion onal al anthem and the Horst-Wessel-Lied this message was rupetitud nightly: "England hat don Krieg erkl'drt. Deutschland siegt, wird ihn beenden." (Eng (England land de cl ar ed the w war ar ; Ger Germany many is win winning ning a nd wi will ll end it.) 7 . For an excellent sum summar mary y o off this invo involvement, lvement, s ee tthe he bo book ok review by Charles Lutton, "Death from 11 Iiigh," in Tho Iournul of Historical Roview Roview,, v vol ol.. I, no no3, 3, pp. 247-254. 8 . For the trernond trernondous ous dif diffo fo re nc ncu u in th tho o tonnuge of bombs droppud. see James J. Martin's, The ugu of Hog Islund, Colorado Springs, 1977, pnges 5 and 85. (Available from the k l R 4.50) 1 remember trunslati~lga trunslati~lg a report ill 1947 or 1948 by 13 131. 1.0f 0fon on80 80rr I'ur I'urcy cy Sc Sc:l :llr lrur~ ur~~r ~rri ri f Gilttingon on the German civilian denths from bombing, which hu estimated at 800 000 us I rucall. This would seum to be nbout twelvu I ~ I I I U Y 1 1 ~I U I I I I J U ~ r c:iv i1 i1 1 1 1 ~ i l l c r ~ l 1 1 I ~ I K I I I I I I I ) y C o r r n t ~ t ~C I I I I I I ~ ~ ~ . 9 . Anthony Sutton approaches this matter in a rathur reserved. u l r ~ ~ o s tpoloyolic: t poloyolic: rnurlllur i l l I I ~ H i r n l ~ o r l ~ ~ n tUII tUII Strntrt nnt t h o Bolshevik Revolution (New Rochelle: Arlington Ilouso, 1974) . pp. U5 ff. The re a r e also numbe numberr o off b boo ooks ks end book booklets lets from from wh at mig might ht be I OHH cllllud tho ~llt~irl'yroull~i wllicll ~ ~ H I : I I H H l l i ~ rnntltrr i l l morel explicit terms, of which the following are only a sample: Louis Murtll~ulko, 110 Worlrl COII~JIY)I-IJ~S. hri~tiiln ook Club, 1 9 6 8 Frank L. Britton, Behind Communism. no date or place. Quotes Quotesl Quotes Quotesll I, Lo Loss Angelos, no dat dato. o. 10. At the outbr out brea eak k o off hostiliti hostilities es tho Soviet Union hud 20,000 tanks. some five times the number Germany could put in the field in Russia. P, Knightley, The First Casualty (1975). pp. 1 4 6 an d 153. (available from the IHR, Hb 14.50, P b 7.00)

118

TI 1E JOIJRNAL OF 1 IISTORICAL REVIEW

The Katyn Katyn mass acr es o off capt ure d Poli Polish sh officers officers an d the Ho le cau sti' mater ial a r e , of of course, essentially different topics, topics, bu t Roosevelt's Roosev elt's highhande highh anded d efforts to su pp ppre re ss the knowledge of of Soviet guilt in the massacres are instructive. (See Louis FitzGibbon, K a t y n 11

1979,

183-4.)

The Noontide Torrance. t seems to one of the most mosPress. t striking and an d readily pp. verifiab veri fiable le disproofs of of me the that exextermination thesis is the contrast between the German behavior after their discovery discovery of of t he m mass ass grav es a t Katyn in 1943 and the behavior of the Commun Communists ists oft ofter er their cap c ap tu re o off the Auschwitz te rr ai n of of 27 Jrrnuury 1045. Tlio Gormnns not only thought that they had nothing to orgu~iiz ~iizatio ationa, na, oroi oroign gn foronsi foronsicc expe rts, hitlo U invitod i r l ternr~iorlo1 orgu fc~r fc ~roi oign gn ou rn ~i li st ~~ r i c lo v o ~o1110 ~ Allictci prisoners of war to witnoss the th e gruesom grue somee eviden evi dence ce of of the massricro massric ro wliic wliicll ll I i r i t i obviously boon carried out by their communist enemies. The German exploitation of the Katyn evidence should have been not only a propaganda victory for Germany, but also a stern admonishment to the United States and othe ot herr allies allie s of th thee USSR a s tto o the na n a t u r e of thei t heirr ally. If proofs of the t he extermination thesis would have been present at Auschwitz and other camps captured by the Soviets, they could easily have attained an ovon gre grertto rttorr p r o p ~ g a n d a icto ictory ry by do doin ing g ju just st wha t the Germans ha d done in 1943, uthor than j u s t tho opposite. Moreover, they had every incentive for striving for such a victory had the evidence actually been present. 12. Journal of Historical Review vol. 1 , no 2, p 101, wliore Nemesis at Potsdam by Alfred M. de Zayas (1977) s reviewed. For a statistical breakdown of the denths and populations involved in the expulsions, tloo prlgo X X V of this book. (nvoilablo from the IHR, 9.00). This paper, presented by Dr. Weber at the IHR's 1981 Revisionist Conference, is availabl ava ilablee on ca ss ette et te ta pe from the LHR a t 8.95.

Whatever Happened Whatever H appened to the th e Dead Sea Scrolls? Dr. M R T IN A. LARSON

(Presented at the 1981 Revisionist Conference)

After listening to so many magnificent talks on Revisionism, I wonder whether my subject has any real relevance. But it does de al with a n historical distortion an d cover-up cover-up o off the first ma maggnitude nit ude and I hope yo you wi will ll find find it interesting a n d const constructiv ructive. e. broug ught ht up in a very very reli religi giou ouss fa fami mily ly,, but a t a n early age I I wa s bro had ha d begun tto o question some of the te teachin achings gs th a t w er e gi given ven to me in my boyhood. And I remember how I questioned the minister minister of our c chu hurc rch h whe when n I was reading for confirmation at the age of fifteen fiftee n conce concerning rning ssome ome of the atro a trocit cities ies committed by the Jew J ew s af te r they lef leftt E Egy gypt pt,, under the leade l eadership rship o off Moses, a nd acc accordording in g to-t hestory hestory of the Old Old Te Testa stame ment, nt, invaded Palestine, Pales tine, a ttac tt ac ked ke d the inhabitants there, took their property, and drove them from their the ir homes with the hel help p o off their the ir Go God, d, Jeh Jehova ovah. h. My in inte tere rest st in reli re ligi gion on con contin tinued ued una ba te d over the years. And thu s it w as t hat when I wro wrote te m my y Ph Ph.D .D.. tthe hesi siss a t the University of M Mich ichiga igan, n, it d ea lt with Mil Milto to n s th eo lo g y -p articu larly h is Tri n it ari an concept-and I published a book on the subject in 1927. But then for man many y yea rs I had no opportunity to study religion or, in fact, an y th in g else. else. Bu Bu t so o n af te r th e Dead Se a Scro lls wer e d isiscovered in 1947, I retired from active business and could then devote myself to study. I the theref ref ore plu plunge nged d into re se ar ch of of the Scrolls, a n d in due cours e, published published a book on the ssubjec ubjectt called Essene

the Heritag e. and stheir o , t h eimpact a u t h oon r s history t h e Shas c r o lbeen llss , t h ae Essenes, their writings subject subje ct o off consum consuming ing in tere te rest st to me me for many ye year ar s.

THE jOURNAL O F HISTORICAL REVIEW

The Origin

nd Development

of the

ult

Let us fir first st summarize some of th e kno known wn fa c ts concerning th the e Dead Sea Scrolls and their authors, the religious organization known kn own a s tthe he Essenes they we re a lso called calle d The H Ho oly Ones, the Poor Men, the Sons of of Light, etc etc.) .) a n d who existed in in Ju da ea an d t l i u r ~ o r l r l j y I o ~ o r t r o m nhout 1 9 2 B. C. to the da t e o off t he ir extinction and dovtructioii i l l jc3 or 7 0 A . l l . , whon tho Rom~n c i r m i e ~m r ~ r c h a d h r o u g h P a l e s t i n e a n d f in in a all ly ly d o s ttrr o y o od d ul~l ~l y niquo niquo ti tiss on histori historicnl cnl phen phenomeomeJerusale m. This cult ia pr ob ul n on o n ; th ro u g h o ou u t its ex is ten c e, it w a s o p p o sed to th e Je wis h authorities: althougli i t acce pted the Scrip tur es wh which ich consti constitute tute the Old Testament, i t revised, rewrote, or completely reinterpreted pre ted them them.. Als Also, o, wh at is ovon mor more e significant significant tha n important, they gradually absorbed various elements from other sources, such a s Zoroastrianism an d Pythag Pythagoroa oroanism nism.. As a result, th they ey pre par ed an entire cor pus o off original original scr iptu re whic which h w as no nott o nl nl y a d efin ite d e p a r tu re fr fro o m o ffic f ficial ial Ju d ais m , b u t in b a sic contradition to, a n d a repudiation of of,, this system of doctrin doc trine e an d ritual. At the beginning, the cult was simply a reaction against the Hellenizing Helleniz ing of Jewi Je wish sh life under und er Greek G reek dom dominat ination, ion, but shor shortly tly thereafter, i t split into two well-defined factio fac tio ns, one o off w whic hich h developed into later Essenism and the other into tho Pharasaic movoment which produced the Rabbinical priesthood, who, to this da y, constituto tho of offi fici cinl nl spokesmen spokes men for Juda Judaism ism.. By 143 R.C. ns wo learn from Josephus, three distinct groups had been fully developed in the Jewish population: they were the Essenes, the Pharis ees, a nd the Saduc ees, of of who whom m the l ast repres ented the wealthy, upper-c lass Jew s, who had embra ced Epicureani Epicureanism sm a s their ph phil iloso osoph phy. y. In 134 B.C., Hy rcan rc an us us,, the only only surviving son o off Ju J u d a s Ma Macc ccaabaeus, became king king of of a n independent Israeli nation an d ruled unti un till the ye ar 104 n the nex nextt yea r, Alexan Alexander der Ja nna eus assumed the th e throne an d ruled unti untill 78 after which his widow, Helene, or Salome Alexandra, served as Queen Regent until the year 76, when her two sons, Hyrcanus a nd Aristobu Aristobulus, lus, aft er taki taking ng over over,, fought each other in a bloody internecine conflict for the possession of of po wer, wer , until unti l the year ye ar 64, when Pompey the Roman general invaded Palestine and reduced the Jewish nation into a Roman province under puppet rulers and procurators, who continued until until the destructio n of Je ru sa lem le m in 70 A.D.

Original Origin al During Duri ng the period from

192

ult ultic ic Scr Scrip iptur tures es o

B.C., the Essenes produced a

ead

Sea Scrolls Scrolls

121

gre at corpus of l ite rat ure und u nder er the inspiration o off l ead ers know known n from fro m generation to genera generation tion a s The Tea ch cher er of Righteousness, he was also called the Holy Great One, and was given other titless sig title signif nifyin ying g revela rev elator tory y powe powers rs a s d dir irec ectt conduits of messages from the Sup Suprem rem e G God od of the Universe, who, who, b by y the th e wa y was some someth thin ing g qui te d diff iff ere nt from from Jeho Jehovah, vah, the tri bal god god of of the Jews. Extremely interesting is the fact that two very important documents-The Book of Enoch a nd The Tes Testam tament entss o f th e Twelve Twelve Patri archs-wer Patriarch s-were e well kno known wn amon among g the early ea rly Christians an d accepted by by th them em as sa cr ed litera ture of th eir ow own. n. Scholars had no suspicion that these, although widely used in later periods, were produced by the Essenes until the scrolls were discovered ne ar the D Dead ead Sea in 1947. Since hu hund nd reds re ds o off fragme fra gments nts o off these the se documents were found in the caves, it became obvious that they wer e am amon ong g the the very important scr script ipt ure s c comp ompose osed d an d used by the Essenes themselves.

Persecution and Separation Whtitever olso w o m u y coneidor 1s firmly oetubliehod, t s certain cert ain th at under und er the reign o off Hyrcanus, wl wlio io was affil affiliated iated with with the Pharis Pharisees ees previous to to 104 B.C. ther e wa s persistent persec persecuution tio n of the Essen Essenes, es, partly part ly b ec ecau ause se of doctrinal deviations but perhap per hapss ev eve en mor ore e b o c a u ~ e f their condem cond emna nati tion onss of the Je Jewi wish sh authorities, who frequently invaded neighboring territories and forced people there to accept Judaism and circumcision on pain of persecution a nd even of of death . Thus it wa s th at abou aboutt 104 B.C. as w we e l e a r n ffrr o om m Josephus, th he e E s se s e n es es b e c a m e a n e s o t e r i c mystery -cult with its own commune s, its own code of la ws , discipline, and organization, which included a total withdrawal an d sep aratio ara tion n fro from m all public ac activit tivity. y. A Ass a result res ult,, it became beca me the depository deposi tory of of to total tal religious religio us comm commitment, itment, li living ving in in expe ex pect ctat atio ion n of of the day, not very far in the future, when an all-powerful divine personage would appear, eend all thoir owieh persecutors into everlasting tortur tor ture e in helli hellish sh dungeons un der de r the sur face fa ce o off th the e ea rt h, and establish establis h the kin kingd gdom om of the sa in ints ts,, the th e Sons of Light,) Light,) with wit h its capit capital al in Jeru Jerusalem salem . Under Und er Alexander J an na eu s, who ruled from from 103 103-7 -78 8 B.C. this hostility and persecution intensified. The Essene documents written during this period a r e fill filled ed with the fiercest denunciations denunciations of the Jewish priest pri estss a n d authorities, authori ties, who not on only ly raided rai ded the t he commun com munes es o off the t he Hol Holy y Ones a n d dec decima imated ted their th eir membership, membersh ip, but were we re also gui guilty lty of con sta stant nt a ct ctss o off aggression aggre ssion ag ainst ain st their innocent an d unof unoffendi fending ng n neighbors. eighbors. I kn know ow of no other litera lit era tur e replet rep lete e with co comp mpar arab able le condemnations condemn ations o off a ct s of violence violence commit com mitted ted without provocation. The do documen cuments ts in our possession

T H E J O U R N A L OF H I S T O R I C A L REVIEW

2 2

which contain this material are The Habakkuk Commentary, Parts IV and V of th the e B Bo ook o off Enoch, an a n d var variou iouss sta s tate teme ment ntss found in The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, the original portions of of which wer w er e composed composed while Hyra Hy raca canu nuss wa s ki king ng.. This situation seems to have continued under Queen-Regent Alex an dra d ra an d h er two so n s b etw een 7 8 a n d 6 4 wh en th e independent Jewish state was suddenly terminated by the interposition posi tion of Roman Roman aut authori hority. ty. It iiss int intere eresti sting ng to note tha t hatt Herod the Great, Gre at, the puppet Rom Roman an ruler of IIsr srae aell from from 39 to 4 B.C. was a n Idu Idumaean maean who who had con conver verted ted to Judaism an d wa s therefo therefore re know kn ow a s a half-Jew. half-Jew. At all events, it is ce rtai rt ai n tha thatt the tensi tension on between the Essenes Essenes an d the gove governm rnment ent was , if if anything, anything, mor more e fier fierce ce un under der Ja Janna nnaeus eus than it had ever been before. As we have noted, they became a secre se cre t brotherhood brotherhood in 104 in order orde r to avo avoid id total extermination; in spite of of this, however, however , their the ir pers persecutio ecution n continued; with their members under solemn solemn vow vowss of se secre crecy, cy, their organization sursu rvive vi ved d and a nd,, in in time grew, grew , especially und under er the comparatively mil mild regimen which followed the con conque quest st o off J ud a e a by by Pompe Pompey y in 64. The Execution of th the e Rabbis

Josephuss relates t ha t Jannaeus, w Josephu who ho ha d a t first esp espou oused sed the Pharisees, l ate r went over over to th the e Sadducee Sadducees: s: an d when the the former former we re acc use d o off conspiring wi with th the S yri ans tto o subver t the government, Jannaeus had 800 leading rabbis crucified at one time time;; an d, a s they hung on their trees or cross crosses, es, he had h his is soldiers cut the th ro roat atss o off their th eir wives an and d childre children n a s he hi hims msel elff feasted a t a g rea t banq uet with his conc concubi ubines nes an d his his favor favorite ites. s. This had been doubted by many until the fact was confirmed by the publicatio publication n of a Dead Sea Scroll fra fragme gment nt which re relat lated ed precisely precis ely the same facts. The Th e Execution and

eification of the Tea Teache cher r

The climactic event in Essene history oc occu curr rred ed 70 or 69 B C Although all the details of this will probably be known only if more mor e Scro Scrolls lls a r e publi published, shed, c cer ertai tain n fact factss a r e k kno nown wn.. At At tha thatt time, time, the Teach Te ach er of of Righteousn Righteousness-th ess-that at is, the Essene leader-went boldlyaimed into Jerusalem and there, temple he procl proclaimed an d c.o c.ond ndem emne ned d the in lawthe lesvery s corrupti onitself, an d aggressions of the priest pri estss a nd authorit a uthorities ies who ruled in Israel. He was therefore seized an d executed, by wha t means is not cert certain ain , but som some e scholars schol ars beli believe eve th at he w as crucified. Shortly therafter, the persuasion developed among his

followers-unti followersuntill it beca became me actu ac tual al dogma-that he wa wass the Most Most High Hig h God of tth h e niverse Hi Hims msel elff who had a pp ea re d fo forr a time a s

Dead Sea Scrolls

123

a man amon among g m men; en; tha t he died a sac rifi cial de at h for the redempti rede mption on o off sinn sinners ers;; th at he had risen from the gra grave ve on the third day; day; tha thatt h he e had retu rne rned d to h his is throne in heaven; and tha t before befo re the end of the then-ex then-existi isting ng gene generat ration ion he would send a representative to the earth. This representative would in due course cou rse b be e invested with unli unlimite mited d power a nd woul would d term inate inat e the th e present dispensaiton dispensaiton conduct the last jud judgme gment nt an d establish the communal ki king ngdo dom m of the th e sai saint ntss o on n ea e a r t h who would then co come me into possession of all al l the pr prop opert erty y of the w wicked icked who would therea the reafter fter suffer infi infinite nite an d etern eternal al agoni agonies es in hel hell. l.

The Th e Essene Esse ne Revelations Revelation s

ompleted ompleted

Except for a few original documents written after 69 B.C. and the final interpol interpolations ations a dd dded ed to T The he Testam Testaments ents of tthe he Twelv Twelve e Patria Pat riarch rchss at th the e same tim time e the cult seems at this poi point nt tto o have considered considere d its corp corpus us o off lit l iter eratu atu re a nd revelation comple complete. te. The members memb ers studied their scr ipt ure s in in the various com commun munes es scattered about Palestine. Those destined for a special type of leadership were sent to the headquarters at Qumram near the Dead Sea where they mu multi ltipli plied ed their ho holly writings in a s c r i p torium tori um wh where ere membe members rs underw ent ritual baptis baptisms ms daily daily an d where whe re dressed dres sed in white robes they partook of sa sacr cram amen enta tall meals mea ls iin n an up pe r chamber every day day..

The Th e Sec S ecre rett Esoteric Order Order From Josephus who was a neophyte in the Order for three years yea rs the wo world rld has ha s al way s k kno nown wn a good dea deall about the Esse Essenes. nes. When an individual join joined ed he sold sold everything everything he owned an and d turned the proceeds proceeds over to the cur at ator or of of the O rde rderr who kept thiss in a sepa ra te ffund thi und for three years when it it was re turned to the applicant i f he did not not qualify for mem bersh ip. IIff he did qualify qual ify hi hiss property w a s intermingled irrevocab irrevocably ly with th that at of the Ord Order er an and d he w as admit admitted ted tto o the commun commune e but stil stilll not permitted permi tted tto o part ake o off the sac sacram rament ental al br ead ea d and wine nor wa s he yet taught all a ll its mysteries mysterie s until until the end o off five ye year arss when if he satisfie satisfied d the lead ers a s to to his his trut h an d rrelia eliabili bility ty he w as finally admitted to full membership. Josephus states that if a member w as expelled for some seri serious ous infrac infraction tion of disciplin discipline e he simpl sim ply y lay down in th the e des deser er t an and d died died o off st star arva vatio tio n since he could not eat ea t an any y othe ot he r kind of of food food.. Between 60 B.C. and 69 A.D. the communes which increased to 4 000 male members continued with little alte alterati ration on while awaitin awa iting g the co coming ming of the Redeemer. However H owever a s the Romans subjugated Galilee on their southward march toward Jerusalem

they the y ca came me acro ss variou variouss Ess Essene ene co commu mmunes nes and suspecting the

OURN L OF HISTORIC L REVIEW

cultists of of bei being ng a ssec ec re t and consp conspirator irator ial societ society y planni planning ng the overthrow overth row of Roma Roman n rule members we re to tort rtur ured ed under inter inter-rogati rog ation on tto o revea reveall their sec ret doctrines. Howev However er a s Josephus tells us. th they ey died smiling ra her tha n v viol iolate ate tho thoir ir s ac red re d oaths to never no never reveal their bel belief iefss tto o anyon anyone e no matte r what wh at the provocation might be.

Secreting the Scrolls Then an extraord Then extraordinary inary eve event nt oc occurred. curred. As the the R Rom oman anss a p proached the Dead Sea hea dqu art ers a t Qumram Qumram the E Esse ssenes nes placed their sa sacr cr ed writing writingss in hundre hun dre ds of ea eart rthe he n jars sealed seale d them th em carefully careful ly a n d secre secreted ted them in various caves located in the rugged terrain. We believe that they expected to return in the not-too-distant futur fut ure e tto o res resume ume th thei eirr long-practiced long-prac ticed way of life. But of course they never did.

Was Jesu J esu s an Essene Essene The existenc exist ence e of the Essene cult cul t ha d a alwa lways ys been known from tho oxtonsivo oxtonsivo roferon roferoncos cos to rlnd doscriptions of them in in Joseph Jos ephus us Pliny Plin y a n d Phil Philo o Ju dae us . Interesti ngly enough Thomas De Quincey a famo famous us En Engl glis ish h essay essayist ist dec lar ed about 1825 that there never was a se pa ra te E Esse ssene ne org organi anizat zation ion;; tha t the so-ca so-call lled ed Essenes Essen es w er e simp simply ly Christians gone underground; th that at otherwise we would have to accept the blasphemous conclusion that there wer e two indepe ndent yet almost identical revelations revelations a t the same time time a nd in the same place. There are scholars who believe that Jesus had been a full fledge fledged d memb member erforetold o off the Orde that scriptures he wa s persuade persuaded d tha t He was s the personage in r; their who would be wa empowere pow ered d tto o es esta tabl blis ish h the Ki King ngdo dom m of Righteousness a n d th at therefore there fore he broke h his is v vo ow o off sec rec y an d preac hed the doctrines of tthe he Or de r in the th e highways a an n d th the e byw byways ays o off Galilee. Some scholars schol ars a r e als also o con convin vinced ced th that at not onl only y John the Baptis Baptistt but also the original cor core e o off me men n who est establ ablish ished ed Christianity had ha d been members of of the Or Orde der. r. Some Some believe believe in addition th that at when their the ir communes and headquarters were destroyed by the Romans many of the Essenes became a n inte in terg rgra rall and an d dec decisive isive element in the formation of the Christian movement. movement. There The re was wa s in par ticula tic ularr one segment kno known wn a s the Ebi Ebionite onitess or the Poor Men who recre iin n detail their owncommun liter aturities. e the doctrines teachings teachi ngs ate an dd disci discipline pline oin f the Essene communities. Actually th the e three thr ee Synoptic Synoptic Gos Gospel pelss an d espec especially ially Luke Luke a r e studded with

state ments in complet statements complete e harmony with the culti cultic c teach teachings ings a s is the ss c a l l e d Sermon on the Mou Mount nt found in Matthew. The more we study the Dead Dead Sea Scrolls Scrolls an d the ear ly canon canonical ical Christian

~ e a de a

crolls

Scriptures, the more striking are the parallels which become evident. evid ent. W We e have al rea dy noted th at two impo rtant Essene documents docume nts wer were e wid widely ely acc accept epted ed b by y the earl y Christia Christian n converts as g genu enuine ine scr scriptu iptu res o off th their eir ow own. n. Pe rha ps these converts had previousl prev iously y been Essenes.

The Great

iscovery

In 1947, an event even t o off world-shaking world-s haking significa significance nce oc occu curre rred. d. An An Arab shepherd-,boy, following a stray goat, entered an aperture on the side of of a clif clifff a n d stumbled into a c cav ave e w he re th the e Essenes had ha d secre secreted ted a numb number er o off jars containing scrolls scrolls.. However, few of these we were re intact; m most ost had been broken, a n d the their ir contents sca tter ed about the flo floor or,, mu much ch o off th the e materia materiall torn into shreds. Obviously, the caves had been invaded, perhaps several times, with damage which cannot easily be assessed. However, after the Arabs Arab s had rec recove overed red two virt virtually ually complete manu manuscr scripts ipts of Isaiah, a copy of the Manual of Discipline, The Thanksgiving Pslams, The Habkk Habkkuk uk Comment Commentary, ary, the Dama Damascus scus Docume Document, nt, a an nd the W a r scroll, they sold these to a group in New York; and, in a short sho rt ti time me,, tthey hey were wer e m made ade available to the world n translations by Millar Millar Burrows, Dupont Dupont-Somm -Sommer, er, Gaza Vermes, a n d Theodore Gaster.

Many Ma ny More More Scrolls Scr olls

iscover isco vered ed

Then began began a n archeological se sear arch ch witho without ut pa paral rallel lel in rel religi igious ous history. One expedition after another went to the Dead Sea area in se ar ch o off more scrolls. O One ne team w as he head aded ed by Millar Burrows, who st at es in his D Dea ead d Sea Scrolls tha t mate rial sufficient to fill three large volumes was found in a single cave, cave fo four ur in whi which ch twe th ir ds wa s orig origina inall Essen Essene e sc ripture and the remainder consist c onsisted ed o off Jew Jewish ish canoni can onical cal book books. s. Aft After er these were placed in the Jordanian Museum in Jerusalem, an international team of eight schol scholars ars w were ere sel select ected ed to co collect llect,, piece together, toget her, an d prep ar e for p publ ublica icatio tion n thi thiss incomparable treas ure of sou sourcerce-mat materia erial; l; of thes these, e, four w e r e Rom Roman an Catholics: thr three ee had Protestant affiliations; and only one, John Marco Allegro, wa s wit without hout perso personal nal religio religious us commi commitment tment.. Without much delay, Allegro translated and published everything committed to him includin incl uding g the delic delicate ate Copper Scr Scroll, oll, which liste listed d pr precious ecious metals an d jew jewels els worth wor th milli millions ons of dollars secreted somewhere in the desert-w here they stil stilll remain. Howeve However, r, he published published also the materia mat eriall which te tells lls the story of how how JJan an na eu s crucified th the e rabbis; an d after he de clared in an interview th at the Te acher of Righteousness may have been crucified in 7 0 or 69 B.C. by the Jewish authorities, he was thereafter denied all access to the

TH E JO OU URN NA AL

I IISTORICAL REVIEW

Scrolls an d was not even perm permitted itted to vis visit it the Jo rda nia n Mus Museu eum m in which they were kept. He complained bitterly that after years of d ela y not one line o off th e Scrol ls, in ad di ti on to his, we re tra nsl ate d and published; published; an d this in in spite o off the f act tha t hatt no less than 400 se p ar at e documents had been piec piecod od together by by 1965 1965 an d cou could ld ju just st a s easily easily have been gi give ven n to to the world, w orld, a s were we re the four or five five publis published hed shortly a f te r the origina originall discovery. discovery. The Testament Testamentss o off the Twel Twelve ve Pa tr tria ia rc hs contain contained ed a great gr eat many pass passages ages wh which ich ha d always be considered of Christian origin because they depict a personage in many respects similar to, or or a almo lmost st identical with with,, the c ha ra ct er an d mis missi sion on attributed to Je Jesu suss in the Ne New w Tes Testam tament ent.. However, with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls Scrolls,, this theory beca became me untenable a s fragments of the Testaments wri written tten nearly a century befo re the emergen emergence ce of Ch r istia n ity i ty w e re fo un d s ca t ter ed a b o ut the ca ve s w h ic h contained the very stat em emen ents ts whic which hh had ad always alwa ys been bel believ ieved ed to be Christian interpolations. When I learned about these, I wrote to the c urat ur ator or of the JJor orda dani nian an Museum off offering ering to to fly fly ther th ere e iiff I would be permit permitted ted to photogra photograph ph a piece of of p parc archm hmen entt from the Testament of Levi. He replied that if I came, I would not even be permitted perm itted to lo look ok a t it, much less ta take ke a p pic ictu ture re of of it. The

Six Day W a r

967

And so, even though year after year had slipped by without any addi additiona tionall publication o off S Scroll croll ma mater terial ial,, continued to hope th at someday someday iitt woul would d become available. But then, the n, a s you you know know,, a catastro cata strophic phic event oc occur cur red in 19 196767-th the e Si Sixx-Da Day y W ar , a s it is called) calle d) in which the IIsra sraeli eliss seized all of JJeru erusal salem em,, includ including ing the Jordania n Mu Muse seum um an d its cont contents ents.. The Fate

o f the Scrolls

.Over the years, until his death, I corresponded with Millar Burrows, Burr ows, who had wri w ritt tten en a sym sympat pathet hetic ic review revie w of of m my y b book ook,, The Essene Heritage, published in 1967. He refused to admit that the re wa s any att attem empt pt tto o delay or prev prevent ent the publication o off the Scrolls. Once he even declared that the Oxford Press was on the verge of of re le as in g a la rg e vol volume ume of this mat er ia l; but the publishers stated sta ted to me in a lette letterr tha t tthey hey ha d no such proje project ct under consideration. Thus, Thu s, year a fter ye ar, I kepi prodding prodding Burrows on the subject, and his replies became more and more evasive until they ceased altogether. One question continued conti nued to occup occupy y my intere int erest: st: wh at ha d become become of the scroll scrolls? s? Why we re none o off them p publis ublished hed for so many

Dead

crolls

ye ars? year s? Some Sometim times es I wond ered wheth whether er they woud survive or ever be made available to the public. However, we should note that even in the custody o off the Jord an ia ns, they w er e held in the strictest stricte st secrecy-and why? I could only surmise that extreme pressu re had been exerted by bo both th Christ Christian ian an d Jewish source sources: s: from fro m he former, bec au se it wou would ld not be beneficial to tthem hem should shoul d it be establish established ed t h a t this faith grew out o off a Jewish cult and was, therefore, not an original revelation; nor would the Israelis wish the Scrolls released, since they were filled with fierce denunciations of Jewish religious leaders and civil authorities. It is my con consid sidere ered d opinio opinion n an and d m my y ssa a d conclusion th that at the Dead Sea Scrolls will never be given to the world unless basic change cha ngess occur: fi first rst,, the they y must be removed from the th e custody of the Israeli government and, second, we must establish an intellectual climate in the western world in which scholars and ministers ca n discu discuss ss re religio ligious us subjects without ffe e ar o off rep repris risals, als, in the for form m of lost pr pres estig tig e, removal from luc lucra rati tive ve positions, loss of sala salarie riess or other sanct sanctions ions wh which ich ca n be enforced ag ainst anyone who da re s to inter interfer fere ew with ith the emol emolumen uments ts or the powers of th those ose who ar e mos mostt powerful a and nd influential in soci society. ety. I thin think k it is as simple a s tha t. And a t th e back of my my mi mind nd lingers a gna gnawing wing fe ar tha t instead of being tran sla te d a nd published, the leather or parchment on which the Scrolls are inscribed, may may be physi physically cally destroyed or becomeundecipherable becomeundecipherab le before anything is done to rel releas ease e them. And it is highlysignificant tha t ffor or sev eral ye ar s ther e has been little lit tle or no di discus scussio sion n anywhere concerning the Scrolls. It seems that by ignoring the whole subject, its significan sign ificance ce wi will ll die iin n th e public consciousness.

The Museum in

erusalem

From various friends who have recently returned from tours of the Middle East, I have learned a num number ber o off significan significantt detai details. ls. There is now now in Jerusalem a n on onion-to ion-topshap pshap ed bui buildi lding, ng, designed to resemble the earthen jars in which the Scrolls were placed in 69 A D ; mo most st of th the e st stru ru ct ur ure e iiss undergro underground und a nd resembles a tunnel. This buildi building ng is called the S Shri hrine ne o off the Bo Book ok,, an d tourists to urists are told that it houses not only the Dead Sea Scrolls, but also other documen documents ts ffou ound nd a t the fortre ss o off Massa Massada da an d stil stilll others re rela late ted d to the revolt of of Bar Kokhb Kokhba a which o cc urre ur red d in 135 A.D. A 24foot 24f oot Scroll of Is aiah ai ah is on op open en display. I have been told that d o cu cu m e en n t s s ai d t o b e o r i g i n al S cr o llll s a r e t o b e s ee n u n d er extre extremely mely tthic hick k such gla glass ss as cover covers. b een been told da also lsocontaining th at in ca sethe of of I have all an emergency an s.attack, thetol cases manuscripts could be lowered into an impregnable underground vault.

TH E JOUR RN N

2 8

L OF HISTORIC L REVIEW

However, Howeve r, so fa r a s I have been able to learn, lear n, noonei no oneiss per permitt mitted ed to make an examination of of thes t hese e scrolls, s crolls, touch them, them , or phot photoograph them. No one, to whom I have talked, talked, ha s the faintest idea idea of w wha ha t is actual act ually ly in in the museum. And A nd cert c ertain ainly, ly, not one word wor d of of the Essene Essene material has been published published in the fourteen y ears that have elapsed sin since ce the SixSix-Da Day y W ar . Whether Whe ther the Scrolls Scrolls a r e th ere er e or in condit condition ion to be examined, I certainly do not know, nor have I been able to obtain any information on on this score. The

uture of the Scrolls

What, if anything, the future holds i n store in this field beyond what is now occurring, remains of course to be seen. I can think of no po possible ssible valid reas on why the Scrolls have been withheld now for for nearly near ly thirty years ye ars.. If If they could could n not ot be p re pare pa re d for publication in that th at length of time, would would a centur cen tury y or two centur cen turies ies be enough? It seems to me that unless we can rescue them from t h e i r p r e s e n t c u s to t o d y a n d a l s o a c h ie i e v e a n e w a n d d i f f e re re n t intellectual world climate, there is little hope that anyone now living liv ing wil willl ever ssee ee any tra transl nslati ation on of these scrolls. I consider consider what h as happened happ ened an d is conti continui nuing ng to occur in the matte ma tte r of of the Scrolls the gr eate ea te st cover-up of important historicel material that th at ha s occure occured d in in mode modern rn histor history. y. The ene enemies mies a r e the special interests and a fierce bigotry that can only continue to persi pe rsist st by by ignoring ignoring one o off the t he most importa important nt questio qu estions ns th at ha have ve ever faced world-scholarship. I do not expect to see any new developments during my my lifetim lifetime, e, and an d it is one of of the gr grea eatt disappointments disappoint ments of my c a re er a s a scholar schola r and an d writer. (This liv presentation o f Dr. Larson is available o n standard cassette tape at 8.95 from the IHR

EI Salvador:

The War to

ome

SAMUEL EDWARD KONKIN I11

(Presented

the 1981 Revisi Revisionist onist Con Conferen ference) ce)

ntroduction

News an d its interpr int erpretat etat ion changes cha nges daily, if not hourly, hourly, but tthe he le ad story on the fr ont pa page ge of the Nov Novem embe berr 6 New York Times should have brought chills to Revisionists, whatever their historical period preference: Haig Ha ig sa says ys U.S. Ai Aid d to Salv ador Junta Must Be Incr ease eased d an d subh eade d: He Indic Indicates ates That Off Offic icia ials ls Are Study Studying ing Way Wayss to Combat Arms Flo Flow w to Gue Guerrill rrillas. as. The bylin byline e w as he ld b by y long long-ti -time me Tim Times es re po rt er , Hedrick Smith. The content was no less frightening than the headline. Se Secr creta etato rya softhe S ta tate te Alexande Alexander r M M. Haig Ha igof(whom Mu rr rray ay Ro Rothbard thbard refe rs sane , rest rai ned ne d .wi wing ng the Rea gan Administration tion on forei foreign gn po policy licy ,l) said sa id in a n interview: that he was not ruling out actions outside El Salvador but related to that country's guerrilla war. And indirectly, Mr. Haig confirmed confirm ed the su subst bst anc e o off a rep ort in The e w York Times today disclosing that he had asked the Defense Department to examine measures for a possible blockade of Nicaragua, or actions around Cuba, inclu including ding nav naval al ex exercis ercis es, a show o off ai r power , a quarantine or even stronger action, all aimed a t curbing the ar ms flow flow toward l ~alvador.2

Furt her on, on, Hendr Hendrick ick repo rts:

TI E JOURN L OF IjISTOKIC L REVIEW

A d m i n i s t r a t io i o n o ff f f ic i c iiaa llss h a v e d i s c l o se s e d t h a t b e g i n n i n g in J u n e b u t a c c e l e r a t in i n g r e ce c e n t llyy , M r . H a i g a n d R o b e r t M a c F a r l a n e , t h e S t a t e D e p a r t m e n t c o u n s e lo l o r , w e r e p r e s s in in g t h e D e f e n s e D e p a r t m e n t t o d e v el e l o p c o n ttii n g eenn c y o p t i o nnss f o r a c ttii o n a g a i n s t N i c a r a g u a a n d Cuba. One opti d w as blockade of of Nic ar aragu agu a, which Mr. I-Iuig l iiuuoption a c non l l o draise n truns or a f o r arms to El Salvador. Among point Cuba, uba, officials officials t h e req ues ted options of possible action to wa rd C said, were a large large nava l oxor oxorciso ciso,, 1 show o f ai r po power wer,, a quarantine on the shipment of a rm s to to Cuba. a g gen enera era l blockade a s p a r t of an act of w a r a nd un invasio invasion n by American an d possib possible le Latin American forces. Contingo Cont ingoncey ncey plans, us A.J.P. Tnylor has shown us concerning ~ e r m a n ~ r e,not ~ necessarily ac ts of w a r or even threatening in themselves. Howeve Ho wever, r, theso ha have ve foll followed owed a long period of the American State's saber-rattling o n El Salvador and many take them seriously. For examp e xamplo, lo, the Los Angeles Ang eles Times editorialized, with a m mos Crisis; t host att ap pr op ria te heading,

El Salvador : The Spreading

U .S .S . S o cr o tn r y ooff S ttlto A le x n n d er M . H a ig i g J r . h a s b e e n r a tttt l iinn g h ie i e u n l ~ o r e h ie i e w oooo k o v o r E l S n l v ~ ~ d o r l. t l r o t ~ ggII l c c n ~ i o ~ i n l ~ ) o u i u r i ~~ ~routill0 g t o r nnnn l iioo n n l d i p lloo m n c y , II- i n i g e e t ~ t e m e n t s i l l i n to clro clro w or rie om o wllon uoori uoori i l l 1110 c o ~ i t o x t f ollior rocor rocorlt lt oven18 oven18 tha t f f o cl cl ho S ~ ~ a p p i r i gn o a m in d r ig h t b ac k to th e c: ol l l t l t ~ ff o c l r i y d r l y ~ f 111 V i o l N I I I I I : o l l r I i ( : l , 1 1 1 Sl 11ow o I)opnrtnlerlt c o n s i d e r s t h e c iivv il il w a r i n E l S a l v a d o r to to b o a stalo mu te. 5 The countries involved in the wider region certainly take it seriously. seriousl y. Guatemala held rec en entt tal talks ks with El Sa Salva lva do dor's r's junta junta to milit itar ary y action, sa ys the editorial, adding further: coordinate mil T h i s ki k i n d ooff a c t i vvii ttyy , a n d t h e m a n a c i n g w o r d s f r o m H a i g , h a v e n o t g o n e u n n ot ic e d i n C u b a a n d N i c a r a g u a . F i d el C a s t r o h a s d e n i e d r e p o r t s t h a t C u b a n t r o o p s m R y b e f i gh g h ti t i ng ng d o n g s i d e t h e S ~ l v n d o r a nn nn s u r g e n t s . I-Ie n l s o o r d e r e d h i s i s l e n d s d e f e n s e f o r c e s t o s t a n d a t f uull l a l e r t , i11 a n t i c i p a t i o n of of s o m e o v e r t m o v e a g a i n s t h i s r e g i m e b y t h e U n it it e d S t a t e s . I n N i c a r a g ua u a , t h e S a n d i n i s t a s a l s o c la l a im im t h a t t h e y a r e p r e p a r e d t o r e p u l s e a n e x p e c t e d in i n v a si s i o nn,, iinn t h is i s c a s e b y s u p p o r t e r s of of l a t e d i c t a t o r Anastasia S o m o z a . If i t c o m e s t h ro ro u g h H o n d u r a n t e r r i t o r y , t he h e y w a r n t h a t t h e r es e s u lt l t iinn g w a r w il i l l s p r e a d t h rroo u g h ou o u t C e n t ra ra l ~moricn.~ The Times concludes wimpishly: S o i t i s t o b e h o p e d t h a t a n e s c a l a t i o n of of t h e S a l v a d o r a n c on o n ffll ic ic t i s n o t n e c e s s a r y . If m o r e t r o o p s m u s t b e s e n t i n , i t w o u l d b e p r e f e r a b l e t h a t t h e y c o m e n o t o n l y f r o m military r eg imes lik e

I Salvador

Guatemala a Guatemala and nd Argentina. Argenti na. Democracies li like ke Vene Venezuela zuela and Colo Co lomb mbia ia also als o have a st stak ake e in the outcome of l Salvador's civil war, and they should be urged to help the Duarte government itself. Even as I penn Even penned ed these wor words, ds, The L Lo os Angel Angeles es Ti Time mess reported, report ed, Reagan,, Ve Reagan Venezuel nezuela a tto o 'St 'Stand and Toget Together'. her'. Lest we dism dismiss iss th at a s dipl di plom omat atic ic rhetor ic, the arti cle sta tes, te s, Th The e two leade leaders rs agree agreed d thatt ions tha tthe he U . atte mpt achieve peac ealin l Salvador through elect elections iiss.Sthe co rre ct to cou course, rse, the pe offici offace icial said said. . Reagan 'indica 'indicated ted emphat emp hatica icall lly y th at we reject bo both th the right right an d left extr extremis emists ts a n d that our path is the democratic middle path' in l Salvador, the officiall said. 8 officia One cou could ld inte interp rpre rett Reagan's Reaga n's actions action s a s fulfi fulfill lling ing the Co Colld W Wa ar Liberals' conditions for support of American intervention. Or perhaps the Liberal media were rationalizing and putting their best face fac e on on.. The rea l questions a r e does this mean war? , can it be stopp stopped? ed? an d what c an we do about it? There is is anoth another er important que questio stion n tto o be a ans ns we re d first. C Can an Revis Rev ision ionis istt Hist History ory pre predic dictt w a r ? uture Revisionism

To a lar ge ext extent ent,, the question question o off w a r pre prediction diction is o off re rece cent nt vintage. In the past, States were run by explicit ruling classes who weighed the g gain ainss an and d losses losses of of going to w a r with ot othe herr States and did so when it was in their interest or unavoidable. With the ris rise e of dem democr ocracy acy,, majorities majorities ha had d to be sw swaye ayed. d. Statism can be used to redistribute wealth from few to many an d ca n easily easily win votes for that. Wa r, the health of the State a s Randolph Randol ph Bourne had it, never nev er benefits the t he many. A m major ajority ity c ca an be convinced convinced tto o suppo support rt a w a r on onlly if th ey' ey're re convi convinced nced the they y have no choice. That is, the majority must feel threatened and that they wou would ld lose lose mo more re iiff they eschewe esch ewed d wa rf ar e. Whatever the situation for small countries surrounded by big, rapacious States, State s, the Uni United ted State s and G rea t Britai Britain n have never really rea lly bee been n th threa reaten ten ed with invasi invasion on an d conquest. Germa Germany ny an d Russia, both o off whom were we re dev devasta astating tingly ly invad invaded ed twice this century, have f a r more grounds for fearing at tac k. Y Yet et the Brit British ish and American States have been involved in nearly all major conflict conf lictss of this c cent entury ury.. On One e historica historicall school ha hass it th that at the British-American Imperialist Axis has been fighting one long war since 1914 with cold cold a n d ho hott periods. The British British we were re fra frankly nkly imperialist imperialist a t the ttur urn n o off the c century. entury. By 1945 the constant warf ar e had d evast ated their ec econ onom omy y and culture an d their empire empire wa s gone gone.. Yet Yet they ha d wo won n all their wars.

3 2

THE J O U R N A L

IISTORICAL REVIEW

Smalll wonder tha t Ameri Smal American can Republicans war ne d again st the United Unit ed Sta te s beco becoming ming a n empire from Will William iam Grah am Surnner's The Conquest of the Unit United ed Sta te s y Spain to to Gar et Garre tt's The Rise of Empire. The world wa s sick of w wa a r in 1919. Better educated masses with longe longerr me memor mory y retention and m ajor itar ian power, a t leas t in extremis, became impervious to Statist blandishments for war. 'rhoso countries which could not vote out war overthrew their Stat es an d top topple pled d thei theirr ruli~ig ruli~igclausos. clausos. Bolslioviks took power with peac e a s the first pl plank ank in their plat platfor form; m; fascists seized power to wi withd thd raw thei theirr nations from the web o off enta entanglements nglements of the inte rnat iona l ban kers and their sponsored imperiali imperialism. sm. IIn n b ot ot h c a s e s , t h e h o p e s o off t h e m a s s e s w e r e d e l u d e d a n d t h e n destroyed, but but the impe impetus tus was th ere. In this this atm os osph phere ere , th the e Revi Revision sionist ist school of history flourished. Revis Rev isin ing g the cou rt histori historians ans'' esta establis blishme hment nt vie view w o off events, they soug so ught ht or orig igina inall d documen ocuments ts and reason s b e h i ~ d easons gi give ven. n. They Th ey ssought ought tto o expl explain ain w ar , h how ow it happened an d why why,, an d late r they investigated every everything thing from the ca us es of the Depression to those of of th e Amer American ican Constitution; ag ai n, alwa ys challe challenging nging th e Stat e's collegiate brothel of academic prostitutes. Why Two reasons present themselves. First, the Revisionist Historians pursued Truth wherever it may lie, whatever the cost, whoeve who everr wa s hurt or discredited. St Stil ill, l, su ch a n academic academic exercise would be qu it ite e ste steri rile le iiff it did not af affec fec t futu fu tu re choice of a action ction.. And, indeed, the Revisionists perceived the same conditions arising in 1938 that aro se iin n 1912. They predicted war and they strove to prev ent it. To s ee the fut ure would ffiix it inde indelib libly. ly. W ha t will happ en could not be changed. To predict the future is to extrapolate present conditi cond itionsons- ca caus uses es-- along the most pro bable ba ble lines lines of passagepassag eeffects. Such predictability, if this goes on, th at will hap happen pen is the basis of scien ce. Thus, Hist History ory qua acad emi c di discip sciplin line e h as sought scientific validity validity b by y exhibiting sufficient unde rsta rstandin nding g to pred ict the histori historical cal con conseq sequenc uenc es of hu man actions. And Re Revi vi-sionists seek the sa me scient scientifi ific c basis. Ha rry Elm Elmer er Ba rne s and Cha rles Be ard sa w the co comi ming ng of World W a r 1 11 1, opposed it, an d we re rea dy for iimmedi mmediate ate post-war Revisionist accounts. Though Revisionism was set back badly by the weak post-war reaction to the Ne New w Deal wa r misrepresentation so that Korea soon followed, Korea provided the renewal of disillusionment with rea dy for Vie Viett Na Nam. m. statism that revived a new Revisionist wave The American Imperiali Imperialists sts ha d picked u p th e fallen b an ne r of Imperium from th the e collapsing British Brit ish one in World W a r 1 11 1. The Th e

El Salvador

U.S. an d Brit Britain ain trad ed places a s seni senior or an d jun junio iorr pa rtn er . B By y Empire pire eff effect ectiv ivel ely y ruled t he e nti re planet in 1945 the American Em coalition coaliti on or allianc alliance. e. But the Churchill-Truman axis, consciously or unconsciously, realized the necessity o off the thr ea t of foreign enemy to maintain the power of of the St ate , the action of its citiz citizen-vict en-victims. ims. Iron C u r ta t a i n s p e e c h e s w e r e m a d e , t h e f o r m e r s t a u n c h a llll y i n Moscow Mosc ow was menace menaced, d, Stalin Stalin reacte d wit with h appro priate pa ranoia , an d the wo world rld grouped ar ou nd two imperial metropoles. Only after the Fair Deal imperialists provoked the Cold War d id id E a s t e r n E u urr o p pe e g e t c o n v e r t e d in in t o b u uff f e r s t a t e s f o r t h e Russian Bolsheviks. China became the major Soviet ally in 1949 a nd the they y both mo move ved d to take Korea, a n ap pe nd ag e to S Sovi oviet et Asia Asia a n d China's Man chu ria. Half Half w as alre ady Sovi Soviet et-bl -bloc. oc. The Unite United d Stat St at es could no nott win in Korea, a n d iiff it i t could, could, it d a r e not. If Douglas MacArthur had nuked Peiking and Moscow, the U.S. woul would d hav e tto o invent an ot h er enemy. Th e fa il ur e of of the American sta tis tists ts to fight for uncondition unconditional al vic victory tory-a -a la Thir Third d ReichRei ch-le left ft a fr us tr at ed populace and fertile grounds for Re Revi vi-ionism. Revisionists Revision ists w a r n e d o off Viet Nam, but the s h e e r length o off th e drawn-out struggle allowed a strong Revisionist movement to grow during the war itself, a first for Revisionists. The legacy of Viet Vi et Na Nam m iiss that the Re Revi visi sioni onist stss a r e stronge r a n d more acc epte d th an anytim anytime e since 1919 And now we, the Revisionists of 1982 r e called upon to prov prove e our value to our sup po rte rs , the consum ers o off our produc ts. If w e ' r e s o s m a r t a n d o u r tth heories a r e rig gh ht-w wh h a t ''ss going t o happe n next?

Imperialism O n The Wax The re a r e certa in prem ises needed to fu fulf lfil illl thi thiss demand . Eac Each h .one .one req uire s a b bo ook on its own, or a t least a pa pe r a s lo long ng as thi thiss one.. Fortunately, they one they a r e not new new and c an be fo foun und d nlready put forwa rd an d defended iin n the works of Rev Revis isio ioni nist st giants giants,, such a s Barnes, James j. Martin, A.J.P. 'raylor, Gobriel Kolko, William Appluman Williams, Murray Rothbnrcl, G Willirlm Domhoff, Leon Le onar ard d Li Ligg ggiio an d R A Childs. The first premise is that Washington and New York are the centers-is centers -is one ce nte r, reall really-o y-off a political-economic empire, ba sed se d on on the Ame rica rican n S ta te , but controlling controlling ma many ny o off the othe r St ate s in the worl world d to differen t degree s a n d n different manners. This empire has a ruling elite who run the empire for their own benefit, th at o benefit, off their co rp orate or ate holding holdings, s, a n d th at of their friends, allies an d relatives-tha relatives-thatt is, of this this cla ss ss.. This is our sec second ond premise.

TI IE J O U R N

IISTOKIC L R E V I E W

Our third premise is that the world is largely divided between this Emp Empir iree-II cal l it American, American , tthough hough it h a s not nothin hing g to do with an Iow Iowa a far me r, a Calif Californi ornia a fruit truc ker or a Ne New w Orleans shopkeeper-and u sma ller , weaker Emp Empir ire e cen tere d in Mos Moscow cow.. There a r e fe few w neutr neutralsals-Switz Switzerla erland nd and Fin Finlan land d a r e about it, it, maybe Costa Rica-thou Rica-though gh th ther ere e is a lot of shifting back an d for forth th on the borders. One side-switcher could also be considered a terti ary empire itself, an d if C Chi hina na wa s th at strong-which it is not-the gr ea t pred predictiv ictiv e Revi Revisio sionist nist George Orwell woul would d have ha ve 1984 rig right ht on the button. (He wa wass close anywa y.) A fourth pr premise emise is tha t these Empir Empires es ffig ight ht brush-fire wars in the marginal, borderline-countries for several reasons: retain control or grlin control; protect oxi oxisti sting ng investm investments ents or open new ones; make diplomatic gambits to a affect ffect ge ne ra l configur configuration ation of power in in n neigh eighbori boring ng S tat es ffor or str at eg ic purposes; an d ult ultimat imateely,, tto ly o win win popular su pp ort a t h hom ome e fo forr a lar ge wa r machine. A fif fifth th prem ise is tha t the na natives tives of thes e c ount ountries ries on the Imperial bord ers hav e litt little le prefe renc e for which Imperial Leg Legio ion n will rule them an d woul will would d ra th er be left alon alone eb by y both sides. Final Fin ally ly,, a premise should be ad de d th a t Le Left ft a nd Right Right,, Socialism, Communism, Fascism. Conservatism, Democracy, Populis Popu lism m an d so on, have littl little e to do with th the ea allian lliances ces of i nt er na l political groups with external imperialist groups. Conservatives like Charles De Gaulle were a thorn in the American Imperium; China's Communists urge the American Empire to even-greater anti-Sovietism. Everyone who opposes American hegemony is linked with Communi Communism; sm; every one who opposes the Soviet hegemony hege mony iiss link linked ed wit with h the A American merican St at e Capi Capitalism. talism. With this seemingly long but actually highly abbreviated background, we may commence Revisionist Revisioni st analy an alysi siss of our prese pre se nt time, and , hope time, hopeful fully, ly, th e immediate fut ure . On the whole, Soviet Imperialism is a recent phenomenon and considerably overstated in hawkish American circles. Antony Sutton ha s made a fairl fairly y mode moderate rate c as e th at the Uni Union on of Soviet Socialis Soci alistt Rep Republi ublics cs w a s almos almostt comple completel tely y financed a nd arme d by w e s t e r n plutocrats-a po posit sition ion once held on only ly by the fever swamps of the fa r right. Lib erta rian ec economi onomics cs indicates that the closer a S ta te comes tto o pure St at e Com Commun munis ism, m, the closer its economy will be to cha os os.. Here I may refer to my upcoming bo.ok, Couqter-Economics, Ch. 3 on the large Counter-Economy which actually maintains the Soviet society. Though the USSR spends consider.

bly more on sophisticated armament than anyone but the American State, how well the technology would work in a land where right and left shoes often don't match or simply can't be found in in the offici official al ec economy onomy,, is open to se rious question.

alvador

Moreove r, the history of dir Moreover, d irec ectt Sovi Soviet et interv int ervent ention ion is a string str ing of sordid dis d isast ast er ers. s. Finland fought the U US SSR to a st stan ands dsti till ll in 19 1939 39 an d most most Russian Russian conquests after aft er wa rd wer e the result of first G e r m a n a n d t h e n A n g llo o-A Am m e rrii c a an n assau lts on the Wester n fro nti ers o off the co nc er ne d sta te s. The Soviet Soviet conquest of its eas te rn satellites satelli tes w as the conquest o off a v vacuum, acuum, the Russians being bein g the onl only y ones in the a r e a heavily heavily re ar me d by the U. U.S S. lend-lease. The Sovi Soviets ets never int interv ervened ened directl directly y in Chi China, na, Korea or Vie Viett Nam. Their moves into Hungary and Czechoslovakia were simply restoring control in already occupied land, and today they are figh fighti ting ng a los losin ing g battle to h hol old d th their eir histo historic ric puppet i n ~ f g h a n i s f a n a n d a r e h e s i t a n t tto o a t t a c k h e r e t i c a l P o lla and a nd its turn to syndicalism. The USSR h has as on only ly two r ea l pieces on the int intern ern ati ationa onall chessboard to play: a paper nuclear force which has some deterrence to nuclear usage by the American Empire and the ability and willingness to supply all levels of military equipment-though limited limit ed in econ economic omic capa ca paci city ty to do so-to fo forc rces es opposin opposing g th the eU U..S. Empire. To many countries around the globe, the Soviets and Americans are interchangeable and one buys or refuses goods from eithereit her- like choosing bet betwe ween en Coca-Col Coca-Cola a a n d Pepsi-Cola. Even in indirect imperialism the USSR has been hopelessly outclassed by the American imperialists. For all the Bircher talk of the glo globe be turning Red, iin n reality , th e Russian Empir Empire e h as contra con tracte cted d in terms of of client ssta tate te s since the 1 1960 960s. s. Eth Ethiop iopia ia an d Mozambique were minor gains, Angola is still contested, and Egypt Egy pt an d So Somalia malia were we re minor minor losses. Vie Viett Nam w as a fairly go goo od gain but more tha t ha n of offs fset et by tthe he loss o off C China. hina. Laos an d Ca Cambod mbodia ia a r e conte conteste sted d While th the e majorit majo rity y of of go govern vernment mentss pr prof ofes esss some form of of socialism, they are pro-American social democrats. The Socialist International Intern ational,, which supp or orts ts Nicara Nicaragua gua an d one win wing g o off the S a lv a d o ra n r e b e ls , fo r e x a mp le , iiss s imp imp ly lin e d u p with o n e faction factio n of the Ameri American can Imper Imperial ial Ru Rulin ling g Class ag ain ainst st the other other.g .g There a r e curren tly t hr ee ar ea s of of ho hott confl conflict ict for the A America merican n Imperialists, and it is in these areas that the war will most likely b re a k o u ut-j t-ju u st s t a s th e Ba lk a n s we re h o ott in 1 9 12 12 , Ce n tra l Europe Europ e hot in 1938 a n d Korea an d Vi Viet et Nam Nam wer were e festering fester ing sores sor es with escalating escalatin g battle bat tle s in 19 1950 50 an d 19 1961. 61. Let me me fi first rst eliminat el iminate e some unli unlikely kely possibilities. The American Americ an s ta tis ts wi will ll n ot ot in te r v e n e in P o la lan n d o r a n y wh e r e in Ce n tra l Europe; Europ e; th at a r e a iiss gr gran ante te d to the So Sovie viett sp sphe here re of control. The same sam e is true tr ue o off Afghanist Afghanistan, an, tho though ugh they wou would ld d r a w th the e line a t I r a n an d Pakistan. But the U US SSR h as not mov moved ed into those u n stable sta ble situations, larg largely ely bec aus ause e it's bog bogged ged down in Afghanistan.

T H E J O U RN R N A L OF I IISTORICAL REVIEW

It is also u unl nlik ikely ely th at wa r will break out in Korea a gain, be ca us e China h a s sw itched sid es a n d contr ols K Kiim II1 1 Sung Sung.. Southern Africa is headed for further negotiated settlements along al ong the Rhodesian prece den t, though wheth er S WA P 0 o r Turnhalle Turnh alle will com come eo out ut o on n ttop op is open, but it probably mat matter terss a s little lit tle a s Rh Rhodesia odesia.. Remember, Mugabe is tied io C Chin hina a an d henc hence e ultimatel ulti mately y se serv rves es the American Empire. The rest of Africa may see net U.S. gains; the American imperialists imperia lists a r e on the side o off the na natio tional nal liber liberato ators rs in Angol Angola, a, Eritrea a n d Ogaden for a change. North Africa Africa is another matter matter.. South America looks condemned to military juntas with occasional occasi onal fascist dict dictatorshi atorships ps (suc h as Peronis Peronism), m), except for the de mo cr ati c no rt h o off Co Colo lomb mbia ia a nd Venezuela. Gu yana , for example, could not go further left without Brazil crushing it and prob pr obabl ably y ex excu cusi sing ng a n anne annexat xation ion.. ~ h e aribbea aribbean n is current currently ly volatile, volat ile, but rea really lly little pr problem oblem for the U U..S Mar Marine iness a and nd fleet to control The thre e ho hott spots fo forr a futur e wa r, induced by bot both h cur ren t instability and an d eliminat elimination ion of a lte rn rnat ativ ives es,, a r e So South-E uth-East ast Asia, the Middle Middle East, an d Central America. South-East Asia is on the back burner now, but Cambodia is still hotly contested and China is itching to hit Viet Nam again. Thailand is threatened by Viet Nam but has the ASEAN pact behind it. The interlocking treaties here make 9 4 look simple and there will be another war here soon. My humble revisionist opinion is that it won t be there sooner than the other hot spots, a n d even if it boi boils ls over, Chi China na c an dea l with it directly. unless the American Imperialists are bogged down elsewhere and the Russian Russia n Imperialists have settled Afghanistan a and nd Pol Poland and.. In t hat event,, all bets a r e off an event and d the U U..S. will have to interv intervene ene to keep the Russians Russ ians off the Chinese. The next hotter spot is the Middle East. Iran is unstable, but Afghanistan Afgha nistan h a s the U US SSR bogged down. Isr Israe ae l is probably not goiing tto go o dire ctly dr ag the U U..S. into a w a r rig ht a way . Th e Trilate Tri lateral ralist ist highe higherr circle circles. s. of Am America erica s power elite have clearly indicated their preference for Saudi Arabia as their top client st stat ate, e, an d Israe l has to swa swall llow ow iit. t. However, Isr Israel ael cou could ld w widen iden a lot more likel likely y possibil possibility ity of w a r , if no nott s ta rt its own own.. The media a att ttac ac k on Muammar Q Qadd addafi afi o off Li Liby bya a is st stron ron ger than anything since Idi Amin, yet Idi Amin was attacked for his internal policies. Qaddafi is blamed for everything from the IR to Basque separatists to Maltese obstreperousness to airline hijackers. hijack ers. H He e supposedly ha s designs on the Sudan-which is no gre at prize-and Chad-whi Chad-which ch is a de ad los loss. s. The r ec en t U U..S att attack ack on Li Libya byan n air airpla pla nes over Lib Libyan yan territo ry is reminis rem iniscen centt of the Reuben James inc incide ident nt of 94 exc except ept that the

o l vador

U.S. did not sacrifice sacri fice their thei r plane pl anes, s, but Qaddafi Qaddaf i s. Qaddaf Qad dafii is called a madman madma n by by the American Establishment press: pres s: that, tha t, of course, is a prelude prel ude to an attac attack. k. If If a Stat St at e is run by a madman, iitt cannot be tru sted st ed an d the few little little res restr train ain ts of inter-sta inter -state te mora moralit lity y can be ca st aside. asid e. W War ar becomes just justifi ified. ed. Remember Reme mber,, the Kaiser was w as mad, Hitler Hitler wa w a s mad, Kim w was as mad, but Ho Ch Ho Chii Qad Minh Minhdafi wasn wassn Gree t a n dnlook loSoci walism ha hat t it cost thexed U.S U.dS.e nt in er suppor sup t. Actually, Sok ociali sm is is a mixe mi prport. is ecommunal eco econom nomy y supp su ppor orte ted d b by y oil oil royalties. His His s t a te d inintention is to abolish the Libyan government in his lifetime, and though tho ugh he will will sell out or die firs f irst, t, he s certainly the most most libertari liber tari-an statist rhetorically around, more than Ronald Reagan. But perh pe rhap apss Reagan is only only slightly slightly less mad. What the U.S. Imperialists dislike is that Qaddafi spends his St at e s mone money y backin backing g all sor s orts ts of of wild wild card ca rd s iin n tthe he world scene, scen e, such as the RAF Brigate Rosse, IRA, ETA, and Japanese Red Army.. The Soviet Army Sovietss h at e them equally, though they will will sell military supplies to Libya rather than have the Yanks get the trade, or the French. The Soviet Imperialists also hope for a windfall windf all gain which would fall in in their lap la p if if the U S attacked Liby Li bya a and a nd drove Qaddafi into accepting dir direct ect client sta s ta tu s from from Russia in desperation. Naturally, all political groups which are controlled neither by Washington and Moscow are terrorists. That Th at is, they terrify terrify the Politburo an d the Trila Tr ila teral ter al Commi Commiss ssio ion. n. The Trilaterals were about to strike recently when Qaddafi pulled a master coup. By pulling out of Chad immediately upon the requ re ques estt of the very premi pre mier er who invited him him in, he stymied the invasion invasion thre th reat at to his own coun country. try. Liby Libya a ha s coole cooled d off, of f, but may ma y heat he at up again. Eve Even n then, Egyp Egyptt can handle hand le the invasion invasion a s a stand-in for for U S troops troops,, a s lon long g a s the rest of A Arabi rabia a stays st ays out. In that situation, Israel could spark off a widened war and plunge iter ranean ean into into the real re al holocau holocaust. st. the entire Eastern Med iterran (Events after the Conference change little in the analysis. Reagan s paranoid assassination fantasy was issued to counter Libya s withdraw with drawal al mo move a nd generally generally fell fell flat a s no evidence w a s offered.) offered.) Since the speaker immediately following is representing the Palestine Arab Ar ab Delega Delegatio tion, n, I ll let hi him m dea d eall with the t he Palesti Pa lestinian nian fa ct or hottest an d spend much more mor timeerica. on the situation ther e.ge but the The spotmu is ch Central Cen trale America. Am Thin Things gs may maythere. change chan t he

Washington-New York Trilateral Empire wants a war for domestic a s well well a s ext exter erna nall reaso rea sons ns,, and it look lookss like like El El Salvador Sa lvador is the cen c ente terr of of th at war-to-be.

TI 1E J O U R N A L OF HISTORICAL REVIEW

El Salvador The Lies Begin Before we forget, for get, this is a pap pa p er of Revisionist Revisionist History. What Wh at we're going to revise, hopefully as fast as the Court Historians can ca n spit it out, out, is the to rren t of lies and an d distortions about ab out the civi civill war in El Salvador. One way to predict a war is to see when the Imperial States are most distorting a situation and misrepresenting the sides. According to the American statists, El Salvador is run by a junta of of Christian Christi an Democrats a n d various var ious moder mo derate ate military military people opposing the reactionary landowners, fascist police and military, militar y, an a n d Communis Communistt an d deluded delu ded left-socialists. left-socialists. The Left Left and a nd Righ Ri ghtt a r e kill killin ing g ea ch other oth er and an d Jose Napoleon Napoleon Duarte, Duart e, President Preside nt of the Ju nt a, is trying trying to keep down the terrori terr orism sm an d hold hold honest election elec tionss to settle the matter. Alas, the Nicaraguans Nicarag uans a r e sending sending Cuban arms and money to the Salvadoran guerrillas which they undoubtedly got from Moscow. The massacres taking place are due to Duarte's difficulty in taking control, but with increased American Ameri can assista ass ista nce , order wil willl be res tore d an d his land reform reform can be consummated consum mated an a n d eliminate the history of inequities. inequities . None Non e of of the t he abov ab ove e is tru e. Let us begin with the most most cr cruc uc ia iall issue iss ue for justifyi justifying ng American Ame rican intervention in El Salva Sal vado dor, r, the prior p rior intervention of Sandi S andinist nista a Nicaragua Nicaragu a a nd the t he Soviet Soviet proxy, proxy, Cuba. Cuba. When the State Department released its report on El Salvador on February 2 3 it also released 1 copies of a 1 -i nc h thick packet of of docum ents to sup por t the Reagan Adminis tration's decision to increase military aid to the Salvadoran government. The meat of of the t he docum ents ents'' original ra r a w intellig intelligence ence co consi nsists sts o off 7 pages of handw han dwritt ritten en jottings, jottings, memoranda memor anda an d minutes o off meetings meetings,, culled from confis con fiscat cated ed guerrilla guerrill a files. files.1° 1°

Supposedly those documents were to show that socialist and communist commu nist countries countrie s were we re supporting supporti ng the oppositi opposition on to the junta, an d with material, materi al, not just just the usual usu al rhetoric rhet oric of solidarity. But th thes ese e very sa same me documents documents-in -in addition to other intelligence reports available to the Reagan Administration that were not included incl uded in the White Paper-provide concl conclusion usionss th at fall f ar short of of the Administrat Administration's ion's protr ayal of E Ell Salvador as an ar en a of U.S.-Soviet confrontation. The Th e White White Pap er charges that 800 tons of of ar ms we re promised, and 2 tons wer e delivered, delivered , tto o the insurge insu rgents nts b by y the ti time me of the [Ja nua ry) off offens ensive ive.. The c apt ure d documents, however, indicate that far lesser quantities were promised or in shipment, and only

about 10 tons ever actually crossed the border. Ba t t l e f i e ld l d e vi de nc e ga t he r e d s i nc e Ja nu a r y, i nc n c ludi l uding ng t he statements of a captured Nicaraguan solider-turned-informer,

reveals that the guerrillas were forced to depend on relatively a n t i q u a t e d r i f lle es and other weapons purch ased on the internation al blac black k market. In contrast to the Reagan administration's interpretation that the Soviet Union masterminded the arms traffic, the documents re v e a l th a t th e g u e rrilla s ' C o mmu n is t Pa rty re p re s e n ta tiv e encountered a cool reception in Moscow, and was deeply conce rn ed th at So Sovie viett "indecisiveness" might might jeopardize a ny prom promise ise of a r m s made b by y othe otherr socia socialist list countri countries es l 2

did d the Stat e depar tment com ome e up wit with h the S o where di tons figures?

and

The highest figure mentioned anywhere in the documents is in a hand-written letter letter,, da te d N No ov. 1 fro from m a cer tai tain n 'Vladimir,' w who ho wa s id ident entifi ified ed b by y the Sta te Department a s the g uer ril rilla' la'ss log logist istics ics coordinator coordi nator in Nicar Nicaragua. agua. He wrote that 150 tons o off arms ar ms had arrive arr ive d in Cuba, and th at "Thi "Thiss week week" " there would be a total of 300 30 0 to 40 400 0 tons destined for th e guerrillas-but th at pl ans to smuggle "109 tons" into El Salvador in November were "almost impossibl impos sible," e," Another doc document, ument, the minutes of a guerri guerrilla lla Gen eral Staf St afff meeti meeting ng iin n late Sep tem tember ber,, re repo port rted ed on only ly four of 130 tons of arm s in storage had been smug smuggl gled ed in into to E Ell ~a lv ad or .1 2

rest st o off this quoted so sour urce ce is rich in in stant sta nt revisionis revisionism, m, but The re let me just hit a coup couple le o off high poi points. nts. Neither official official battlefield re po rt rtss nor journalists on the sc scene ene have reported large quantities of of weapons capt ure d from from guerrillas. O th e r s o u rc e s of of in te llig e n c e th a t te n d e d to c o n t ra d ic t th e picture pictur eo off hug huge e arm s shipments we re available to Reagan analy sts, but we re not included in the pa packe ckett o off documents.

And, finally, The key key docu document ment in Reaga n's c as e that the Sov Soviet iet Un Unio ion n is the mastermind behind the insurgency, is a report of Salvadoran Communist Pa Part rty y chie chieff Shafik Ha Hand ndal' al'ss tour of Viet Nam, Ethiopia, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, East Germany and the Soviet Union Unio n last June an d July. It is the on only ly piece of evidence tha t actuall actu ally y mentions the Soviet Union, with the excep exceptio tion no off a passing refere ref erence nce iin n ano anothe therr docume document nt to a "S "So ov." v." bein being g pre se sent nt a t a meeting in Mexico City with socialist diplomats. According to the White Paper, Handal le eff t M o oss c co ow " "w w iitt h a s s u r a n c e s t h a t t h e Soviets Sovie ts agr agreed eed in principle to tr tran an sp or t Viet Vietnames namese e arms." T h e s u p p o rtin g d o c u me n t, h o w e v e r, re p o rts th a t H a n d a l "exposed his unh app appine iness ss with the denial o off a m meeting eeting a t the proper lev level el and the non-re non-resolut solution ion of the reques t for help help." ." A few weeks later, according to the document, the Soviets granted his request to give military training to 30 (presumably Salvadoran) youths studying in Moscow, but ignored his request to ship the Vietnamese arms. The document concluded, "The campaniero (Handal) expressed his concern that the Soviets' indecisiveness

T H E JOURN

L OF HISTORlC L REVIEW

could affect not only the help they might give but also (prejudice) the willingness willingness to coo cooper perate ate o off the othe otherr part partie iess o off tthe he Eur Europe opean an Socialist camp. . . There There,, in mid-sentence, the docum document ent prov provided ided by the St at e Depar Department tment ends.1 ends.13 3

What little foreign support the Salvadoran opposition gets is a few dollars they spend in the black market. This justifies the U.S. sen ding th e junta $35 mi mill llio ion n in mi military litary ai d this ye ar and st udyi udy i ng request s for over $200 mi mill llio ion n in economic a ssistance"?14 In fact, the only major foreign intervention in E l Salvador is the America American n Stat e's, e's , th that at o off the T rila teral ter al ImperialImperialists. ist s. The countries in the ar ea sa w it that way on March :

. .t.the he

ke key y governme governments nts in Latin America-Mexico, Venez Venezuela, uela, Brazil a n d Argent Argentina-h ina-have ave respo nded to Uni United ted Sta tes cha rge s th at th e So v iet b lo lo c is ssu u p p lly y in ing g weap o n s to th e Sal v ad o ran guerrillas with warnings against deeper United States military involvement in El Salvador. And with rare unanimity they have called for a negotiated solu solution tion to the simmerin simmering g civil w ar . I don't se e why iitt is any mo more re legit legitimate imate for the Unite United d S ta te s to ar m the jun junta ta tha than n for the guerrilla guerrillass to get weapons from wha tev er they can," a Mexican official noted . . Mexico's President, Jose Lope Lo pez z Port Portillo, illo, noted last mon month: th: "T "The he crisi crisiss that ha hass iits ts te tempora mporary ry epicenter in the Salvadoran conflict has become a spiral that thr eat ens to inv invol olve ve all the st ate s in tthe he a re a. Fo Forr thi thiss reason, it iiss nec ess ary to avo avoid id the internationalization of th e c risis through a combined combi ned pol policy icy th that at h as th the e objective o off rigo rigorousl rously y prese preserving rving the princip pri nciples les o off self-determ self-determination ination a and nd non non-intervention. -intervention."" Mexi Me xico co an d Vene Venezue zuela, la, iin n pa rti cul ar, seem worried tha t fur the r militarization of the Salvadoran conflict might polarize the entire isthmus, heigh heightenin tening g the domestic cri crises ses in Guatemala, Ho nduras nduras,, and Nicaragua and prompting regional governments to meddle openly open ly iin n ea c h other others' s' affai affairs:l rs:l5 5

So we se see e ther e is no no Re Red d intervention requiring a n American response to to balance the scale s, or whatev w hatev er, and a nd the attitude of all the other S tat es iin n the a r e a is isol isolati ationi onist st or non-interventionist, if if you you pr pref ef er er.. Most of these st ate s ar e pro-Am pro-Ameri erica can n an d so some me a r e rightright-win wing g dictat dictatorships. orships. The on only ly imper imperial ialism ism in the a r e a is American. What Wh at about abo ut the manace mana ce of of a n intern inte rnal al Red Red takeover? AntiAntiinterve inte rventio ntionis nists ts may sup suppor portt a policy policy of self-de s elf-determina termination tion in in other countries, but if a few million dollars and a few advisors could cou ld tip the bal anc e an d sa ve El El Salvado r from from be becom coming ing ano ther the r Cu Cubaba-or or even Nicaragua-why bother being being worked up to Sp oppose it?d ti Spac ace e an and time me limitat limitations ions preven pre ventt me from full fully y diagnosing diagnosing the i nt er na l situation o off E Ell Salv ad or . Let me recommend E l Salva Sa lvado dor: r: The Th e Myth of of Prog Pr ogre ress ssiv ive e Reform" Reform" by Roy A. A. C Childs hilds in the ~ u h e981 issue of of Lib Libertari ertarian an Review Review.. The lan land d reform fiasco f iasco

ISalvador

141

of Du Duar arte te iiss spelled out in pa page gess o off gor gory y detail detail.. Let me give y you ou one irresistible tidb tidbit. it. Within days of the original land d ecr ee 153, the military swept through l Salvador, invaded farms, and told the peasants that land reform reform was a n ac accompl complishe ished d fact. Th They ey were to r egar d the land a s theirs, e elect lect their ow own n leadership a and nd,, ffor or the first tim time e n their lives, lives, farm land which which wa s their ow own n property. The peas ants , who had heretofore been forbidden to or organi ganize, ze, were now orde red to organize. But they did manage to elect leaders, and the Army t hen came back bac k an d s hot t hos e el ect ed. E ye yew w i t ne ness s r epo r t s indicate that several times soldiers poured back onto the farms w i t hin hi n days af t er t he el ect ectii ons , tto ook aw a y t he l e ade r s , a nd machine-gunned them. More than two hundred peasant leaders a r e reported to have been kill killed ed that way. way.16 16

This is is the moderate, benevole benevolent, nt, Centrist governmen governmentt which is to save the Salvadorans Salvador ans from the th e horrible f at ate e of of commu communi nism sm and an d deserve2 the bl bloo ood d an d tr ea su re of the American people? Way back in 1 9 7 2 , a ticket of Duarte for president and Guillerm Guil lermo o Un Ungo go,, lead le ader er of the Social Democrats, won a n elect election, ion, against agai nst candi candidate datess of two major power blocs, blocs, the military an and d the lan ded oliga oligarchyrchy-the the infamous 1 4 families. The military's can did ate , Col Colon onel el Ar tu ro Molina Molina,, p prom romptl ptly y ove rth rew the government. In 1977, Molin was ousted by the oligarch's man, Gener Gen eral al Humberto Romero Romero.. On 18 October, 1979, the U.S. backed a coup by reformist military officers-one of th re e coups bei being ng planned-an plann ed-and d ousted Rome Romero. ro. The junta brought in the Social Democrats and Christian Democrats in a joint civilian-military junta. The Social Democrats quit and today Ungo, Duarte's former running mate, heads the Democratic Revol Revolutio utionary nary Front. By mid-February , following following a denun ciation by th e e xtre me rightistDIAbuisson,, arm ed men broke into the home o rightistDIAbuisson off the Chris tian Democratic ofe the econd df junta anstian d machinegunned hi him Solicitor-General to deat death. h. The en entir tire left ssecon wi wing ng o the Chri Christian Deme c ra t s withdrew in protest. Rem Remaini aining ng in plac place e a s he la last st fig lea leaff of the "center" was the right Christian Demo Democrat, crat, Jose Na Napol poleon eon ~uarte. ~

The oligarchs and military oppose Duarte and freely murder opponents opponen ts iin n mas sac res , iinclu ncludin ding g the a assa ssa ssi ssinat natio ion n of Archbishop Romer Romero, o, the Catholic le lead ad er of E Ell Salv S alvado ador. r. The left, tthe he Faribundo Marti Liberation Front, oppose the government in armed combat combat and counter-terror. The moderate lef leftt a nd center, in the DRF, oppose Duarte. N o one is left t o prop up Duarteexcept the American American interventionists. interventionist s. like Viet after Diem's death? bet. After two yeSound year arss of direct U.S. Nam intervention, we hea hear r theYou Sec S ecre re ta tary ry of State demand massive additional aid, proxy troops, and, maybe, just

TH E JO OU URN

HISTORIC

L R VI W

maybe, di re ct U U..S. milita military ry i nte rve nt ion , ag ai ns t not on only ly El S a l v a d o r g u e r r i l l a s , b u t w i d e n i ng ng t h e w a r t o e en ng gu u llff C e n t r a l America. I res t m my y ca se for The Comi Coming ng W a r a s bei being ng in El S Salva alvador. dor. You may ma y rec all th that at Rona Ronald ld Rea Reagan gan welched on is promise to abolish draft registration in this country. To a Revisionist audience I hardly need say more, except to look to your aware conscience and take approp riate ac acti tion. on.

The War Keeps Coming Update Updates, or follo followw-up ups, s, a r e u undoubt ndoubtedly edly ra re in historical publications.. And auth publications au thor or s taking taking a flyer flyer a t pro prophec phecy y an d prediction are usually loath to re-examine their claims for verification la te r. This rrovis ovisioni ionist st aut ho horr welc welcomes omes the opportunity offered b by y The Th e Journal of Historical Review's editor to observe, six months a ft e r m my y an anno noun uncem cem ent o off it la last st November a t th the e 1981 IHR Revisionist Revisioni st Con Conferen ference, ce, to s e e how The W a r To Come Come is c comin oming g along. Actually, my thesis wa s formulated ove overr a yea r ago a t a small libertarian meeting: the United States government, or at least powerful elements in the American States, treads a path that leadss to Wa r- at lead leas t of the na tu re a nd in invol volve vemen mentt ((o of the citizenry) of the Vi Viet et Na Nam m W ar . The basis for my my prediction wa s the science, scien ce, or a t least p ro rotes tes cie nc e, of Revis Revision ionis istt His History tory.. In a nutshell, if re revis visio ionis nism m tell tellss us wha t led to a w a r (w ha t it's mos mostt ofte of ten n used for and for whic which h he have the mo most st da ta ), then, scientifically speaking, it should tell us what leads to war. A science, once tho rulos tlro discovered, must be predictive to be conclusive. Nearlv six months lat er , iin n ear ly Nove November mber o off 1981, the art icl e was written and presented to the Third Annual Revisionist History Conference sponsored by the Institute for Historical Review. The additional six months more than doubled my refer ence s (many of which we re foot footnote noted d iin n the arti cle) an d doubled my my confidence iin n the predictions. Since then an ot othe herr six months have passed and the predictions. Since then another six April of of 1982, w e s ta n d on th the e brin brink k of a fuil-scale fuil-scale V Viet iet-Na -Nam m War rightt wh righ where ere I poi pointed nted.. Tru e, var various ious le left ftis ists ts and rightis rightists ts a nd other libertarian s have situati uatiorl orl iin n Cen Central tral Amoric Amorica a with al arm an d c rie s of viewed the sit potential confl conflict ict.. Man Many y of the them m h ave s e e n ' w a r s everywher e, th'o th 'oug ugh, h, such a s in Ang Angol ola a an d Zimbabwe an d various Mid Middle dle Ea ste rn site Easte sites, s, none of which cam e o off ff.. If one pred predicts icts w war ar s everywhere, one will eventually be correct. Today, even many establishment establishme nt newspapers an d other me media dia see a wa r hori horizo zon. n.

Salvador

bu t they als also o see se e var variou iouss signs of of backing a w a y or some so rt of vict vi ctor ory y before any get go goin ing g in ear ne nest. st. Wh at all the above have in comm common on is wish-fulfillment: both the t he positive one of seei seeing ng the t he American-centered Empire enmeshed and humiliated again, and the negative negativ e one of war warni ning ng the t he U.S U.S. off b befo efore re iitt gets enme e nmeshe shed d an d humiliated. humiliated. None of the ab above ove a r e scientific. scienti fic. Nor is Revis Revisionis ionistt History-the collection collec tion of kno knowle wledge dge,, fa ct s an d interp int erpre retat tation ion s of factsfa ctsconsulted save selectively and for partisan purpose. Most importantly, importa ntly, exce except pt for the Marx ists perhaps per haps,, no one else is really really offering a scientific claim for the predicti pr ediction on of of eve e vent ntss among Sta tes and withi within n State States. s. An And d those Marxists who try to p proceed roceed scientifically simpl simply y end en d up a s one school o off revisionism, whi which ch is not to denig denigrate rate th the e con contrib tribution utionss of of ssuch uch a s C C.. Wrigh W rightt Mills, Mills, Gabrie Gab riell Kol Kolko ko,, an d William Appleman App leman Williams Williams to revisionis revisionism. m. In El Salvador: Salvad or: The W a r To Co Come me a combination of premises from compi compilatio lation n of p as astt rrevisio evisionist nist work with modern d a t a , most mo stly ly iin n the form form o off fairl fairly y a acco ccossi ssible ble pres pr esss clippings, clipp ings, led to the follow foll owin ing g con conclu clusio sions. ns. First, First , the natur na tur e of Sta tes , a t lea st in recent history, and their reactions to internal economic crises, leads the revisionist to see a War seen as solution to these inter in ter nal problem problems. s. Second, the class n at ur e of of the States States-for -for whom wh om the Sta te ac ts to benefit-leads benefit-leads us to to ce rt ai n con conclu clusio sions ns as to where the War will happen and even when to an extent. Third, Thir d, the actions of Sta te tess so fa r in relation to other S tat es (diplomacy and military maneuvers) follow a predictable trend an d a f t e r a certai ce rtain n point ap pr oa ch inevit inevitab abil ilit itjl jl of conflic conflict. t. These premises premi ses were we re spell spelled ed out in specific for the context conte xt of of 19 1981 81 a n d the ac tu al worl world d wa s observed. By selected. a ra rapid pid proc p rocess ess most o off eliminatio elim ination, n, the mos mostt likely scen sc indeed, enar ario ioss were Third likely was Cambodia, and, since that prediction V i u t N u m heated up t oir uttuck on t h o Khmer Rouge to end that threat. Hanoi not only failed to finish off the Indochina struggle but pushed the Chinese-backed Reds closer than tha n ever tto o a coalition coalition with the US.-backed Khmer Khmer Se rei and neutralist Prince Norodom Sihanouk. The theatre is still on the back-burner relative to the Middl Middle e Eas Eastt a n d Central Cent ral America, but continue continuess tto o he at up. When Whe n Li Lib bya wa s first predicte d a s the site s ite of of the th e second mos mostt like likely ly th theat eat re for W a r with the America American n Sta te, we ha d onl only got got a s f a r a s the American shooting do down wn of of Libyan Libyan plan p lanes es over Libyan-claimed waters. A revisionist scenario akin to the provok pro voking ing of the J ap an es e to com commit mit Pea Pearl rl H Har ar bo r w a s seen. B By y the time the original article was submitted to The Journal for Historical Revi Review ew for publication, Preside Presi de Ronald Reagan Reaga n had Ithe magined magine d Qaddafi-u Qadd afi-unleas nleashed hed ass assass assins ins st a= ing th e U.S. to slay him

I l 4 t ; J O U R N A L 1: I I I S T O R I C A L R E V I E W

Imagined? On 10 March 1982, neutralist, non-interventionist (or Isolationi Isolationist, st, a s we die-har die- hards ds like like to call c all it) Chancell Chancellor or Bruno Kreisky of Austria welcomed Muarnrnar Qaddafi to Vienna and replied to the ques questions tions of of his parliam parl iamen entar tary y opposition an d the Austrian Aust rian pres p ress, s, a s reporte repo rted d by the Los Angeles Times, Times, 1 1 March, page 9): Kreisky responded that recent U S harges that (Qaddafi) sent hit squads to the Uni United ted Sta tes we re groundless propag anda and that there was no reason to keep the Libyan leader from accepting an invitation extended by Austri Austria a lon long g ago. There is absolutely no evidence for charges that Qaddafi is the secalled fath fa ther er of te terr rror oris ism, m, Kreis Kreisky ky said.

Within a day, Within day , iin n fact fa ct reporte rep orted d in th that at very same sam e day's edition edition of of the Los Angeles Times, the U.S. responded to this revelation by announci anno uncing ng disc discover overy y of of a new plot plot b by y Libya, to bl blow ow up a club clu b in Sudan where Americans, especially women and children, hung out, an d banning Libyan oi oil. l. U.S. mate ma teri rial al to Libya, Libya, save sav e food food or or medicine, was banned without a special licence. And President Reagan Rea gan upped the lie denied deni ed by by Kreisky, clai claiming ming tha t Qaddafi's Qadd afi's perfidies includes the training of of 5, 5,000 000 terroris terr oris ts a year yea r who a r e then sen s entt on missions 'from Ireland Irelan d to the Philip Philippines. pines. ' From the Reuben James (Libyan aircraft) sinking to the insult ins ulting ing o off am amba bass ssad ador orss (calli (calling ng Qad Qaddaf dafii a mad madman man), ), ly lyin ing g abo about ut Japanese alliances and military objectives (same for Libya), freez fre ezing ing of as a s s e ts a an n d blocki blocking ng o off t r a d e (ban ( bannin ning g of Libyan oil oil a n d exports. to Libya), we aw ai aitt o onl nly y some sort so rt of Pear Pe arll Ha Harbo rborr to complete the revisionist scenario to War in the Middle East. So f a r , Qaddafi Qad dafi se seems ems less will willin ing g to play play kamikaze. Even so, Lib Libya ya a n d the re rest st of the t he Middle East Eas t seems more like a diversi diversion, on, or a sp ar e wa r in the pocket pocket for Reagan an d the Administration should the prime target not take off in Central America. They They seem tto o have little little reason rea son to fear fe ar.. The $35 million in military aid for 1981 has already jumped over a hundred mill mi llio ion n a nd non-mili non-military tary aid is seve se vera rall times tha that. t. The U.S. advisors who we re sen sentt last year yea r have since been reported to be carrying carr ying ar ms a nd even using using them on on guerrilla guer rillass of the Faribundo Marti Mar ti National Liberation Front (F (FMNL MNL). ). One of the contentions contenti ons of the original pa pe r pres presen ented ted wa s that th at the U.S. would engulf engulf the whole of Ce Cent ntra rall America in a w a r which began with an attempt to surpress the Salvadoran rebels. Sure enough, Guatemala and Honduras were provoked into having elections, and Guatemala promptly went through two coups while the war against their guerrillas continued. Meanwhile whi le,, Nicaragua arm armed ed iits tsel elf, f, thou though gh nowhere nea r a s much much a s

El Salvador

145

c l ai a i m e d b y t h e U .S . n o r w i t h a n y w h e r e n e a r t h e s u p p o r t ffrr o m Cu ba a n d the U US S S R c l a i m e d ( s e e T h e L iiee s B e ggii n s e c t iioo n of of t h e l a s t p a p e r ) . F o r e x aam mple, in a response that they had lengthened a i r s t r i p s ffoo r S ov o v ie i e tt-- bbuu il i l t M iiG G f i g h t eerr s , S a n d i n i s t a s p o k e s m a n ( t h e n v is i s it it i n g t h e U ..S S .) .) , J a i m e W h e e l o c k , s a i d t h e r e a r e n o S o v iiee t M iG i G s i n N i c a r a g u a a n d t h a t w e d o n ''tt e x p e c t t o h a v e a nnyy . ( S a m e e d i ttii o n ooff t h a L o s A n g e l e s T i m e s c iitt e d .) .) F u r t h e r m o r e , Wheelock repeated charges made previously by the Sandinista government that the United United S ta te s, in conjuncti conjunction on with th e rightist regimes of Argent Argentina ina an d Chile Chile,, is undertaking a co vert o peration to achieve the economic, political and military destabilization of N i c a r a gua . . . .Asked Wednesday about reports of such a covert operation, Haig said i t woul wouldd be inap pro priat e for me to comment.. . O n e w o uull d n o t h a v e t o b e n d C e n t r a l A m e r i c a a r o u n d t oooo m u c h t o p u t E l S a l v a d o r i n S o u t h V iiee t N a m ' s p l a c e , N i c a r a g u a i n N o r t h V ie i e t N a m ''ss , p e r h a p s G u a t e m a l a f o r L a o s a n d H o n d u r a s f o r Cambodia. T h e m o sstt r e c e n t e v e n t a t t h e t im i m e ooff t h e w r i t i n g ooff t h i s u p d a t e i s t h e S a l v a d o r a n e l eecc ti t i o n . F o r a n o s ttee n si s i bl bl y d e m o c r a t i c c o u n t r y a s t h e U n iitt e d S t a t e s , a n e l eecc ti t i on o n i s p a r a m o u n t t o p r o vvii nngg t h a t t h e T r i l a t e r a l i s t E m p i r e is r e a l l y b a c k i n g t h e g o o d g u y s . I n V iiee t N a m , a n e l ec e c ti t i o n w i tthh o u t t h e N a t i o n a l L i b e r a ttii o n F r o n t s iim m p l y l eedd t o c o u p s a n d f u r t h e r i n t e r n a l c h a o s . Ho H o w a b o u t t h e El S a l v a d o r e l e c t i o n of of 2 8 M a r c h 1 9 8 2 ? O f c o u r s e , i t ' s ttoo o e a r l y t o t e llll t o o m u c h . t h e New York imes of T u e s d a y , 3 0 M a r c h c l a i m e d t h e U .S . w a s j uubb il i l aann t a n d t h e FMNL d e m o r a l i z ed e d b e c a u s e 900,000 f t h e e s t im i m a t e d 1 . 3 million eligible v o t e r s h a d t u r n e d o u t , a f i g u r e g r e a t l y e x c e e d e d e x p e cctt a t i o n s . . . . A c t u a l l y , o n l y t h e p r e v i o u s w e e k 800,000 w e r e p r e d i c te t e d a n d t h e n e w s p a p e r s w e r e c a r e ffuu l ttoo p o iinn t o u t tthh e n t h a t t h e r e w e r e t h r e e m iill l i o n S a l v a d o r a n s ooff v o ttii ng ng a g e . T h a t i s , l e s s t h a n a t h i r d o f E l S a l v a d o r c h o s e t o e n g a g e i n b a l lloo t s. s. B u t t h a t ' s n o t tthh e w o r s t p r o b l e m . O n llyy 4 00% % voted for Presiden t J o s e N a p o l eeoo n D u a r t e ' s C h r i s t i a n D e m o c r a t s , w i t h 6 0 % of t h e s e a t s - o f t h e c o n s t i t u e n t a s s e m b l y g ooii n g t o f iivv e r i g h t i sstt p a r t i e s . 28 w e n t t o R o b e r t o d ' A u b u i s s o n of t h e N a t i o n a l R e p u b l i c a n A l l ia ia n c e o r A R RE E NA N A , w h i c h h a d n e v e r r u n b e f o r e t h iiss e llee cctt iioo n . A RE R E NA N A i s a s c l ooss e ttoo a f a s c i s t p a r t y a s c a n e x i s t t o d a y w i th th o u t B e n i t o M u s s o llii n i l e a d i n g i tt.. A s t h e N e w o r k T i m e s pu t i tt:: The Christian Democrats had hoped to appeal to voters with their economic chang es-the redistribution of land and the nationalization of banks and the export of basic commodities. However, M r d'Aubuisaon ran an unexpectedly strong race on

T H E J O U R N A L O F I-II I-IISTORI STORICAL CAL REV IEW

calls to wipe out the guerrillas in three months and t o reverse the land la nd redistr redistributio ibution. n. He pledged to rid the country o off Comm Communist unists, s, a group grou p in which h he e included the Christ ian Democ Democrats. rats.

In sh shor ort, t, the U. U.S. S. is abo about ut to lose co contr ntrol ol o off th their eir cho chosen sen government to a nationalist, if not anti-American, rightist coalition, one which shall certainly have no support among American liberals. Remember all a ll the problems Lynd Lyndon on Johnson ha d with Nguyen Cao KY Of course, the Trilateral Imperialists will attempt to buy off some som e of the smalle smallerr parti parties es or , should t ha t fail, force in Duar Duarte te or other Christian Democrats anyway. Remember that the coup which brought brought Duarte iin n w as a gains t prec precisel isely y the same landedoligarchyoliga rchy-backe backed d type le ade r a s d'Aubuis d'Aubuisson son is, an d that Nation National al Conciliation Conciliat ion Pa Part rty y is now angri angrily ly ba backin cking gA AR RENA in reveng revenge. e. I concluded El Salv Salvado ador: r: The W a r To Co Com me with No one is left to pro prop p up Duarte-except the Americ American an interventionist interventionistss an d Sounds like Viet Nam af afte terr Diem's de a t h ? You b bet. et. You be t sti still. ll. I also noted that Reagan welched on his promise to abolish draft registration. He still has. The economy is worse and the U S s deepe r tha n ever iin n E Ell Sal vad ora n po poli liti tics cs a nd mil milit itary ary operations. Six months from now, should predictive revisionism hold scientifically, I cannot imag imagin ine e any alternative to an up date save to descri be the On Ongo goin ing g Wa r. ootnotes The Smart Set, Octobe Octoberr 1981, page 4. The New Yo York rk Times, November 6, 1981, page one one,, a s titled titled in text. Ibid., page 4. L.A. Tim Times, es, Pa rt 11 page 6 , November 13,1981. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. 18,1981,Part Los Angeles Times, November 18,1981, Part I , page 6. See, for example, exampl e, the Yank Yankee ee and Co Cowb wboy oy Wa Warr by Car Carll Ogles Oglesby by for a c ru de p pict icture ure of int intern ernal al U,S U,S.. power elite D Divi ivisio sions. ns. White Pa pe r or Bl Blank ank Pap Paper? er? by Joh John n Dinge Dinges, s, Los Angel Angeles es Time Times, s, Tuesday,, M arch 17,1981, Part 11 page 7. Tuesday Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. The Sa lv ad or Stra tegy by Ala n Ridi Riding, ng, New Yo Yorrk Times,

Wednesday, March 11,1981, page 2. Ibid. Source a s quoted in ttext, ext, pages 32-33. El Salva dor , Reagan's War by Alexander Co co*ckb ckburn urn an and d James Ridgeway, Ridgew ay, The Villa Village ge Voic Voice, e, Ma rc h 410,1981, page 10.

Is the D i a r y of A n n e F r a n k G e n u in in e ? Dr.. ROBERT Dr ROBERT FAURISSON FAURISSON

1 . I s t h e Di D i a ry r y of o f A n n e F r a n k g e n ui u i n e? e? F o r t w o y e o r s t h a t

question wa s included in th e offici official al syl labu s of of my s emi nar on T e x t a n d D o c um u m e n t C r i t i ci c i s m . ( T h i s s e m i n a r is r e s e r v e d f o r students in their their fourth year , alrea dy equipped with with a degree.) degree.) 2 The Diary Diary of of Anne Fra nk is a fra ud. T hat w a s t he conclu conclusio sion n of our studies an d re sea rc h. T hat is the title title of of the book book I will publish. study the question question pose posed d an d to to find a n ans wer to 3 . In order to study it, I have c ar r ie d out th e foll follow owing ing investigation investigations: s: C h a p t e r o n e: e : I n t e r n a l c r i t i c i s m : t h e v e r y t e x t of of t h e D i a r y ( D u t c h t e x t ) c o n t a i n s a n i n e x p l i c a b l e n u m b e r of u n l i k el el y o r inconc inc oncei eivab vable le facts. facts. (P ar agr ap hs 4-12. Chap ter two: two: stud y of the premises in Amst erda m: on on the one han d, the physic physical al impos impossib sibili ilitie tiess m d , on the other hand, the explanations made up b y Arl~itt Frurlk's fulllor full lor wvo roly ro ly corn corn-promis pro mise e hi him. (P ar ag ra ph s 13-1 7 Chapter three: Inturviow o f t h o principrrl wit rloss: Mr. Otto Frank; a s it it tu rne d out, th at interview interview ovorwhelme ovorwhelmed d Anne Frank's father. (Prlrngrnphs 18-47. C h a p t e r f o u r : B i b l i o g r a p h i c a l e x u m i n u ti t i o n : s o mu mu c u r i o u a silences a n d rovolatio rovolations. ns. (Par ngr nph s 48-55.) Chapter five: A return to Amsterdam for a new investigation: the hearing of of the witne sses t ur ns out to be unfuvoroble to Mr. Frank; the probable probable truth. ( Para gra phs 56-63.) Chapter six: The betrayer and the person person who arr este d the Franks: why has Mr. Frank wished to assure them such anonymity mi ty? ? (Para gra phs 64-71 .

Chapter seven: Comparison between the Dutch text and the Germ an te text: xt: attempting to make to too o much of it, Mr. Fra nk h as

rlIE IOIJRNAL

IISTORICAL REVIEW

given give n hi hims msel elff away: he h a s sig signed ned a liter ary frau d. (Pa ragr aph s 72-103.)

Chapter One 4. Int Intern ernal al criticism c riticism : the very text o off th the e Diary (Dutch text) contnins n n inex inexplica plicable ble num number ber o off unl unlikely ikely or inco inconce nceivab ivable le facts. 5. Let u s tak e the example e xample of of the noises. Those in hiding, we a r e told, must not make the least sound. This is so much so that, if they cough, they quickly quickly tak e codeine. The enemies could h e a r them.. The walls a r e th at thin them thin (2 (25 5March1943). Those4'enemies a r e very numerous: Lewin, Lewin, who knows tthe he whol whole e bui buildi lding ng well 1 October 1942), 1942), the men from from the store , the customers, the deliver deli verymen, ymen, the agen t, the cleaning wom an, the night watchman Slagter, the plumbers, the health service, the accou ntant, the poli po lice ce who who incre ase their se ar ch es , the nei neighbor ghborss bot both h ne ar an d fa r, the owner, etc. It is therefo re unlik unlikel ely y a nd inconceivabl inconceivable e that Mrs. Van Daan Da an ha d the habi habitt o off using the vacuum cl clea eane nerr ea each ch day a t 12:30p 12:30p.m. .m. ( 5 Augu August st 19 1943). 43). The vacuum cl ea ne rs o off ttha ha t e r a were, we re, moreover, parti particula cularly rly no nois isy. y. I ask: Iiow Iiow is tha t co connceivable? My question iiss not not purely forma formal. l. It is not rheto rhetorical rical.. Its purpose is not not tto o show astonishment. astonishmen t. M My y que questi stion onisa isa question question.. It is necessary to respond to i t . That question could be followed with forty other questions concerning noises. It is necessary to explain, for example, the u use se o off a n ala rm cloc clock k (4 August 1943). It is ne nece cessa ssary ry to expla explain in the nois noisy y carp ca rp en tr y wor work: k: the removal o off a wooden woo den step , the transformation transformation o off a door in into to a swi swing ngin ing g cup board bo ard (21 August 1942), the making of a wooden c candlestick andlestick (7 December 1942). Peter Pe ter split splitss wood in in the at tic ti c in fron frontt o off the open window (23 F eb ru ar y 1944). It involved bu building ilding with the th e wood from the attic a fe w litt little le cupbo ards an d other od odds ds an d ends 11 July 1942). It even inv involve olved d con construc structing ting in the att ic a little litt le compartment compartme nt for work working ing (13 July 1943). Th There ere is a ne nearl arl y constant nois noise e from from the r adio , ffrom rom the slammed doors, from from the 6 Decem resounding pea peall December ber 1943), the argu men ments, ts, the shouts, the yell yelling ing,, a noise that was enough to awa awaken ken the dea dead.'' d.'' (9 November 1942), A gr ea t din an d dist urb anc e fo foll llow owed ed.. .I wa s doubled doubl ed up wi with th laughte r (10 (10 May 1944). 1944). The epis episode ode rep reporte orted d 2

on Septemb tember 19 1942 42The is irreconcilab irrecon cilable le with th the eng necessity o off being silentSep and cauer cautious. tious. re we see those in hi hidi ding a t di dinner. nner. They chatter and laugh. Suddenly, a piercing whistle is heard. And

they he a r th the e voi voice ce of of Pete Peterr who sh shouts outs throug through h the stove pipe that he will certainly not come down. Mr. Van Daan gets up, his napkin falls a nd , his fa face ce flushed, he shouts: shouts : I'v I've e ha had d eno enough ugh of this. He Roes up to the attic and there, resistance and the

Anne Frank

stamping of feet fe et . The episode repor reported ted on 10 December 19 1942 42 is of the same kin kind. d. Ther e we see Mrs. Van Daan bei being ng look looked ed a afte fte r by the dentist Du Duss ssel el.. The l att er touches a ba d too tooth th with his probe. Mrs. Van Daan then lets out "incoherent cries of pain" She tries to pull the little probe away. The dentist looks at the scene, his hands on his hips. The onlookers all "roared with laughter." Anne, instead d o off laughte showing lea least st di ce b o offecau th these ese in the of cries orinstea this mad this laughter, r, the decla declares: res: "It "Istre t wass s rotten ofa f us, becau se I for one one am quite s u re th at I sho shoul uld d have screa med even lloud ouder er." ." 6. The remarks that I am making here in regard to noises I could re pe at in re ga rd to all of the rea litie s o off phys ical a n d mental life. life. The Di Diary ary even prese presents nts the pecu peculiarity liarity th that at not oBe aspect of the life that is lived there avoids being either unlikely, incoheren inco herent, t, or ab su surd rd.. At the ti time me of their a rr iv al in thei theirr hid hiding ing place, the Franks install some curtains to hide their presence. But, to install curtains at windows which did not have them u p until then then,, is th that at not the best means o off d draw raw ing atten attention tion to one' one'ss arrival? Is Is that no nott particularly the ca se iiff tho those se cu rtain s a r e made of of pieces of "all different sha shape pe s, quality an and d pat patte tern rn" " 11 July 1942)? 1942 )?In In orde r n not ot to to betray their p resen ce, the F ranks bu rn their refuse. But But in doing doing this this they they call attent attention ion to their pre presen sence ce by the th e smoke smoke th that at e sc ap es fr from om the roo ooff of a dwelling th at is supposed to be uninhabit uninhabited ed The They y make a fire for for &he irst tim time e on 30 October 1942, although they arrived in that place on 6 July. n e asks oneself what they could have done with their refuse for the 116 days of the summer. I recall, on the other hand, that the deliveries of foo food da arr e enormous. In norma normall conditions, the perso persons ns in hiding and their guests each day consume eight breakfasts, eight to twelve lunch lunches es an a n d eight din dinne ners. rs. In nine p pass assage age s of tthe he book they allu book a llude de to b bad ad or mediocre or insufficient foo food. d. Oth Otherw erwise ise the foo food d is ab un da dant nt a and nd "de "deli licio cious. us." " Mr. V Van an Da an "take "takess a lo lott of every everything" thing" a n d Dussel takes tak es "enorm "enormous ous he helpings" lpings" of food (9 A ugus t 1943) . O n t he s pot t hey hey m ake w et a n d d r y s aus age s , stra wb wberr err y jja am an d prese rve s in jars. Brandy B randy or alc alcohol ohol,, cognac, wines an d ciga cigaret rettes tes do n not ot seem to be lacking lacking eithe either. r. Cof Coffe fee e is so com ommo mon n tha t one does n not ot unde rsta nd why the au autho tho r, enu enumeramerati ting ng (23 Jul July y 1943 1943)) wh at ea ch would would wish w ish to do on the da day y whe when n they would be able to leave that hiding place, says that Mrs. Fran Fr ank' k'ss fondes fondestt wish would be to have a c up o off coffee. O On n the other hand , on Febru Fe bru ary 19441944-dur durin ing g the terrib terrible le winter of '44-here is the inventory inven tory of the sup supplie pliess ava availab ilable le for those in hiding hid ing alone, to tthe he exclusion of an any y cohabiting friend frien d or "enem "enemy": y": 60 pounds of co corn rn,, nearly nea rly 60 pounds of be bean anss a n d 1 0 poun pounds ds of pea s, 5 50 0 ca ns of vege vegetables tables,, 10 ca n s of of fish, 40 c can an s o off mi milk lk,, 1 0

kilos of po kilos powd wder ered ed milk milk,, 3 bottles o off s a l a d oil oil,, 4 pr pres eser ervi ving ng jars ja rs of b u t t e r , 4 j a r s of me at , bottles of st ra w b e rr ie s, bottles of

TI E

J O U R N A L OF i I S T O R I C A L REVIEW

ra sp be rr ie s, 20 20 bottles o off toma tomatoes, toes, 10 pounds poun ds of of rolled oats, oat s, a n d of rice. The T he re en te r, at o oth ther er moments, some sack sa ckss of of 8 pounds of vegetables each ea ch weighing 25 kil kilos, os, or aga a ga in a sa ck of 1 9 pounds of green peas (8 July July 1944). The deliveries a r e made by a "ni "nice ce 11 April green grocer," and to always "during the described lunch hour" 1944 . This is hard believe. In a city elsewhere as starving, ho ow w c o u ld ld a g r e e n g r o c e r l e a v e h i s s t o r e , i n b r o a d daylight, with su ch loads lo ads to go to deliver them to a h house ouse located in o busy neighborhood? Ilow could this green grocer, in his own neighb nei ghborh orhood ood ( he w as "a t the co rne r") , ovoid ovoid meeti meeting ng his normal customers for w h o m i l l tho t i m o of scnrcity, h e ought normally to be a person to be sought out and begged for favors? There are many other mysteries in regard to other merchandise and the manner in which it reaches the hiding place. For holidays, end fo r the birthday bi rthdayss of the person s in hidi hiding, ng, the gifts gifts a r e plent plentif iful: ul: carnations, peonies, narcissuses, hyacinths, flower pots, cakes,

books, swe ets books, ets,, cig are arette tte lighters, jjewe ewels ls,, shaving necess necessities, ities, roulette games, etc. I wou would ld dra w attention attention to a real fe at achieved achieved by Elli Elli.. She finds the me mean anss o off offering som some e gra gr a p es on 23 23 July 1.943. I repeat: some grapes, in Amsterdam, on 23 July. They even tell us the t he price: 5 flor florins ins p per er ki kilo lo.. invention of the "swi "swingi nging ng cu pboar pb oard" d" is a an n absurdity. absurdi ty. In 7. The invention

fact, the pa rt of th e house which which is supposed to have protected the persons in hiding existed well before their arrival. Therefore, t i n s t n l l n cupboard is to point out, i f not someone's presence, at least a chan ge in in tl tliat iat purt of tho property. That trnnsformntion of the pre premis mises-a es-acco ccomp mpanie anied d by the noise of the ca rp en tr y work-could workcould not have ha ve es esca cape ped d the notice of the "enemies" a n d , in pa rti cu la r, o off t h e c l e a n iin ng woman. An nd d this pre ten ded "subterfuge," "subte rfuge," intende inte nde d tto o mislead the pol police ice in in cas e of of a search, is indeed likely, to the contrary, to put them on their guard. ( . . a lot of houses hous es ar e bei being ng sea rc he d for hidden bicycl bicycles," es," sa ys -Anne on 2 1 A u g us us t 1 9 4 42 2 , a n d i t iiss f o r t h a t r e a s o n t h a t t h e en tra nc e door of tthe he hi hidin ding g place h ad been t hus hidden.) The police pol ice,, not findi finding ng any ent ra ranc nc e door to the bui buildi lding ng which serve ser vess as a hiding place would have been surprised by this oddity and would have quickly discovered that someone had wanted to fool them, since they wo ou u l d f i n d t h e m s el el v e s b e f o r e a r e s i d e n t i a l buil bu ildi ding ng wi without thout a n en tra nc e

Improbabilities Improbabili ties,, incoherencies, ab surdi ties abound li likewi kewise se in reg ard to tho foll followi owing ng point points: s: the window windowss (open an d closed), clo sed), t h e e l e c t r i c i t y ( o n a n d o f f )),, h e c o a l ( a p p r o p r i a t e d f ro ro m t h e commo co mmon n pile withou withoutt the "enemies" realizing it) it),, the openings an d closing closingss of the c ur tain ta inss or the camouflage, the u use se of the wa te r a n d of the toilet, the me an s o off doing th e cookin cooking, g, th e 8.

Anne Ann e Frank

movements of tthe movements he c a t s , th the e m mov ovin ing g from th the e fron front-house t-house to th the e annex (a nd vice-versa), the behavi behavior or o off the nigh nightt watch man, etc. The long let letter ter of April 194 1944 4 is partic par ticula ularly rly absu rd rd.. It reports rep orts a ca se o off burglary burglary.. Le Lett it be said in passing t ha t the po poli lice ce a r e th ere por trayed portra yed to us a s stopping in front of of the "sw "swing inging ing cupboa cup boa rd, rd," " in the mid middle dle of th the e night, u nd e r the ele elect ctric ric light, in sse e a rc h o off the burg lars who comm mii t t ed ed t h e h o u s e b r e a k i n g . T h e y r a t t l e t h e "swinging "swin ging cupboa cupboard". rd". The These se po police lice,, accom accompan panied ied by the night watchman, do not notice anything and do not seek to enter the annex As Anne say says: s: "God truly pr prot otec ecte ted d us. 9. On 27 February 1943, they tell us that the new owner has fortunately not insisted on visiting the annex. Koophuis told him that he did not have the key with him, and that the new owner, although altho ugh accompanied b by y a n arch itect, did no nott examin examine e his new acquisitio acqui sition n either on tha t da y or o on n any o ther day. 10. When one has a whole year to choose a hiding place (see July 1942), does one choose his office? Does one bring his family there? And a colleague? And the colleague's family? Do you choose choo se a pla ce ffull ull of "ene "enemies mies" " wh er e the polic police e an d the Germans would come come automatically to s e a r c h for you you if if they do not find find you a t you yourr home home? ? Those Germans, it is tr true ue,, a r e not very inquisitiv inqui sitive. e. On July 194 1942 2 (a Sunday) fa th e r Fran k (unless (unles s it iiss Margot? ) receive received d a "summ "summons" ons" from the SS (s (see ee th the e llet ette terr o off 8 July 1942). T ha t "summons" would not h ave any follo follow-u w-up. p. Margot, sought by the SS, makes her way to the hiding place by bicycle, bicyc le, an d on July, whe n, accord according ing to the firs t o off two lett ers dated 20 June, the Jews had had their bicycles confiscated for some time. or derr tto o dis disput pute e the authenticity of the Diary, one could 11. In orde call upo upon n arg ume nts o off a psych psychologi ological, cal, lit erar er ary y or histor historical ical nature. I wi will ll refra in from th at here. I will simply remark that the phys ph ysic ical al absurdities a r e so seri serious ous and numero numerous us tha t th they ey must have a n eff effect ect on the psycholo psychologic gical, al, lite rary an d historical levels. levels. One oug ought ht not to to at tri bu te to the imagination o off the au th thor or or to the the richne ss o off h er personality so some me th thing ingss tha t a re , iin n reality, inconceivable. The inconceivable is "that of which the mind 12

c a n n o t f or or m a n y l i k e n e s s s i n nc ce the t erms which d esignate it involve an impossibility or a contradiction": for example, a squa red ci circl rcle. e. T The he one who says tha t he has seen on one e s quare d circle, circl e, ten squ are d circles, on one e hundred squ are d circles doe doess no nott give giv e evidenc evidence e eith ei ther er o off a fferti ertile le imaginatio imagination n or o off a ri rich ch person pe rson ality. For, in fact, what he says means exactly nothing. He proves his poverty o off imaginat imagination. ion. Th That at is all. The ab absu surdi rdi ties ti es o off th the e

5 2

T H E J O U R N A L OF H I S T O R I C A L REV IEW

D i a r y a r e those of a poor imagination which develops develop s outside o off a

lived experience. They a r e wor lived worthy thy o off a poor novel or of a poor lie. Every personality, however poor it may be, contains what it is proper to call psychological, mental or moral contradictions. I will refrain from demonstrating here that Anne's personality contains nothing like that. Her personality is invented and is as ha rd to b bel elie ieve ve a s the the experience tha t the Diary is supposed to relate. From a historical point of view, I would not be surprised if a study of of the Dutch new sp spap ap er s, the En Engli glish sh radio an d Dutc Dutch h radio from June 1942 to August 1944 would prove fraud on the p a rt of the th e re real al au auth thor or of the dia diary. ry. On Oct Octobe oberr 1942, Anne s pe ak s al r e ad y of J e w s " be beii n ng g gas s ed" ( D ut ch t ext : " ver ver-gassing")

hapter Two Study of the'premises in Amsterd Amsterdam: am: on tho on one e han d, the physical impossibilities and, on the other hand, the explanations made u p b by y Anne Fra nk 's fa th er severly compr compromise omise hi him. m. 13

u s t r e ad t he D i ar y ca n nor m al l y on onll y be 1 4 . W hoev er ha s j us

shocke d o shocked on n seeing the "An "Anne ne Fra Frank nk Hous House" e" for the first ti time. me. He discovers a "glass house" which is visibl visible e a n d obs ervable from from all sides and accessible on its four sides. He discovers also that the plan of the house-as house-a s it is reprodu repr odu ced in th the e b boo ook k through the good offices of Otto Fran stitut tutes es gro a und distorti distortion on and of rea reality. lity.taken Otto Frank had taken c arFr e ank-c not notk-con to toonsti dra w the ground fl floor oor had ca re no nott to tell ell us tha t the sma small ll courtyard separa ting the front house from the annex only 2 feet 2 inches(3.7 meters) wide. He had especially token care not to point out to us that this same s m al l co ur t y ar d i s comm com m on t o t he " A nne Fr an k H o ous us e e" " (2 263 63 Prinsengracht) and to the house located to the right when you loo ook k a t the the fa cad e (265 Prinse ngrac ht). Thanks to a who whole le series of windows window s an d wind windowow-doo doors, rs, the people peopl e o off 263 a n d those of 26 265 5 l iiv ve ed d an d m mo ov ve e d a b o u t u n d e r t h e e y e s a n d u n d e r t h e n o sse es

(cooking odors ) o (cooking off the their ir respecti resp ective ve neighb neighbors. ors. The two h houses ouses a r e reall really y onl only y one. Besides, the mus museum eum today con nects the two houses. hous es. Furthermore, the anne x had its own ent ran ce thanks tto o a door leading, fr from om the r e a r , to to a garde n. This ga rde n is co comm mmo on to 263 Prinsengracht and to the people opposite, living at 190 Keizersgracht. (When one is in the museum one very distinctly sees those people at 190 an d man many y other ad dr es se s on Kei Keizer zerssgracht.) From this side (the garden side) and from the other side (the canal side) I co coun unted ted two hu nd re red d windows o off ol old d houses from from which people h ad a vie view wo off the "Anne Fr Fran ank k House House." ."

Anne Frank

Even the resi Even resident dentss o off 26 261 1 Pri Prinse nse ngr ach achtt could hav have e ac ce cess ss to 263 by the roofs roofs.. IItt is foolis foolish h tto o let yo yourself urself believe in th e l ea st possibi pos sibility lity of a really se cr et life in those premises. I say tha t whi while le taking taki ng into acco account, unt, o off c our se, the chan changes ges made to the premises since th e wa r. While poi pointi nting ng out the vie view w on the garden, I asked ten successive visitors how Anne Frank could have lived there hidden with her family for twenty-five months. Afte r a m mom omen entt o off s ur pr is e (for th e vis itors to th e museum genera lly lliv ive e in a s or t of s t a t e o f hypnosis), ea ch o off t he ten successive visitors realized, in a few seconds, that it was totally impossible. The reactions were varied; with some, dismay; with oth ers , a n outbur outburst st o off la ugh ughte terr ("M ("My y God "). One visitor, no doubt offended,, sa offended said id tto o me: "Don "Don't 't you thin think k th that at it is bet bette terr to leave th the e people peo ple to thei theirr drea dreams? ms? " No one supp supporte orted d the the thesis sis o off the D i a r y i n spit e of some r at h e r pi pitifu tifull expla nati ons furnishe d b by y the prospect pros pectus us or b by y the inscr inscripti iptions ons iin n the museu museum. m. 15. The explanations are the following: 1) The "enemies" finding find ing themsel themselves ves in one of of th the e roo rooms ms of the front fr ont hous house e believed that the windows which look out on the small courtyard look directly on the garde n; th they ey wer were e un aw ar e ther efor e ev even en o off the existence of a n annex; an d i f th they ey were u na wa re o off t hat , iitt is because the windo windows ws wer e hidd hidden en by bla black ck pa per , to as su re the c o n s e rv r v a tio n o off th e s p ic e s s to r e d th e r e ; 2 ) a s r e g a r d s t h he e Germans, they ha d never thought o off the ex existe istence nce o off a n annex, "especially "especiall y a s this type o off bui buildin lding g wa s quit quite e unknown to them"; (3) The ssmo moke ke fro from m the stove "did no nott dr aw thei theirr attention since a t t h a t ttii m e t h e p a r t ( w h e r e t h he ey we re loca att e d ) s e r v e d a s a laboratory for the small factory, where a stove likewise must have burne d every d day." ay." The first tw two oo off th ese th re ree e explanations come from a 6 page booklet, without title and without date, printed by Koersen, Amsterdam. The last comes from the four page prospectus that is available at the ent ra nc e to the mus museu eum. m. The content o off th these ese two publications ha s recei received ved the endor endorsesem*nt of Mr. Otto Fra nk. But iin n all thre three e ca se s thes these e expla explanati nations ons have not not the least value. The annex w was as vi visib sible le a n d obvi obvious ous fro from m

a hundred aspects from the ground floor (forbidden to visitors), from the garden, from the connecting corridors on four levels, from the two wind windows ows o off the of offic fice e o on n the c ou rtya rt yard rd , fro from m th the e neighboring houses. Cezt Ceztain ain of the "enemi "enemies" es" even had to visit th er ere e to go to the toi toilet let since si nce tthe here re w a s not nothin hing g for that in the fron t house. The ground floo floorr o off tthe he r e a r house even a admit dmitted ted some customers of of the business. As tto o the "small ffacto actory" ry" which is supposed to have existed "in that period," in the very heart of that residential and commercial neighborhood, it is supposed to have remained for a t least two year s withou withoutt emit emitting ting sm smok oke, e, and then,, suddenly, o then on n 30 Oct October ober 1942 it is supposed to have begun

T H E I O U R N A L 01; H I S T O R I C A L R EVIEW

ag ai n tto o e emit mit the smoke. And wh at smoke Day a n d night n winter as in summer, in sweltering heat or not. In, he view of everyone (and (a nd , in pa rt ic u la r, o off "enemies" like Lewin Lewin who had ha d formerly had his c chemical hemical laboratory laborat ory t h er e) , the "small "small factory" factory" would woul d have st ar te d up again But why did Mr. Mr. Frank st stra ra in hi hiss wits to find tha t ex explanation, planation, since, in other r espect esp ect s, the annex is alr ead y describ described ed a s a sort so rt o off ghostghost-hous house? e? 16. In conclusion on this point, I would say that, if I am not

mistaken in de denying nying any value in these "explanation "explanations," s," we have the right to assert: 1) Som Some e facts that a r e very important to Mr. Otto Frank remain without explanation; 2 ) Mr. Otto Frank is capab cap able le of of mak making ing up stor stories, ies, even stupid an d mediocr mediocre e stories, exactly like like the o ones nes I have pointed out ifi my crit cr itic ical al read re adin ing g of of the Diary. Diary. I ask th at m my y r ea d er remember this conclusion, conclusion, He wil willl see below what answer Mr. Frank personally made to me, in the pres pr esen ence ce o off his wife. 17. For the photograp photographic hic documentation concerning the "Anne "Anne Frank Fran k House," see Appendix No No.. 1 ,

hapter Three 18. Inter Interview view o off th the e princi principal pal witn witness, ess, Mr. Otto Fran Frank. k. This interview turned turn ed out to be overwhe overwhelmi lming ng for Anne Anne Frank Frank's 's fath father. er. 19. I had made it known to Mr. Otto Frank that with my students I was preparing a stud study y of the Diary. I ha d made iitt clear th at m my y specialty w as the criticism of texts an d documents an d th at I needed an extended int interv erview. iew. Mr. Frank Fran k gran ted me t hat inter int ervie view w with eagerness, an d it was thus th at I w as re rece ceive ived d at his residence residenc e in Birsfelden, a su subu bu rb o off Basel, firs f irstt on 24 March Mar ch 1977; from 10 10:0 :00 0 am to 1:00 pm, then from 3 0 0 p pm m to 6: 6:00 00 pm pm an and, d, finally, the next day, from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm, Actually, on the

next day the meeting place had been arranged to be in a bank in Basel. Mr. Frank w was as in ten tentt upon taking out of a sa safe fe depo deposit sit box box,, in my pre sen sence, ce, what wh at he calle called d the man manus uscri cript ptss of of his daug da ughte hte r. Our inte intervi rview ew was therefore ca rried out o on n tha t day in in pa rt a t the bank, in part on the road back toward Birsfelden and, in part, once more, more, a t Mr. Frank Frank's 's residence. Al Alll the interviews in terviews that th at took ook pla ce a t hi hiss res idence we re in the pre sen ce of his wif w ife e (h is second wife wife,, since the first died aft er being dep deporte orted, d, from typhus it seems, seems, a s did Margot an d Anne). After th the e first fi rst minute of of our interview, I decl ared po point int bl blank ank tto o Mr. and M rs Frank that I had some so me doubts abou aboutt the th e authen authenticit ticity y o off the Diary. Mr. Fra Frank nk did

An ne Fran Frank k

155

not show any sur pr is e. He de cl ar ed h him imse self lf to be read y to furnish me all of th e information I would wan t. I wa s stru ck, during those two da days ys,, by the extr extrem eme e amiability of of M Mr. r. Fr Fran ank. k. In spite sp ite o off his h is age-88 age -88 years-h years-he e never used the excuse of his wea rin riness ess in order to shorten our interview. In the D i a r y he is describe described d as a man full full of c cha ha rm [s [see ee 2 Ma rch 1944). He insp inspires ires confi confidence dence.. He k kno nows ws h how ow tto o antici pat e your unexpr essed desires . He ad ap ts hims hi msel elff remarka bly to situatio ns. He will willing ingly ly ado pts a na rg um en entt ba s e d on e em m oti oti on on.. H e s p e a ks ve r y m uc h o f t ol e r a nc e a n d o off understanding. I only once saw him lose his temper and show himself to be uncompromising and violent; that was in regard to the Zioni Zionist st ca us e, which must seem sa cr ed to hi him. I t was in-that manner that he declared to me that he no longer even sets foot on the soil of Fr an ce s in ince, ce, in his opinion, Fr an ce is no longer interested in anything except Arab oil and doesn't care about Israel. On only three points did Mr. Frank fail in his promise to answer my questions. It is interesting to know that those three points were the following: 1) the ad d re ss o off Elli Elli,, in the NetherNet herl a n d s ; 2 ) t he m e a n s o off r e di s c ove r i ng t h e t r a i l of of t he s t or e employee emplo yee called V V..M. in the boo book k (I know th a t he is pro probably bably named Van Maaren); 3 ) the means of of rediscovering the Au stri an Karl Silber bauer w who ho had ar re st ed @ @e e persons in hidi hiding ng on.4 A Augus ugustt 1944. In regard to Elli, Mr. Frank declared to me that she was very ill an and d th at, since sh e wa s not very intelligent, she could not be of an any y help to me. As to the o oth th er two wi witn tness ess es, they ha d 20

ha d enough trou tr oubl ble e of t he kind without m my y goi going ng tto o pest pestor or them with som some e questions th at woul would d remind them of a n unhapp y past. To compensate for that, Mr. Frank recommended that I get in touch wit with h Kraler (by hi hiss re al name, Kugl Kugler), er), settled in Cana da, unci with Miop Miop an d h o r huabnncl, till l i v i n g i n A m ~ t a r dnm . n regard to the D i a ry itself, Mr. Frank declared to me that the basis of i t was authentic. T The he event eventss related were truo. truo. I t was 21

A nn e, ~ n d nne alone who had writ ten the man uscript s o off tha t D i a r y . L ik e e v e r y l i t e r a r y a u t h o r , A r l n u por l i upe l i ~ i d O N ~ O tendencios either to oxaggeration or to imaginative changes, but all wit withi hin n ordin ary an d a cce pta ble li limit mits, s, without letti letting ng the truth or the fact s suffer from it. Anne's manuscrip ts form form an important whole. What Mr. Frank had presented to the publishers was not the text of those ma manu nu scr ipts ip ts,, the purely original text, but text tha t he in person had ta pe recorded: a tapuscript. He had been obliged to transform the various manuscripts in this way into a si sing ngle le tapuscript for various reason s. First, the manu scripts presented some repetitions. Then, they contained some indiscretions. cret ions. Then, there w er e pa ssages withou withoutt any interest. Final Finally, ly,

J O U R N A L OF HISTORICAL REVIEW

. .

there were some omis omission sionss Mr. Fr an k, noti noticin cing g m my y sur surpri pri se se,, gave me the followin following g example ( a no doubt harm less example, b but ut a r e there no nott more seriou s ones tha t he hi hid d fr from om me?): Ann Anne e very m u ch c h l iik k e d h e r u n c l e s b u t iin n he r Diary sh e had neglecte ed d to mention them among the persons that she cherished; therefore, Mr. Fra nk re pa ir ired ed t ha t "omission "omission" " by me menti ntionin oning g those uncles in t h e " t a p u s c ri ri p t . " M r . F r a n k s a i d t h a t h e h a d c h a n g ge e d sso ome date s He had li likewi kewise se changed the nam es of the ch ar ac te rs . It w as Anne h herse erse lf, it see seems, ms, who ha d no doubt thought o off changing t h o tlamos. h o had orlvisoged t h o possibility of publication. Mr. Frank Fran k ha had d disc over overed, ed, on a piece o off pa p er , the llist ist o off th the e re al 11u1 11 u111 11os os il ill1 l1 llioir oy oyui uivu vulo lor~ r~ll t i l ~ o ~ L I I ~ ~ Onno is suppoa0~1 suppoa0~1o o Y have thought of ca calling lling the F Fra rank nk s by the na me o off Robin Robin.. Mr. Fran k had cut out of the m anu scri pts c ert ain indicati indications ons o off th e pri ces ce s o off things. More im port portant, ant, findi finding ng hims himself elf,, a t lea st fo forr ce rt ai n perio ds, in possession o off two differes t versions of of the text, it had been necessary for him to "com "combin bine" e" (th e word is his) two texts into one single text. Summarizing all those transformations, Mr. Fran k fi finall nally y decl are d tto om me: e: "That wa s a dif diffic ficult ult task. I did th at tas k acco according rding to my conscience." 22. The mnnusc ripts t hat Mr. Fra nk prevented to me as bei being ng

those of of his d dau au gh te r fo form rm an impres impressive sive whole. whole. I did not hav have e th e time to look at them closely. I trusted i n the de descr script iption ion o off them that was given to me and I will summarize them in the following way: A) the first da te menti mentioned oned is th at of 12 Jun e 194 1942; 2; the las t is that of 1 Augus Augustt 194 1944 4 (thr ee days before their arr es t) B the period fro from m 12 Jun June e 1942 to 5 Dec Decemb ember er of th the e sa me yea r (b ut tha t dat e does n not ot correspond to any printed lett er); we have a t our dispos disposal al a small note bo book ok with a linen cover, with a red , white an d bro ow w n p l a i d d e s iig gn (the " "S Sco ott c ch h notebook") C the period from 6 December 1942 to 21 December 1943;

we do not posses s any s pec ial n not otebo ebook ok (but se e be below low,, the loose lo ose leaf sh ee ts ). This no noteb tebook ook is supp osed to have been 10s ; D) the perio d from 2 December 1942 to 17 April 1944, then for the period from tha t same da te of 1 7 April ( ) to the last letter 1 August 1944); two black-bound notebooks, c cove overed red with wit h brown paper . 23. To those three notebooks and to the missing notebook is added a collection of 8 loose leaf sheets for the period 2 June 1942 19 42 to 2 29 9 Mar ch 19 1944 44.. Mr. Frank sai d th at thoses heetsc onstitute a resumption an d a res reshap haping, ing, by Anne hers elf, o off llet etter ter s which

Anne

rank

are contained, in an original form, in the above-mentioned notebooks boo ks:: the "Sc "Scotch otch notebook," the th e miss missing ing notebook, an d the fi first rst of the th e two black notebooks. notebo oks. 24. Up tto 24. o this point th e tot total al o off what wh at An Anne ne is su supp ppose osed d to have hav e writte wri tten n during he r twenty-five month monthss o off hiding is there the refo fore re in five fiv e volume volumes. s. To th that at tot total al it is a pp ro pr ia te to a d d the collecti collection on of of the Stories, Stories, These Stories a r e supposed supposed to ha ve been made up by Anne. Ann e. Th The e tex textt is pr presen esen ted a s a p er erfe fe ct c copy opy.. The cop copy y ca n onl only y involve, to begin wi with th,, a wo work rk of e editing diting from a rou rough gh d dra raft ft:: Anne therefore theref ore must have done a lot a scribbling 25. I have no competen competence ce in the ma matt tter er of hand h andwri writin ting ga anal nalysi ysiss and theref therefore ore I cannot express an opinion on that matter. I can only give here my impressions. My impressions were that the "Scotc "Sc otch h not noteb ebook ook" " contai contained ned som some e photos, pic pictur tures es and dr draw awin in gs a s well well as a v vari ariety ety of of very jjuve uvenil nile e writing writi ng sstyles, tyles, th e confusio confusion n an d fanta sy of which app ea re d authentic. It wou would ld be necessar y to look look clos closely ely a t the handwri hand writin ting go off tthe he texts whi which ch w wer er e use used d by Mr. F ra n k in o r d e r to fo rrm m th e b a s is of th e Dia ry . T h e o th e r notebook note bookss a nd the t he whole o off the 8 lo loos ose e leaf leaf sheet s a r e in what I would call an adult handwriting. rega gard rd s the manus ma nuscri cript pt o off s re the Stories, Stories, it very m much uch surpr surprise ise d m me e. One wou would ld say t hat it wa s the work work of a n exp experi erience enced d acco accoun unta tant nt a an n d not the work of of a 14 ye ar ol old d ch child ild.. The tab table le o off content contentss is pr pres esen ente ted d a s a list of of the t he Stories the d at e o off compo compositio sition, n, the title an d th the e pagenu pag enumbe mbe r for ea chwith each piece 26. Mr. Fran Fr ank k ha had d a high opin opinion ion of th e conclusi conc lusions ons of of th the e two expert repor reports ts called for, f or, abou t 196 1960, 0, by the prosec utor in Lu Lube beck ck in orde r to to examine examine the c as e o off at te ac he r (Lothar Stielau) w who, ho, in 1959, 19 59, had expres exp ressed sed some doubts about th e authe authenticit nticity y o off the

Diary (Case 2Js 19/59, VU 10/59). Mr. Frank had registered a complaint a g a i n s t t h ~ teacher e acher . Th The e handw handwriting riting repor t ha d been entrusted to Mrs. Minna Becker. Mrs. Annemarie Hubner had been charged with attesting whether the texts printed in Dutch an d German German wer e faithful to the texts o off tthe he manuscripts. The two expert reports, submitted a s evidence in 1961, 1961, tur ned out tto o be favorable to Mr. Mr. Frank . But, on the other hand, what Mr. Frank did not reveal to me-and what I ha d to le ar n af te r m my y visit visit,, a nd from a German source-is th at the pro prosecu secu tor in Lub Lubec eck k ha d decided to to get a third expert report. Why a third expert report? And on what point, give gi ven n tha t, according to to a ll a pp ea ra nc es , the whole whole field p poss ossibl ible e for investigation had been explored by the handwriting expert 27

58 5 8

THE

JOURNAL

I l I S T O R I C A L R E V IIE EW

an d b by y Mrs. Hubner? The an sw er to these questions is the follow fol lowing ing:: the prose prosecutor cutor thought t ha t an expe expert rt repo rt o off the kind done by Mrs. Hubner risked declaring that Lothar Stielau wass right abou wa aboutt the facts. In In view of the first anal analyse yses, s, it it w was as goin go ing g to be imp impossible ossible to de decl clar are e th at the Diary w as dokumentarish tari sh ech echtt ( documentarily genui genuine ne ) ( ). Perhaps they could have it decl ared are d literarish e ech ch t ( literarily genuine ) ( ) The novelist nove list Frie Friedric drich h Sieburg w as goin going g to be char c harged ged with answerin answe ring g that odd odd question question..

28. Of th those ose th re ree e exp expert ert rep r epor orts ts,, onl only y th at o off Mrs Mrs.. Hub Hubner ner would have real really ly be been en o off i nter nt eres estt to me. me. On 2 20 0 Ja nu ar y 1978, a letter lett er from Mrs. Hubner let m me e ho hope pe th at I would obtain a copy of her expert report. short time time af te rw ar d, since Mrs Mrs.. Hubne Hubnerr did did not respond to my my let letters ters,, I had a German friend f riend telephone her. She made it known to him tha t the question w a s very delicate, given giv en th at a tria tr iall o on n the question of the Diary wa s presently under und er way in Frankfurt. She added tha t sh she e ha d got gotten ten in touch with Mr. Frank. According to the few elements th at I possess of of the content of of th that at exper ex pert's t's repor rep ort, t, it is supposed to have noted a la larg rge e number of fac facts ts that th at we re interes interesting ting from the poin pointt of of view of the compariso comparison n of the texts text s (m (man anusc uscri ripts pts,, tapu tapuscri script pt , Dutch text, German text). Mrs, Hubner is supposed to have mentioned the re som some e very numerous omi omiss ssio ions ns (Auslassung en), additions (ZUS-atze), nd interpolations (Interpolationen). (Interpol ationen). She is sup suppose posed d to have spoken of the text ad adapt apted ed for the necessiti es o necessities off publicati publication on (u (ube bera rarb rbei eitet tet ). Furthermore, Furtherm ore, sh e is supposed to to hav e gone go ne so f a r a s to name some some persons who supposedly gave their collaboratio collaboration n (Zusammenarbeit) (Zusamm enarbeit) to Mr. Fra nk in his editing of the tapu scri pt. Tho Those se pers ons a r e supposed to to have collab collaborated orated in the draw drawing ing up o off tthe he German

text, in plac place eo off contenting cont enting herself with the role o off tran tr ansl slato ator. r. 29. In spit spite e of those fa facts cts tha t hatt she s he herself pointed out, Mrs Mrs.. Hubner is supposed tto o have concluded o on n the authentic authenticity ity of of the Diary Diar y (Dutch prin ted te text xt a nd Germ an printed text). She is therefore supposed to have expressed the following opinion: Those Thos e fa ct s a r e not important. No Now w that th at opinion opinion ca n onl only y be

her personal view. There is the whole question: Who assures us that quite another judgement could not be brought forth on the fa ct s pointed ou outt b by y the exp expert? ert? And beside besides, s, to to be begi gin n with, h has as the expert shown impartiality and a really scientific spirit in nami na ming ng the fa ct s a s she has named them? them? What she has called, called, for example, interpolations ( a word with a scientific scientific appearance and an ambiguous significance) would others not call them th em retouchings, alterati alte rations ons,, insertions, (words no doubt more exact, and more precise)? In the same fashion, words like

nn e Frank Frank

"additions" a nd especially "o "additions" "omis missi sions ons" " a r e neutralin appearance but, in reality, they h hide ide some confused realities realities:: a n "addit "addition" ion" or a n "o om m iiss s io io n n" " ca n be honest or dishonest; they c a n change nothin not hing g impo importan rtantt in a tex textt o r they can, to the con tra ry, alt er it prof pr ofou ound ndly ly.. In the parti cular ca se th at int erests us here, thos those e two tw o words have a frankly beni benign gn ap pe ar an ce 30. In any case it is impossible to consider those three expert opinio opi nions ns (Becker, Hub ner a n d Siebur Sieburg) g) a s conclusive, sinc e they had not been examined by a court. In fact, for some reasons of which I am unaw are , Mr. Frank wa s to withdraw his co compl mplain ain€ € a g a i n s t L o t h a r S t i e l a u . IIff m my y inform ma ation is c or re ct , Stielau agr eed to pay 1 Ma rk s o off t he 15,712 Ma rk s of of t he c cost ost of of th e proceedin gs bogun. I suppose that M r Frank paid to the court of L u b eck t h o s e 1 Marks an d that he had added to that su um m 14,71 14 ,712 2 Mark s for hi hiss own p ar t. I rec all t h at Mr . Fr an k tol told d me th at Lothar St Stielau ielau ha d, moreover, agr eed to pres ent hi him m with hi hiss written apol apolog ogy. y. Lothar Stielau ha d lo lost st his jjo ob a s a te ac he r a t the same time. Mr. Frank did not speak to me about Heinrich Buddeberg, Lothar Stielau's co-defendant. Perhaps Buddeberg h im im sse e llff a l s o h a d t o t u r n o v e r 1 10 0 0 0 M a r k s a n d t o p r e s e n t h is is apologies. 3 1. 1. I l i n g e r h e r e o n t h e s e m a t t e r s of of e x p e r t o p i n i o n s o on n lly y because in our interview Mr. Frank had himself lingered there, while not mentioning certain important facts (for oxamplo, tho existenc e o off a third exp ert opinion), a n d while presentin g to me th e ttwo wo expert opin opinions ions a s concl conclusiv usive. e. The m at te r of the manuscr ipts did not not inte rest me very mu much ch either. I knew th at I would

not have the time t o exa examine mine them close closely. ly. W h r ~ t nteroetod mu most of all was to know how Mr. Frank would have explained to me the "une xpla ina inable ble qu an ti ty o off unl unlikel ikely y or inconcoivnble facts" that I had called attention to in reading the Diary. After all, what does it matter that some manuscripts, even declared aut hen tic by by so some me exp erts , contain this type o off fa ct s, if those fa ct s cou could ld no nott have existed? But M Mr. r. Fra nk w a s to show hi hims msel elff to be in cap abl e o off furnish ing me with the lea st explan ation. In my opini opi nion on h he e wa s expecting to se e the authent icity of the Diar Diary y questioned by by the us ua l argu men ts, o off th e psy psycholo chological gical,, li ter ary o r h i s t o ri ri c a l o r d e r . H e d i d n o ott e x p e c t a r g u m e n t s o off i n t e r n a l criticism bea bearing ring on th e realit ies o off mat eri al li life fe:: th e re realit alit ies which, a s one know knows, s, a r e stub bor n. In a mome moment nt o off conf confusio usion, n, Mr. Mr. I had never thought Frank moreover declared to me: "But. abo ut thos those e material matter matterss " Before comi coming ng to some pr ecise ec ise e xamp les o off t h a t confusion, I owe it to the tru th to sa y tha t on two occ occasio asions ns Mr. Fran k gave m e 32

T I ~ I EOUHNAL

1 ; I ~ 1 I S T O K I C A LR E V I E W

good answers and those were in regard to two episodes that I hav e n not ot me mention ntioned ed up to now, precisely bec becaus ause e they were we re to fin find d an explanation. The first episode was incomprehensible to me becaus bec ause e of a small o omi miss ssio ion n fr from om the Fren French ch transla translation tion (I did not possess at that time the Dutch text). The second episode was incomprehensible to me becau se o off a n err or ttha hatt figures iin n all the printed prin ted texts o off the t he Diary Diary.. Wh er e, on the da te o off 8 July 1944, it is a question of the male green grocer, the manuscript gives: "la mar cha nde de legume legumes" s" ("the [female] green grocer"). grocer"). An And d tha t is for fortun tun ate , fo r a car efu l re ad er of the boo book know knowss very very well well t hat the green grocer in question could not have delivered to those in hiding "19 pounds pou nds o off g gree reen n pea peas" s" ( ) on 8 July 1944 for the good reason tha t he had been arr es te d 45 days before before b by y the Germans fo for r one. Tha of tthe he most seriou serious f rrea ea so sons ns (he (h e had two Jew s atMay his home). home) That t a act ct h had ad se sett shio m "on the edge o off had a n abyss' (25 1944). 194 4). One has a h ar d tim time unde rstand rstanding ing how a gre en grocer leaps lea ps fr from om "the abyss' a byss' in orde or de r tto o thus thu s deliver to ssome ome other Jew s s u c h u quantity of compromising morchandise. To toll the truth, one does no nott unde rs ta nd very much bet ter the wife wife of of t ha t unfor tunate man, but the fact is ther e, the text o off the ma nuscr nuscript ipt is not abs ur d li like ke tha t of th the e Dutch, Frenc h, German, a nd Englis English h printings. print ings. The wr writ iter er o off th the e man usc uscrip riptt had been mor more e care careful. ful. It remains tha thatt the er ro r of the printed texts was pe rha ps not a n erro er ro r, but indeed indeed a delibe d elibe rate an d unfortunat unfortunate e correction of of the manuscript. W o read, in fact, i11 tho printed Dutch text: "van der groenteboer om de hoek, 1 9 po pond nd" " (cries Margot); an d Anne ans wer s; "Da "Datt is aardin g van h hem em." ." In other words, Margot Margot a n d Anne used the masculine on two occasions; "from the (male)

gr e en gr o ce r on on the co rn e r . . 19 po un d s," An n e' s a n sw er : "T ha t' s ni ce of hi him. m." " For my p a r t , I w oul ould d d r a w tw t w o o th er conclusions from that episode: (1) Internal criticism bearing on the cohere coh erence nce o off a text allo allows ws us to d ete etect ct some some anomalies which are revealed to be true anomalies; 2 ) A reader of the Diary, havi ng come to th a t epi sode of 8 July 1944, would be righ t t o dec lar e abs ur d a bo boo ok in which the hero ("the ("the nice green gro cer on the cor corner ner") ") le ap apss back out out of the dep depths ths of the aby abyss ss a ass one would wou ld rise up u p fr from om the dea d. 33 That greengrocer, Mr. Frank told me, was named Van der Hoev Ho even en.. Deported fo r ha havi ving ng h ar bo re d Jews at his home home,, he came back from de po rta tio n. At the time o off th e commemorative ceremonies cerem onies,, he ha d come back to ap p ea r a t the side of Mr. Mr. Frank. I a s k e d M r. r . F r a n k i f , af te r the wa r, so m e p eo p le f ro m th e neighborhood had declared to him: "We suspected the presence of peop people le in hi hiding ding at 26 263 3 Prinsen Prinsengracht gracht." ." Mr. Frank clearly ans wer ed m me e tha t no one one had sus pec ted their presenc presence, e, incl includi uding ng the men of of the s to re , includin including g Lewin, also in includ cluding ing Va Van n der Hoeven. Hoeve n. The latte lat terr sup supposedly posedly helped them without knowin knowing g it

nne

rank

34. In spite of 34. of my my re pe at ed questions questi ons on this point, Mr. Frank wa s not not abl able e to to tell me me w h a t his neighbors neighbo rs a t No No. 261 sold or made.. He made He di did d not not remember t hat ha t th ere had h ad been b een in his own house, a t No. 263, 263, a houseke ho usekeeper eper de describe scribed d in the th e book ook a s a possi possible ble "enemy." He ended by answering me that she was "very, very old" and that th at she onl only y came very very rarely, pe rh ap s once once a week week.. I said to him that she must have been astonished to suddenly see the installation installatio n o off the "swingi "swinging ng cupboa cup board" rd" on the th e landing of of the t he second fl floor oor.. He an swe red no, giv given en tha t the housekeeper never came there. That a ns we r wa s to prov provok oke e for the fir st time time a kind kind of dispute between between Mr. Frank an d h his is wife wife,, who was present prese nt a t our interview. interview. Beforehand, in fa ct, I had taken the precaution of having Mr. Frank make it clear to me that those in hiding had nev er done any never an y house housekeepi keeping ng outsi outside de of of cleaning clean ing a pa p a r t of of the t he annex. anne x. The log logica icall conclusion of Mr. Fr an ank' k' s two state st ateme ments nts therefore theref ore became: became: "For twenty twenty-f -five ive mont months, hs, no one had done any clea cl eani ning ng of the landin lan ding g on the th e ssec econ oncf cf floor." In th e face fa ce of th that improbability, Mrs. Frnnk suddenly broke i n to say to her husban hus band: d: "Nonsense "Nonse nse No clonning o n that landing I n a factory But thore would Iiave been dust this high " What Mrs. Frank c o ul u l d h a v e a d d e d i s t h a t t h e l a n d in in g w a s s u p p o s e d t o h a v e served as a passageway for the people in hiding in their comings a n d goin goings gs between the ann a nnex ex and a nd the front house. The trail tra il of their goings and comings would have been obvious in the midst of so much accumulated dust, oven without taking into account the dust the coal fact, Mr.about Frank couldfrom not have told brought the truthfrom whendownstairs. he spoke inInthis way a

kind kin d of of phantom hous h ouseke ekeepe eperr for a house house so vast va st and a nd so dirty. 35. On 35. On seve several ral occasion occ asions, s, a t the beginning beginning of of our intervie in terview, w, Mr. Frank thus attempted attemp ted to supply some oxplnnations which, finnlly, finnlly, did not not explai explain n anything a t all an d whi which ch led him, him, to to the con trary, tra ry, into some impasses. impasse s. I must soy he re tha thatt the pres pr esen ence ce of his wife was to prove to be especially useful. Mrs. Frank, who w s very well ac qu ~i nt edwith tho Diary obviously believed u p to then in the authen aut hentici ticity ty of the i a r y a s well well as a s in the sincerity since rity o off her h er hus ban d. Her surp su rpri rise se wa s only only more more striking in the fac e of of the ter terrib rible le Iquality Mr. Frank Fra nk 's a ns wers my my questions. qu estions. For myself, reta re tain in aof painfu pai nful l memory ofwe wh wrs h attoI would call certain "realizations" by Mrs. Frank. Fra nk. I do no nott a t all wish to s ay th at Mrs. Mrs. Frank today takes her husband for a liar. But I claim that Mrs. Fran Fr ank k wa s strongly strongly conscious, consc ious, a t the time time of of our interv int erview iew,, of the anomalies anom alies and an d of the seri ous ou s ab absu surd rditi iti es of of the t he whole story stor y of Anne Frank. Hearing the "explanat "explanations" ions" of h er husba nd, she came ca me to use t owar ow ard d hi him m some ph rase ra se s of of the th e following following kind: "Nonsense " "Whatt you ar e saying is unbelievable "Wha unbelievable "

T H E j O U R N A L OF HISTORICAL R E V I E W

A vacuu vacuum m clean er That iiss unbel unbelieva ievable ble

it "

I had never noticed

"but you were really foolhardy " "That w a s really fool foolhard hardy y " The m o oss t i nt er es t i ng r em ar k t ha t M r s . Fr ank m ade w as t he following: I am su s u re t hat the people (of the neighborhoo neighborhood) d) knew that th at yo you u wer e there." Fo Forr my p ar t, I wo woul uld d say ra the ther: r: I am sure that th at the peopl people e o off the neig neighborh hborhood ood woul would d have see seen, n, he ar d an d s m ell el l ed t he p r es e nce o f t he per s o ns i n hi hidi ding, ng, iiff t her e w er e indeed some persons hidden in that house for twenty-five months." would ta would take ke one other example o off Mr. Fra nk nk's 's explanati explanations. ons. According to him, the th e people who worked in the front house could 36.

not se see e the main main pa rt of the ann annex ex because beca use of the "ma "mask sking ing pa pape perr on the window panes." This statem stat emen ent, t, which is foun found d in the brochu bro chure re of of the "museum "museum," ," wa s rep repea eate ted d tto o m me e b by y Mr Mr.. Fra Frank nk in the presence of his wife. Without pausing at that statement, I went on to an ot othe he r subj subject: ect: th that at of the consumption of electricity electricity.. I made the th e remark rema rk t ha t the consumption of electricit electricity y iin n the house must mu st have been considerable. Since Mr. Frank was surp rise rised d by my remark, I stated it precisely: "That consumption must have been considerable since the electric light was on all day in the office on the courtyard and in the store on the courtyard in the fron t house.'' Mr. Frank the n sai d to m me: e: " "Ho How w is th at ? The electric light is not necessary in broad daylight " I indicated to

him ho him how w those rooms could could not receive daylight, kn knowin owing g ttha ha t t he windows ha had d some "mas "masking king pap er er" " on tthem. hem. Mr Mr.. Fra Frank nk the then n an s w er e d m me e t h at t hos hose e r oo oom m s w e r e not s o ver y dar k: a di ss-concerting answer which found itself in contradition with the statement of the booklet written by Mr. Frank: "Spices must be kept in the dark. . (page 27 of the 3 6 page booklet mentioned above in paragraph 15). Mr Mr.. Frank th then en da re d to add t hat , all the same, wh at one sa w throu through gh those wind windows ows on the courtya rd was only a wall. He specified, contrary to all evidence, that one did not not see th at it wa s tthe he wall of a hou house se That detailcontradicted the fol follo lowi wing ng pa ss ag e o off th e sa me prosp ectu s; "there fore , although you you sa w win windows, dows, you could n not ot see through them, a nd everyone took it for granted that they overlooked the garden" ( i b i d e m ) . I asked i f those masked windows were nevertheless sometimes open , if on onlly for air ing out the of offi fice ce wh er e the y received visitors, if onl only y iin n the th e summ summer, er, on swelteringly ot days. Mrs. Frank agreed with me on that and remarked that those windows must all the same have been open sometimes. S i l e n c e from from Mr. Frank. Frank . 37.

The list o the noises left Mr. Frank, and especially Mrs.

nne

rank

Frank, perplexed. As regards the vacuum cleaner, Mr. Frank wa s star tled was tle d and dec lar ed to me: Bu Butt th er ere e co could uld no nott have been a vacu vacuum um clea ner there. Then, in the fac e of my my as su ra nc e that th at there had been one, he began to stammer. He told me that, if indeed inde ed there had been a vacuum clean er, they they must must have ru n it in the evening, when the employee employeess (the enemies ) ha d left the frontt house, af fron afte te r work. objected th at th the e noise of a vacuum cleaner clea ner o off that er a wou would ld have been so much be bett tter er h ea rd by the neighbors (the walls we re thin, 25 March 1943) as it would have oc occur cur red in empty rooms or close to empty ro rooms. oms. I revealed t o h im t h a t , i n a n y c a s e , M r ss.. V a an n Daan, for her par t, was supposed to have used tthat hat vacuum clea cleaner ner every da day, y, regularly, a t ab about out 12 12:3 :30 0 pm (the. window probably bein being g open). Silence from Mr. Frank, while Mrs. Frank was visibly moved. The same silence for the alarm clock, with the sometimes untimely alarm (4 August 1943). 1943). The sa me sil silence ence for the removal of of th the e ashe as he s, expecially on swelteringly hot days. The same silence about the borrowing, by by the perso ns in hidi hiding, ng, from th the e ssuppl upply y of coal ( a r a r e commo commodity dity)) co commo mmon n to the whole house house.. Even silence si lence about abou t the question of the bicyc bicycles les u used sed a fter ft er the ir confiscation an d af te r the p prohibition rohibition of their thei r us use eb by y Jews. 38. number of questions therefore remained without ans we 38. wers rs or even a t first gave rise to so some me expla nati ons by by which Mr. F r a n k w o r s e n e d hi h i s c a s e . T h e n M r. r. F r a n k h a d , a s i t w e r e , a windfall: a ma magic gic formula. Tha Thatt formula w a s th the e foll followin owing: g: Mr.

Faurisson, you are theoretically and scientifically right. I agree with you 100 perc ent. Wh What at you pointed out to me wa was, s, in fact fa ct,, imp impos ossib sible. le. But, in pr ac ti ce , iitt was nevertheles neverthelesss in tha thatt way th a t thin th ing gs happened. p o in te d o u t to M r . F r a n k th a t h is sta tem ent troubled me me.. told to ld hi him m tha t it it wa s almost a s if he agreed with me that a door could not be at the same time open and closed closed an d a s if, if, in spite o off th at, at , he s ta te d tha t he had seen such su ch a door door.. poin pointed ted o out ut to hi him, m, in anot another her connection, connection, tha t the words wor ds scient scientific ifically ally an d theoretic theoretically ally an d in practice w er e unnecess unne cessary ary an d introd introduced uced a distinctio distinction n devoid of meaning since, in any cas e, theoreticall theoretically, y, scientif scientifical ically ly or practically, a doo cally, doorr at the sam e tim time e o open pen an d closed quite sim simpl ply y c a n n o t e x iiss t. a d d e d t h a t w o ou u lld d p r e f e r to to e a c h p a r t i c u l a r question ques tion an appr opri ate response or, i f need be, no no ans we r a t all. all. 39. Near the begin 39. beginning ning o off our interview, Mr Mr.. Fra Frank nk h ad made, made , in the friendliest way in the world, a major concession, a concession announced b by y m me e above, in pa ra gr ap h 16. As I began to make him understand that I found absurd the explanations that he had furnished in his propectuses, propect uses, bo both th regardin g the ignorance of the Germans about the a rc rchi hite tectu ctu re typical o off Dutch houses

TIiE

JOURN

L OF HISTORIC

L REVIEW

an d abo about ut the pres presenc ence e of of smoke constant constantly ly above the ro roof of of of th the e annex (th e "little factory"), he wan ted to admit right right away , without any insistence insisten ce on m my yp par ar t, t hat ha t it wa wass a q question uestion th ere er e of of pure inventions on his part. Without using, it is true, the word "inventions," "inventions ," he declare declared d tto o me me,, in substance: substa nce: "Y "Yo ou a r e quite right. righ t. In the explanations ex planations th that at a r e giv given en to visitors visitors,, it is nec necessar essary y to simplify. That is not so serious. It is necessary to make that agre ag re ea eabl bl e tto o visitors. This is not the scien scientific tific way o off doing things. One is not always able t o be scientific." 40. Th That at confidential confidential rem remark ark enlightens us on what I believe to

be a c ha ra ct er tr ait of Mr. Fra Frank: nk: Mr. Frank ha s the sens e o off what wh at please p leasess the public and h he e seeks to ada pt himse himself lf to it, free to take liberties with the truth . Mr. Fran k is no nott a man to give give hi hims msel elf f a heThe ad adach ache. e. He knows ws tha t the general publi public c is asatisfied with little. ge gene neral ral kno public seeks a gene so rt ral o off comfort, so sort rt o off dr eam, ea m, a sort so rt of of easy wo world rld wh where ere it w wil illl be brought exactly the kind of emo emotion tion th a t confirms it in its ha bits bi ts o off feeling, seeing an d reasoning. That Tha t smoke smoke above above the roo ooff coul could d distur disturb b the gen general eral public? What does it matter? Let's make up an explanation not necessaril neces sarily y pr prob obabl able, e, but but sim simple ple an d, iiff it is nece necessa ssary, ry, simple an d crude. Perfection Perfection is is reach ed iiff t ha t fabrication conf confirm irmss some accepted ideas or habitual feelings: for example, it is very probable that for those who love Anne Frank and who come to visit her house, the Germans are brutes and beasts; well, they will wi ll find a confirmation of tha t ha t in Mr. Frank's Fran k's explanations: the

Germ Germans wentin soAmsterdam fa r a s to to be un awa re aof gener the arch architect itect ure of tthe heans houses (sic ). In ge neral al way, Mr.typical Fr Frank ank ap pe ar ed to me, on more than th an one occasion occa sion,, a s a man devoid of finesse (b ut not of of c unnin g) for w whom hom a lit er ary work i s, in relation to reality, reali ty, a for form m of lying lying cont contriv rivanc ance, e, a domain wher wh ere e one on e takes libert ies wit with h the tr ut h, a thing whic which h "is not so serious" an d which whic h allows for writing almos almostt anything. asked Mr. Frank what explanations he could furnish me on t he t w wo o p poi oi nt ntss w he r e he a gr e e d t h a t he ha d s a i d not h hii ng serious to the visitors visitors.. H e could not answer me. I questioned him about abo ut the layout o off tthe he premises. prem ises. I had noted some anomalies in 41

the plan o off the house, such a s it is reproduced-b reproduced-by y Mr. Frank-in Frank-in all the editions edit ions o off the t he Diary Those anomalies had been confirmed for me me b by y m my y visit to the museum (ta (takin king g acc accou ount nt of the cha chang nges es made in the premises in order to make it into a museum). It was then that once again Mr. Frank went on to be led, in the face of the physical evidence, to make some new and important concessions to me, especially, as is going to be seen in regard to the "swinging cupb cupboard oard." ." He bega began nb by y ad admitting mitting tth h at tthe he d diagr iagram am o off the plan ought not to have concealed from the reader that the smalll courtya rd w smal which hich sep ara tes the front fro nt ho house use ffro rom m the annex

Anne Frank

was common to No. 263 (the Frank house) and to No, 265 (the house o house off their neighbors an d "en "enemies emies"). "). It is also biz arr arre e th at at,, in the Diary, there was not the slightest allusion to the fact'which, for the persons in hiding, was of extreme importance. Mr. Frank then acknowledged tha t t he diag diagram ram of th e plan let peop people le bel believ ieve e that on the third floor the flat roof was not accessible; but that roof was accessible by a door from the annex and it could very welll have off wel offer ered ed to the pol police ice or to the "enemies "enemies" " a n easy way of a c c e s s in to th e v e ry h e a r t of th e p re mis e s in h a b ite d b by y th e persons in hidi hiding. ng. F Final inally ly an d especially, Mr Mr.. Fra Frank nk conceded to me th at the "swin "swinging ging cupboar cupboard". d". did not make any sense. He recogn rec ognize ized d th at this rus e coul could d not, iin n a ny ca se , have prevented a se ar ch of the annex, sseeing eeing thatmo tha w was as-the accessible iin n other ways, an d espe especiall cially y in the most st tnaannex tu ra l way way-th e en tr an ce doorr lleadin doo eading g ou outt to tthe he garden . That evidence, it is ttrue rue , does no nott app ear a s on one e at the schema, ssinc ince e the schem schema a doe doess not contain any drawing draw ing of the whole ground floor. A Ass to the muse museum um visitors, they do not have access to this same ground floor. That famous " sw sw iin ng gii n ng g cupboa rd" thus became a particular ly str ang e invention of " "th the e pe pers rson onss in hidi hiding." ng." One mus must, t, in f ac t, thi think nk he re that the making of that "swinging cupboard" was a dangerous job. The destru destructi ction on o off th the e st stai ai r step st ep s, the assemb assembling ling of tha t ha t false cupboard, the change of a passageway into an apparent dead end, all th that at could o onl nly y gi give ve war warnin ning g to th the e "enemies," Al Alll th that at

h a d of c o u rs e b e e n s u g g e s te d by Kr a le r a n d c a rr ie d o u t b by y Vossen 2 1 August 1942) 4 2 . The more th at m my y interview wen t on, the more the e m-

ba rass bara ssme ment nt o off Mr. Fran Frank k became visible. Bu Butt his amiability did nott fail; quite the c on no ontr trar ary. y. A Att the en d, Mr. Frank went on to to use a sentimental sentimental argum argument, ent, appar apparently ently clever an d in a good nat ure d tone.. Th tone That at arg argume ument nt w a s the fol follow lowing ing:: "Yes, ag re e with you, we wer e a lit little tle imprudent. Certain thin things gs we re a littl little e danger dangerous, ous, it is necessa ry to re recog cogniz nize e that. Besides Besides,, it is per hap s the reason why we wer were e finally ar re st ed . B Bu ut do not b believ elieve, e, Mr Mr.. Fauris Faurisson, son, that the peop people le wer were e suspi suspicious cious a t that po poin int. t." " Tha t curious argumentation went on to suggest to Mr. Frank sentences like: "The people people we re dece decent nt " or even: ''.'Th .'The e Dutch we r e go good od " or even, on on two occasions: "The Police we re go good od " 43. Tho Those se sen ten ces ha d on only ly one inc inconven onvenienc ience: e: the they y ren der ed

absurd all of th the e "p "pre recau cauti tion ons" s" poin pointed ted out iin n th the e b boo ook. k. To a cert ce rtai ain n ext extent ent,, they even rrobbed obbed tthe he bo boo ok o off its it s whole meaning. Thatt b Tha bo ook rec recounted, ounted, a s a ma tte tterr o off fac fact, t, the tra gic a adven dven tur ture e o off eight persons hunted down, forced to hide, to bury themselves alive for twenty-five months in th the e mid midst st of fer ferocio ociously usly hostile world. In those "days "da ys in the to tomb mb" " on only ly some sele select ct few people knew of of the their ir exis existence tence a an n d brought them help. One cou could ld say

TI-IE jOURNAL OF I-IISI'ORICAL REVIEW

tha t in resorting to his last arg uments, Mr. Frank tried with one hand han d to fil filll in the cr ac ks in a work which, with the other hand, he was dismantling, 44. On the evening 44. evenin g of our first firs t day of interv in terviews iews,, Mr. F ra nk ha nd ed to me his own copy, in Fr en ch , of of th e bo book by by Ern st Schnabel: Schna bel: Spur eines Kinde Kindess (French tit title le:: Sur les tra ce s dlA nne Frank; English English title: title: Anne Anne Frank: A Portr Po rtr ait in Courage). He told me th a t I would woul d p e rh ap s find fin d in i n th a t boo book s om o m e a n sw e r s to ce rt ai n of my my quest qu estion ions. s. The pages pag es of of th at copy we re not cut. It should be mentioned that Mr. Frank speaks and understands French, but he reads it with a little difficulty. ( I should make it clea cl ea r h her ere e tha t all our interviews too took pla ce in Engli English, sh, a langua ge that Mr. Frank has mastered porfectly.) I had not yet read that book, since the strict observance of the methods proper prop er to pur e internal criticism obliges one to read nothing about a work so Iorlg O H o n o I I I I t l o t y o l j~orsorictlly g o t t o n r i c:l c:loc~r oc~r id idon on of tlint work. During t l ~ o i g h t that proceeded our second interview, I g1t11lc:cd tl~rougli 110 book. A m o n g t~ dozen points that acted to confirm to mo t h f ~ t ho iary wa s fable (in (in spite of the fact that Schnabel made r n r l I i y efforts to persuade u s of the co cont nt ra ry ), I call attenti atte ntion on to nn nn amazing pnssnge pnssng e on page 151 of the Fren F rench ch l o x [ 'l'hut pr~ser~go oncurnod Mr. Vossen, tho man who, it

seemed, had devoted himself, as carpenter to making the "swinging cupbourd" intended t o conceal the porsons inbiding (Diary, 2 1 August 1942). 19 42). "Goo "Good d old Vossen" w a s suppos su pposed ed to work at 263 Prinsengracht. o kept tlie persons i n hiding uptodate on everything that took place in the store. But illness had forc:od him t o rotiro t o his horno, where his daughter Elli joined him af te r h e r ow n work hours . On 1 5 J u n e 1943, 19 43, Anne s poke nbout him as r procious friend. But, i one believes a remark of Elli re repo porte rte d by Schnabe Sch nabe l, good good old old Vossen Vossen wa s un aw a re of t h e exis existenc tence e of tho Franks Fran ks at 263 263 Prins Pr ins engra en gra cht ch t Elli recounts, in fact, that on 4 Augus Augustt 1944, 1944, when sh e retur ret urne ne d to to he r residence, she informed her father of the a rr es t of of the Franks. The French text of Schna Sch nabe be l says sa ys:: I was seat ed a t the side of the bed bed an d I had told liked Mr.that Frank, y father whom he him had everything. known for aMlong time.very He much was not aware the Franks had not left for Switzerland, as was claimed, but had hidden themselves on on the Prinsen Prin sengrac gracht." ht." But what wh at is incompreincomprehensible is that Vossen could have believed in that rumor. For nearly nearl y a y ear he h ad seen the the Frank s a t Prinsengracht, he had spoken with them, he had helped them and he had become their frie nd. Then, whe n beca use of his ba d hea lth he had left left his job on the th e Prinse ngrach t, his daughter Elli wa s ab le to keep him up to da te on the doings of of his friend friends, s, the Frank s.

Anne Frank

167

45nabel's . Mr. Mr . Fran Frank k .wa was s not to Ge explai explain nn to th that at pas passag sage e from Sch Schnab el's bo book ok. Rushi Rushing ngable to the Germa rman a nme d tthe he Engli English sh texts of the sam same e work, he made a surprising discovery: the who whole le passag passage e whe re E Ellli spo spoke ke with her fat her did indeed ap pe ar in those texts, but, lac lackin king g the senten sentence ce be begi ginn nnin ing gw wit ith: h: He was n not ot a w a r e . . an d ending ending with with:: the Prinseng Prinsengracht. racht. In the Fre French nch text, Elli continued: I1 ne dit rien . I r es t ai t couch e en s i llence. ence. f or comparison, he here re is the German text: Ich setze setz e m mich ich zu iihm hm an s Bet Bettt und ha b e ih ihm m al alles les gesag gesagt. t. E Eff hing sehr an Herrn Frank , denn e r kannte ihn lange (passa (passage ge mi miss ssin ing) g).. Gesagt Ges agt ha t e r nicht nichts. s. E Err hat nur dagelegen. (Anne Frank Ein Bericht Beric ht vo von n Ernst Sch nabel , Spur eines Kindes Kindes,, Fischer Bucherei, 1958,168 pages , p. 115.) And An d her h ere e is the Englis English h text:

sat down beside his bed and told him everything. H e w as deeply attached to Mr. Frank, who he had known a long time (passage missing). He He s aid noth nothing ing.. (An ne Frank Frank:: A Portait in Courage,, Ernst Schnab el, Translated fro Courage from m th e German by Richard a n d C l a r a W i n s tto o n , H a r b r a c e P a p e r b a c k L i b r a r y, y, H a r c o u r t , Bra ce World, Inc., New Yo York rk,, 195 8,18 1 pag es, p. 132.) I

46. After returning to France, it was easy for me to clear up

this myste mystery: ry: from man many yo othe therr point pointss in th the eF Fren rench ch text it becam became e evident evide nt that th er ere e had existed ttwo wo original German versions. The first version of Sc Schn hnab abel el must have been se sent nt in tap tapusc uscript ript to the French Fren ch publishing house of Albin Michel so th that at from iitt the re could be prepared a translation into French, without losing time. Thereupon Schn S chnabe abell or, very probably, Mr. Frank, h had ad gon gone eo on n to do a revision of its text. He had ha d the t hen n left out the th e pro problematic blematical al sentence about Vossen. Then Fischer published that corrected version. But in France they had done the job in double quick time an d t he book had al r ea dy l e eff t t he pr es s es . I t w a s t o oo o la te to correctt it. I note moreover correc moreo ver a bibliog bib liograph raphica icall curi curiosity osity:: my copy o off Sur les tra ce s d'Anne d 'Anne Frank (tra nsla ted fr from om the Germa German n by Marthe Metzger Editions Albin Michel, 1958, 205 pages) bears a refe ren rence ce to 18th 18th thousand an d its da te for the com compl pleti etion on of printing w a s iin n Feb ru ar y 1 1958 958.. Bu Butt the fi rst thousa nd of the original German edition was in March 1958. The translation therefore did indeed ap pe ar before before the ori origin ginal. al. 47. It remain 47. remains, s, o off cour co urse, se, to know why Ernst Sch Schnab nabel el o orr Mr. Fr ank ha d bel iieved eved i t pr oper t o pr oceed w i t h t h at am azi azing ng correction. The fact remtlins that Mr. r m k showed his confusion once more in the f a c e of this t his ffur urth ther er anomal ano maly. y. We too took k lea leave ve of atmospheres, heres, wher e e each ach to toke ken n each ea ch other in the most painful of atmosp of friendliness tha thatt Mr. Frank Fra nk showed me em ba barra rra sse d m me e a little more. Shortly after my return to France, I wrote to Mr. Frank to thank him for his hospitality and to ask him Elli's address. He

168

1 1 1E

IOUKNAL OF I-II I-IISTOKICAL STOKICAL REVIEW

answered me pleasantly while asking me to send him the French copy of Sc Schna hna be bel' l'ss bo book, ok, a n d witho without ut speaki speaking ng to m e about Elli I sent his copy back to him while again asking him for the address. No an sw er this time. I telepho telephoned ned hi him m a t Birsfelden. He responded to m me e tha t he wo would uld n not ot give m me e t ha t a dd re ss , an d especially no now w Kugler ler)) a n id idio ioti tic c lette r. I will come that I had sent to Krale r ((Kug back ba ck to that letter .

hapter Four 48. Bibliographical examination: some curious silences and

revelations.

49. The previously mentioned book by Schnabel (Anne Frank: A Portrait in Courage) has some curious omissions, while the long a r t ic le , u n s iig g n e d , th a t D e r S p pie ie g ge e l 1 April 1959, pp.51-55) devoted to the Diary, in the wake of the Stielau Stie lau ca se , brings us some curious revelations. The title of that article is eloquent: Anne An ne Fra Frank. nk. Wa s Schrie b da s Kin Kind? d? ( Anne Frank. Wha t did did the Chi Child ld Wri Write? te? )

50. E r n s t S c h n a b e l o pe pe n nly ly d e ffe e n d e d A n n e F r a n k a n d O tto Frank. His book is relatively rich on all that precedes and on all th at follows the twenty-five month monthss o off tthei heirr life a t Prinsen Prin sengrac gracht. ht. On the other hand, it is very poor concerning those twenty-five months. One would say that the direct witnesses (Miep, Elli Kraler, Koophuis, Henk) have nothing to say on that very importantt perio portan period. d. Why do the they y remain silent in that way? Wh Why y have they sa said id on only ly some commonplace things like: like: When we had ha d our plnto of ~ 0 1 1 1 ~ ~ p ~ t n ill1r t~h o n l 1 1 1 1 o o 1 1 , . . (pugo 114)* or; 117)? ? No Nott one conW e u l w o y s hud lunch together, . . . (p ag e 117) cret cr ete e detail, no nott one descript description, ion, no nott ono nnecdote is ther e that th at by its preciseness would give the impression that the persons in hiding hid ing and their faithful friend friendss regularly at e togeth together er this wa way y at noon. Everything a p p e a r s in a kin kind d o off fog. But thos those e wi witnes tnesses ses wer e quest questioned ioned on onlly thirte en years , a t the most, most, afte r the arr es t of the Franks, and certa in of them like Elli, Miep and Henk, were still young. I a m not talking about riumerous other persons whom Schnabe l wro Schnabel wrongl ngly y calls witnesses but who, in fact fa ct,, had never known kn own or even met the Fran Franks. ks. This iiss the ca se , for example, with with the famous green grocer. The Gemuser Gemusernann nann,, He did not k no no w t h e F r a n k s a t a llll ( p a g e 8 2 ) . In a ge ne ra l way , the iim mp r e ss s s i o n t h a t I deri ved ffrom rom reading Sch nabe l's book is the following: this Anno Frank had really existed; she had been a *Translator's note: This and aLl subs subsequ equent ent page rrefe eferen rences ces t o t h Schnabel book refer t o the En Engl glis ish h ttran ransla slati tion on published b y Harbrace Paperback Library, New York. 1958.

nneF r a n k

little girl without great character, without strong personality, withou wit houtt scholarly pre precociousnes cociousnesss (to the cont rar y even), an d no one on e suspecte susp ected d he r o off havi having ng an apti tude for writin writing; g; that un un-fortun ate child child knew the horror horrorss o off w ar ar;; sh e had been arr est ed by th e Ge rma n s ; s h e h a d b e e n i n te r n e d , t h e n d e p o rt e d ; s h e passed through the camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau; she had been separated from her father; her mother died in the hospital at Birkenau on 6 Ja n u a r y 1945; in approxima appro ximately tely Octo October ber of 194 1944 4 she and her sist er were tra nsf nsferr erred ed to the camp at B Ber erge genn-Be Bels lsen en;; Margot died of typh us; then, iin n he r t ur n, Anne, alon alone' e'in in the world, wa s also to die o off typhus in M ar ch o off 1945. These a r e som some e points about which the witnesses did not hesitate to talk. But with all of them one sense sen sess mi mistr strust ust in the pres pr esen ence ce of of th the e legendary Anne, Anne, who was ca capabl pable e o off taking up the pen a s we have been told told,, ca pa pabl ble e o off kee keepin ping g th t h a t Diary a n d writing those stories, stor ies, and writing "the " the beginn beginning ing of of a nov novel," el," etc. Sc Schnabe hnabell himself writes a very revealing sentence when he declares: "My witnesses had a good deal to say about Anne as a person; they took account of of tthe he legend on only ly with gr ea t reti r eticen cen ce, or by by tacitly

ignoring it. Alth ignoring Althoug ough h they did n not ot ttake ake issue with wit h it by so much much a s a word, I had the impression that they we re che checkin cking g themse themselve lves. s. All of the them m read re ad Anne's Ann e's diary; diar y; they did not mention it." (pag (p ages es 4 5 That last sentence is imp importa ortant nt A11 of them had read Anne's diary: they did n o t mention it. Even Kraler, who sent a long letter to Schnabel from Toronto, did not make mention either of the Diary or of Anne's o oth ther er writin writings gs (p ag age e 87). Kra Kraler ler is the only only direct witness to tell an anecdote or two about Anne; but, in a very curious way, he places these t hese a anec necdot dotes es in the period of time when the Franks still lived in their apartment on Merwedeplein, before their "d isap pear ance " ["befor ["before e tthe hey y went into h hid iding ing," ," p.87 p. 87). ). It is o on nly iin n the corr correcte ecte d edition tha t the th e second anecd a necdote ote is placed at Prinsengracht, even "when they were in the secret annex" (pag e 88). The witnesses did no nott wish t hat their names be published. The two most important witnesses (the "probable betrayer" and the Austrian policeman) were neither questioned nor even sought out. Schnabel attempts on several occasions to alll o off the th e en end d of explain that curious failure (pages 8 , 139 a n d al cha pter pt er ten) ten).. He g goe oess so ffa a r a s to pr prese ese nt a sort so rt of of de defense fense o off the arresti arr esting ng offic officer er One person neve neverth rtheles elesss does does menti mention on the Diary, but that is to draw attention to a point in it which seems bizarre biza rre to her concerning the Montess Montessori ori schoo schooll of which she w as the director (pa ge 40). Schnabel himself treats the Diary strangely. How to explain, indeed, the cutting that he does when he cites a pass p assage age like th at of his page 123? Quoting a lo long ng pass passage age from the let ter of April 194 1944 4 in whi which ch Anne tells about abou t the pol police ice raid ra id iin n the wake of of the burglary, b urglary, he leaves out the ssente ente nce in which Anne gives the main reason for her distress; that reason

lf I

JOURNAL

1: k1ISTORICAL

KEVI EW

w a s t h a t t h e p o llii c ce e , it i t a p p e a r e d , w e n t s o f a r a s t o g iiv ve t h e swingin swin ging g cupbo cupboard ard some lou loud d b blows lows.. ( Thi This, s, an d when the police rattled the cupboard door, were my worst moments. ) Wouldn'tt Schn abel have thought Wouldn' thought,, llik ike e any sensib sensible le man, th at th at passage is absurd? In any case, he tells us that he visited 263 Prinsengracht before its transformation into a museum. He did nott see any sw no swin ingi ging ng cupboard there. He writes: The c u p board that was built against the door to disguise it has been pulled down. Nothing is lef leftt but the ttwis wisted ted hinges hanging beside the doo door. r. (pa ge 7 4 ) He did not find any t ra c e o off a s pe ci al camouflngo, but o n l y i n Anne Anne's 's room, n yellowe yellowed d piece of cu rt ai n A tuttorod, yollowud renl~lantof curtain still hangs at the window. ( p n g o 75). M r . Frn~lk,t sourns rriarkod i n pencil on the wall pa pe r, n ea r one door, the successive h heights eights of his daughte rs. Today, Toda y, a t the mu muse seum, um, th the e vis visito itors rs c an see an impe impeccab ccable le s qu ar e of wall pa pape pe r, placed under glass, whe re they notice the perfectly prosorvod pcricil marks which uppear to have been drawn the

same day. They tell us that these pencil marks indicated the heights hei ghts of Mr. Frank 's children. When I sa w Mr. Frank a t Birsfelden, I as aske ked d him him if it w as not a question the re of of a reconstruction. constru ction. He ass ure d me me all tha t was authentic. B But ut this is diffic dif ficult ult to beli believe. eve. Sch nabel hims himsel elff ha d sim simply ply see n, a s a mark, a n A 42 which he int erp ret ed thus: Anne 19 1942 42.. Wh at is str ang e is th at the authent authentic ic pa pe r in the mu muse seum um does no nott bea r anyt anythin g like litke saiddestroyed th at he had on mark andhing t hat he that otheSchnabel rs had been or seen, torn o o ofn ffly( that the othor murks Iia Iiave ve beo beon n stripp strippod od o f f . [ibide [ibideni] ni].) .) Might Might Mr. Frank Fra nk hav e made hi himse mself lf gui guilty lty he re o off a trick ( ein Trick ), lik like e that which li htid suggostod to Iienk and to Miep for the photocopy of the ir pas passp spor ort? t? A v e r y i n t e r e s t i n g p o i nt nt a b o u t A n n e ' s s t o r y c o n c e r n s t h e manuscripts. manuscrip ts. I reg ret to sa say y that I find very unlikely the account of the discove discovery ry of those many sc scri ri pt s, then the their ir pa passing ssing on to Mr. Frank by his sec re ta ry M Mie iep. p. The po poli lice ce suppo supposed sedly ly scat ter ed the floor floor with all so sort rt s of p ape rs. Amo Among ng those pa pape pe rs rs,, Mi Miep ep a n d Ellli supp osed ly ga th er ed up a Scotch noteb El notebook ook ( ein rotkarier kar ier tes Buch ; a rred ed plaid b boo ook) k) an d ma many ny other writings in which they a r e supposed to to have recogni recognized zed Anne's writing. They supposedly suppos edly did no nott re ad any anythin thing. g. They a r e supposed to have put all these papers aside in the large office. Then, those papers supposedly we re h and ed ove overr to Mr. Fra Frank nk a t the time of his rat urn fr from om Po Polan land d (pag es 179179-18 181. 1.)) Th at account does no nott agr ee a t all wi with th the account of th the e arr est . Th The e a rr es t was made sl slow owly ly,, methodically, correctly, exactly like the search. The testimonies a r e unanimo unanimous us on that po poin intt (see cha pte r nine). Aft After er the arr es t, the police came back to the premises on several occasions; they

nneFrank

especially inter int erro roga gate ted d Miep. The police wished to know if if the th e Franks were in contact with other persons in hiding. The Diary, such a s we know know it, would would have re vealed vealed,, a t first glace, a gr great eat deal de al of information valua va luable ble to the police, a an n d would would have ha ve been terrib ter ribly ly c compro ompromisin mising g for Miep, El Elli li,, an a n d for all a ll the th e fri frien ends ds of of the persons perso ns iin n hi hidin ding. g. The poli police ce could could have dis reg regard arded ed the "Scotch "Scotch notebook" i f in its original original conditi condition, on, it consisted, a s I think, only o f s ome om e dra win gs , s om ome e photo gra ph s or note s of of a ha rml e s s nature. But it would appear unlikely that they would have left ther e several note notebo book okss a nd several hundr eds of sc att ere d pages, on which the handwriting was w as , at least in app ea ra nc e, tha t of of a n adult. On the pa p a r t of Ell Elli an d Miep, it would have been b een m madn adness ess to gather together and to keep, especially in the office, such a mass of comprom compromising ising docume documents. nts. It It would would ap p e a r th t h at they knew that th at Anne ke pt a dia ry . In a dia ry one is s uppos e d to te t e ll wha t happen hap penss from da y to day. day . Conseque Consequently, ntly, Anne risked mentio mentionin ning g Miep Mie p and Elli in them.

5 1 . In In re ga rd to the boo boo k by Sc hn ab el , Mr. Fra nk made a surprising revelation to me. He told me.that that book, although translated into several languages, had not been translated into D ut u t ch ch T h e r e a s o n f o r t h e e x c e ep p t io io n w a s t h a t t h e p r i n c i p a l witnesses livin living g in th the e Nether Net herlan lands ds s ai aid d th at at,, be caus ca us e o off modest modesty y a s wel welll as us ee o of fo offtalk a concern for their pea ce Mr. an d Fran quiet, they they wished thabeca t pe peopl ople not talk about them them. . In reality, Frank k was w as mistaken mista ken or else he wa s deceivin deceiving g me me.. An investigation conducted condu cted in Amsterdam at first led me to believe that Schnabel's book had nott been tran no tr ansl sl at ated ed into into Dutch, Even Even the th e Contact publishing publishing house replied or had several libraries or several private individuals reply that that book did not e;,ist. I discovered then that, n a sho wca se a t the "Anne Frank House House" " museum, the boo book b by y Schnabel was shown as having been translated into Dutch and published in 1970 (twelv (twelve e years af te r its publicat publication ion in Germany Germany,, i n F r a n c e a n d in i n t h e U ni n i tte e d S t a t e s ) u n d e r t h e t i tl t l e o ff:: H a a r laatste Levensmaanden (Her Last Months). The book unfortunately natel y wa s not to be found. found. T The he sam e respo nses from from the lib raries an d from th e Contac t publishing ho use . As a r es ul t o off m my y insistance, Contact finally replied to me that there remained with them only one archive copy. With some difficulty I got permission to consult it, an d then to get a ph photocopy otocopy of page pa gess 263 263 to 304. 304. For, Fo r, in reality, the work in question contained only an extract from Schnabel's book book,, reduc ed to 35 pages, a nd placed a s a n appendix to th the e text tex t of the t he Diary. The compa com para rati tive ve sstu tudy dy of Spu S purr eines ein es Kind Ki nde e s a n d of its "tra n s la tio n" into Dutc h is of the g re a te s t intere int erest. st. Of Of the bo book ok b by y Schnab Sch nabel, el, the Dutch c ca a n onl only y re ad the t he five five las t cha pt er s (out of thirteen ch ap te rs in all). Moreover, Moreover, thre th re e of those fi five ve ch ap te rs have undergone under gone c uts of of all sorts. sort s. C e rta i n of of thos e c ut s a r e ma rke d by by e llips lli ps e s . Oth e rs a r e not

7 2

JOURNAL O HISTORICAL REVIEW

marked a t a all ll.. The chap ters thus cut up a r e Chapters N Nin ine, e, Ten an d Thirteen- th at iiss to say tthose hose which concer n, on the on one e han d, the ar re st an d it itss direct direct results (in (in the Nether Netherlands lands)) an d, on the other ha nd , the his history tory o off th e manuscripts. manuscrip ts. When it iiss no longer a question of of those sub subjects jects , whe n it is a question o off the cam ps (which is the cas e in Chapters Ele Eleve ven n an d Thirteen ), ih e origi original nal text by Schnabel is respected. Examined closely, those cuts seem t o have been introduced t o remove the somewhat precise details which a p p e a r in the testimonies o off Koophui Koophuis, s, M Miep, iep, Henk a n d Elli F or e xa m pl e , it i t l a c ks , w i t hout a nyt hi ng t o i ndi c a t e t o u s t h e existenc exis tence e o off a cut, the essential pass age w her e Elli tells how she 3

to told ld oher athaer th the e ly ar rab essen t oft the Frank lines of ats page f Spf ur r eabout com comple plete tely from pages (the a a r Laats La te 115 2 7 2 of H Levensmaunden). It is odd that the only nation for whom they have hav e thus r ese rv rved ed a ce censo nsored red version o off the llif ife e of Anne Fra nk is precisely th at one where the a dv en tur e o off Anne Fra nk to took ok place.

Can you you imagine some revelatio rev elatio ns a bout bo ut Joa Joan n of A rc t ha t would be mad made e to all sor ts o off foreign nati on ons, s, but would be forbidde forb idde n iin n some way to the Fren ch people? S Suc uch h a way of a acting cting is unde un derrsta nd ab le o on n lly y w h e n t h e e d i t o r s f e a r t h a t , i n t h e c o u n t r y of origin ori gin,, the reve revelat lations ions woul would d have ra th er quick quickly ly ap pe ar ed sus pect . The explanati explanation on gi give ven n b by y Mr. Fran k hardly holds holds.. Since Koophuis, Miop. IIenk n n d Elli find themselvos named anyhow (moroover by so sonl nlo o comple complete te or pa rti al pseudonyms), a n d si nce Schnabel has them make such and such remarks, one does not sue liow tliu cuts irltroduced into those remarks can soothe the sensitive mod modest esty y of their au th thor or s o orr as su re th them em mo more re tranquility in their life in Amsterdam. I would believe rather that the preparntion of the D u t c h tr n n sl ~ ti o n av avo o rise to so some me very very lo long ng an d arduous burg~ii~lingrriong all the interested parties or, at least, between betwe en Mr. Frank, but, as the yea rs passed , they be beco come me mor more e cautious and more sparing with details than in their original testimonies. 52. The above-mentioned above-mentioned art icl e fr from om Der Spiege Spiegell brings us, a s

I hav have e sai d, ssome ome curious re revelations. velations. As a ma matte tte r o off principle I dis tru st journalists. They work to too o quic quickly. kly. Her Here e it is obv obvious ious t h a t the journalist corc jed o u t a thorough investigati investigation. on. The issue w as to too o burning a n d ttoo oo sensitive to to be tr ea te d light lightly. ly. The conclusion of t h o l o n g nrticle c:ould iridood be th foll following: owing: While sus suspect pecting ing t he D i a r y of b e in in g a f o r g e r y , L o t h o r S t i e lla au per hap s prove ed d nothing, bu t all th the e same he ra n into a real really ly ttri ricky cky probl problem-t em-the he problem pro blem of the gene genesis sis of the publish publishing ing of of the boo book k ( auf ein tats achl ich heikl heikles es Probl Problem em gestosse n-das Probl Problem em de r Enste Enste-hung hu ng de r Buchausgabe, page 51). And it it iiss revea revealed led that we a r e very f a r ffrom rom the te text xt of the original manu manuscripts scripts when w e r ea d in Dutch, in in Germa n an d in wha tev er language, languag e, the bo boo ok entitled

nne rank

the Diary of Anne Frank. Supposing for a moment that the manuscript manusc riptss ar e authentic, it is necessa ry tto o be aw ar e that a s a matter mat ter o off fact w ha t we r ea d under th that at title, for example in Dut Dutch ch (that is to say in the supposedly original language), is only the result of of a whole se ri e s of ope ra ti on s of reo rga niz ing a n d rewriting, part icip icipated ated in es especially pecially b by y Mr. Fra nk a nd som some e cl close ose friends, among whom were (for the Dutch text) Mr. And Mrs. Cauvern an d (for the Ger German man text) Annel Anneliese iese Schutz Schutz,, whose pup pupil il Anne had been. 53. B Bet etwee ween n the origi original nal for form mo off the bo boo ok (th (the e m a n u s c r i ~ t s j nd its printed form (t he Dutch edit edition ion from Con Contact tact in 19 1947), 47), the text has known at least five forms in succession. First form: between the end of of May 1 1945 945 an d October 1945, Mr. Frank Fran k h had ad dr aw n u up p a sort of cop copy y ( Abschr Abschrift ift ) fro from m the manu manuscri scri pts, iin n pa rt alone, in pa rt with the help of his se cr creta eta ry Is a Cauve Ca uvern rn ( th at woman was the wife wife of Albert Cau Cauver vern, n, a friend of Mr. Fra nk; befor before e the

war, the Cauverns had welcomed the Frank children to their home ho me for for vacation vacations). s). Second form: fro from m October 194 1945 5 to J an ua ry 1946,, Mr. Fr ank an d Isa Cauvern worked together on a new 1946 version of of the copy, a typed version ( Neuf assun g d er Ab Ab-schrift / Maschine Maschinengeschr ngeschriebene iebene Zweitfassung ). Third Third form: a t a n unspecifie unspecified d d a te (t (the he end o off the w win inter ter of 1945-1946), 1945-1946),th that at second version version (typed) wa s submitted to Albert Cau Cauvern; vern; he, inso inso-far as he wa s a ra radio dio man man-wa -wass a n annou ncer wit with h the De Vara radio network in Hilversu Hilversum-he m-he knew abo about ut rewritin rewriting g manuscripts. manusc ripts. According to his ow own n wor words, ds, he beg began an b by y tolerably changing chang ing that th at ve version; rsion; he dre drew w up hi hiss o own wn text a s a man o off experience ( Alb Albert ert Ca Cauvern uvern stellt heu heute te nicht in Abrede Abrede,, da dass ss er jene maschinengeschriebene Zweitfassung mit kundiger Hand redigiert hat: hat : 'Am 'Am Anfang hobe ich zie ziemlic mlich h v viie1 gean geander dert, t, page 52.) A detail that is surprising for a diary: he does not fear to regroup under a single date some letters written on different dates; on a second occasion he limited himself to correcting the punctuation a s well a s mist mistakes akes o off phr asin asing g a nd g gram rammar mar;; all those tho se changes an d corrections were car ri ed ou outt on the ty typed ped text text;; Albert Cauvern never ssaw aw the ori original ginal manuscripts. Fourth Fourth form: from the changes and corrections, Mr. Frank drew up what one ca n call the th third ird typed text iin n the spr in ing g of 1946; he su submitted bmitted the resul t t o thr ee prominent expe rts ( drei prominente Gutachter, page 53) 53),, whil while e letting letting them believe th that at it w as a question of the complete reproduction of a manuscript, with the very understandable exception of some personal points of order; then, those those th ree person s h hav avin ing g app aren tly gi give ven n their guar ant ee to the text, Mr. Frank went on to offer it to several publishing hous e s in in A m s t e r da m w hi hic c h r e f us e d i t ; t ur ni ng t he n, i n a l l probability, probabi lity, to one o off th those ose tthr hr ee p per erso sons ns,, Mrs. Anna Romei Romeinn-

TI E JOUKNAL OF b ISTORICAL REVIEW

Verschoor.. He got the latter 's husb and , Mr. Ja n R Verschoor Rom omei ein, n, Professor of History of the Netherlands at the University of Amsterdam to write in the daily daily newspape r Het Parool a famous article which began with these words: "There has by chance fallen into my hands a diary (etc.)": since the article was very laudatory, a modest mode st Amste rdam publish publishing ing house (Contac t) aske d to publish that diary. Fifth form: with tho agreement once concluded or in the proces s o off bein being g conclude d, Mr. Fr an k wen t to find se ve ra l "~piritilol C O U I ~ H O ~ O ~ S '"me ' hro ro goistlich Rotgebor"), one o off whom wh om w a s Pas to r Busk Buskos: os: h he e gr nnt ed tl tllo lom m full nuthority to ce nso r the text ( ra um te ihnen frei freiwilli willig g Zensoren-B Zensoren-Befugnisse efugnisse gin," pages pa ges 5353-54). 54). A n d that censo censorship rship was car rie d ou out. t.

54. Bu Butt the odditi es do no nott end the re . The Ger man text of the Diury lorniv tho subject of interovting re ma rk s on th e pa r t o off t he journalist from Der Spiegel. H e writes: "One curios cu riosity ity of tthe he 'Anne Fra nk li ter atu re' is the tra nsl ati on work o off Anneliese Schutz, of of whi ch S ch na be l said: I wou would ld wish t hat all translations

were so faithful,' but whose text very often diverges from the Dutch Dut ch orig origina inal" l" (pa ge 54). In fact , a s I will show below (paragraphs 72-1031 ho journt journtllis llistt is qu it e lonient in his criticism whon he says that the Gerrnen text diverges very often from what he calls thc origin originnl nl (t hat is to soy, without doubt, from the original prin tcd b by y the Dutc h). Th e printed Gormon text doe s no nott have the r i gh g h t tto o b be e c a l l e d a t r a n s l a t i o n f r o m t h e p r i n t e d D u ttc ch: it constitutes, properly speaking, another book by itself. But let us pa ss over this point point.. We wi will ll retu rn to iit. t. Anneliese Schutz, a great friend of the Franks, like them a Jewish Jewis h German refugee iin n the Netherla nds, a nd Anne's t eac her , therefore theref ore pre par ed a tex text, t, in Ge rm an , of th e dia ry o off he r form er pupi pu pil. l. She settle d down to that work for Anne's grandmother The lat ter , v ve ery age d, did no ott i n f a c t r e a d D u ttc ch. She therefore needed a translation into German, the Franks' mother tongue. Anneliese Annel iese Schutz compo composed sed he r "translation" "i "in n t he perspective -of the grandmot her" ("aus d er Grossmutter-Perspektive," page took. some ama amazing zing libertie liberties. s. Wh er e, accordi ng to he r 55). She to recollections, Anne had expressed herself better, she made her express hers herself elf better The grandm other had the righ rightt to that dio di o Grossmut tor hnho ai ain n Re Recht cht d nr nuf , mohr z zu u erfa hre nvorr ttllon vo ttllon~ ~ o r t , 'wo Anno noch rneiner Er Erirl irlrie rierur rurlg lg etw as be sse re s gesagt hatte"' (ibidem). Le Lett it it be said in passing th at Anne Annelies liese e Schutz is nclvor rnorltiorlod y A n n o F r a ~ l kn tho Diary. Diary. Ar e we to underst and that she ha d li liv ved clos close e tto o Anne or that she h ad m o t her during the twenty-livo montlls when she hid at the Prinsengracht? To the "perspective o off the gr andmoth er," which dictate d certa in "o "obl blig igat atio ions ns," ," there w as add ed wha t one ca n call the I

Anne Frank

175

commercial perspective perspect ive which di dicta cta te ted d othe ot herr obligati obligations. ons. As a m a tter o off fa c t, w h e n the tim time e c a me to p u blis h the Diar y in Germany,, Anneli Germany Anneliese ese Sch utz inserte d some new alte ration rat ion s. Let us take an example that she herself mentions. The manuscript, they say , included the follow followin ing g senten ce: no gr ea te r hosti hostili lity ty in the wor world ld tha n between tthe he Germans an d the Jews (ibidem). (ibidem). Ameliese Schutz declared to the journalist of Der Spiegel: I always told myself that a book, destined to be sold in Germany, cannott contain a n expression ins canno insult ultin ing g to the Germans (ibi (ibidem). dem). For my part, I wo woul uld d say that that argumen argumentatio tation n a t on one e a nd the same tim time e o off the commercial, sentimenta senti mentall an d politi political cal or de r is understandable, if ne need ed b be e coming coming from a wom woman an o off Berlin Jew Jewish ish origin, who had been a militant before the war in a suffragette moveme mov ement nt an d who had had to leave her own country for political reasons, but otherwise that argumentation is all the less acceptable since the insul insulting ting remark s have been an d continue to be spread in the milli millions ons of copies o off' the Diary sold tl ~ r o u g l ~ o uhe t

world in languages other than German. And I am not speaking he re from the simple simp le point of vi view ew of respe ct for the truth. 55. O n o doos n o t hnvo t h o improusion t h n t M r . F r a n k ' s collaborators i n the publishing of' the Diary were especially

pleased with their work, nor that thoy were ospeciolly delighted about the fus s made abo ut tha t Diary. Diary. Let us take thoso collabo collabo-rators on one e by one one:: About About Isa Cauv ern, we can say nothi nothing, ng, except that th at sh e committed committed suici suicide de b by y throwing herself out of he herr window window in Ju J une o off 1946. Mr. Frank hnd just signed or was going to sign his con tra ct for publication with Contact. The moti motive ve for for ttha ha t suicide is not known to us nnd i t is I I ~ rosont impossible to ostu1)lish u tio of some ki kind nd betw between een th at suicide an d the a ffa ir of tthe he Diary. As As rognrds the porson wllo wroto I l ~ o rofr~c:o, rofr~c:o,A A n n r ~Romoin~RomoinVarschoor, s h ~wrls to cloc:lr~ro o nor. Spiogol i r i 1 5 : I w r ~ u o t at all a~ispicious nougll ( lch b i n wolil nic:ht rnisstrr~lii~~:ll onllg geweson ). Her Iiuubtlncl I i ~ i t l b o o n I I O mo r o s ~ ~ s p i [ : i o ~ ~lt~urt u. Cauvern htid n o t boon ~ b l oo obttlirl I'r30m M r. I: I:ru runk nk t h o roturn of the typod text o n wllicll Ilo l ~ r ~ orkocl. o drkocl. 110 I i t ~ t i ~ v k o t l or t l l u t toxt in memory of my wife wif e wh who o die died d in 1046. Mr. Frank hud not sent the text text in questi question. on. Durt B Baschwitz, aschwitz, a friend of Mr. F ran k, w as one of the thr ee eminent persons (t (the he two oth ers being being Mr. and Mrs . Romein). In 1 9 5 9 , h e w a s tto o p l e a d ffo or a n agree em ment between Mr. Frank and Lothar Stielau. He recommended, on the other oth er ha hand nd,, a complete publica publication tion o off th e text of of the m anuscr anu scripts ipts to resolve the problem. To know what the text was in reality, that soluti sol ution on wou would ld have been , a s a m matt atter er o off f ac t, th at most most suita ble. Anneli Ann eliese ese S Schutz chutz,, ffor or he r pa rt , was to show h er disap prova l b bot oth h of the Anne Fr Fran an k Myth a n d of the at ti titu tude de of of Mr. Fran k with rega re ga rd to Lothar S tielau. She wa s in favor of a poli policy cy of silen sil ence: ce:

IE J O U R N

L 1: I I S T O K I C L R E V I E W

the least fuss poss possibl ible e about Anne Frank a nd he r Diary. Diary. She went so fa r a s to to disapprove disapprove of of Mr. Frank an d Ernst Schna bel for for Spur eines Kindes: what need was there for that book? As regards to Stielau, if he had made the remark which Mr. Frank criticized him for, the latter hurl o n l y t o act as i f he did not hear it. That sharp sha rp ( scha sc ha rf ) (ibidem) (ibidem) reaction by Anneliese Schutz was wa s all the more peculiar since this woman presented herself as the tran slat or of the Diary into into German an d since Ernst Schnabel Schnab el had-but had-b ut per hap s she did did not not know it-pushe it-pushed d kindness kindness so fa r a s to have declare dec lare d with reg ard ar d to tha t improbable improbable translation translation : Ich wunschte, wunsch te, alle Ubersetzungen wa re n so getreu (page (pa ge 54) (I would wou ld wish tha t all tran slat ions were we re so faithful ).

hapter Five

56. Return to Amsterdam for a new investigation: the hearing of the witnesses turned out to be unfavorable to Mr. Frank. The probable truth. in tern rnal al criticism criticis m of of the Diury h ad led me me to think tha t 57. The inte

the Diary Diary wa s a co*ck an d bull bull story, stor y, a novel, a lie. lie. The s u b sequent investigations had only served to reinforce that judgement. But, if in indo dood od saw w her e tlio lie wa s, did not seo a s well well where the truth was . I s a w indee indeed d that t h e Frank family could not have lived for twenty-fi twenty-five ve months at a t 263 263 Prins Pr ins engr en grac acht ht in the way they claimed. But how had they lived in reality? Where? With whom? And And finally, finally, wa s i t indeed t t 263 Prinsengracht that they had been arrested? 58. Without any an y illu illusion sionss about the an sw er tha t he would would give give me, I posed those questions to Kraler (by his re al name, name , Kugler Kugler)) in a lette r tha t I se nt to to him in Can ada. ada . asked ask ed hi him likewis likewise e if Anne a pp ea re d to him to have hav e been the au thor th or of the th e Diary an d how how he could explain explain to me me why Vossen Vossen (by his re al name, nam e, Voskuyl Voskuyl)) had b el e l iie e ve v e d t h a t t h e F r a n k s w e r e s o m e w h e r e o t h e r t h a n a t 2 63 63 P r i n s e n g r a c h t , a n d e v e n i n S w i t z e r l a n d , t o b e p r e c i s e . H is is response respons e wa s discourteous. He He sent my l etter ette r a nd his response res ponse to M r . F r a n k . I t i s t h a t l e t t e r w h i c h M r . F r a n k c a l l e d i di di ot ot ic ic during a telephone conversation. It is, I suppose, that response which, one ye ar la later ter , ea rn ed Kraler Kra ler a prize of of $10,000 from an institu inst itutio tion n for having having protected Anne Frank Fra nk a n d he r famil family y during the w a r, in Amsterdam Amsterdam (see the Hamburger Abendblatt, 6 Jun e 1978, 1978, page 13). 13) . Disregarding its discourtesy, discourte sy, the response respons e from fro m Kraler Kra ler w as not lacking lacking in intere interest st for me. me. Kraler Kra ler responded respon ded to me that Vossen's suggestion concer con cerning ning the pres pr esen ence ce of the

nneFrank

in Switzerland Franks made1977). to protect the which wass in hiding" wa (l (let ette terr of"was 1977) . He ad added ded,family , in reg regard ard to 1 4 April Anne, "there have been other greatly gifted young people, even younge you ngerr th than an An Anne." ne." I fou found nd that th at the fi first rst poi point nt o off this an answ sw er was precise but incomprehensible incomprehensible iiff one recal ls th that at Vos Vossen sen had had,, according to his own daughter, the personal feeling that the Franks we re in Switzerland Switzerland,, As to to the seco second nd point of tthe he an sw er , itss stereotyped it stereotyped c ha ra ct er w as stri striking king co comi ming ng from from a man whose only difficulty ought to have been in choosing among several precise an and d con convin vinci cing ng answe rs. Krale r, a s a m atte r o off f act, was supposed suppo sed tto o ha have ve live lived d for 25 months in almost daily co contac ntactt with that Ann Anne e Fra nk whose "dia "diary" ry" w as a n open secre t, it se seems, ems, for those thos e who knew her.

59. Listening to Elli on 30 November 1977, then to Miep and Henk on 2 D e c em em b e r 1 9 97 77 7,, I w a s s t r u c k r ig ig h t a w a y w i t h t h e impression that these three persons had not at all lived for 25

months mont hs in in contact with the Franks an d w with ith the other persons in hiding hid ing in the man manner ner in whi which ch this is prese presented nted to us in the Diary. On the other hand, I became convinced that Miep and Elli had at least been pr esen t a t 26 263 3 Prinsen gracht on 4 Aug August ust 19 1944 44,, a t th e time of the police raid. It is difficult for me to account otherwise for the insiste insistence nce with which E Ellli a n d Miep eva de ded d m my y quest q uestion ionss on the 25 months, while coming back over and over again to the August ust 1944. Ell Elli, i, of whom I ha d muc much h difficulty iin n finding day of 4 Aug any tr ac e, expecte expected d neit neither her my my visit, nor th the e type o off deta detailed iled questions I wa s go goin ing g to put to he r. Mi Miep ep an and d Hen Henk k we re expecting my visit and knew that I had s een Mr. Frank. M My y questions were brief, limited in number, and, with certain exceptions, I did not point out to my witnesses either their mutual contradictions or their the ir co contr ntrad adict iction ionss with the Diary. Elli Elli,, full of good wi will, ll, see seemed med to me to ha have ve a goo good d memory of tthe he w a r y yea ea rs a n d o off tthe he minor events of of h her er daily llife ife in thos those e day dayss (s (she he w a s 23 yea rs old in 1944). But But,, in re ga gard rd to tho those se twent twenty-fi y-five ve mont months, hs, h her er answ an sw ers to m y quest questions ions wer e fo r the mo mosst pa rt: I do not know I do not recall 1 can cannot not explain to yo you u "The coal stor age place? It was iin n the V Van an Da Daan ans' s' ro room om." ." "The ashe as hes? s? I suppos suppose e that the men me n ttoo ook k them down." "The night wat watch chma man n Sl Slag agter ter? ? I hav have e never heard him spoken of; after the war, we had a secretary who ha had d th that at name." "Lew "Lewin? in? I never had anything to do with hi him. m." " "Th "The e 'swi 'swinging nging cu cupb pboa oard rd'? '? You a r e right, right, it wa s useless, butt iitt wa s a camouflage for stran ger s." I asked Elli to describe to bu me first the front house, then the annex. For the front house, she wa s able tto o gi give ve me some details; it is tr ue that th at sh she e worked th there. ere. Forr the annex, her ans wer wa s interes Fo interesting. ting. She d eclared to m me e tha t she ha d, all in all, spent o onl nly y one night night there She adde d that she did not remember the premises, since she had been very

THE

IOUKN

OF HISTORICAL R E V I E W

nervous. But, in the Diary, Elli is supposed to have come to take almost all o off h e r mid-day meals with the people in hiding hiding (see (se e 5 August 1943: Elli arr ive s regular regularly ly a t 12: 12:45 45 pm pm;; 2 0 August 1943: she ar ri rive vess regularly regular ly a t 5 5::30 pm a s a messenger of freedom; March Ma rch 1944: 1944: sh e does the dishes with the two famil families ies'' mothers). In conclusion, I as aske ked d El Elli li to rec recal alll for m me ea any ny det d etai aill o off family life, any anecdote which does not appear in the book. She showed herself to be totally inc incap apab able le of doing th at . 60. Miep a n d Hen Henk k w ere er e likewis likewise e inc incap apab able le of furnishing me with the leas le as t de deta tail il on the li life fe of th the e people in hiding. The mos mostt important sentenc sent ence e of their test testimony imony w a s the fol followi lowing: ng: We did not know ex ctly h o w t h e y lived.

And in addition: We we were re only in the ann only annex ex for one weeke weekend; nd; we ssle lept pt in tthe he Futur Fu ture e ro room om o off Anne an d Dussel. How di did d the per person son s in hid hiding ing keep th thememselves sel ves warm? Pe Perha rha ps wit with h gas gas.. The coal storage place wa wass downstai dow nstai rs in the store. There w as no vacuum cleaner. The greengrocer did not bring anything to Prinsengracht. Th The e

'swin 'swingin ging g cupboard' had ha d been constructed wel welll be befor fore e the a arri rri va vall of the th e Fr Fran anks ks ( ) I myself, Miep, I brought the ve vegetables, getables, whi while le Ellli brought the El th e milk. I myself, myself, Henk, worked els elsew ewher here e tha than n in the business, b u t overy day I came to have lunch in the office of the girls girls and I came to speak to them for 1 5 or 2 minutes. (This point, among others, is in total contradiction with the Diary, where it is said that Henk, Miep and Elli took their lunch in the annex an nex , with the people in hiding. Se See e 5 Augus Augustt 1943 1943.) .) During our enti en tire re inter intervie view, w, Miep gave m me e the imp impressio ression n o off being almost in agony. Her gaze avoided me. When I finally let her speak to me about 4 Augu August st 1944 1944,, he r attit attitude ude suddenly c changed hanged compl complete etely. ly. It was with obvi obvious ous ple pleasu asu re th at she be began gan to call to mi mind, nd, with with a great gre at abu nd ndan ance ce of of details, the ar ri va l of the pol polic ice e a and nd its results. I noted, howeve ho wever, r, a striking dispro disproporti portion on in the deta details ils of the account. Those details were numerous, vivid and obviously tru thf ul when Mie Miep p w a s calli calling ng to mi mind nd wh at ha had d personally personally happened happene d tto o her with the Aus Austrian trian arre arresting sting of offi ficer cer,, Silberba Silberbauer, uer, eit her th at d ay or o on n th e foll followi owing ng days. But, when it was a question of of th the e Fra Frank nkss an d o off th eir companion companionss in misfortune, the details became scanty and unclear. Thus it was that Miep had seen see n nothing of th the e a arr r e s t o off the per person son s in hiding. She had not seen them leave. She had not seen them climb into the police v ehi eh i cl cle, e, s i n ce t h a t v veh eh iicl cl e, e, w h i ch s h e h ad s een t h r o u g h t h e window of he r office, wa wass too too n e a r th the e wall wa ll of th the e house. From a dista distance nce from the oth er side o off the ca na l, Hen Henk k had ha d see seen n the police vehicle, but without bei being ng ab able le to recog recognize nize th e people who were entering or leaving. I n regard to the manuscripts, Miep repeated repe ated to me the a account ccount t hat she h ad gi give ven n to to Schnabel. She told to ld me als also o that Mr. Frank, after returning to the Netherlands a t

Anne Frank

the end en d of May o off 1945, lived for seve seven n ye a r s und u nd er the their ir roof. roof. It w a s onl only y to wa rd tthe he en d of of JJun un e or th t h e begi beginning nning of July Ju ly of 1945 that sh e ha d retu rne d the manuscripts to hi him. m. 61. In the wa 61. wake ke o off those two inte rvi rview ewss m my y judgement beca b eca me the foll followi owing: ng: These th ree persons must have , on the whole, told me the truth about their own lives. It is probably true that they had not been familiar familia r with, so to speak, the annex. It is is ce rtainly true t ha t, in the fron t house, lliife u unfol nfolded ded approximately approximately a s they had reco unted it to me (mi (midd-da day y meal take n tog ether in tthe he of offi fice ce of the secr eta rie ries; s; the men of the st or e eatin eating g in the stor store; e; small food e rr an d s made in the nei food neighbo ghborhoo rhood, d, etc .). It iiss ce rtainly tr ue that a police raid took place on 4 August 1944 and the Miep had had business on that day and on the following days with a Karl Silberbauor. t is prohr~l~lo,n tlio ot Iior hfincl. l l r i t l i o ~ o llroo

persons maintain ed som some e relations with tthe he Fr ank fami family ly.. In In that case, why did they so obviously feel reluctant to speak about it? Let us suppose, a s a ma tter o off fa ct, tha t the F ranks an d some oth er pers person onss in hidi hiding ng h had ad really lived for 2 25 5 months months in pro proximity ximity to thos those e th ree re e persons. In th at case, ca se, why su ch a silence? 62

The answer to these questions could be the following: tho

Franks and, perhaps, some other Jews did actually live in the a n n e x of 263 Prinsengracht. But they lived there quite differently than the Diary relates. For example, they lived a life there that was no doubt cautious, but not like a prison. They were able to live live ther th er e a s di did d so m man any y other JJew ew s who hid themselves either in the city, or iin n the countryside countryside.. They They hid them themselves selves without hidin hi ding. g. Their adve nt ntur ure e wa s sadly commo commonpla nplace. ce. It di did d not not have tha t fantastic , ab su rd a nd ob obvi viou ousl sly y dec deceitf eitful ul c ha ra ct er th at Mr. Frank had wonted to pass off as being realistic, authentic and true to life. After the war, just a s much a s tho fri frien ends ds of of Mr. F r a n k w e r e p r e p ~ r e d o tostify o n h is is b e h al f, s o w o r e th the ey hesitant hesit ant to guara nte e the nar rative of the Diar Diary. y. Just a s mu much ch a s they the y we were re able to off er them themselv selves es a s gua ranto ra nto rs of the r ea eall suffering suff eringss of Mr. Fra nk a n d of his family, so did it se seem em difficult for them to bear witness, in addition, to imaginary sufferings. Krale Kr ale r, Koophui Koophuis, s, Mie Miep, p, E Ellli, Hen Henk k sh showe owed d th their eir frie friendsh ndsh ip to Mr. Frank; they they pub publi licl cly y showed their sympath y for h hiim a s for a man f ull u ll of c h a rm a n d , at th e s am e tim e, ov e rw h elm e d with m is fortunes fort unes.. Perh aps they they fel feltt flattered to be presente d in the p ress a s his companions in his days of misfortune. Pe rh ap s ce rta in among amo ng th them em acce pted th e id idea ea that, tha t, when a man ha s suffe red, he h a s th e m o ra l r ig ht tto o ex a g g e ra t e s om ew ha t the s to ry o off h is sufferings. In the eyes eye s o off cer c erta tain in o off the them, m, th the e main point could h a v e b e en e n t h a t M r . F r a n k a n d h i s f a m iill y h a d h a d t o s u f f e r cruelly a t the ha hand ndss of the Germans; in th at case ca se the details of

T H E JOURNAL OF HISTORICAL REVIEW

those sufferings mattered little. But kindness has its limits Mr. Frank found only only one person to g ua ra nt ee his ac accou count nt o off the existence existe nce of the Diary Diary.. Th at p person erson w as his former se cr cret etar ary y and friend: Miep Van Santen (by her real name: Miep Gies). Still the testimony of Miep is strangely hesitant. Her testimony comes b a ck ck tto o sa s a y in g th a t a f te r th e a r r e s t of th e F ra n k s , s h e h a d gath ga ther ered ed up from the floor of a room room of tthe he annex ann ex a diary, dia ry, a n account acco unt bo book, ok, some notebooks an d a cert ce rtai ain n num number ber of loos loose e le leaf af she ets . For he r it w as a ma tt er o off obj ects belongi belonging ng to Anne Frank. Miep only gave that testimony in an official form thirty years afte r the events, o on n 5 Ju June ne 1974, in tthe he office of Mr. Antoun Jacob Dragt, a notar notary y in Amsterda Amsterdam. m. Miep added tha t s he had made the discovery with Elli. But, on the same day, in the

p r e s e n c e of of t h e s a m e n o t a r y y,, t h e l a t t e r d e c l a r e d t h a t s h e remembered having been the re when those thi things ngs ha d been discovered. The rest ra in t iiss impor tant a nd it m must ust no nott have pleased pleas ed Mr. Frank. 6 3 Schnabel wrote (see abo ov v e , p a r a g r a p h 50) t h a t all t h e

witnesses

whom h e had questioned-including, consequently, Miop, I<lli, l o r ~ k i l i t l K o o ] l i t ~ i ~ - l ~ l \ d 011~1vod s if thoy had to protect themselvos against the legend of Anne Frank. He added that if they ul l had read tho Diary, they nevertheless did not mention it. That last sentence means obviously that, in each interview with a witness, witn ess, it was Sc Schna hnabel bel hims himsel elff who had to take the initiative in speaking of of the Diary. We know know t ha t his book ha had d nott been no been publis published hed iin n the Nethe Netherland rlands, s, except in a shortened an d c e n s o re d fo form rm:: it is in th e Ne th e rla n d s th a t th e p rin c ip a l witnesses witnes ses a r e located. For its pa rt , the arti article cle fro from m Der Der Spi Spieg egel el (see, above, paragraph 55) proves that th at o othe thers rs of Mr. Frank' Fra nk'ss Witnesses Witnes ses have ended up hav having ing the same negative negative reactions. The foundations foundat ions of the myth of Anne FrankFra nk-a a myth th at rres ests ts on the tr trut uth h an d authen authenticit ticity y of the Diary-have not been strengstreng thened with time: they have crumbled.

Chapter i x 64. Th The e

betra yer and th the e person w who ho arr est ed the Fra Franks nks:: why wh y has Mr. Frank w ant anted ed to as su re them anonym anonymity ity? ? 6 5 . S inc in c e 1 9 4 44 4 , Mr. F ra n k a n d h iiss frie n d s k n e ew w th a t th e ir

al alle lege ged d betrayer wa s name named d Va Van n Ma are n an d the person who arre ar re st sted ed th them em wa s named Silberb Si lberbauer. auer. Van Ma ar en wa s one of the employee employeess in thei theirr store store.. Si Silberb lberbauer auer w was as a non-co non-commis mmissio sioned ned officer of of the Securi Sec urity ty Service Servi ce (SD (SD)) in Amsterdam. Amsterda m. n the Diary, a s well the previously previou slyrementi mentioned ookbau byer, Schnabel, Schnab Van Maa renas is in called V.M. As ga rdoned s Sil b ber he isel, called

Anne Frank Silb erthaler Silberth aler in Sch na nabel bel 's b boo ook. k. It seem seemss th at a t th the e time o off th the e Liberation, Van Maaren had some trouble with the law in h i s country. coun try. Hi Hiss g guilt uilt could no nott be proved proved,, Mr. Fr Fran ank k told me. V.M. V.M. had had enough troubles like that and he should be left alone. Schnabel ha d not wa nted nt ed to obtain t he testimo testimony ny of V.M. nor had he wan ted to obtain tha t of of the arre ar re stin st in g of officer. ficer. 66. In 1963, the world press suddenly echoed with a striking news story: Simon Wiesenthal had just rediscovered tho person who arrested the Franks. He was named Karl Silberbauer. He

was u polico officiril in Vie Vienna. nna. Wiosonthal h r ~ d ot info informed rmed Mr. Frank about his research. The latter, questioned by journalists, declared that he had know known n ffor or nearly twen twenty ty yea rs the nam e of the person who arrested him. He added that that entire affair was unfortunate and that Silberbauer had only done his duty in arresting hi him. m. Miep, Miep, ffor or her pa rt , decl ared that if she had used the pse pseudon udonym ym of Silberthal Silber thaler er to desi designat gnate e the arr a rr es esti ti ng officer, tha t wa s o onl nly y a t the request of Mr. Frank; the lat ter had pointed out that there could, u s a rnattor of fact, bo some other persone bearing bear ing the name o off Sil Silber ber bau er to whom, consequently, some harm could could be done: (De Heer Fra nk ) ha d m miij verzocht de naam Silberthaler te noemen, omdat er misschien nog meer mensen Silb erba uer heette n en die z zou ouden den wij wij da n in diskredie diskrediett brengen (Volkskrant, 2 November 1963). 67. The re wa s a kin kind d o off stru ggle b betwe etween en Simo Simon n Wiesenthal Wiesen thal and Mr. Frunk. I t wus tlio tlio latte la tte r who in u wuy got the beet of it. A s a matter o fac t, Karl Silb erba uer wa s, a t the end o off e l e v e n months,, re in st at ed in the Vien nese pol months police ice.. disci plina ry c o mm m m is issio sion n , sitting sittin g b e h in d c lo sod so d d o o rs ( a s is th e c u st o m ), releas rel eased ed h him im.. The jud judgement gement iin n tho app ea l c commissi ommission on ( Ober Oberdisdiszipl ziplina inark rkomm ommis issio sion n ) wa s likew likewise ise favora ble tto o Silbe rbau er, a s w er e als also o con conclu clusio sions ns of a commission of of iinqu nquiry iry of of tthe he Minist Min istry ry of the Interior. Silberbauer had indeed arrested the Franks at 263 Prinseng racht, bu butt h his is particip ation in wa r crimes against the Jew s or members memb ers of the re resis sis tan ce could not be proved. In June Ju ne of 1978, I obtained an interview with Simon Wiesenthal in his office in Vienna. In regard to that affair, he declared to me th at Mr. Fra nk w as craz crazy. y. In his op opin inion ion,, Mr. Fran k, in his concern to to maintain a cult (tha (t ha t of his daug ht hter) er) , meant to sp a r e th e fo rm e r N a z is, w h ile h e , S im i m on o n W ie se n t h a l, h a d o n lly y one concern: conc ern: th at of seeing ju justi stice ce done. Sim Simon on Wies Wiesenth enthal al d did id not know kn ow the r e a l name of of th e stor st or e employee V. V.M. The T he re a ga gain in Mr. Frank h ad done wha t w as nece ssar y: the Roy ya a l I n s t i t u t e of Documentation (for the Second World War), directed by his frie nd Lo friend Loui uiss De Jong, resp onde onded, d, iiff we a r e to beli believe eve a n Ams Amsterterdam newspaper (Trouw, 2 2 November 1963), that that name

JOURNAL O

HISTOKICAL R E V I E W

would woul d not be gi given ven to Mr. Wi Wies esen enth thal al,, even iiff he ask asked ed for it: deze naam zou men zelfs aan Mr. Wiesenthal niet doorgeven, geve n, wa nn ee r deze daar daarom om zo zou u verzoeken verzoeken". ". 68. The aut 68. author horiti ities es iin n Vie Vienna nna we were re not a able ble to authori authorize ze me to consult cons ult the th e re reco cord rdss o off the commission commissionss o off iinqui nquiry. ry. A Ass to Ka Karl rl Silber Sil berbau bauer, er, he died in 19 1972. 72. My inquiry wa s ttherefor herefore e lim limite ited d to the analysis of of som some e Dutch, Dutch, German a nd F Fren rench ch newp ape apers rs from

1963 a n d 1964 a n d to the interviewing intervie wing o off a witness whom I believe to be well informed, honest a n d the posses pos sesso sorr of of a go good od memory. memory. That Th at witne witness ss begged us, m my y companio companion n a n d myself, myself, not to rrev evea eall his name. I have promised to say nothing about his name. I will keep my my prom promise ise only half-way. The T he impo i mport rtanc ance e of his testimony is such that i t seemed impossible to me to pass over it in silence. The name of of tha t witness a nd his ad dr dres es s a s wel welll a s the name of my companion companion an d hi hiss a dd re ss a r e put down in a seal sealed ed env envelo elope. pe.

69. Here is, to be begin gin with, wh at I would call: "The testimony of Karl Silbe Sil berb rbau au er er,, collected collected by a Dutch journ journalist alist of the H Haag aague ue Po Post and a ndgeme t ra rans nsla laeted teWochenzei d into German b by ydae Jewish journalist (o6 f thestAIlge AIl mein ine Wochenzeitung tung r JudenGerman iin n Deutschland December 1963 1963,, page lo). Silberbauer recou recounts nts that a t the tim time e (4 Augu August st 194 1944) 4) he had received a telephone call fro from m a n unknown kno wn per person son who had revealed reveale d to hi him m ttha hatt some Jew Jewss remaine remained d h id d e n in a n o ffic f fice e o on n P rin se n g ra c h t: I th e n a le rte d e ig h t Dutchmen of of th the e Security S Servi ervice ce (S (SD) D) an d went with them to Prinsengracht. I s a w that th at on one e of of my my Dutch compani companions ons tr tried ied to sp e a k to a n e m mp p lo loy ye ee e bu utt th e la tt e r m a d e a g e st u re w ith h is t h um um b t o w a r d t h e u p s t a i r s . " S i l b e r b a u e r d e s c r i b e d h o ow w he ent ere d the place whe re the Jew s kept themselv themselves es h hidd idden: en: "The "The people peo ple ra n in all dire direction ctionss a nd packed their suitcases. On One e man then came toward tow ard me an and d presente prese nted d him himse self lf a s bei being ng Otto Frank. He'had been, he said, a reserve officer in the German Army. To my question questi on ab abou outt the length of time th at they had h ad been in hiding hiding,, Frank had answered: 'Twenty-five months.' Seeing that I did not want wa nt to b believ elieve e him, Sibe Si berb rbau auer er continued, continued , he took the h an and d of of a young girl who stood at his side. That must have been Anne. He placed pla ced the child ag agai ains nstt the si side de post o off a door, which b b..ore som some e marks in various places. I spoke again to Frank: 'What a pretty girll you hav gir have e there "' Sil Silber berbaue baue r sa id then th that at he had on only ly very much later made the connection between that arrest and what the newspapers said about the Frank family. After the war, his reading of the Diary surprised him very much. He especially did not under not understa sta nd how Anne Anne co could uld have kn know own n t hat the Jews were gassed: gasse d: "We we re all un aw ar e, " Sib erb aue r e explai xplained, ned, "o "of wha t awaited the Jews. I especially do not unde rs rsta ta nd how Anne in he r

Anne

Frank

183

diary could as se rt that th at the Je Jews ws we re gassed. In the op opini inion on of Silberb Sil berb aue auer, r, nothi nothing ng would have happoned to the Fr Frank ankss if they had not kept themselves hidden. 70. That exclusive interview with Silberbauer constitutes a

very faithful summary, I think, of the remarks attributed by the journalists to the person who arrested the Frank family. The testimony that I announced above (paragraph 68) confirms in

general the content o off th the e interview interview,, with th e exception th at the e pis pi s ode of t h e r a i s e d t hum b w wou oull d be a s h e e r f a br i c a t i on. Silb erbauer Silberba uer sup supposedly posedly noted nothing o off th the e kind, for the th e good r e a s on, be s i de s, s , t h a t he i s s uppos e d t o ha v e m a de his hi s w a y immedia imme diatel tely y towa rd the annex. He did nothing nothing but take t he corridor an and d the s ta irw ay , without without any detour toward the office officess or the sto res. And iitt is th er e tha t the testimony iin n question furnishes us with an important element. One will have noticed that, th at, iin n his interview interview,, the policeman policeman do does es not ssta ta te precisely how how he had acc ess tto o the place wh where ere those in hidin hiding g kept themselves. He does not mention tho oxistonco o a swinging swinging cupboard cupbo ard ( ein d re h b ar es Regal ). But my witne witness ss is qui quite te positive: positive: SilberSilberbau er had never encou encountered ntered anyth anything ing of the kind, kind, b u t . a heavy heav y wooden door llike ike one finds a t the en tr an ce , for example, o off a storehouse storehouse.. the exact word wa s ein Holzverschlag. The police poli cema man n had ssim impl ply y kno knock cked ed a t the do door or a n d . it ha d be been en opened to him. A thi third rd point of this testim testimony ony is, if if possible, p ossible, still more important. Karl Silberbauer said and repeated that he did not bel believ ieve e in th e authe ntic ity o off t he famous Diary, s ince , according to him, there had never been on the site anything that would woul d resemble the man usc uscript ript s tha t Mie Miep p claimed tto o have found scatt ered ab out the floor on ne ew we e ek ek a f t e r 4 August 1944. The police pol iceman man had th the e professional habit of of carryin carrying g out arr es ts a nd sea rch es since before befo re the w ar . Such a pile pile of documents would would h o r o that oight m o n not htivo tlsctipod his ~lotico. Lot u s ti accompanied him and that the entire operation had been conducted slow slowly ly an d correct ly an and d then the policeman, policeman, afte r hav having ing entrust ent rust ed the ke key y to the premises to V M or to another employee, had returned to the premises on three occasions.) Silberbauer, the witness ass er ts , ha d the th e habit of saying tha thatt Miep had ha d not, in reality, played a g re at role in tha thatt whole story (wh (whence ence comes comes the fac t that the they y ha d not ev even en arre sted her ). Afterw ards, Mie Miep p ha d tried to give herself some importance, notably with that episode of the mira miraculo culous us disc discove overy ry of the ma manu nusc scri ript pts. s. 71. The same witne 71. witness ss d ec ecla lare red d to m me, e, in the pres p resen ence ce of my c om pa p a ni o on, n, t h a t S i l be r b a ue r i n 1 196 9633-19 1964 64 ha d dr a w n up a n account, for the courts, o off the ar re st of the Fr ank s an d th at those details deta ils mi migh ghtt ap pe ar , in th that at account. A second witness certainly

TI IE

JO1 IRNAL 1: I-IISTOKICAL RE V IE W

could have given me very valua could valuable ble testi testimony mony on the sta tem en ents ts of Silberbau er, but t ha t second wit witness ness pr efe rred to say no noth thin ing. g.

Chapter

even

72. Cornparision of the Dutch and the German text: attempting

to make ttoo oo much o off it, Mr. Fr Fran an k h a s given hi himsel mselff awa a wa y; he h a s si signe gned d a litera ry frau d.

73. I hove two tex texts ts in fron fr ontt o off me. The fi firs rstt is in Dutch (D), whilo t h o ~ o c o n ds i n Gormnn G ). The publisher publi sherss tel telll me tha t D is is tho trulislti tion of tliut original toxt. I ll lllo lo orig or igi~ i~lu lull ox[, wlii wliilo lo tlo n o t h av e a p r i o r i a n y r eas o n t o ch al l en g e t h ei r w o r d . B u utt scientific rigor, I Y wcll ns common sense nnd experience, teach f l i r ~ l t is nocossury to rccctivo the s t n tomunts of publishers with c:r~ution. t hnppe~ls, s a matter of of fac t, that th ere ca n be er ro r or deceit dece it on the their ir part pa rt . A b bo ook is a piece of m merc ercha hand ndise ise like an y o t h er . T h e l ab el can b e d ecei v i n g ab o u t t h e co n t en t . A s a consequence, I wi will ll set aside here the labels tha t a r e p propo roposed sed to me or that are imposed upon me. I will speak neither about the original orig inal version in Dutch Dutch,, nor abou t the translation into German. I will temporarily susp s usp en end d all judgemen judgement. t. I wi will ll gran t a precise name to those two books only with reservations. For the moment, I wi will ll gi give ve th them em a nam e which is, a t the same time, eq ual ua l and neutral. I will there therefore fore spe ak o off texts. 74. I am goi going ng to desc describe ribe the text D an d the text G that I have before m e . I am going to begin with text D , but I could, just as wnll I~ogin I~oginwitti witti t o x t G . I i n s i s t o n this l n s t point. T h o order of

s u ccess cces s i o r l t h at 1 huve chosen here ought not to imply any suc ces sio n iin n time, nor any rel at io ns hi p of of filiation o off t he fath er/s on kin kind d between D and G .

75. My text D is presented in this manner: Anne Frank/Het Junii 1942 1942-1 -1 Augu Augustus stus 1944/1977 1944/1977,, Achterhuis Dagboekbrieven l4 Jun Uitgeve Uit geverij rij Conta Contact, ct, Amste Amsterdam rdam , Eerste druk 1947/Vi 1947/Vijfe jfenvi nvijft jftigs igste te druk 1977/. The author's text begins on page 2 2 with the photogra phi c repro duc duction tion o off a so rt of dedi dedicati cation on signed: Anne Fra nk nk,, 12 Jun Junii 1942. On pa page ge 3 ap pe a rs the first of of the 169 entr ies which make up this diary to whi which ch they have giv given en the ti title tle T The he Annex. Anne x. The bo book ok ha hass 27 273 3 pages. The la st pag page eo off the text is pag e 269. I estim ate the length o off the text itself itself a t ab about out 72, 72,500 500 Dutc Dutch h words. I have not compared the text of of th at 55th edition with the text of of the fi firs rstt edition. At the time of my inve investigat stigation ion in Am Amstersterd a m , I r e c e i v ed e d a s s u r a n c e s f rro om Messrs. Fred Batten an nd d, Christian Blom that no change had been made in the successive ed i t io i o n s . T h o s e t w o p er s o n s w e r e em p llo o y ed by t h e C o n t act

Anne Ann e Fra Frank nk

185

publishing house and they were involved, along with Mr. P. De Neve Ne ve (de cea se sed), d), in the orig original inal ac ce pt an ce o off the typed manu manu-script that Mr. Frank had deposited with an interpreter by the name of of Mr. Kahn. It is this Mr. Kahn w who ho wa was, s, in 1957, to ser ve as the companion and interpreter for Ernst Schnabel, when the latt la tt er ca came me to see E Ell llii iin n Amsterdam.

76. My text G is presented in this manner: Das Tagebuch der Anne Ann e Fr an k/ l2 Juni 194 1942-1 2-1 Aug August ust 1944 1944/197 /1977, 7, F Fisch ischer er T Tasch aschenenbuch Verlag/No. 77/Ungekurzte Ausgabe/43. Auflage 1293000133200 133 200/Aus /Aus dem Holland Hollandischen ischen u bs rt ra ge n von Anne Anneliese liese Schutz/Hollandische Schutz/Holla ndische Original-Ausg Original-Ausgabe, abe, He Hett Achterhuis , Contact, Amsterdam. After the dedi dedicati cation on page, th the e fir first st o off tthe he entries entri es appe ars on pag page e 9. There a r e 17 175 5 entries. Th The e las t entry ends on page 201. I esti estimat mate e the length o off the text a t about 77,00 77,000 0 Gormnn words. T h o book hw1 203 pngos. T h is p a p e r b ~ c k A R first published in Ma rc rch h 195 1955. 5. Fisc Fischer her obta obtained ined the Lixen Lixensau sauega ega be (distribution license) from the Lambert-Schneider publishing house, in Heidelberg. 77. I call attent ion to a first troubling fac t. T Text ext D h a s 1 6 9 entr ies whil while e text GI which is pres presen ented ted a s the ttrans rans lat lation ion of text D l has 17 175 5 entries. 78. I call attentio n to a second troubling fact. I s e t o u t in se ar ch of the ex extr tra a e entr ntries ies of text G . It is not six entries that I d isc is c o v ve er (1 17 7 5 m iin nu uss 1 6 9 e q u a l s 6 ) , b bu u t s e v e n e n tr ie s . T h e explanation is the following: text G does not have the entry of 6 December Decem ber 1943 from text D. 79. I point out a third troubling fact. Since the Dutch language a n d th the e G e r m a n la n g u a g e a r e v e rry y c lo sse e tto o e a c h o th e r , th e translation ought not to be appreciably longer than the text that is being being tr tran an slat sl ated ed.. But, even iiff I di disr srega ega rd the number o off words that make U P the seven entries in question, I am very far from reaching a di diff ffer erenc enc e of approximat approximately ely 4,500 G 77,000 minus D 72,5 72 ,500 00 equa equals ls 4,50 4,500). 0). Ther Therefor efor e, text G even when it has some entries in common with text D l has them under another form: in every ca case, se, und under er a longer ffor orm. m. He Here re is my proof, ssuppo upporte rted d by figures: a ) Addi Additiona tionall entries that G has: 3 August 1943. 210 wor ds approximatel approximately y August 1943 1943.. 1600 20 Fe Febr br ua uary ry 1943 270 5 Apri Aprill 1944 340 1 Apri Aprill 1944 180 1944 4 190 2 5 April 194 Total 31 70 wo words rds approximatel approximately y I ,

I ,

I *

. I

186

T H E IOURNAL

1: HISTORICAL REVIEW

[Err or on my pa r t (R. Fau [Error Faurisso risson): n): The e nt ry of 1 2 May 1944 380 words) is not missing from text D. It is in text D b u t is dated May. What is missing in text D is the entry of 11 May which, in ext G , has 520 words ] b) The The e ntry nt ry t ha t G is is lackin lacking: g:

6 December 1943

380 words approximately approximately c) Extra words that G has , considering a n eq ual ua l number number of entries: 4500 minus 3170 minus 380) equals 1710 words. I n r e a l i t y , a s wi wi l l b e s e e n l a t e r o n , t h i s n u m b e r o n l y re pre se nts nt s a small pa rt of of the sur plus of of words t hat ha t G has. But, meanwhile, in order not to seem too ottached to the calculations, I am going to give some precise examples involv inv olving ing approxim appr oximately ately 550 words. 80. Among th e en trie s tha t D a n d G ap appa pa ren tly have in comm common on,, here are some letters (among many others) where G has some extra fragments, that is to say some fragments with which the Dutc Du tch h re ade r w as n ever acquainted: acquainted: 6 October 20 October 1942 1942 5 February 1943 1 0 August 1943 31 March 1943

. . .

"Vater Schriftsteller". 2 0 words "Nachdem habe" 30 , "Uber. bedeutet" 100 , "Gestern anziehen' I40 , "Hier prima" 70 , Ah. warum? 25 I nzwisclien. perldiert" 90 bosorgt" . . . . . . . . . . 4 0 , 1.Iarr. Langer . . . h u t 35 Totall of Tota of these the se simple examples exampl es 550 words , I

2 May 1944

3 Mny 1944

81. Amon mong the en trie s th at D and G ap pa re ntly nt ly hav e in com commo mon, n, here are some entries (among many others) where G is missing some fragments, that is to say some fragments with which the German Ger man re ad er wa s never acquainted: 7 November 1942

1 3 June 1943 2 9 July 1943

"Speciale overgelegd" "Daar "D aar Pim heeft". "Ijdelheid. persoontje" Total To tal of of these the se simple examples. example s.

1 5 words 3 0 words 20 65 words

Ono remarknble fact i ~ hat the fragments thnt are missing are v er e r y n u m e r o u s a n d v e r y s h o r t . F o r e x a m p l e , t h e l e t t e r of 2 0 August 1943 is cu t by 1 9 words in the German text, and those 1 9 words a r e distrib uted in the foll follow owin ing g manner : 3 + 1 + 4 + 4 + 7 = 1 9 .

nneFran k

82. I c a l l a t t e n t i o n t o a f o u r t h t r o u ub b l iin n g f a c t . T h a t f a c t iiss independent of of the quantities that th at a r e extra or llac acki king. ng. This fact is th that at some fra fragme gments nts of ent entries ries move move somehow from one le tter tt er t o the o the r, from text D to text G G.. For examp le, th e e nt ire next-to-the-last p a ra g ra p h of let lette terr D of Dond Donderd erdag, ag, 7 April 1944

is found in the llas as t para pa ra g ra p h of llet et te r G of Dienstag Dienstag,, 2 25 5 April 1944 19 44.. On t he 7t h o off J an ua r y 1944, t he l a s t pa r a gr ap h of D becomes, in G , the sixth paragraph before the end. On 27 April 1944, the next-to-the-la 1944, next-to-the-last st p ar ag ra ph of D becomes, in G G,, the last la st p a ra g ra p h o off th the e entr en try y of 25 25 April 1944. 83. I call attention to a fifth troubling fact. It is not a question, this time time,, of add additio itions, ns, of subtra sub tra ct ctio ions ns,, of t ra rans ns fe rral rr al s, but of altera alt eratio tions ns which a r e the sign sign of inc inconsistencies. onsistencies. I mean to say this: thi s: suppose th at I leave aside all the fea tur es by which D an d G differ dif fer so obv obvio ious usly ly fr from om one an anoth oth er, a nd suppose tha t I tu rn no now w toward towa rd wha t I wou would ld call the remai nder (a remainder which, acco r di ng t o t he publ i s her s , o ought ught t o m ake up t he co com mm mon on stock, sto ck, the identical pa part rt ), I am sur pri sed to find find out tha t, from from one end to the other of these two books, except with the rarest exceptions, this rema exceptions, remainder inder is very f a r from from bei being ng identical. As is go goin ing g to be seen se en b by y the examples th at foll follow, ow, th thes ese e inc inconsiste onsistenncies cannot be attributed to a clumsy or whimsical translation. The same en entry try of of 10 Ma Marc rch h 1943 gives, for D D,, Bij kaarsl ka arslich ichtt ( by by candlel candlelight ight ) an d, for G , Bei Tage ( By daylight ); een nachtt ( one night nach night ) for Eines Eines Tages ( one day ); verdw enen de die dieven ven ( the robbers robb ers disap peare d ) for sch schwie wieg g der Lar Larm m ( the n noi oise se became quiet ). On 13 Ja nu ar y 19 1943, 43, Anne sa said id tha t s h e r e jo j o i ce ce d a t t h e p r o s p e c t of b u uy y iin ng a fte r the w a r so om me nieuwe kleren en schoenen ( some new clothes a n d shoes ));; that is in text D , because in text G s h e sp spea eaks ks of neue Kleider und Bucher (of new clothes an d books books ). On 1 8 May 1943, Mrs Mrs.. Van Va n Daa n is als door Mous Mouschi chi gebeten ( as i f bitt bitten en by Mouschi [the [the cat]) ; h n t is i n text D , becausu in text G 8he is wio von einer Tarnntel Tarn ntel gestoch gestochen en ( ns i f stung b y a tcirtintula ). Dopending o n whether one consults D or G a man is a fascist or a Rie Riese se ( giant giant ) (2 (20 0 October 1942) 1942).. Some Some red bea ns an d som some e whit white e beans ( br ui ne en w i t t e bone bonen n ) bec becom om e w hi tte e beans ( weisse Bohnen ) ( 1 2 Marc March h 1943). 1943). Some Some san dal s for 6.5 florins become bec ome so some me san da ls w wirh irhout out indication of price (ibidem), while five five hostage s ( een stuk of gijzela ars ) h as become ' ' a cer tai tain n number numb er of thes e hostages ( eine Anzahl dieser die ser Ge Geil il-seln ), an d tha thatt iin n tho sam e en entry try of of 9 Octo October ber 1 194 942 2 wh er e the G er m ans an s ( D ui uitt s er erss ) a r e no m or e t h an t hes e G er m ans ( diese Deutschen ) who are very specifically the Nazis (see above, pa rag rap h 54) above, 54).. On On 1 7 November 1942, Dussel meets tthe he Franks an d the Van Daa ns in their hiding hiding-pl -place. ace. Tex Textt D say s tha thatt

188

TI I

JOURNAL OF HlSTOKlCAL REVIEW

Miep helped him him to take ta ke o offf his overcoa overcoatt ( Miep liet hem zifn zifn jass uit ja uitdo doen en ); learning that the Frank s a r e there, he nearly

fainted from from surprise an d, says Anne, he remained si sile lent nt as if he wanted firs firstt a littl little e time, time, a moment moment,, tto o rea r ea d the t ruth ru th on our faces ( vie1 vie1 hi hijj ha as t flauw van verbazing spra sprakelo keloos os alsof hij eerst even goed de waarheid van onze gezichten wilde lezen ); but text G sa ys of Dussel th a t he had ha d to ta take ke of off his overcoat describ des his entbeli inliev this he no not t u n d e rsan tadn d . crib he eswa s astonishm no nott able to be eve e way: his his eye eyes s could ( Er musste musst e den Mantel ausziehen konnt konnte e er es nicht fassen und wollte scinen Augen nicht trauen ). A person who suffered from fro m a n eye problem a n d who ba bath thed ed it with camo camomil mile e tea ( hette het mat kamillen-the kamillen-the ) becomes a person per son who made hims hi msel elff some some compres compresses ses ( ma macht chte e U~nschlage U~nschla ge )(10 )(10 December 1942). whor* Who re Papa olo olone ne is waiting ( Pim Pim verw och ochtt ), it it is we all who a r e wai waiti ting ng ( Wir erw art en ) 2 7 February 1943). Wh ere the two ca ts rece receive ive th their eir n name amess of of Mo Mofffi a n d Tommi Tommi,, accordin g to whe ther th he ey ap p e ar boche ( G e rm rm a n ) o r angliche ( E~lg E~lgliuh liuh ), jus justt a s in poli politic ticss ( Net al alss in d e politiek ), text G say s tha t th they ey we re named accordin according g to their spiritua spir ituall dispositions dispositions ( Ihren Anloge Anlogen n gemass ) (1 (12 2 March Ma rch 1943). On 26 Ma rc h 1943, some people who were we re in an a n endless endle ss foar ( schr schrockto ockton n imm mmor or wieder a u f ' ) . a p pio ioce ce of flannel ( s e n 1 ~ plane lanell ) b beco ecomes mes a ma ttr ess es s cover cover ( MatratzenMatratzen schoner ) (1 May 1943). To g o on str strik ike e ( Stake Staken n ) in many a re as ( iin n viele viele gebieden ) becomes: sabo sabotage tage is committe committed d on all sides ( an a n allen Ecke Ecken n und Enden sab otier oti ertt wird ) (ibidem). (ibidem). fold fo ldin ing g bed ( harmonicabed ) iiss enc encoun oun tered tere d a s a loung loungeechai ch airr ( Liegest Liegestuhl uhl ) 2 1 August 1942). The following sentence: The gunfire no longer did anything to us, our fear had gone away ( Het kanonvuur kanonv uur de erd e ons niet meer, onze onze angst was wa s weggevaad ) becomes: becomes: and the situation, for today, w a s saved ( und die Situati Situation on w a r f u r heute gerettet ) (1 (18 8 Ma May y 1943 1943). ). 84. I had noted these few examples in inconsistencies in the -' -'co cour urse se of a simple sample sam ple which d did id not go beyond beyond the 54th entry entr y of text D (18 May 1943). I decided then to initiate a much more rigorous sample, sample , bearing beari ng on the eleven en tries tri es goi going ng from from 19 July to 29 29 Septembe Septe mberr 1943 (e (entr ntr ies 60 to 73). T To o the inconsistencies, inconsistenc ies, I decided to to ad d the addit additions ions and the sub traction s. The result w as such su ch that the simple simple enumeration of the differences difference s noted noted would would require sev era l typewritten pages. I am not not able to to do tha t here. I will content myself with only a few examples here, avoiding the most mo st st striking riking ones since, unfortun unfortunately, ately, the mo most st striking a r e also the longest ones to cite.

nne rank

.Ent .E ntry ry

of 19 July 1943

p a r e n t s killed

( dode ouder o uderss )

becom be comes es

parent par entss

( Eltern );

.Entry of 23 Jul .Entry uly y 1943 19 43:: G has , in addi addition, tion, a t le ast 49 words plus 3 words; .Entry of 26 Jul .Entry uly y 1943 19 43:: G ha s, in in addi addition, tion, four plus plus four words an d is lacking lacking two words: over over Italie ; .Ent .E ntry ry of 29 J u ly 19 43 : G h a s t w e n t y w o r d s m is is si s i ng ng a n d twenty year ye arss ( twintig twintig jaar ) becomes twenty-f twenty-five ive years ( 25 Jah ren ); @Entryof 3 Au @Entryo Augus gustt 1943: th this is le tt tter er of 210 210 word wo rd s in tex textt G is completely missing in text t ext D; .Entry .Ent ry of 4 August Augu st 1943: D gives couch couc h a n d G loungechair.. In D a flea floats chair floats ( drijft drijft ) in the wa sh wa te r, only on ly in war warm m months months or we weeks eks ( allen in in d e hete maande maa nden n of weeken ), while for G th that at flea must lose his life life ( sein Lebe Le ben n lassen ) th ere, er e, with without out any other detail concerning concerning weather. D give gives: s: to use us e some cotton [soaked] [soa ked] in hydrogen peroxide pero xide (t ha hatt se rv rves es to bleach h her er black black moust moustache ache fuz fuzz) z) ( waterstofwatjes hanteren [dient om zwarte snorharen te bleken] ), while G give givess simp simply: ly: an and d oth o ther er little toiletry ) ( und andere kleine Tolettengeheimniss . ). secrets The comp co mpari ariso son n of like a brook falling from a mountain ( als een beekje van een b berg erg ) becomes like like a brook on the boulders ( wie ein Bachlein ub er die Kiessel ). Some irregular irregu lar Fre French nch verbs : this is wh at Anne th thinks inks of of in te text xt onregelmat elmatige ige wekworden ), bu but, t, in text G D ( aan Fra nse onreg thiss c an o thi on nly be about irregu i rregular lar Dutch Dutch ve rbs, it seems, since she says tha t sh e dreams ( traum traume e ic ich h ) o off irregular irregu lar verbs ( vo von n unregelmassigen Verben ). Text contents content s it itse self lf wit with: h: Rrrrr Rrrrrring, ring, upsta irs [sounds the Van Van Daans '] a la rm ( Kr rr rr , obe n de r W e c ke r ), while D give givess : Rrrring the little little alar al ar m [sounds], which a t eac h hour of the day (when it is want wa nted ed or sometime sometimess als o without being being wanted) ca n rai se its little little voic voice. e. ( Trrr het wekkertje, da t op elk uur van de dag [als men men e r n a a r vr aagt aag t of of soma ook sonder sond er da t ] zi zijn jn stemmet stemmetje je kan verhe verheffen ffen );

...

.Entry of 5 Augu .Entry Au gust st 1943 1943:: a l l of it is a des descri cripti ption on of the usua us uall meal, from from 1:15 pm to 1:45 pm, an d of of the th e things t ha t follow, a n d t h e r e a r e i m p o r t a n t d i f fe f e r en e n c es es ; b e s i d e s , w h a t i s announc anno unced, ed, by D as The great share-out is announced announ ced by

T H E J O U R N A L O F IIISTORICAL R E V I E W

G a s Smal Smalll lunch lunch - ( De grote uitdelingm/ Kleiner Lunch ) I underlino the adjectives; the possible, but not certain, irony of of D ha s disa di sapp ppear eared ed in G . Of the th e thre th re e couches in D th er e on only ly remai remains ns one couch in G ; @Entr @E ntry yo off

August 1943: this letter constitutes quite an

inter esting puzzl interesting puzzle. e. very long long le tt er , it begins, begins, in text G with nine lines line s introd introducing ucing a stor st ory y of 74 lines entitled Kaatje as well a s another stor story y of 99 lines entitled Katrientje. This entry ent ry iiss compl completel etely y abs absent ent from D. The Dutch, for their p ar t , know kno w of of the t hese se ssto tori ries es only only by way of a s e p a r a t e book entitled enti tled Storie s, in whic h the re a ppe a r, be side s, som e othe r unedit une dited ed sto storie riess of Anne Fr Fran ank: k: @Entry of August 1 1943 943:: among many oth other er c curi uriou ouss things tliere uro sumo sumo Iior Iiorn-ri n-rinimod nimod glasses glasse s ( een ee n lioornen bril ) which become som some e da dark rk horn-rimmed horn-rimmed glasses ( eine dunkle Hornbrille ) in text G ; .Ent Entry of 1 0 Augu Au gust st 1943: th the e w a r ma mate teri rial al of D becomes the guns ( Kanonen ) of G. The sent se nten ence ce concerning concer ning the belll in the Wes bel Westerto tertoren ren is entirely different. And, especially, especially, G h as a n episode of of 140 140 word wordss which does not a p p ea r in D. D. Anne, who has receiv received ed some new shoes, tel tells ls the t here re about abou t a ser ies of misadventures th that at ha d hap happene pened d to her on that same day: she had pricked her right thumb with a large needle; she had bumped bumped he r he head ad agai against nst the door door of the cup bo ard ; bec aus e of the n nois oise e c aus ed , she received a scoldi sco lding ngsince ( Ruff Ru ffel eln ); sh e wano s t not able er forehead it was ecessary not to tur n onto thesoothe wat er; hshe had a large bruise over her right eye; she had stubbed her toe on on the vacuum clean cl eaner; er; he herr foot became infected, it is a all ll swollen. Result: Anne cannot put on her pretty new shoes. (You will hav e noticed h er e the pr es en ce of a vac uum c le a n e r in a pla c e wh e re sile c c e would would ha ve ha d t o be necessary constantly; @Entryof 18 August 1943: among nine d @Entryo diff iffere erence nces, s, we se e some so me beans bean s ( bonen bonen ) tu turn rn into green peas ( Erbsen ); .Entry of 20 Augus .Entry ug ustt 194 1943: 3: I will mention mentio n on only ly one example examp le of a difference; it concerns the bread; the narrative is appreciably different a nd , besides, besides, for text D this bread is located in two successiv successive e locati locations: ons: a t first fir st the steel ste el cupboa cup boa rd of the office off ice look lookin ing g ou outt on on the s t r e e t (in the ffront ront hous house), e), then, the kitchen cup bo ard of the an nex ( stalen kast , vo voor or-kantoor / Keukenkast ), while G only mentions the first

nne

rank

191

l oc a t i on, w i t hout be i ng pr e c i s e a bout t he s e c ond; t he unfortunate thing is that the first location mentioned by D is a simple cupboard located in the office looking out on. the court courtya yard rd:: th the e o offfice of Kr Kral aler er,, ~ n dot that of Koophuis ( "t he b r e a d , w hi c h is i s put iin n K r a l e r ' s r oo oom m f or us e ve r y day" ) (About the respectiv o off offico icoss of Kru lor an d of Koophuis Kooph uis,, see the e nt ry o off 9 July 1942. 1942.)) Th er e is h er e a serious material contradiction contradiction between the two texts, with chang ch ang es of wo word rds, s, of sen tenc te nc es, es , etc.;

.En Enttry of 23 Aug August ust 1943: among oth other er cu curi riou ouss things, " "to to read or to study" ("lesen of leren") becomes "to read or to write" ("lesen oder schreiben"), "Dickens and the dictionary" ("Dickons or1 hot woordon woo rdonboo book") k") buc:o buc:orno~ rno~ or oril ily y "Dickens", some "bolsters" ("peluwen") turn into "eidordown pi pill llows ows" " ("Plumeaus") (in Dutc h, "eider- dow n pi pill llows ows" " wou would ld b be e said a s "eider "eiderdons" dons" or "dekbed"); .Entry of 1 Septem ber 19 1943 43:: am among ong fiv five e d iffe ren rences, ces, I noti notice ce th at the br oa dc as t, so eagerl eag erly y ownitod onch c cla lay, y, fr from omRa Rac c1io1ioOranje (th (the e Vo Voic ice e of Holla Holland nd from ove rsea s) begi begins ns a t 8: 5 pm for D a nd a t 8: m for G .Entry of 1 6 S e p t e m b e r 1 9 4 43 3 : " t e n v a l e r i a n e s " ( " ti ti e n Valeriaan Vale riaantjes" tjes")) become "ten of the smal smalll wh white ite pills" ("zohn von vo n den kleine kleinen n weis sen Pill Pillen"). en"). "A long fa ce an d a dr oopi ng m o out uth" h" ( "e e n ui t ge s t r e ke n ge z i c ht e n ne e r hangende mond") became "a tight-lipped mouth with worry lines" ("einen zusammengekniffenen Mund und Sorgenfnlten"). The The winter com par ed tto o a f earful ob stacle, a "biting" wi nter, wint er, which iiss the re like a "heavy bloc block k of ston stone" e" ("het grote rotsblok, dat winter heet"), is no more than a simple winter ("dem Winter"). An "overcoat" ( jas") becomes "ha t an d cane" ("Hut an d Sto Stock" ck"). ). se nt en ence ce of 24 word words, s, c l ai a i m iing ng to to de s c r i be a pi c t u r e s q ue s c e n e , f i nds i ttss e ell f reduced to five five German words. On the the other ha nd , s x Dutch w o r d s b e co co m e 1 3 G e r m a n w o r d s w i t h a v e r y d i f f e r e n t meaning; .En Entr try y of 29 Se Septe pte mber mb er 1943: "a grumbling fa th er " ("een mopperenden vader") becomes "the father who is not in agreement wit with h her cho choic ice" e" ("den Vater, der nicht mi mitt ihr er Wah l einversta ndenund ist"). "Energet "Energetica lly" col ("ene ("energie k")t becomes "ganz kalt "ganz ruhig" ("in a ically" quite cold d an rgiek") d quie quiet manner"), etc. 85. I th thin ink k that it iiss useless to pursue suc h a n enum eration. It is

192

E J O U R N A I . 01

IISTORICAI R

n o t e x a g g e r a t e d t o s a y t h a t t h e f i r s t e n t r y of of t h e c o ll ll eecc ttii on o n g iv iv e s u s , in in a w a y , t h e t o nnee of t h e w h o l e. e . I n t h a t s h o r t l e t t e r , t h e D u ttcc h l o n r n t h n t , f o r h o r b i r t h d a y . A n n e r e c e i v e d " a l iitt ttll e p l a n t " ( " e e n plantje"). ?'he ?' he Ge rm an s havo the privil privilege ege of of lea rnin g thnt tha t p ln l n n t w a s " R [:nctus [:nctus"" ("eine Kaktee"). In retu rn . the Du tch know thrtt Annn roanivnd "two pnnny branches." while the Germans must content themselves with knowing that there were "some peony b r n n r : h o s V ( " o i n i g o Z w o i ~ o fingst fingstroson"). roson"). Tho Dutch h av e t h e r ig i g h t to t o t h e fo fo llll o w iinn g s e n t e n c e : " s u c h w e r e , t h a t m o r n iinn g , t h e c h i l d r e n of F l o rn r n w h o s a t oonn m y t a b l e " ( " d o t w a r e n d i e o c h t e n d l o k i ~ l t l o r o n cln Flnrn dio 0 1 mij mijnn tnfo tnfoll stondo n"]. In the Germ nn t ex e x t , t h e t a b l e h a s d i s a p p e a r e d , a s w e llll a s " t h e c h i ld l d r e n of of F l o r a " ( a c u r i o u s , h a c k n e y e d p h r a s o f r o m t h e p e n of n c h i ld ld of of t h i r ttee e n : o n e w o ul u l d h a v e e x p e c t e d i t r a t h e r f rroo m a n a d u l t s e e k i n g I nnbb oorr ii-o u s ly l y a n d a r t l e s s l y t o " d e c o r a t e " h i s s t y l e ) . T h e G e r n i a n s s i m p ly ly Ii Iinve nve th e right to to:: "The se w er o tho first flowers offered by wny of g rr rr n ti ti n gs gs " ( "D " D n s w a r e n d i e e r s t e n B l u m e n g r u s s e " ) . T h e D u t ch ch Icrlr Icr lrnn thn t A n~icj, n t l i ~ t tiy. wil willl off or lo hor t oo ch er s nlid nlid to lior r:l r:lr~ssrnnt r~ssrnntes so sorn b utte cnkos" ("botorkookjes"). ho G erm an."s ho rigli riesglit t rno too so sorn rnoo r"an nd y" ("botorkookjes ("Bon bons"). T"). he T"chocolnte 1111vn prc san santt f o r t I i 3 l)utc:li, will tlisrippou~.T tlisrippou~.Tur lll lllu C;ur~iirl~i C;ur~iirl~i.q. .q. U ~ O n ~ ~ r p r i s i ni I~m: ok th th nnii A n n n w iill l b o ~ b l eo buy for herself with t11u money t l i r ~ t lr is jus justt bee bee11 11 given to hor on t ha t Su nd ay 1 4 Ju no 1 9 4 2. 2 . b e c o m e s . in in t h e G e r m u n t e x t, t , a b o ookk t h a t s h e h a s a l r o a d y 1 1 o 1 1 g h t o r h o r s o l f ( " z o d n t ik m o k an ko pe n"/" ha be ic h mir gekauft"). On tho oth er h an d, tho lnst e nt ry ooff the collecti collection on is identica l in the two texts. 'I'hat confirms for us, if t h e r e w o r o n e e d f o r I t , t h a t th t h e G e r m n n t r aann s la l a t o rr - iiff one must spe ak ab ou t "transla t io i o n " -w - w a s q u i t e c a p a b l e of r e s p e c t i n g t h e D u t c h te te x t . B u t i t i s t oo evide nt now tha t one can no t sp ea k of of tran slati on , nor even of of " a d a p t a t i o n . " I s i t t o t r a n s l a t e . is i t t o " a d a p t " t o p u t d a y f o r n i g h t 10 M a r c h 1 9 4 3 ) ? b o ooo kkss f o r s h o e s ( 1133 J a n u a r y 1 9 4 3) 3) ? c a n d y for b u l l o r cukcs 1 4 J U I I O 1 94 9 4 22)) 7 g i u l ~ l s o r fuscisl ( 2200 O c t o b o r 1942)? Is "candles" transla ted by "day" a n d "cats" by "tara ntula"? "to "t o floa t" by "to die"? "lar ge " by "small" "s mall" (4 August 1 9 4 3 )? ) ? O n llyy m a g i c iiaa n s c a n c h a n g e a n o v e r c o a t i n to to a h a t a n d a c n n e . W i t h M r s . A n n e li li es e S c h u t z a n d M r . F r a n k , t h e t a b l e d i s a p p e a r s ( 1144 J u n e 19 1 9 4422 ) a n d t h e s t a i r w a y s t e a l s a w a y ( t h e D u t c h e n t r y of o f 1 6 September 1 9 4 3 m e n t i o n s a v e r y p e c u l i a r s t n i r w a y , w h i c h w o ul u l d h a v o l o d d i r e c t l y t o t h e p e r s o n s i n h iidd in in g : " [ l i e d i r e c t n a a r b ov o v eenn l e i d tt"" ) . T h e b r e a d s t o r a g e p l a c e c h a n g e s 06

its

( K r laol ec rn' st ionfff~f ic ilc.W e) e ) .hnnut mi bs ehros lliai iin pn pc le aisr aonndc od iusnatpepr eeadr . ~Hgo nu ri sn cnh af rnognee.t. F a c e s c h a n g e . Ev E v eenn ts ts m u lt lt iipp ly ly o r d i s a p p e a r . B ei ei ng n g s a s w e llll a s t hi h i n ggss a r e s u b j e c t ttoo e c l iipp s e s a n d t o s u d d e n c h a n g e s . A n n e , o n e

nne

rank

183

could say, emerges from her tomb in order to come to lengthen one on e of he r n a rr a t iv e s o r to sh o r te n i t ; so m e timo timo s s h e wr itos ano the r or even redu ces it to nothingness. 87. Ten yea rs a ft er her de ath , Anne's Anne's text text conti continue nuess to change. In 1955, the un Fischer house publishes her The D i a rre ya ad s er a pocket poc ket-b -book ook de r a publishing "discreetly" reworked rework ed for form. m. could cou ld especially compa co mpa re the follo followin wing g entrie s:

09 July 1942: "Hineingekommen . . gemalt war" 2 5 words] r e p l a c e d by by : " N e b e n . g e m a l t w a r " ( 41 41 w o r d s ) . T h e appearance o a door

011 July 1042: t ~ n n ~ o oplacod hy "busorgt"; 021 September 104 1042: 2: "gorugt" "gorugt" replaco d by "gosch "goschol olton ton" " r~nd "drei "dr ei W esten" changing itsel itselff into "drei "dr ei Wolljacken"; Wolljacken"; 0 2 7 Se p te m b e r 1 942 942:: "m it it Ma rg o t b in in ic h n icht meh r so

inti in tim" m" becomes: "mit "mit Margot Mar got ver ste he mich nicht seh s eh r gut"; gut";

@28September 194 1942: 2: "besturzt" replac ed by by "erschu ttert"; 0 7 November November 1942: "ohne d en Herg ang zu zu kennen" becomes: "ohne zu wissen, worum es ging" and "Er ist mein Ideal" becomes: "Er ist n l o i n le u c h te n d o s Vor Vor bil bild d ". Th at lu st chan ch ange ge of of the t he text is not not lucking in in flav or, or , i f one knows knows that th at it is n q l ~ o s t i o n oro o f an no'^ fr~thor.Mr. M r. Prr~nk ~ no longor a n "ideal" "ideal" for his daugh ter, but a shin shining ing model" -Another I I: ~ ( ~ m ~ ( : l l l i m m R I ~ o c o r i i oI ~ c hnnfio: " ~ ~ n dn ~ o r ~ ~ t o sten ist"; ist";

ointed ed out abov above e (see p a r ~ g r a p h 4) this this 0 7 August 1943: I point very long long lottor wliicli wliicli co ntr~ nt r~ in s wo storio st orios. s. I supposo t h n t

tllesu stories existod in tho munuscript which had been reserved for them and that they had been wrongly inserted into the Diary Diary.. In that ca se , one one asks oneself oneself who who wrote the nine lines of introductio in troduction, n, wh er e Anne asks ask s her he r correspo corre sponnden t especially especially if if sh e belie believes ves th a t her stories a r e goi going ng to please children.

88. These last ch~ngeswere were made from one German text to ano the r German text. text. They could could there th ere for e not have the excuse exc use of a clumsy or whimsical translation. They prove that the Diary's author-the term tha t I ordinarily use for the person responsible for the text tha t I am reading-was reading- was still alive in 1955. 1955. In the same

way, in discove discovering ring the German text of 1950 (Lambert-Schne (Lambe rt-Schneider ider

Tt E J O U R N A L O HI STOR I C AL R EVI EW

edition), I discovered th at the aut ho r of the Diary (a n especiall especially y proli pro lific fic aut hor ) wa s still ali alive ve in 19 1950 50.. Tha t au thor coul could d not have been Anne F ran k, who, a s we know, died iin n 19 1945, 45, 89. In m my y comp compari arison sonss o off the te text xts, s, I ha have ve followed the official chronological chronol ogical order. I have shown how the text printed in Dutch (1947) (19 47) cla clashe she d with the ffir irst st printe dmetamorphosis Germ an text (19 (1950) 50), , which, in its turn, underwent some strange in the second printed German text (1955). But. scientifically speaking, nothing provess th prove that at the chronological or de r o off publication reflects th the e chronologicnl ordor of coniposition. For example, tllero could liave boon some manuscripts in German which preceded the p u t t i n n l o ~ o l l ~ o fr t l ~ o l u l : l ~ I I I I I I I H C ~ ~ ~ ~t B :auld . bo flint tho mod01 mod 01 or tlio f i r ~ t cl*tion outlinn hnd I~oenwritton in Gormnn. 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 I I ~ I I I ~ W J I ~ I 1H1 1 1 1 111o lt11o r t l l 4 t ~ ~ ~ l t l i ~ :oIII I f t loor , l ~ r i v i r ~ gi gi v c ~ ~)irtll i t 1 toxt trnri~lntocl rito Dutch, hnd nlso given I~irtli o rin ontiroly rowritton Gormnn text. I t could be that, for s o v o ru l y o u rs , sumo vory different texts had thus lived in ~ymbiosis. llnt phonomonon is called the phenomenon of contamination. is nevertheless clear that Frank invo invoke ke tha thatt argu It ment about tho contarninat contarnination ionMr. of the te texts, xts,cannot s inc e th er e ex ists, accordi ng to him, him, one sin single gle te text: xt: th at of the Dutch manu script s. For certa certain in periods of the twenty-f twenty-five ive mont months hs a t the Pri nse nsengr ngr ach t, it is pos possib sible le t ha t the different manu scripts of th e Diary offer us some variant readings; still, those variant readings c o ul ul d n no ot prov vii d e u s w iitt h t h e i n n u m e r a b l e a b s u r d i t i e s a n d inconsistencies t ha t we havo see seen. n. For other periods, li like ke t hat of an entire year (from 6 December 1942 to 21 December 1943), when, nccordi nccording ng to Mr, Frank's own tldnlission, we have at our disposal only one version, thero ought not to exist the slightest vrl riflrit rocltlillg, not the ~ l i g l l t o clisugroernent c~lisugroernent botweun toxt and text text G G.. It is fo forr tha t reaso n tha t I chose from that period the largest number of my examples of inconsistencies. 90. 1 have noticed, in my semplings, neither more nor fewer inconsistencies for that period than for the other periods. In a uniform way, text D presents us an Anne Frank who has, if not the trai ts, a t lea st fits the stereo type o off the yo youn ung g adolescent, while whi le text G offers us the ster eot ype o off the ad olesce nt al re ad y nea r, in certa in respects, to be bein ing g a matu re w wom oman an.. There a re , in t e x t G, sso o m e p a s s a g e s t h a t a r e i n c o m p a t iib b l e w i tth h the cor responding pa ss ag es o off text D , an d even formally iincompat ncompatible ible with the ent ire ssub ub st an ce o off all of text D , The re w e rrea ea ch the height o off the intolerable intole rable in the manipulation o off texts texts.. H ere is, for example, Ja nu ar y 19 194 44. Anne confesses tha t before h er ti time me the letter of

in hid dii n g , t h at i s t o s a y , b efo re t h e a g e o off t h i rt e en , s h e h a d hap pen ed, whil while e spending the ni night ght a t the home o off a girlfriend, to

An n e Frank

195

feel the need to kiss her: . . I had a strong desire to ki kiss ss her, and I did d o so so.. . ("e ("een en sterke beho behoefte efte had h a a r te zoe zoene nen n en d a t i k dat ook gedaan her"). In text G th ere ap pe ar s a girl o off thirteen who is appreciably more knowing. Here, Anne asked her comrade for a night if, a s a tok token en of of the ir friendshi p, they coul co uld d fee feell ea ch other s breasts. Bu Butt the comrade h ad refu refused sed.. And Anne, who ap pe ar s to have practice in the matter, adds: I still Anne, foun fo und d it plea sant to kiss he r an d I did it it" " ("fra gte ich sie, ob wir als Beweis unserer Freundschaft uns gegenseitig die Bruste b e fu f u h lle e n w o l l tte en, ab e r sie weig erte sich. Ich fan d es-immer schon, sie zu kussen, und habe es auch getan"). On the sexual feelings of Anne, I recommend likewiso tlie comparative reading of text textss D a n d G for anuary 1 9 4 4 . It is astonish astonishing ing tha t the D Dut utch ch r ea de r h ad been deprived o off s o many rovolntions rosorvotl Ily Mr. Frc~ll Frc~llk k ril ild d Annolioso Scliutx Scliut x f o r . . . Anne's grondmothor, who was s o "aged" (soo, above, pnrngrnpli 54). Wllnt o f t h o rovoln tionu clg clg~ti ~tin n n ioxt C; on musicul tastes on musical knowledge that the have the of tnot o loitor of 9 right t orknow ( forr wh nt (fo roc roctso tsori, ri, rlf rlftrt trtrr nll?) nll ?) Dutch I' I'ox oxtt Gdid June 1 9 4 4 resorvos for us tthe he solo solo rights to di ss er tt ~t io n f 2 0 0 words on the life of Liuzt (iruatod, by [ vary feminist Anne, as a "petticoat chaser"/"schurzenjager"), of Beethoven, Wagner, Chopin Cho pin,, R Ross ossini, ini, Mendols Mendolsolin. olin. Many otlior n umes a r o mentioned: Hect or Ber Berlioz lioz,, Vict Victory ory Hugo Hugo,, Honore do B alza c . . The entry of 2 0 February 1 9 4 4 2 2 0 words) is absent from text D . It contains however some elements of very great importance from mnny points of view. Dussel has tho hctbit of' whistling "das ViolinKonzort Konzo rt vo von n Beeth Beethoven" oven";; tlio us0 of timo on Sundnys is rovenled to us; it m u s t b e reco recogni gnized zed that ono po poir irit it,, at leas t, about that use of time is more th an troubling: Mr. Fr an k in o veral ls, o on n his knees, beating beat ing th the e ca rp et with suc h enthusias enthusiasm m tha t the e ntire room is fill fi lled ed with clo clouds uds o off d du u st (("Vat "Vater er liegt iim m Over all al l auf d en Kn Knien ien und i ~u rs to t on T Te epp pii c h m i t s o l ~ l ~ o r l~u ln, n, d u s s d u s g o n nz zo Zimmer in Staubwoken gehullt ist"). In addition to the noise that such an operation would cause in a place where even at night, when the neighbors a r e no nott the re, it is is nec ess ary not tto o cough cough,, it is obv obviou iouss th at t he sc en e is is describe d by someone who could no nott have seen iitt: a ca rp et is nev er bea te n in tha t way on the flo floor or of of a room, in the very place whor* it became dusty. In the entry of November 1 9 4 3 , a fra gme nt o off 1 2 0 words, which is missing in text D , reve reveals als tto o us an othe r case of of the ca rp et be bein ing g brushed ea ch evening even ing by Anne in the "o "ofe fenlu nluft ft" " (th e a i r from the stove), a n d t h a t b e c a u s e t h e v a c u u m c l e a n e r ( " d e r S t a u b ssa a u g e r " ) " iiss t kaputt' (that famous vacuum cleaner which, according to Mr. Frank, co ou u lld d no ott h a v e e x xii sstt e d d;; s e e a b o v e , p a r a g r a p h 3 7 ) . Concerning Concer ning Ann e's knowledge or ide as on the su bje ct o off hist oric al

196

J O U R N A L OF IISTORICAL REVIEW

or political events, one will make some discoveries in the entries of 6 June, 13 June and 7 June 1944. On Peter's ch ara cte r one wi will ll find some revelations in the entry of 11 May 1944, That entry of words wo rds does not exist in in text D. But nevertheless, in text D l w e 4 fi find nd a lett er a t that da te of 11 May; however, the corresponding text is da te d, in text G on 1 2 May Pe te terr defies his mother while calling her he r " the old old lady" ("Ko Komm mm mit, Alte "). Nothing lik like e th e Peter of text D 91. It would be interesting to subjec subjectt ea ch o off the pri princip ncipal al

ch ar ac te rs of text an d of text G to analysis by psychologists or psychiatrists. Anne, in perticulnr, would appear under some profou~ldlycontradictor contradictory y ch ar ac te r traits. Bu Butt thi thiss is pure purely ly hypothetical. I think that in fact those analysts would see that A n n e h a s n o m o r e r ea l co n s i s t en cy t h a n a t o t al i n v en t i o n of of unrel un rel ate d fac facet ets. s. The ffew ew so-call so-called ed descrip description tionss of Anne th at I have been able to find have especially convinced me that their aut hors have re ad the Di Diar ary y very sup superfi erficial cially. ly. IItt is true t hat t he dullness of of thei theirr descr descriptio iptions ns could be exp explained lained by the dullness tho ~u b ie ct ascri ascribod bod.. li lie e calls for anoth er. o

turooty tur ootypu pu calls c alls ffor or ano ther , a s one

92. The langua lan guage ge a n d the style of text

D strive to to be charac teri-

stic of a yo youn ung g adol escent, iinnoce nnocent nt an d a wkward . The language an d the style style of text G strive to to be ch ar ac acter ter ist ic o off a n adolescent already closs, i11 certain respects, to being a woman. That is evident simply from the p a rt s of of the texts t ha hatt I have mentionedparts that I did not choose, howevor, with a view to studying the lang uage an d the style o off the two Anne Franks Franks..

93. Mr. Fran k ha s indulged indulged in some st storyory-tel tellin ling. g. T hat is easily established when one sees how he has transformed the printed German text of of 1950 (Lam bert bert-Sch -Schneid neid er) n ord o rd er to make from it the text prin printed ted by Fischer (1955). It wa wass on th at occasion, in pc~rtic~llnr. h r l Iiu nic~do ~ i sl u u g h t o r A11110 s a y tllut 11or f a th e r is her "ideal" (1950 version); then, af te r thi thinki nking ng it over, tha t he is herr "shining he "shining mode model" l" (1 (195 955 5 versio version). n). This incli inclinati nation on for storytellin tel ling g did no nott come to Mr. Frank all a t once. He ha had, d, we a r e to told ld b y onb of Anna's forrrier tt~nchors, h o hn hnr~ r~rl rllo loss ss diosyrlcrasy of cornpo cor nposi sing ng stori es and poe poems ms wit with h his da daug ughte hte r ("S ("Somet ometimes imes sh e told I I I U stories arid poems which slie had made up together with h e r . . . Anne Frank: -A Port rait in Courage, page 41 . That hn pponod nbou t 1940. All110 w o s olovo11 years old and her father w a s 51. In 1942. Mr. Frnnk. formor ban banker ker i n Frankfurt and a former mercliant and businessman in Amsterdam, took a forced retireme retir ement nt a t the age of 53. I do not think that his inclination for writing ha d di sa sapp pp ea re red d then du during ring his llong ong da days ys of of inactivit inactivity. y.

rank

nne

In any case, the Diary hardly gives us any information about what Mr. Frank did with his days. Bu Butt wh at does i t matter Mr. Fra nk is a story-tell er wh o ha s giv given en h him imse self lf aw ay . The d ra ma of story-tellers story-tel lers is tha t they ad d more to their stories. The never s top retouching, rewor king, cut ting out, correct ing. B By y doi doing ng this they end up incurring the distrust ~f certain people. And i t is child's play for those people to prove the storytelling. It is very easy to confou con found nd Mr. Frank. It is suffic sufficient ient to have a t ha nd text D an d one of th e two diff different erent ver sio ns o off text G. It is eno ugh to remind hi him m tha t he had dec la red in writing to the D Dut utch ch:: I g u aran tee t o you that here, on such an d such a date, A Anne nne wrote: day or shoes or butter cakes or fascist or large," while to the Germans he has gone go ne o on n tto o declare in writing regarding the sa me places an d the sam e dates: " "II gu ar an te e to yo you u th at Anne wrote: nigh nightt or bo book okss or candy or giant or sm small. all." " If Mr. Frank told told the tru th in the first case, he told u story in the second case. And vice-verea. Me has told told a sto story ry eith er her e, or ther e. O Orr again- and this is the mo most st probab pro bable-h le-he e ha s made u p the story story her e a nd there. In any case, one co coul uld d never claim th at Mr. Fr ank, in thi thiss aff ai r of the Diary, is a man who has told the truth, the whole truth, und nothing but the truth. 94. The Diary can not be in any way authentic. Consultation

with alleg alleged edly ly authent ic manus crip ts iiss unnecessa ry. A s a matter of fa ct , no manuscript in the world cou could ld certify th at Anne Fr ank succeedod in tho miraculous feat of writing two words at tho sa me tim time e and -w hat is mor more-tw e-two o wor ds with incompatible meanings, and-even more-tw more-two o complet complete e texts a t the sa me ti time me,, which a r e mo oss t o off t h e t i m e t o ott a l l y c o n t r a d i c t o r y . I t i s w e l l underst und erstood ood that over overy y printed te text xt cun have a criticul app ar at us with its vari ant rea dings , its explanator y notes, its indications of the existence of possible interpolations, etc. But I have already 8 ) t h aare s a i d ( s e eonly ab bo ov ve e , pmanuscript, a r a g r a p h 8there t wno h e rlongor e one h a s apossiblo t on ne e's disposal one any varian t reading s ( ba rr in g specific cas es: difficu ull t i e s i n d e ciphering cipherin g word, er ro r s in precedin preceding g ed editions, itions, etc.). An And d when one on e has at one's disposal seve ral manus cripts (two, a t the mo most st,, for certa in periods o off t h e D i a r y y;; p e r h a p s t h r o e in s o m e v e r y limited lim ited ca se s) , it is sufficient to eliminate those perio ds a n d those ca ses in ord er to co confi nfine ne one onese self lf strictly to the periods a n d to the case s where it is necessary to be contented with a single manuscript (here, the period from 6 December 1942 to 21 December 1943 . 95

To the hypothesis, henceforth inconceivable, according to

which ther e wo woul uld d exis existt a n authentic manuscript, I say that non none e of the printed texts c a n claim to rep rod uce the text o off t he manuscript. The following table establishes, in fact, that the Fischer

T H E JOURNAL OF

198

HlSTORlC

R EVI EW

edition of 1955 comes in the eight position position in th e o rd er of succ su cces essi sion on of the th e varying varyi ng forms of the t he D i a r y . To understand this table, refer especia especially lly to to par ag ra ph s 52 52. and 5 3

( Official )Chrono )Chronologic logical al Table of of Su Succ cces essi sive ve Forms of the Text Te xt of of the Diary I, 11.

The Manu script scr ipt of of Anne Frank; Copy by Otto Frank, then by Otto Frank and Isa Cauvern; 111. New Version of of th e Cop Copy y by by Otto Fr an k a n d Is a Cauvern; IV. New-New Version of the Copy by Albert Cauvern; V. New-New-New Version by Otto O tto Frank; Frank ; VI. NewNew-New-N New-New-Ne ew-New w Version by by Otto O tto Frank a n d the Censors ; VII. VI I. Contac Con tactt Edition Edition 1 947 ; V I I I . Lnmbort Schnoidor Edition 1950), adically different from potiblo with it: it: the preceding one, and even incomIX Fischer Fisch er Editio Edition n (1955) (1955) taking up again aga in the th e precedi pre ceding ng one in a discreetly discr eetly ? ) reworked and retouched form. One could, of cour co urse se,, claim that tha t V.) was perhaps only a very faithful copy of IV.). The same for (VII.) in relation to VI.). That would wou ld be to suppose tha t M r. Fra nk , who reworked this text continually, continual ly, had ha d suddenly refrain refrained ed from doi doing ng it a t the momen momentt of recopying text IV.) without any a ny witn w itness ess,, and a t the moment moment of of the prob ab le corre cti on o off the pri qt er 's proofs proofs for (VII.). (VII.). Personally, I mai maintain ntain these nine st stag ages es s a mini minimu mum m to which it is nec ess ary indeed to ad d one, two o thr ee copies copies for text (VIII.) 96. The only only inte in tere rest st in a study of of the th e manuscripts manuscr ipts which whi ch ar e , allegedly, by Anne Frank would be to bring to light some elements still more crushing for Mr. Frank: for example, some letters or fragmen ts of of le tt er s which have never been published (the reasons for non-publication should be inquired into closely, without trusting in the reasons given by Mr. Frank, which always have a very suspicious sentimental coloring); for example also, some so me very changeab chan geable le names for Anne's correspondents (th e idea of showing her always alw ays add ressin res sing g herself herself to the same de ar Kitt Ki tty y seems to be a belated ide a) , etc.

The reasoni re asoning ng which would consist cons ist of claimin claiming g that tha t in the D i a r y the re would would exist nevertheless a basis bas is of tr ut h would would be a 97

Anne Frank

199

reasoning without value. First, because it would be necessary to know th at tru th or to be a bl e to distinguish it in the jumb jumble le of th e obvi ob vious ous fic fiction tions; s; the lie is, most often, onl only y th e a r t o off ad ap ti ng th e truth. Then, sinc e a wor k o off t h e m i n nd d ( a s , fo fo r e x a m p l e , t h e editing of of a "dia "diary") ry") is not defin ed b by y a b as is , but b by y a unity of forms fo rms:: the forms of a wr it te n expressi on, the forms which a n individu indi vidual al ha s give given n to it once an d for all, for bettor or for worse. The rensoning which would consist of saying that thoro have only only been some hundre ds o off ch an ge s between such - a n d su ch fform orm of th e Diary iiss fallaciou s. Th e wo rd "changes" is ttoo oo vague. vag ue. It al allows, lows, accord ing to the ta st e of of e a c h person, all sort s of condemnations or, especially, all so rt s o off ex cuses. Furt herm ore , a chang e ca n in invo volv lve, e, a s we have se en, a sin single gle wor d or a tex textt of 1600 160 0 word s 98

99. For my pa rt , hav e called att ent ion to sev er al hundr eds o 99. off c h a n g e s , on on lly y betw een the Dutch text an d eith er o off t h e t w o texts-w text s-which hich differ from ea c h other-which hav e bee n published i n G e r ma ma n y . c a l l t h o s e c h a n g e s : a d d i t i o n s , s u b t r a c t i o n s , transferences a nd altera tions (b (by y subs substitut titutions ions of ono word for ano the r, of one group o off wor ds of anothe r-th ese word s a n d these groups of of wo rds bein being g incompatible wi with th e ac h ot her , ev even en if indeed, by the rarest exception, the meaning could be maintained). The whole of these changes must affect approximately ~ 5 , 0 0 0 ~ord s o off the Fisch Fis cher er text whic which h iits tsol olff must o 77,000 words (th at is, in an y ca se , tl tlie ie number which take for u base). 100. 10 0. The Fre nch t rans lat ion o off Het Ach ter hui s c an be called a "tra nslation "transla tion " in sp it e of the a abs bs en c e o off one on e o off the t he 169 on ontri tri es o off tlie Dutch Contact edition and notwithstanding indeed some weaknesses a nd also some bizarr e thing thingss which lea d one to th thin ink k th at t her e still could be some trou troublesome blesome discoveri es tto o be made. (Journal/de Anne Frank Het Achterhuis, translated from the Dutch by T, Caren and Suzanne Lombard, Calmann-Levy, 1950, printed 5 Ja nu ar y 1974 4,, 3 2 20 0 pa ag g e s ..)) T h e L a m b e r t S c h n e i d e r editio edi tion n cannot in an y even event, t, be present ed a s a translation. As to the Fischer edition, it cannot call itself a reproduction of the Lamber Sch nei der edition, nor a tra nsla tio n of of Het Achterhuis.

101. Th at impressive impressive ensemble o off addit ions, subt rac tio ns, tra nsfe renc es, a lte rat ion s; tho those se fictions of Mr. Frank ; those dishonesti es of th e editor s; those interv ent ions o off outs ide iders, rs, That estimate from 978 does not have great meaning. The manipulations are endemic and to calculate the number of them is illusory. illus ory. (note for the pr pres esen entt French edition of 1980.) 1

TI IE J O U R N L OF HISTORlC L REVIEW

fri en ds of Mr. Fran k, the e exist xistenc ence e o off two su ch differ ent boo books ks presented as one and the same Diary of Anne Frank--all thes th ese e reve al a work wh hii ch c h c a n n o t , iin n any way, retain the p restige at ta ch ed to to a n authe ntic test testimony imony.. The inconsistencies o off t he various texts a r e of all kind kinds. s. Th They ey conce rn the langua ge an d the s t y l e , t h e l e n g t h a n d t h e f o rrm m o off t h e p i e c e s t h a t m a k e u p t h e D i a r y t h e n u m b e r a n d t h e k iin n d of of a n e c d o t e s r e p o r t e d , t h e desc ript ription ion of the premise pre mise s, the th e men mention tion of ma mate teria ria l rea realiti lities, es, th the e d i a l o g u e s, s, t h e i d e a s e x c h a n g e d , t h e t a s t e s e x p r e s s e d ; t h e y concern the very very personal ities o off the principa l cha ra ct er s, to begin begi n with the personalit personality y o off Anne Fr Fran ank, k, a personality whi which ch gives the imp i mpres ressio sion n of living in a worl world do off p pur ur e fictio fiction. n. 1 0 2 . Wl Wlii iile le offer offering ing hi hims msel elff a s pers ona l g ua ra nt or o off th e

authenticity of this work, which is only fiction, Mr. Frank, who has b e ~ i d e s bvious bviously ly intorvonod a all st stag ages es of the genesis of the book, has signed what i t is appropriate to call a literary fraud. The Diur y of Anne Frnnk is to b o placed on the already crowded shelff of false shel fals e mem memoirs oirs.. Our pos post-wa t-wa r period ha s been fert ile in works or writings of this kind. Among those false, apocryphal or suspicious work s (e (eithe ithe r ent entirel irely, y, or by insertions of forei foreign gn elem ent ents) s) one c a n ment mention: ion: the vari various ous testimonies of Rudo Rudolf lf Hoss, Kurt Gerstein, Miklos Nyiszli, Emmanuel Ringelblum, the memoirs of Ev Eva a Bra un un,, Ad Ado olf Eichmann, Eichm ann, Wal Waltor tor Sc hell enb enbsrg, srg, bu t also the th e doc docume ument nt entitle entitled: d: Pr Pray ay er of John XXIII for the Jews. O n e m u s t mention especially tlie ftllso diaries fabricated by the Jewish Historical Inst Institut itute e in Wa rs aw an d denounced by the Fren Fr en ch hi sto ria n Michel Borwicz, o off Polish Jew ish origin; amon among g those thos e dia rie s cou could ld a pp ea r tha t o off one The rese Heschelos, age thirte~n.~ 1 0 3 . I woul would d take c a r e no nott to forge t tha t one of t he mos mostt celebrated forg ge e r i es e s w a s f a b r i c a t e d a g a i n s t t h e J e w ss:: t h e P r o t o c o l s of the Elders of Zion. I ask that people not misundersta nd the directio on n t h a t I h a v e g iiv ve en n tto o m my y r e s e a r c h on t h e authenticity of the D i a r y of Anne Fra nk nk.. Even if m my y pers pe rs on al conviction is th at the work comes from Mr. Frank; even iiff I think tha t a t the ra te o off two let ter s per day , three mon month thss woul would d hav e been enough for him to prepare the first version of his clumsy fiction; ficti on; ev even en if I think that he did not believe that his work would know kn ow such a n im imme mens nse e success (which, a t the same time, w wou ould ld risk ris k cau sing its terrible fau lts to bec become ome evident); even if I t ink th at one c a n then ffin ind d a thou sand extenua extenuating ting circ*msta nces for 2. Mich Michel el Borowicz Borowicz,, Re Revu vue e d'hi d' hist stoi oire re de la Deu Deuxie xierne rne Gue Guerre rre mondiale January 1962, page 93,

nneFrank

2 1

him; even i I have the conviction that he did not at all seek to make up a vast hoax, but that he found himself dragged along by circ*mstances to guarantee all the extraordinarily brilliant results resu lts of a humble humble an d ba na l undertaking-in undertakin g-in spite sp ite of all th at , the tru th obliges obliges me to to sa y tha t ha t the Diary Dia ry of of Anne Ann e Fr ank an k is onl only ya si simp mple le literary frau d.

French Editor s Postscript (1980) T h e r e p o r t t h a t yo y o u h a v e ju ju s t r e a d w a s n o t d e s t i n e d f o r publication.. In the mind of publication of Professor Profess or Fau riss ri sson on , it onl only y constitu cons tituted ted one piece, among others, of a work that he intended to devote to the Diary of of Anne Fr an k. We publish it today-in spite spi te of the retic ret ic en ce of its aut ho r who, for his part, would have hoped for a more extended publication including includi ng some ele me nts which which a r e still being worked on on-because the French press a nd the the foreign foreign pre ss have cr eat ed a n uproar about tho professor's opinion on the Diary of Anne Frank. The public public itsel itselff may feel fee l the need to judge judge th ese pieces. We have ha ve t h u s wi w i s he h e d to to p u t t h e e s s e n t i a l p a r t of of t h e s e p i e c e s a t i t s disposal. Yo You ca c a n thus make for yourself yourself your own judgements on Faurisso Fau risso n's methods of of work a n d on the re sults sul ts to which they ha d led him by Augu Au gust st o off 1978. 197 8. This rep ort, in in the exac t form form* * [s ee next page ) und er which we publish it, al re ad y ha s a n official official existence. It wa s in Augus Augustt of 1978 197 8 tha t it was sen t, in its German version, version, to the lawyer J urg en Rieger to be presented as evidence at a court in Hamburg. Mr. Riegerr was an d still rem ain s today the defe Riege de fend nder er of of Ern Ernst st Romer, Romer, subjected to a trial for having publicly expressed his doubts on the authen au then ticity tici ty of the Diary. The court, af te r havi having ng he ar d the parti es a nd having having begun begun to examine the basis of of t he litigation, decided dec ided , to everyone's sursu rprise, to adjo urn any new session sine die. According Accor ding to the usua l scena rio, from the time the tria l opened the press dictated to the court the conduct to follow. The Social Democratic Party Pa rty of of Chancellor Chancell or Helmut Helmut Schmidt wen wentt into the front lines lines of of the b attl e a n d in a long open letter vigorously took a position posi tion in favo r of of Mr. Fra nk. nk . For this politcal par ty , the ca us e wa s ju judg dged ed in ad va nc e, an d the authenticity of th e Diary Diary had been proved pro ved a long time ago. The court cour t in quest qu estion ion , in spite spi te of of the t he e fforts ffo rts of of Mr . Rieger Rieger to st ar t the the trial once once more, more, has never ren der ed its ju judg dgem emen ent. t. The German press deplored the fact that Mr. Otto Frank dill had to wait wa it for justice to be done. done. Still, this refusal to judge constitutes progress. In a similar

2 2

TH E JO OU URN NA A L OF HISTORICAL REVIEW

c a s e , P r o f es e s s o r F a ur ur i s s o n h a d d r a w n u p a fiv e p a ag ge report summari summ arizin zing g his res ear ch an d his conclusions conclusions abou t the gas chambers cham bers.. That statement statement was si signe gned d and the signature wa s notarized. The professor profess or ha d gone so fa r a s tto o cite the the text o off the Jo ur na l officiel of of t he F r o n c h Republic ostnblishing that I c gc g c ll l l iizz o ti t i oonn o f ' s i g ~ l i l t u r e l l Fran ce w e s v ~ l i dn dn West Germany. A o ~r tilt) ~01idenlnati011. w n ~ t o f o f f o r l : i n Ilio ~ ( I I I S O I I H I ) I O . Y O I ~ ~ O C tile C o u r t do r ed that Four isso ~i wa s onl only a ps pseud eudon onym. ym. For t h e s a m e r e a s o n i t refused tho testimony of t h o Amoricnn l ) r O f ( l ~ ~ O rl ' ~ ~ 1t. ~U 1L '~ ~ Z Justice is ocluril f o r nil, subject to t h o oxcepti oxceptio o diabolica.

* W i t h o n e e x c e p ti t i o n . T h e o r i g iinn a l r e p o r t c o n t a i n e d o n A p p e n d i x 3 w h i c h c o n ~ i s t o d f n ~ t n l o n i o n t r om o m n F r o n c l i u nnii v e rrss i ty t y ' p rroo f o s so so r w h o i s l ii i i g ll~ ~ l y o g a r d e d f o r h i s c o m p e t e n c e in i n t h e m a t t e r ooff t e x t u a l c r i ttii c i ssm m. T h o l n ~ t h r n u o o f 11 1 1 io u t ~ i t o m r ~ ~ i lI l i o rollowillg: " I t is corta iri th at l i e c us u s ttoo n iiss o l' l ' llii tc t c r aarr y c o r n m u n i c ~ t i o n u t h o r i z eM r . F r n n k , o r R n yo y o ne ne e l s e . lo r:onstrucl I I H r il il r~ r~ iiii y ii(( :t : t io i o ~ i rrii l l i u r t ~ c t u r s f A ll l l n o F r n ~ i k s h e w a n t s to to. t ~ uon con tli tion I l l t i t 110 do09 no1 protolid thn t t ho h o ssoo f ic i c ti t i oonn n l b o i n g ~ r o itlorilir:r~l will1 111 r : l ~ r ~ i . r ~ c : l of r h i s i l r i ~ l ~ l i t o r . "I 'l i n t c t r ~ u m e n t r o m r ~ u t l i o r i t y . l i r ~ t ~ .h o ~ l o t o n i o n t f a i l o r n in i n e n t a c a d e m i c o n t h e q u a l i t y of t h e w o r k c a r r i e d o u t. t . i s i t se s e lf l f p r e s e n t a b l e t o a c o u r t . b u t i t is not justified t l ie ie r p r o f e s s o r s w e r e p r e p a r i n g t o i n I I p u l ~ l i c o l ~ r ttll o . ~ u r l l i o r n ~ o r ow, o o tl r e a c h t h e s a nnll e c oonn c lu l u ssii on o n ss,, w h o n s ~ ~ d d e n l hy e " F n l ~ r i u s o n A f fn f n ir ir " I ~ r r ~ k 1o1 1 i i Ilio I I ~ O H H 11 N I I V U I I I I1) ~l 9~7 U ' l ' l i o s u p r o f e s s o r s p r u d e n t l y decided to abstclin. As n consequencn. wo hnve docidod not to name r ~ r i y o r ~ oI. I I I I c l o l ~ r ~ l oi l ~ v i ~ i go(:oriio go(:oriio 1)ul1Iic, i t b e l i o o v e s e a c h o n e t o d o t o r m i n e i f ho w i s h e s t o ir i r l ttee r v o n e p u b l i c llyy .

Appendix I photographs

I hoto no u p o f A ~ n u l e r t l u m , 263

Prinsengracht Street, a b u s y p l a c e r i g h t in in t h e v e r y h e a r t of o f t h e ci c i ty ty .

Ae r i u l v i ew o f Ltle I ~ u i l d i n g u t 63 t ' r i n s e n g r u c h t . l i ~ l j ~ ~ I ~ I . ~ I I ~ I * . ~ ~ I ~ ~I I~ I i~ l ~ yl~i1:i11 01 L I I C I J I I I A I I I ~ L C ~ C I I I I I I . It is s ~ ~ r r o ~ i ~ i1y~ 1l) 1~1 i*I ( l(- l ~IIK I

11111 ~ I I I I I I I .

1~1119, c vc:rywhc:re, c u l ~ c c ' i i ~ l l yro111 ro111Lhc Lhc Lower I J I tic. tic. Wt ..rrLt rki rkirrk c. hi~ rt. t~ . I ll(: W( : u l t : r k i r k ct ~ u r cl l 2 . 'I'h c* " AI AIIII(: F ~ I I I I ~ IIIIII( " (~( I.I IIL (.or~:~lrt~(.I ~ l c 01 Irotr i

I~II-

L~IIII .

Ioiisi 1111. ti5 ( w i l l ) l l) l) 11c:x w it h 1)liick ro o f) . 4 I l o i ~ u c10. 2{i:l (w it h 11r 11r1111c.x with rctl roof): ~hc " A n n e lq'r q'runl unli 1lou.re." 5. l l o u s c n o . 261 w i t h u l o n g r e d r o of of ( w i t h o u t u n nex). Note how the ho uses

oa fr ot hu en dn e i g h cb eo nr htr t roaol d cgrroewe dn space: tho Ann e Frank 1 -I - I ou ou s e a n d i t s " a n n e x " w e r e e x p o s e d f r o m a llll dir e c t i o n s , r e g a r d l e s s of t h e trees.

I Il~ltO

110.

A pholo of lilt: 6 3 I'rin? c c * r ~ ~ r r ~ c . h Il I I I C *14'r1111k * 14'r1111k I I O I I S I ~ 11 l )40 ( ~ I I I . I I ( I ( I 00ki11 11ggo1 11 r 1 L l 1 c 1 (-1 1 r1 r1 l ; t11I11fl (* i ~ l ~ l , IIO. 6 I I I I I ( I 111 1 l 1 (* no. 265 . A f i v e s t o r y I~orrs I~or rsch ch of w inc low s" ( w il i l llrr o ul ul ~ I l u l l e r s J . 1

1 111.

I'lrolo 110. of

{:rrlc.lll Slrc.t.1

fKI

11 ~ I I ~ > I I -

I J./2-

19441

111111 M r. Ia' Ia'rt rt~nk ~nk rc-s t b ~~ tos 11is r ( b i ~ ~ I ~ * r1s . l i ~ c k s [I g r o u n d f lloo o r p la la n a s w e ll ll a s a n y i r ~ di d i c a ti ti o n h a t t h e rrp rrpncnc-oo w11ic:ll w11ic:ll H I * I ) I I ~ I I ~ C ~I HI ( ~ fionl house from the nnncx ~ ~rn11l1 ourlyrrrd, 3 7 meters in size, common to that ho use and to the ho use on the right. T h e e i g h t p e r s o n s l i vvee d i n h i d i n g in t h e n n n e x . T h e four Prn nks urld urld L)usscl L)usscl on t h e s c c o n d f lloo o r, r , t h e t t i rc rc c V I I ~ IIIIIIS 011 llre lhirtl. On the second floor, the t l oor/cnpl oor/cnpl )oard on t h e l ond i n g c o n n e c te te d t h e h o u s e w i th th t h e a n n e x . T h i s p l a n , l o w h ic ic h I ' v e a d d e d , a p pe ar s iinn all th e ed itio ns of of t h e D i a ry ry . I t d o e s n o t s e e m r e a ll ll y t o s c a le le : t h e f a c a d e o f t h e b u i l d i n g is a p p r o x . 8 meters wide and th e court only 3.7 m e t e r s . T o h a v e a v ie ie w o f t h e w h o l e , p u t t h e t h r e e l e v e ls ls i n d i c a t ed ed h e r e o n t o p of o n e a n o t h e r a n d add to them, at the first l e v el e l , a g r o u n d f lloo o r , a n d a t t h e f if i f tthh l e v el el , s o m e m a n s a r d e d a t t ic ic s t o w h i c h stairways D and res pectivelyy lead . tivel

2 CLOSED

1 OPEN

Photo no 5

The swinging swinging cupboard reconstruc tion) at the end of the corridor corridor on the second floor, floo r, access to th e annex coming from from the fron t house. Th e photo fr from om this post card should be compared with my Ph o t o n o which reveals thut the window looks out on the s n ~ n l l ourtyu ourtyurci rci nnt nntf thcit, thcit, througli tho gl ss of Lhitt window on .qc?c .q so~iiuiicl so~iiu iicliev iev uwuy, tli tlic c l~o il y tlic urincx urincx 1)uilci 1)uilciing ing.. It woulil woulil lluvu lluvu I ~ c e n riough o r the polic police e to ha have ve been th ere in orde r to se e that t he re wris wris un unncx.

206

P h o t o s n o s . 7-11 F i ve v e r e v e al a l in i n g p h o t o s. s . T h e n e i g h b o r s o n t h e r i g h t 265 P r i n s e n g r a c h t ) c o ul ul d h a v e e a si s i ly l y s e e n a n d h e a r d w h a t t o ok o k p l a c e a t 263 P r i n s e n g r a c h t . P h o t o s 9 a n d 10 p r o v e

t h a t t h e y h a d s e v e n o p e n e i n g s t h a t l oo o o ke k e d o u t o n n o . 263.

Photo no. 7 1 . Y ou ou a r e o n t h e s e c o n d f lo lo or o r a t o n e of of t h e t w o w i n d o w s of t h e s t o r e l o o k i n g ou t on the court. Note to the left of the downpipe t h e s e c o n d w in i n d o w of of t h e f a m o u s c o r r id i d o r a n d , a t i ttss r i g h t , t h e w a ll ll o f t h e a n nex.

110. 0. ti 2. You arc in the corriclor. Notc*, Notc *, nt you r Ic.fL the swinging cul~ boa rd n the o p e n p o si si ti ti on on a n d , a t t h e l

1 1 0 ~ ~ 1

r i gw, h t , thteh rwall o u lg hof ttlie h e wAn i n-do wal tlie , nex.

I hoto

You arc on the third floor o n lllc corlrlc.clirl~ I.c.rrr~c.c~)c:twcvw I.c.rrr~c.c~ )c:twcvw L l ~ c r ~ r l ncsx untl lhi. fru111 house : n t h e f iirr s t g a b l e o n l h c ~ .ourt (111 olrr rigl11) l)cblonC:.qLo the front nf the A rl rln c * I *' *' r rr~ ~ nk n k h o ~ ~ s ( sl1(1 ; o t h e r s t h a t of t h c ~ e i g h 1) 1)or oriinC: ho us e (n o. 2 5 5 ); 1 from the srlme position but looking steeply down o n t h e c o u r t y a r d , yo yo u n o t e six openings: the first, at y o u r r i g h t , be be l o n g s t o t h e A n n e F r r i n k t1 t1 o u .s ~ n d t h ~ f i v e o t h e r s lo t h e n e i g h b o r i n g h o u s e ( n o . 265 ; c n d v l ~ r ~ c i n g ohne tcrrr~c tcrrr~cch ch y o u n o te te a b o v e y o u t h e bell tower of the Westerkirk a s w e ll ll n s t h e A n n e F r a nk nk Home (rece nt conslr~lc.tiorl). :I

nne

rank

Photo no. 1

Photo

3b)

3c)

j6 C86 Y U I l J

1m 18qM la ?

-9sm -9sm ou 'ss al uaA aAa a jl jlas asll xa uu o, , aq? pu pun n 'paqouun a auo uoB B ah ahoy oy qou plno 2, xau uo, , eq? J O s? u~? q qu uqu a q ~ ,w a i , , l s a L a q l ~ oLop s ~ E Val aqq uo Lauw q3 aql mo3J B q d s ~ s ayou a yours rs aql ( , ,ula l?nd pun & io ionb nb 'sa duq s lluaIa uaIaJj Jj p 118 O , , q~o13O sa2a d s2u sso o1:, pun sZ sZlu lu u uad ado o aq aqq q ua uaa a s Ll ssea ea aA aAn nq pIno3 sloq sl oqqa qa au J O epww) 6u vpn3 a q l j o s2u aqJ, 'lq3sfislazs ag 61 PUB lq3wfiuasu ld ~ g 1 z U O U I U I O ~u a a q s L u ~ l uoq o3uds ueaa 7 78 891 p m as asno noH H yuo lj a uu y aql ss ax r, pooB slajj slajjo o uapi uapi88 88 aqL .qaa .qaall llss 1 q 3 s f i s ~ a q a g o Burpp Burppnq nq a aqq qq jo lo loo3 o3 aq l ur urorj orj ucytq maA o :xa xauu uuo o aq lj o aqL 1 OU OlOqd

nne rank

Photos

3 et

L)cuu spfciniens d e IVcriture urrributk A n l i e Frank

Photos nos. 13 and 4 Two O X I I I I ~ I I O H of ~ 1 1 1 1 1 ~ ~ w r i111rit)lllit(l 111rit)lllit(lo l ili ~ o All110 Frtrnk. f o o c-ltn i)c liovo Ih(t~t1 da te s, th ese two tuxts wuru wuru writtun four ruonlhu ruonlhu upurt. Onu cun coillp coillpuru uru sel)urutoly botlii thu ttox botl oxlv lv lliu~ ~iso lvo slid l id thuir si g~ lu tu ro s. hu fi firs1 rs1 tlocumunl iu lhu fucnilnilu of the opiyruph opiyruph of tho 1)iury (Journul d o Ann u Fr a n k ) , tru nul ulu d fro111Lhu D ulch I) I)y y Tylia Tyli a Care n and Su zan ne Lombar d, Culmnn-Le Culmnn-Levy, vy, 1950. Th e second iiss th e fncsimile fncsimile of a text written b y Anne Frank on th e back of of one of of he r photog raphs (Jo urna l d e n n e Fran k), Livre Livre de Poche, D.L D.L.. T he "adult" handwriti ng is about four month s prior to th e "childis "childish" h" printing

The Jou rnal of i stori st orical cal R ev iew

THE FOLLOWIN FOL LOWING G BA BACK CK ISSUES ARE NO W AVAILA AVAILABLE BLE A T A SPECI SPE CIALL ALLY YR RED EDUC UCED ED PR PRIC ICE E OF $ $3. 3.50 50 e a c h (r eg ul ar ly 5.00). IF YOU YOU AR ARE E MISSING AN ANY Y O F THESE IMP ORTAN T IS ISSUES SUES OR SIJJISC SIJJ ISCHII HII%T: %T:I) I) OO LATE TO O RECEIV RECEIVE E TH EM AS T H E Y WERE l ' U l ~ l , I S l l l ~ l ~OW , W UU 1 ,l ~ ll{ 1 1''111~ DEAL 'I' 'I'IME IME '1'0 OKllEK T l l E M AS SUl'l' SUl'l'l.lliS l.lliS AR ARE E LIMITEI).

P n p o r s p re r e s o n t o d ~ t t hhee f i rs rs t e v e r Ro v i si o n i st Co l l fo ren ce: D r. A.H. B u t z , D r. r . R o b e r t F a u r i s s o n , L o u is is Pi t z G i l ~ t ~ o n d, o W n l o n d v , D Dii t l iioo b Fo l d ero r. S p r i n g l ~ ~ ~ - V o l u m ne, n oe,

Dr. R o b ert Fcl u risso ri sso n , Jo h n Ben l l u rrdd H a r w o o d , L e w i s B r a n d o n , Z i c ll

One, n b y M.P., nett. A r t h u r P o n s o nb S u m m e r 1Y 1YUO UO-V -Vol olum ume e

H a r r y E l m er er B a r n e s .

Wi 1980-Volu D ir. rt. l H , Du re.l AE.dB S oerl e 1980s h k o , Volume sh R i cl c l ln lme n rd r d LOne, a w s o n4:, D ie i e ob wFaerl dd oFr.e Sr ,t oSi anm wuatrzd, M . nt Konkin 111. Sp ri ng 10 10U1 U1-V -Vol olum umo o

Two,

I : Pfl1)or.s prosontod nt the 1980 Ro-

v iiss iioo nnii st s t C o n ffoo ro r o n ccoo : J o h n H e ~ i ~ i o t t ,r . J a m e s J M a r t i n , M a r k W ol )o r, IZicl ZicliinrcI nrcI 1.n11dwollr. 1.n11dwollr. ,oonc~rcl r iod ric li, Low is B rn n do n.

P a p e r s p r e s e n t e d a t t h e 1980 R e vi v i ssii oonn is i s t C o n f e r e n c e , ccoo n t : D r . R o b e r t F a u r i s s o n , M a r k W e b e r , D r . A n d r e a s W e s s e r l e , R a y M e r r i a m , P e t e r W a i n w r i g h t, t, D r . Al fred Li l i en t h al . umm er 19811981-Volu Volume me

Fal l 1981-Volum 1981-Volumo o

Two,

Tw o,

er o n c r e m a t o r 3: D r . R e i n h a r d B u c h n er

c a p a c i t i e s , D r . J u r . W i llhh eell rn rn S t a e g l i c h o n t h e W e s t G er er m an w a r c r i m e s t r ia ia l s . S u b s c r i b e r s t o Th e Jo urnal of Historical Re ay ta k e a n Revi viow ow m ay a d d i t i o n a l 5 O l d i s c o u n t of o ff t h e t o t a l o r d e r a m o u n t . C a l i ffoo r n iiaa r e s i d e n t s m u s t add O I n s a l e s t a x . This s p e c i a l o f f e r i s g o od od f o r a limi tod t im i m e o nl nl y a n d w h i l e s u p p l i e s lr l r ls l s tt..

Send your o rd er to:

NSTITUTE FOR HISTORICAL P.O. B O X

1306

REVIEW

TORRANCE

CA. 9 5 5

USA

R o m a n ia n s a n d

the H o l o c a u s t

Dr. SERBAN C ANDRONESCU

(Presented a t the 1981 Revisionist Conference) In t h e l a s t d e c a d e , v a r io i o u s s tto o r i e s a p p e a r e d in b o oo oks a n d newsp ne wsp apers ap ers relating relat ing to the Holocaust in Romania. The au th or s o off t hes e s t o r i es pr e t en de d t ha t Rom ani ans ki kill led led al m mos os t hal halff a mill mi llio ion n Jews in WW 1 11 1; they arr iv ived ed a t this fig figure ure iin n a n aw kw ar d manner. Firstly, long before this campaign, in 1957, two scholars, one Romani Rom anian an an d the other oth er Jew, me mett together an d publ publish ished ed a pa pe perr on this subje subject ct in Rome, Italy, in in w which hich th the e figur figure e wa s 15,000, bu butt not of Jews exterminated by the Romanians; it related to the Jewish casualties in Romania, which makes a big difference. The title of the paper was Regional Development of the Jewish Populat Popul atio ion n in Ro Roman mania ia an d tthe he au tho rs w er e Dr. Sabin Manuila, formerly Ge ne ral Director of of the I nst itu te for Stati stic s o off Romania Roman ia a and nd Dr. W Filderr Filderrnan, nan, formerly forme rly Pres Presiden identt o off th the e Je Jewish wish Commu Com muni nity ty of Roma Romania. nia. In ot othe herr w or ds , one wa wass a hig high h level specialist speciali st iin n the ver very y field of stati stics a nd cen census, sus, the other w as the hea head d o off the mino minori rity ty that p ret ends en ds today the above st at ed extermination. Furthermore, both authors had clualifications beyond bey ond the level level st at ed above above.. Manuila w as Corr Correspo espondin nding g Member Mem ber o off th the e Romania Romanian n Academy of S Sci cien ence cess an and d a Fellow o off the International Institute of Statistics. Filderman was a Rabbi, former Member o off the Roma Romania nian n Par Parlia liame ment, nt, an and d Pres Presiden identt o the Joint Distribution Commi Committ ttee ee for Romania. In oth other er word words, s, both were intellectuals intellectuals of a hi highe gherr st an da rd a nd knowledgeable, by their profe ssion s, in the developmen t o off t he pop ulation in Romani Rom ania. a. However, despite their scho larsh ip, the figur figure e set a ft er

TH E JOUR RN N A L OF HISTORICAL REVIEW

their re se ar ch work (1 (15,0 5,000) 00),,wa s fu full lly y str etc hed in Jewish favor. I shall ca ll this figure Stage I of d de enigration. The ey y listed the largest figure mentioned in the statistical reports they made use of: for instance, if two reports came from the same village, one informi inf orming ng of 10 ca casua sua lti es and th the e ot her o off 15 15,, the r es ea rc he rs listed lis ted the la rgest figure, 15. The ref ore , the re al number of Je ws who died in Roma Romania nia in the w a r w a s bet between ween 10,000 an d 15,000 15,000.. Anyho An yhow, w, a ft e r the pu publi blicati cation on o off tha t pa per , the two parties we re more or less content with with th that at fi gur e, then they for forgot got abou aboutt those tragic events, went back to their usual work, and the situation renioined calm during almost 2 years. Thon, suddenly, in tho tho nl nlid id 70 9, tho figure rose ab abru rupt ptly ly to Stag St age e I1 of d deni enigra gratio tion: n: 250,000 killings. Before lon long g it rose ros e ag ai n t o St ng e 111: 300.000 killings, a n d nr ri ve d l ate ly to St ag e IV IV:: 4 5 0 W j o w s k i l l o t l by I < o l ~ l ~ r ~ ~ il u l W i l sW I I I t should be stressed that these new figures have been publiulled publiu lled b by y Ziorl Ziorlist istss al alone one,, without a any ny co contribu ntribution tion or investigation underwritten by the Romanians. While the documentation forr Stage I is available tto fo o any res ea rch er an d c an be checked for ac cu ra cy a t an any y ti time, me, the figures relat relating ing to Stag es 1 11 1,111, a n d IV, had been se t up without any of offic ficial ial documentation. IIff some new evidence to support a figure other tha n 15, 15,000 000 had been fou found nd somewhere, this new evidence would have been published in some offici official al journal und under er the ae aegis gis o off both pa rti es, es , but nothing of this kin kind d w a s published b by y a n auth or iz ed or specializ ed organization. In In other words , i t seems that the a uthor s o off the la st three stages of denigration have c chang hanged ed the number o off the de ad b y simply crossing out one figure and replacing it with another. According to this method, oven the las lastt fi figure gure of of 450,0 450,000 00 c a n be chnnged at n n y time. As a former Iiomanion, I was shocked when I first became ownro of tho tho socond stag stago o of denigration. This This was in the 70 s a nd since then I have looked for whatever proofs they might have gotton. I found nothing but mem memories ories o off old peopl people, e, rec recoll ollect ection ionss of tragic war events, and declarations made in general terms which, under no circ*mstances, could be considered as documentss iin ment n support o off such a grave a nd precise a ccus ation as t he one chargi cha rging ng the R Romanians omanians with the kil killin ling go off 450,000 Jew s. My se cr et ar y wa s in touch with Dr. Je a n Ancel o off Yad Vashem Archives. M r . Ancel became a doctor with a dissertation on this very subject, The Romanian Jewry, in which he ran range gess h hims imsel elff in the Stage I11 of denigration. The university which conferred to him a doctoral degree for such a dissertation was the Hebrew University Univers ity of Jerus Jerusalem alem.. My sec re ta ry s en t Dr. Ance Ancell thre e let te rs asking aski ng for a n ab st ra ct of his de ssertion a nd also for any available proof in support of his version o off the events. The lette rs w er e sent to no avail. Dr. Ancel answered only one letter saying that

Romanianss an d the Holoca ust Romanian

2 3

his figures are only approximate. However, Dr. Ancel is one of the specialists in in the field of of Romanian Jew ry who c a n unders t a n d t h e i m p o r t an c e o off a p r o o f w h e n m ak iin n g s u ch a g r av e statem sta tem ent ent.. He ref refuse used d to giv give e an any yp pro roof of o off his state stateme ments nts.. With Wit h the others wh who o a r e mu much ch unde r Ancel's level of education, it is useless to start any discussion because they become n

excited first question. general, they view consider they andafter they the alone possess the truth. Whatever does that not conform to their thei r views is by by definition a lie, immoral, antianti-Semi Semite, te, racis t, an d ne eo o --N N a zi zi . W h e n t h e s e p e o p pll e w r i t e a b o u t t h o oss e events, even ts, their wr writi itings ngs a r e so full of va vague gue a n d g eneral statemen ts t h at iitt iiss al m o st st i m p po o s ssii b lle e f o r t h e co n ce r n e d r e ad er n o t t o suspe sus pect ct them o off posing a s vi victims. ctims. Here is a n example. Ms Ms.. Juliana Ger an Pi Pilo lon n is a Jew born in R o m n n i n Sho wroto n hook o t o s f r o m tho O t h o r S i d o of t h o Night, (South Bend, IN.: IN.: Reg Regnery nery Ga Gatew tew ay, 1979) in which sh e states (page 125) that "nearly 300,000 Jews had been killed in Romania Roma nia before the Germans Germa ns even even g got ot ther there e " Whe When n the Germ ans got there, Ms. Pilon says further, they killed 150,000 more. Now, i n o r d e r tto o unde rst an d the absurd ity o off s u c h a n a l l e g a t i o n should bring bring back to m min ind d wha w ha t h ap appe pene ned d in Roma Romanin nin in in 194 1940, 0, the yea r when the Germans came. In recalling the history of those da days ys wil willl use some da ta fro from m a bo book ok wri tte tten n by by a n outs outstand tanding ing Z Zioni ionist st scho lar , Professor Lu Lucy cy Dawidowicz of of Yeshiva Uni Universit versity, y, NY. In he r book, The W a r Against.J Aga inst.Jews ews,, (New Yor York: k: Holt Holt,, Rine Rinehart hart Winston, 1975 1975)) Ms Ms.. Dawidowicz declares that there were 750,000 Jews in pre-war Romania, of of which whic h 300,000 lived iin n Be Bess ssar arab ab ia a n d 150,000 in Northern 'I'ransylvania. 'rhea0 two provincus Bosaarabiu and Northern Nort hern Tra nsy lva nia , ha d been lost by Romania Romania in Aug August ust 1940 under the pro-Jewish regime o f King Cnrol 11 whon organized killin kil ling g of Jew s wa s impossible. The loss o off tthe he n ati ationa onall tter erri rito tory ry put a shameful sham eful end to the co rr up t regi regime me o off Kin King g Cero Ceroll who w a s obliged to abdicate. He was chased from Romonin together with his Jewis h lover , Ms. Magda Wolf-L Wolf-Lupescu upescu,, his mentor a n d counsellor. In September 1940, King Carol's pro-Jewish regime wa s replac replaced ed with the nation nationalist alist regime o off Ge ne neral ral Antonescu an d in Nove November mber 1940 the German troops en te tere red d Roma Romania. nia. This i s t h e p er i o d r e f e r r ed t o b by y M ss.. P Pii llo o n w h e n s h e w r i t es t h a t Romanians and Germans killed altogether 450,000 Jews. This could coul d only only hap pen un de derr Anton escu, not, o off cou rse, un de derr Carol. Now, No w, b by y simple simple su bt btrac rac tio n, iiff we deduc de duc t 450, 450,000 000 (3 (300, 00,000 000 Jew s of Bess ara bia plus 150,000 of Northe No rthern rn T Tran ran syl va vania nia ) from the total Jewish population population of ab ou outt 75 750,0 0,00, 0, we c a n se see e th at nationalist Romania Romania (i.e. Romania from 1940 to the en d of of th e w a r, 1944) ha d on nll y 3 0 00 0 ,0 ,0 0 00 0 J ew s . I t w a s t h e r ef o r e i m p o s ssii b l e f o r t h e Germans an d Romanians to kill 450,000 J e w s out of 300,000.

2 4

T H E J O U R N A L OF HISTORICAL REVIEW

But ther e is more But more th an tha t in Ms. Pilon's story. First, let's see how Romanians could kill 300 000 ews before the Germans even got there, as Ms. Pilon proclaims. Under King Carol it was impossible to organize any action against the Jews si simpl mply y bec ause au se they we re a t the cont c ontrol rol of the administration through Ms. Magda Wolf-Lupescu, the king's lover. She had complete dominion over the king because of some unique sexual peculiarities, tlie description of which would be unfit for this report. I n fac t, she sh e was the uncrowned uncro wned queen of of Roman Romania ia a nd ri ot l ~ i ri g orlltl t c t ko plcico i r l it1 t coilntry witliout her permission. I n proof o Illis ftlct w t i s thc? wild crusliirlg of Christi~n nd ~icllio~iulistriovo11101ll Ilio 11-or1 11-or1Guurd) Guurd) i r i 19313 wlien soveral t h o r ~ s r l n c lyorlngstors n n r st11r1o~11snd nd boon killed without trinl or jut1ic:iul p l * o c : u c l r l l * u u r l i ~ i l l ) l y 1~( (:~11s0 lloy ~ I I Y C ~lgtii~lstl l ~ ewis11 ~ c:orrrtpIio~l. 110 cloc:ny iilfllloric:o, nnd tllo abuses perpetrnted Y S i l l 11ios(: [ I t i y s i l l rilI C O U I I I 1'110 of Je ws would ~ ~ .I I ~ ~ ~ ilurdor I i n v o o ~ i l y uen possibla under tlie n~tio~lolist egime of Gener Gen eral al A nt one s c u w hi c h t o o k over in in Romania in Se pte mbe r 1940. According to Ms. Pilon, Pilon, the Roma nians kill killed ed 300,000 300,000 Je ws "before the Germans even got there," i.e. between September 1940 ( a d ve n t of of t he na t i ona l i s t r e gi m e) e ) a n d N ove o ve mbe m be r 1940 (German troops enter Romania), that is, i n two months. Now, could tliis tliis b e possible? Can one kill kill 300,0 300,000 00 people a n d then evaporate tlie corpses? O f cou rse , not. One One has to put the c orpses orp ses somewhe som ewhere. re. One ha s to to dig dig a gra g ra ve for them a n d a grav g rav e of of this th is s i ze ze c a nn ot r e m a i n hi dde d de n f or e v e r . No No gr ove o f tliis tliis size or smnllor l i n s y e t I ~ a e n lisc liscovo ovorc rcd d in Romanin. There Rre hundreds of Jewish Jewi sh cem eterie ete riess i n Roma Romania, nia, but all ar e sta nd ard cemeteries, the peopl people e buried ther e died died of of n at ur al or nccidental death . In co nt rast ra st , th er e ar e thousand thou sandss of of cemeteries cemete ries of Romanian w a r h e r o e s . T h e r e is i s e ve v e n a n A m e r i c an a n h e r o c e m et e t e ry ry n e a r Bucharest, on the same spot with a British hero cemetery. There a r e thousan tho usan ds of s uc h grav es all over Europe, Europe, from from the Baltic Baltic Sea S ea in the north to the Med iterr anea n, an d fro from m the Atlantic Atlantic Ocean to Stalingrad. In Poland, it is impossible to cross one single district of Polis Polish h heroes. The re a r e without coming upon a cemetery of cemeteries o Jews , too, too, and even monume monuments nts.. There a r e no such m onum e nt s or m a us ol e um s f or J e w s i n R om ani a ni a, a , a l t hough Romania is the only communist country that has diplomatic relations with Israel. Moreover, Romania depends on the proZionist Zion ist votes of of many American se na to rs to get the th e Most Most Favored Favor ed Nation clause. It would have been very easy for those influential American senators to cause President Ceausescu to erect a Jewish monument in Romania. However, neither American sena iors , nor Israelis have asked thus f ar for the erection erection of of su ch a monument. The rationale? The Jews died in Romania because of various casualties inherent to any war, but not because of atrocities.

Romanians Romania ns and t h Holocaust

When 15,000 15,000 Pol Polis ish h officers and soldiers w er e kill killed ed a t Katyn, the killers dug a huge grave and put the corpses there. If you went t her e a t the tim time e when the place w as open for the the publ public ic y yo ou could coul d see the ma ter ial proofs of of wh at ha happe ppe ned . Yo You u could see boness and skeleton bone skeletonss an d pieces of Pol Polis ish h unifo uniforms rms an d shoes a nd let ter s an d phot ogra ographs phs [dam aged b by y the humi humidit dity y of of the soi soil) l) which wer e found in the pockets of th e unifor uniforms ms an d even t he bullets used use d in those killings. It had b ee een n impossible to hi hide de 15,000 corpses; it had not been a matter of 15,000 matches or 15,000 pebbles; it it had been a ma tte tterr of 15,000 hum human an bodi bodies es whose tra ce s rema remain in year a ft er year af te r year. Ho How w coul could d Ro Roma mani nian anss ki kill ll 300, 300,000 000 Jew s witho ut leaving a tr a c e ? How could the they y hide almost half a million corpses, 30 times more than those of Katyn? Who can believe that Rabbi Dr. W. Filderman, the lead le ad er of Romanian JJew ew s in WW 11 wa s so ind indifferent ifferent a s tto o leave unexplored a mass mur der of of such propor proportion tion i f the least suspi pici cion on ever existed? He w as f a r from being indifferent. He simp simply ly neverr even cons ider neve idered ed the poss possibi ibilit lity yo off a mas s m urd er of Je ws in Romani Rom ania a an d th eref ore, bein being g a n honest Romani Romanian an Jew, sign signed ed a pap er in which llie ie put tho la large rge st numbor o f de ad at 15 15,0 ,000 00.. But let s analyze the socond part of Ms. Pi Pilo lon n s ossortion, tha t the Germans Ger mans kill killed ed 150,000Je w s nfter the they y ent ore d Roma Romani nitl tl.. This agai n wa wass im imposs possibl ible e si simply mply beca use a t the end of the w a r the number of the Jews w s a s hi h a s at tho beginning of tho war, i .e. .e. i n ro u n d fi g u res a b o u t 3 0 0 ,,0 000 0.. Th i s f i g u re i n cl u d e d t h e na tu ra l incrouso o off the Jowisli population during tho war and of course did did n not ot co compri mprise se the dead fro from m w a r casualties an d those who emigrated clande clandestinely. stinely. Th ere er e we were re still two possibilities o off killi killing ng Romanian J ew s, one in Bes sara bia (occupied by the Sov Sovie iett U Uni nion on)) an d the othe r in Northern Transylvania (occupied by the H unga rian s). Niether one actually actually happened . When the Romani Romanian an Troops ente re d Bes sara bia in 19 1941 41 an d reconquered that territory, ver very y few Jews we re found there. The majority had been either evacuated by the Soviets or had left by themselv thems elves es in fea r o off repr isals . Many Jews ha d a criminal attit ude toward the Romanians in retreat i n 1940 when Bessarabia was ceded to Russia; they had gathered in armed bands and killed or disarm ed ma an ny Romania an n s o l d i e r s w h o h a d o r d e r s to to r e t i r e w i t h o u t s h o ot ot i n g g.. Th er ef o r e, i n 1 9 4 1 , w h e n t h e R o m a n i a n s reconquered th at territory , the Jews ha d alre ady le left ft in fea r of reprisals. A s fp r t h e J ew s of N o rt h ern Tra n s y l v an i a (o ccu p i ed b y Hungary) they had been put in camps by the Hungarians and very fe very few w returned a fter the wa r. From Fro m the 30 300, 0,00 000 0 Je ws who we re sti still ll in Roma Romani nia a aft er the w a r , about 130,000 emigrated to Israel (see the Statistical Bulletin of Isr ael , v vo ol. 3, 1 1952952-53) 53) a n d ab out 140, 140,000 000 to W es te rn Europe an d

T H E JOURN L OF HISTOR IC L REVIEW REVIEW

USA. T he re a r e still still between 35,000 an d 50 50,0 ,000 00 Jews in Romania today. This is is wh at remains, af te r ana lysis, o off Ms. Pi Pilo lon n s imaginary char ges. She is, however, considered a schol ar in in the U U..S.A. a n d a n expert in interpreting interpreting historical historical even events. ts. She ha s been recently promoted to the post of Assistant to Mr. Burton Pines, the Director Direc tor of of the th e United Nations Natio ns Assessmen Asses smen t Proje Project, ct, sponsore spons ore d by by the Heritag Heri tage e Foundation Foundat ion of Washi Wa shingt ngton, on, DC DC. The pur purpos pos e of of this project is to condemn condemn the Uni United ted Nations Organiza Organization. tion. Whe When n t his o rg an i za t i o n w a s d o mi n at ed b y t h e Zi o n i sstt s , i t w a s a good organization; but today, af te r the expulsion of Is ra el from th e U.N. U. N. s Int ern ati ona l Labor Organization an d the condemnation of Isr ael for for he r attitu de toward Ara bs, U. U.N. N.O O. is a bad organiza organization tion an d should be dissolv dissolved. ed. Th e s u s p i ci o n of of ma s s mu rd er s in in R Ro o man ma n i a n ev er e x i s t ed before the 70 s. Al All the the humbu humbug g s ta rt ed in the 70 s with artic les in newspapers and books charging Romanians with the extermination of the Romanian Romanian Jewis h population, but i t wa s ttoo oo lat e in the 70 s, 30 ye ar s af te r the end o off t he w a r , tto o orga organize nize exterminextermination camps in Romania proof ne ofwsp mass First, there nppe np peor ored ed v var ario ious us ~ t t a c k in sn small apemurders. rs charging Romania Roman ia wit tlio k i l l i ~ ~ fg 250 000 Jows. Nobody protostod. Arid tllon a big article was published by the N e w York Post, a newspaper of large circu lation . map wa s dis tri but ed by the Anti Anti-Def -Defamat amation ion League and the number num ber of of th e allege alleged d kil killings lings rose ins tan tly to 300,000. 300,00 0. The ar tic le a and nd the m ap w er e givon givon out in millions millions o off copies. The mop was wa s published on th e front page o off a pam phlet ancl showed Europe and her different countries, each one with the amount of Jewish victims. Printed over Germany the accusation figure was 210,000. Over Romania, the figure was 300 000. Always Alwa ys on that map only only the J ew s we re sho shown wn a s vi vict ctims ims.. Th e text accompanying accom panying the ma p r ea d clear ly: 6,000,0 6,000,000 00 Jewi sh victi victims ms in total. No other victims. However, Howe ver, if if one to took ok the time to ad d up the t he fi figures gures pri nte nted d on the t map, they would would have ha ve arri ar ri ve d a t a total o off less th an 6,00 6,000, 0,00 000. 0. t was therefore necessary to find somewhere another 150,000 victims to to match mat ch the ttot otal al of of six million. million. The missing m issing amo amount unt of vi vict ctim imss was attributed to Roman Romania ia.. So ther e ap pea red the S tage IV of of deni de nigr grat atio ion, n, charg ch arging ing Romania Rom ania with w ith th the e kill killing ing of 450,000 Jews. Another new spa per o off l a r g e c i r c u l a t i o n , t h e Spectator of London, published the new figure in 1979. L Express of Paris, a magazine of even larger circulation, published the same figure. Thiss wa s bec aus e all these major new spa pe rs o Thi off the Unit United ed Sta tes , Engl En glan and d an d France were independent independent an d arrived a t the sa me preci se conclusion, 450 450,0 ,000 00 victims, victims, by m mere ere coincidence. Meanwhile, a spurious campaign agai nst the Romanian Romanian Bi Bish shop op

Romanians and the

olocaust

2 7

of th e U.S.A U.S.A., ., Va le ri a n D T r i f a , b e g a n w i t h mu mu c h n o i s e a n d e x c i te t e m e n t a n d w a s c o n d u c t e d b y R e p r e s e n t a t i v e E l i z a b et et h Holtzman, a Democrat of Brooklyn. Howard Blum, who was at t h at ttii m e on t he s t af f o f t he pr o- Zi oni o ni s t ne w s pa pe r s V il il llag age e Voice and New York Times, edited a book aggressively titled Wanted: SearchMany of Nazis in and America, charging Romania with the same In figure. radio V programs were aired at about the same time whose slogan was more or less the same: Romanians Romania ns m urd ered ere d 450,00 450,000 0 Jews. Now, No w, you a r e entitled entitled tto o ask-wh ask-why y this sudd en cam paign again st Romania af t er 30 year yea r s of ssii l e n ce? ce? T ~ Hissing 150,000 from the worldwide publicized figure of 6 million did not justify such a virulent campaign. There must have been some other reason, per hap s monetary. mon etary. This possi possibil bilit ity y de se rves rv es some some attentio n. Since the inaugurntion of tho stnte of Isrnol in 1948, t h o Gorman t a x - p a y e r h a s c o n t r i b u t e d t o th t h e w o l f a r s of of I s r a e l w it it h a n expiatory payment of fibout two billion dollars annually. In the last 30 years, the German contribution has amounted to over 60 billion dollars. During this same period the American taxpayer ha s contrib uted with friendly loans an d endowments to Isr ae l of a similar or bigger bigger amo a mount unt.. Now, af te r 30 y e a rs of of paym ents to Isra el, expiatory or friendly , of about ab out bi bill llio ion n dollars yearly , the taxp ayer may may get suspic suspiciou iouss-mai mainly nly when we Americans cannot find funds for stri ngent ng ent national na tional or local needs. need s. In New New York, York, for instance, the subway is a mess; the westside highway is closed bec aus e of of i t s m any pot hol es ; publ ic i c s ch ool s a r e a m ockery ocker y because there a r e no no funds to iinve nvest st in in education, a nd thousands thousands of New -Yorkereare -York ereare livi living ng in in incredible conditions bec aus e th e rent in.New Yor York k is so high. I-Iowever, the ro o ro illways somo somo billions to be sent to Israel for various purposes. But if the American taxpayer becomes aware of these many many oxponditure oxpondituress a bro ad , he may ask them to be stopped. It is therefore necessary for the Zionists Zioni sts to find new so ur ce s o off incoming doll ars ar s or a t least lea st to preserve the existing ones. A denigration campaign against all European countries could very well serve this purpose; thus Romania was included in the campaign. One never can tell just how ho w an d when this inclusio inclusion n h as become fruitful. It is true t hat many Jew s we re kille killed d in Romania in the w ar ; but a l s o m an a n y R o m a n i a ns ns , a n d A m e r i c a n s , a n d G e r m a n s , a n d Russians were killed in Romania at that time, as well as many o t h e r p e o pl p l e ss.. As As w e a l l k no no w , w h a t c h a r a c t e r i z e s a w a r i s cruelty and killing; killing not only by weapons, but by diseases too; by hunger, or simply by accidents. Soldiers and civilians, wome wo men n an d children, elde rs an d youngst youngsters, ers, a r e kil kille led d in any w ar forr many, many reas fo re as on s, goo good d or bad. Would it be fair if I made the chronicle of th e w a r an a n d complained comp lained of of the tr agic ag ic fat e of one group only?

T H E JOURN

OF HISTORIC L

R VI W

Let me put things an other way. I s a w piles of cor ps pses es in that war. I s a w a s tre et fu full ll of corp ses; various p ar ts of of bodies bodies we re sp re ad over over that stre et aft er a bombar bombardme dmentnt-fe feet, et, heads , hands a n d b lo l o od o d . I reme mbe r a pi pile le o off brok en fe et an d ar m s on on a sidewalk, a horrible pile. Who could tell what part belonged to whom in that whatGerman? foot wasNob Jewish, what a r m Roman Romanian, ian,pile? a nd Who w ha hatt could p ar t of oftell a body Nobody ody.. But iitt would be a n impiety impiety to proclai proclaim m today th at a all ll those kill killed ed on th that at st re et we re all Romanians an d complain complain of the trag ic fa te of Romanians only. Moreover, if I reca ll those time times, s, w ha t difference does it make wheth wh ether er 10,0 10,000 00Russians w wer er e kille killed d in a n airs trike trik e in Kie Kiev, v, a city city of Ukraine, or 10, 10,000 000 Jew s w er e kill killed ed in Tra nsn nsnistri istri a bec aus e of typhus or hun ger? Wh at is th e difference b etween 100 0,, 0 00 00 Germa ns k kil ille led d a t Sta ling rad be ca us e of of the freezing freezing winter and an d hunger a nd 1,000 Russi Russian an J ew s hanged in Odessa a s guerillas? Whut dilToro~lco dilToro~lcoss tlloro tlloro botweon botweon sever81 hu ndre nd re ds of of th thou ousa sand ndss of Romanian soldiers killed in Russia in the war and several tho us ands an ds o off Jew s killed killed in Iasi, a cit city y o off Romania, bec au ause se they s h o t to to d e a t h R o m ma a n iia a n s o l d i e r s ? W a r i s a m a d n e s s i n i ttss e ell f be ca us e th the e intellige intelligent nt people of of both sides can not no t find find other ot her ways to settle their disputes. However, when the war and its horrors arrive at an end, a peace treaty is signed, debts are p a y e d , b o r d e r s a r e c h a n g e d , a n d t h e n w e f o rg r g e t a b o u t i t. t. Otherw Oth erwise ise we would would never finish a w a r . Not Not so with th the e Zion Zionist ists. s. After 30 yea rs th they ey s ta rt ano the r war-a w a r of of words, an d libel libels, s, arid reve nge nge,, inl inlpl plyi ying ng the Je w s w er e the sole sole vi victi ctims ms o off the last wa r . life e in isnmuch pr ew ar Roma nia a al und er in the pro-Jewish regi gime me of The K Kin ing gsocial Carol Ca rollif wa li like keRomani the soci social llife ife this co un untry try,, re almost the sam e dec decoy. oy. p*rnog p*rnography, raphy, adulte ad ulte ry, bla blasphe sphemy my an d all k kin inds ds o f wicked attacks against Christianity were flourishing all over Romania. It happened that the two most influential newspapers, Adeverul and Dimineata, were under Jewish management and w er e the ad advo voca cate tess of commu communis nism, m, the agen agents ts o off de demoralization moralization among the youth, youth, a nd the mo most st powerful fighters against nationalism. Many Jews were law-abiding citizens, but it happened that the th e mis mistres tresss of the t he kin king g w as a beautiful but vicio vicious us Jewish woman, Magda Mag da Wolf-Lupes Wolf-Lupescu. cu. Many pol politica iticall ki killi llings ngs w er e pe rp et ra te d in Romania beca be ca us e of her he r ba d infl influen uence ce upon the king. king. Of cou c ourse rse,, she never signe signed d the act ual ord er to ki kill, but the fac t wa s th at all nationalis t activities activities an d mainl mainly y those dire cted aga inst the social de ca y, aga inst the lite rat ur e o off fi filth lth,, an d a gainst the ston stong g Jewish influen infl uence ce in politi politics cs w er e prohibited a nd even punished punished.. yout youth h movement against atheists, p*rnographers, and corrupt politicians ome omerge rged d cnlled the Iron Gua rd) an d it wanted to defend

R o m a ni n i an an s a n d t h e

olocaust

national valu national values es agains t the intru ders a nd the a gen ts of deception. deception. In fact, the Iron Iron Gua rd wa s fighti fighting ng aga ins t all th e agent s of decay, whoever they might be. Many Jews were decent citizens and contr ibuted tto o the advancem ent of of cultu re, but some we re the agents of of decay; de cay; so, those stu den ts wh who o fought against agai nst the l a t t e r w e r e b e l ie ie v e ed d t o ffii g gh ht against all Jews an d the p ress ostracized the them. m. Some students who belonged to the Iron Guard in Iasi decided to build a student home, a Christian house for themselves, apart from fro m the atheist student h home omess w whi hich ch exis existed ted a t tha t ti time me in in I a ~ i . Well, the pol police ice of Iasi Ias i received the ord o rd er to sto stop p the bui buildi lding ng a nd all the Zi Zion onis istt ne wsp ape rs beg an a vicious campaign against the Christian students. The charge was the same as today in this country: the they y wa nt ed to destr destroy oy the pluralism of Roman Romania, ia, they they threatened to kill those who disagreed with their authoritarian position, they wanted to deny values in the name of Christianity, they wore racists und u s v u r r l o t l t l l o rig111 to tlivido tllo country n the th e name nam e of patri patrioti otism. sm. In the opin opinion ion of many a t th at time time,, the Christ Christian ian stu den ts ha d the same right right to bu buil ild d their Christian Christian house a s the othe r st uden ts to have profane home homes. s. However, the government w as of ano the r opinion. The government decided the students did not have that right an d the chi chief ef o off the pol police ice was se nt on the spot to stop the building and disperse the students. Many students were harrassed, some were arrested and some were summoned to court cou rt for the crime of trying to build build a Chri C hristi stian an home. It wa s like like today in this country: i f so some me youngste youngsters rs a dh er e to a C h r i s t i a n m o ve ve m e en nt, the ey y a r e con sidere d sick, the ey y m u sstt b e deprogrammed deprogr ammed an d bi bill llss a r e sent tto o the legislators to c ur b them them.. Pray Pr ayer er is is ou tl ~w ed edrom rom schools n n rep replci lciced ced with sex education. education . ~ y ortclin minorities. Christ Chr istmti mtiss ctlrols c ~ r o :onsitlorotl tlisl~~rl~i~lg In contrast, the use of drugs, p*rnogrupliy and incest, sodomy an d atheis atheism, m, ar e pres ente d by th the e infl influentia uentiall mass medi media a as acce ptabl e sta nd ar ds o off our cult ure, an d al l d dece eceivi iving ng moveme movement ntss a r e free tto o spr ea d inuniversities. Wh Why? y? Because a depraved yout youth h c a n b e e a s i lly y manoevered. Depraved s tud ent s to od day mean depraved leaders tomorrow; thus, a better opportunity for those who pull pull the strin strings gs today to take ove overr tomorrow. The same situation wa s in Ro om m an a n iia a an d the agent s who provok pro voked ed tha t vi vicio cious us situatio situation n in pre w ar Romania Romania w er e the sam e as here. The students who wanted to stop the decay in Romania were sent Court, walls homes demolished, their famili fam ilies es hartoass ed- thethenew spaof pertheir s cu rs ed them. Many of those innoce inn ocent nt studen ts we re barr od fro from m universities, sent to to jai jail an d their live livess were spoile spoiled d foreve r. Years la te r, when the pro-Jewish

regime of Ki regime Kin ng Carol wa s rrepl eplace aced d with a natio na tional nalist ist one, th the e students stude nts to took reven revenge ge on those who spoiled thei theirr liv lives es a nd kil killed led

T H E J O U R N A L OF HISTORICAL

R VI W

them. I do not appr ap prov ov e of tthe heir ir a cti ctions ons even iiff I unders tand why they l o st st t h e i r h e a d s a n d k kii llll e ed d. M My y rre e l ig ig i o on n a nd the irs does not ap pro ve any mu rde r, ev ve e n if i t i s d o n e i n r e v e n g e . W e r e t h e st ud en ts guil guilty ty of the kil killin lings? gs? O Off c ou ourse rse , they were; wer e; b ut, a t the sam e timi , those wh who o perse cuted th them em w ere gu guil iltty a s we well ll.. Howe Ho weve ver, r, the c chro hro nic ler lerss o off tthose hose e eve vents nts spe ak o off th e guilt of of the students only, mnking the reader believe the persecutors were not guilty, and the same events take place in almost the silmo wgly i n our dnys ns half I century ago in Romania. There is nonsonso i n conconling tlio re al moaning of of th the e soci social al movements c ~ r ~ r l ) r o v o ~ i l) o o p l o r o ~ t idrnwirig conclusions. Iiistory ropeats itself whether we liko it or not. This is i n essence a very broad tlr?sc:ription of so some me tlio~isc~n dillings perpotreted in Romania in 1940-41 Oll~c r illillgs WCI'C I U Lo ulllt31 C:HUSOS. W H A n lligli s(:Iiool sttidont n t that time. My father was R lllrl

]led lawyer, go to lusi legal e took mc with i nh i1941 m to lie show m to e the city. city. It for wa ssome a cit city y of : affairs. .po rtanHce in Komanian history and a vi visi sitt there w as conside rea p a rt o off a t) o y s cclucation, I t w a s soon a f t e r tho beginning o off th e hostilities hostil ities between Romania and communist Russia. We took a room at a hotel in Iasi. I remember very well that on the street facing the window of of our rroo oom m the t he re m arch ar ch ed long columns of ssold old ier iers, s, r.:irts with hnrscs, trucks with military equipment going to the war frorit. The street was ritlrrow and the columns very long. It was s o o n n f t n r S U I I S C ~ .My fn th er an d I wer e preparing for dinner when suddenly we he ar d explosi explosions ons d down own in in the s tree t. W e went c : i ~ r l l i o ~ ~ sol yI l i o wiriclow nnd lookod outsicle. We snw people in I l l : I ~ u i l c l i l l g ic:ross tlio strctot s h o o t i r ~ g t the soldiers ; some olliors worc? Illrowilig grcnndos from tho roof. It W R S crazy act in those days an d wha t hap pene d then wa s he ell l. l. A n o ffff ic i c er er orde red the march to stop and the soldiers tto o su rround the bl bloc ock. k. In a s ho rt whi while, le, th the e whol whole e bl bloc ock k wa s in flames an d und er the fire of submachine guns. Then the march resumed and continued through midn midnigh ight. t. We lear ne d th at those who fired a t the soldiers from fro m th e oth er build buildin ing g w er e Romani Romanian an Je ws acting a s com commun munis istt g u e r i ll ll a s . S e v e r a l h u n d r e d p e o p pll e w e r e k iill le le d t h a t e v e n i n g , Romanian Romani an soldiers a s well a s Jewish gueril guerillas, las, togeth er with inn oce nt people who lived in th a t bl block. ock. Who w a s guilty of of thos those e kill ki llin ings gs? ? We wer e a t wa r an d the re wa s no time time tto o sit down an d decide who w as an d who wa s not gui guilt lty. y. Something similar happened a few months ago, in July 1981, when Isra eli planes kil kille led d 300 people in Beir Beirut; ut; among thos those e killed

w e r o f e w PLO g u e r r i l l a s , b u t t h e m a j o rrii t y w e r e c i v i l i a n nss . Similar Simi lar th things ings happened sev eral times in Iasi in those days of w a r when the Romanian Jew s decided not to allow the Romani Romanian an army to go against their beloved Soviet Union. They were Romanian

Roma nia nia ns a nd the Holocaust

221

citizens,, but many w citizens wer er e comm commun unist ist first a n d the then n Roma Romanian nian.. When my my fa th er finish finished ed hi hiss wo work rk in Iasi, we tried tri ed to go back to Bucharest, but we couldn't because the railway station ha d been bombed. In that bombing many people were killed, Romanians as welll a s Jews. Shoul wel Should d I sa y tha t the pi pilo lott who dropped the bom bombs bs wa s antianti-Semi Semitic tic bec au ause se he ki kill lled ed som some e Je Jews ws? ? We stayed in Iasi several days until the station was fixed. During Dur ing our sojourn the there re we learn le arned ed of of some o other ther events. Jewish groups had organized underground communist cell structures, accumulated weapons a n d am ammun munit ition ion,, fought fought a s guer guerill illas, as, a nd attac att acke ked d the arm army yo off their th eir country, cou ntry, Romania. They fo fought ught against again st the Romanian army not only in Iasi, but in many other cities. If re p ri sa l s w e r e i n i t i a t e d a g a i n st t h e m , w e re t h e R o om man nii a n s guilty? A qu ar te r o off the ci city ty of of Iasi Ias i was Jewish an d the Je Jews ws li lived ved in a n ar ea calle called d the Gh Ghett etto. o. They installe installed d red electric bulbs in the chimneys chim neys of the ir hou houses ses,, thus signaling to Russian pla planes nes when the blackout blackout was on. From the str ee t, the re d ligh lightt o off the bulbs was invisible, but it was perfectly visible from above. So, when Soviet planes came at night, they knew where the city was and what area o tilo city to b o m b Tho Ghotto was never bombud, i t miraculous thing until tho police discoverotl the trick. Reprisals against the the Jews we re car ried aut again, a nd the quest question ion again arise ar ise s: we re the Romanian po polic lice eg guil uilty ty of th the e re repr prisa isa ls? Dr. W. Fildorrnnn muntions in h i s Mernoirs n lotter dated 8 September 1940 (a few weeks after the nationalist regime took over in in Bu Buch char ares est) t) from Gono Gonoral ral Antonesc Antonescu u in which the chief of be ass ur ed , Mr. Mr. Fild Filderman, erman, . . ) that, if your sta te wrote: co-religionists will not sabotage openly or furtively m y regime on

political or economic grounds, the Jewish population will have nothing to suffer . . ) . But the Jews-and I call your attention seriousl seri ously y to this ma matte tte r without without thre aten ing yo you-t u-the he Jews must give up the methods they've used thus far (because this was the way of of the form fo rmer er regime) o off keeping down dow n our ou r economy, sapp sapping ing our national identity, a n d explo exploiti iting ng our poverty. poverty. It was a dialogue between t he chi chief ef o off s ta te an d tthe he president of the Jewish communities soon a f t e r the in inau augur gurati ation on o off tho nationalist regime regime in which the ch chie ieff of s ta te e xpre ssed his will wi llin ingne gness ss tto o help help the Jews, under the cur curcum c*mstan stan ces, ces , an d a asked sked the Jews to ho hold ld back from any a ct s o off sa bo botag tag e an d dive diversio rsion n in order to avoid restrictive measures against them. However, the instructi inst ructions ons to sabotamoreover, ge, spy, andnot divert came fro from m fa r populated above Dr Dr.. Filderman's sphere: all the Jews who

Romania at that time were under Dr. Filderman's authority. The wass o off su ch a high le level vel th at the confrontation in World War I wa lives liv es of some th thous ous and s of Jew J ewss an d Romanians did not count. A s a consequence, the Jews spied and the administration deported

TI l

J O L J R N A L 1: I - I I S T O R IC IC A L R E V I E W

them to Transnistria. There were no hospitals there, food was sca rce , the cities cities we re in ruins, an d many many Jews who ha d been deported t he re died o off differe different nt dis eas es an d per hap s o off hunger , much mu ch llik ike e today s Ara bs who a r e cha sed in into to the d esert fr from om Polestino. T h o Russians w h o lived in Transnistria had the same fate, bu butt I ca nn ot conf confirm irm tha t they died be ca us e o off Romanian anti-Russionism. Food nnd medicine were scarce everywhere in those day s. Ten s of thousa nds of Ge rma ns died a t Stalingra d because of hunger and frost. In Bucharest we had no food, no gas, no me ed dicine e,, a n d t h he e casua lties we re nume err o u s . A llll m i n or or i t i e ess a s w e ell l a s R o m a an nians themselves suf fered heavy casualties. We all took the situation as it was and buried the dead , eve even n the Jews. IIo IIowev wever, er, afte r sev eral decades, only the Jew s recoll recollect ect those events an d complain to the wor world ld for their sufferings. General Antonescu not only maintained a dialogue with the Jewish commu community, nity, he even dismissed his S ec re ta ry of of Cults, who c l o se s e d s o m e s y n a g o g u e s . T h i s f a c t i s a l s o m e n ttii o n e d i n D r . Fildermc~n sMemoirs. Howev However, er, Gener al Antonescu wa s labeled an on onti ti-S -Sem emit ite e and executed after the war . Miiriy f o o l 11up1)y o Irtl~ cl iorriclnici~~sI S ii~iti-Sornites. ii~iti-Sornites.Ms. Ms. Nicolette Frank, for instance, a Swiss newspaperwoman who wns born in Iiomnnin ns Nicolotte Apotocker, edited a book in French , in 1977 La Houmanie d u n s I engrenage (Romania in the Gooring]. I o t l i o ordinnry lib01 ngninst hor former country, Ms. Fronk adds trnother which I i ~ she double adv nnt age o off striking a t lio liom m ttrr rrli lia a rris is a s w e ll u s o t C lir iiss tiu tiurr iity iit y : s h e s a y s th a t th e Romanii~nOrthodox Romanii~n Orthodox Church is the fermen t o off nationalism a n d a n ti ti - S Se e m iitt i ssm m in R o m a n i a a.. H o w e v e r , s h e h a s t h e d e c e n c y t o mention something true: Adolph Eichman complained at one time of his difficulties in Roma Romania nia b ec au se of Ge ner al Anto nescu s indepe ndent polic cii e ss.. A c t iin n g u p o n t h e i r o w n l i n es es i s i n d e e d ch ar ac to ri s tic tic o off Iiomnn Iiomnniun iunss onti ex pl ai ~i swhy their alliances have a lwa ys been limi limite ted d to needs. Hitler s Germany w a s very powerful in WW 11 11. However, Gene ral Antonescu did not ac ce pt German interferrence in Romanian affairs. Today the Zionists or e very very powerful too, bu butt few Romani ans can a cce pt the ir libel. libel. One of th es e libel libelss is that Romanians imitated Hitler s pol polici icies. es. In f u c l Hor~~clrlirlris Hor~~clrlirlris:urbocl :urbocl Jowisl~~ctivitios Jowisl~~ctivitiosduring during tho war not to i m i t at at e G e r m a n p o oll ic i c iie e ss,, b u t b e c a u s e t h e J e w s w e r e m o r e commu~list han Rom Romani anian an a t a ti time me when Ro Roma mani nia a wa s a t w a r with the th e Soviet Uni Union. on.

To cu rb the Jews, Ro Roma mani nia a did the sam e thi thing ng th at the United State s did agai nst he r Japanese: s he put th them em in camps camps.. While in camps, the Jew s ha d to wor work. k. In win te r, they ha d to shovel the snow off of the streets. Sometimes they were sent to clean

Romanians and the Holocaust

buildings or to rremove buildings emove deb ris . A Att nigh night, t, they we nt home a n d st ayed with their fam famili ilies es until the next day. Our br ead , meat butte r an d coffee coffe e wer e rat ration ioned. ed. The Jews had no ration car ds, so the they y organized organ ized their own fo food od system usi using ng the free a n d black markets. They had to pay higher pri ces for ffoo ood, d, i t wa s true, but it wa s to their advantage: it it wa s bett er to lliv ive e that way tha n to die o on n the w a r front. The They y thus sav ed their li live vess a t a time time when hundr eds of tho usa nds of Romanians lost th eir lives in Russia. As I menti mentioned oned before, w a s a h hig igh h school bo boy y a t the be beginnin ginning g of th tho o war. One dny, the t n~ ~l ov nrnd front of m y school wns full of J ew s who shoveled the snow awa y. I t wa s co cold ld t nr they haci s l i g l \ t I I I C I L I I I S o f w~ir111i11g I I O I I ~ S ~ I V ~ I S M y ~ 1 1 0 1 sI I l l i [ ~ boulevard were closed and those which were open were almost empty of food. B But ut soon s ome wives an d g irls c am e over with thermos flasks of hot coff coffee, ee, tea a nd s na ck s a n d nobod nobody y prevented them from distributing the food rimon the workers. They stopped their work, ate and drank, and then began their work again. When I finished my scho school ol that da y an d went home home,, th ere we re no Jew s on tha t boulev ard; they went hom home, e, to too. o. This w as a sec all ed lab labor or camp fo forr Jows th that at I s aw with my own oyes. T h e r e w e r e p r o b a bl bl y o t h e r c a m p s w h e r e t h e w wo o rrk k wa s ha rs he r, but tho Zioni Zionists sts spuuk ttoda oday y ubout tlie tlie lutto r o~l ly , nd never about the former. This is why their complaints appear doubtful to the concerned reader. If they were sincere, they would mention all aspects of their tribulations, good or bad, not only on ly those which c an be bargai ned for doll ars.

The Journal of Historical Review Volume 03 Number 2 1982 - docshare.tips (2024)