Harry Elmer Barnes

Why revisionism is an historical necessity

Published by carolyn on Tue, 2017-12-19 23:35

THIS ARTICLE WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE JOURNAL LIBERATION IN 1958, during the Cold War. Written twelve years after the end of WWII, it is still necessary reading today. I am posting the entire long article here because I think every word is valuable. I have taken the liberty of bolding some words and sentences that I think are particularly valuable. During this holiday season, take some time to read it, not necessarily all in one sitting. You will be immeasurably enriched and informed by it.

Harry Elmer Barnes (1889-1968) is pictured above in a portrait created for The Barnes Review magazine. He was one of the most influential American scholars of the twentieth century.

Revisionism and the Promotion of Peace

By Harry Elmer Barnes, 1958

During the last forty years or so [since 1918 -cy], revisionism has become a fighting term. To so-called revisionists, it implies an honest search for historical truth and the discrediting of misleading myths that are a barrier to peace and goodwill among nations. In the minds of anti-revisionists, the term savors of malice, vindictiveness, and an unholy desire to smear the saviors of mankind.