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The philosopher Maurice Halbwachs believed history was universal while memory was particular to specific groups. While the former deals with the past, the latter is directly related to the needs and interests of the present. This has not gone unnoticed by far-right politicians, who increasingly venture into the arena of historical memory. Claiming to defend their national pasts by going against the repenting and fustigating approach to history promulgated by what they see as ‘woke’ mainstream politics, they often take an it-was-better-back-then attitude to the past and distort history to further their nationalistic aims.
A few months ago, the right-wing president of the region of Madrid declared that Spanish colonialism had brought ‘civilization and liberty to the American continent’ and the leader of her party, Pablo Casado, had previously argued that Spain should not apologize for ‘discovering a New World, respecting those who were there’ and ‘creating prosperity’. Santiago Abascal, the leader of the far-right party Vox, has gone even further by describing colonial Spain as ‘the empire of human rights’. This apologia of colonialism is overshadowed by the German far-right. Members of Alternative für Deutschland have argued that Germans should ‘be proud of the achievements of German soldiers in the two world wars’ and criticized the Berlin Holocaust Memorial as a ‘memorial of shame’.
But this revisionist trend is perhaps best personified by the far-right presidential hopeful for the April 2022 French elections Eric Zemmour. The controversial columnist, condemned for incitement of racial hatred, announced his candidature last month in a controversial video containing multiple historical references. The mise-en-scene deliberately imitated that of Charles de Gaulle’s famous 1940 speech in which he encouraged the French to resist German occupation. Furthermore, he evoked figures such as Joan of Arc, Napoleon, and Jean Moulin, trying to associate himself with national heroes in his attempt to portray himself as France’s saviour and gain voters. But Zemmour’s manipulation of history did not begin or end with this grotesque video and has become a signature of his campaign. When it comes to his declarations, it is difficult to choose which one is the most inaccurate and troubling. His catalogue of historical fallacies includes questioning the long-established innocence of Alfred Dreyfus, arguing that France had ‘done nothing wrong’ in the war with Algeria and claiming that Philippe Pétain, the head of the Vichy government and a Nazi collaborator, ‘saved French Jews’ by deporting only those of foreign origin.
A protester holds a Yellow Star reading “Not Vaccinated = Jew” as protesters take part in a demonstration in Milan on July 24, 2021, against the introduction of a mandatory ‘green pass’ for indoor dining and entertainment area. (Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP)
Of course, all of this has been condemned and corrected by historians, but the damage is already done. The provocative and controversial nature of the claims made by these extremist politicians ensures that their fictions are widely disseminated, giving these dangerous ideas, which were once confined to dark corners of internet, an unprecedented platform. These ideas trickle down to the general public and eventually become mainstream in particular circles. All over Europe, far-right politicians have compared the imposition of constraints for the non-vaccinated to the Nazi treatment of the Jews. As a result, it is not unusual in Italy, France and Germany to see protesters against Covid restrictions wearing yellow stars, preposterously comparing the governments’ introduction of sanitary passes to Nazi crimes and themselves to holocaust victims. To say that this deformation of history is dangerous is an understatement. Misleading comparisons, historical decontextualizations, the idealization of the past, and the defence of crimes against humanity are all part of the far-right’s threatening revisionism.
There is, however, a countermeasure to this. Since the 1990s, several states, following Germany’s lead, began to challenge their traditional and often simplistic national narratives by reflecting on their historical responsibilities, and this approach of recognition has even been adopted by the EU as one of its core principles. This task was somewhat neglected during the last decade but has now been resumed by several states. In an attempt to improve their relationships with former colonies, some European countries have taken the brave initiative to explore the most controversial episodes of their history. This year, Germany officially recognised its responsibility for the Herero-Nama massacre and agreed to pay €1.1bn to Namibia. Meanwhile, France has given back artworks looted from Benin, announced that it will open classified archives from the Algerian War, and asked for forgiveness over its role in the Rwandan genocide. These actions reveal a genuine desire on behalf of some European states for truth and reconciliation through a sincere exploration of the past and a willingness to recognize their faults. Instead of opting for self-excoriation or for the erasure of certain episodes of the past, they are choosing to investigate these incidents, accept them, and take the corresponding actions of memorialization. This approach combats the far-right’s appropriation of history and provides a conscientious way of coming to terms with the past.
Written by Natalia Mesa Koch
Illustrations by Rosie Phillips
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