Ernst Nolte

[Dave Monroe]

.. so, whadday'all think of that there David Irving?  What if he would have won
that lawsuit, the implication thus being that he was NOT antisemitic, had NOT
denied the Holocaust?  Might well have derailed him on the neo-Nazi lecture
circuit, sort of a lose-lose situation there (and just as well, says I).  Has
anyone seen Errol Morris' Mr. Death: The Life and Times of Fred A. Leuchtner,
Jr., or whatever it is?  Or, for that matter, read Jean-Francois Lyotard on,
say, Faurisson, on the problems, problematics, possibilities, impossibilities,
impasses, whatever, of establishing, not only some sort of justice in re: The
Holocaust, but on the incommensurability of the various testimonies involved in
the first place?  Or has anyone here read George Steiner's very disturbing The
Portage to San Cristobal of A.H. (i.e., Adolf Hitler)?  But the apparent
European/American divide here is interesting, esp. as I'm more than a bit
concerned that European, presumably liberal arguments against Nolte (who I
imagine I'd find creepy to infuriating, if I ever read him, but ...) presented
here sound rather like American conservative arguments mustered against leftist
intellectuals, er, "here" (the Internet is U.S. Territory, right?  We invented
the damn thing ... no, just kidding, folks) ... a whole lotta people in a whole
lotta universities say a whoe lotta things motivated by a whole lotta
politics--indeed, I'd argue it's inevitable ... very difficult (array of)
question(s) being asked here ...

Robert wrote:

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Spencer Thiel <spen at fictiondepartment.com>
> To: Pynchon List <pynchon-l at waste.org>
> Date: 23 czerwca 2000 22:02
> Subject: Re: Ernst Nolte
>
> >Am I the only one freaked out about all this?  Write a paper with such and
> >such a thesis, and get dismissed?  Since when has history been
> >objective?
>
> I wouldn't say it's wholly subjective and whimsical, either. How about
> historical
> facts? They get interpreted, sure, but nevertheless they are established
> facts. Sometimes it's hard to draw the line, I agree, especially if someone
> like Nolte cunningly avoids crossing the border-line between interpretation
> and
> falsification. But should we really make it hush-hush?The Polish case is
> very
> clear to me. This guy denied the facts:
> we have Auschwitz records, witnesses and extant extermination
> infrastracture. Hard evidence not to be refuted in any courtroom. He's a
> damned liar! Do you
> really think he should still be called "historian" and accepted as such
> by his former professional colleagues? Do you really think he should
> continue enjoying all the academy-related privileges (prestige, credibility
> etc.)? And that would be the case, hadn't he
> been fired. His right to free speech wasn't violated, as he is still in
> position to voice his views. But he can't
> do it ex cathedra any more, using (or abusing) his academy as the validator
> of his mumbo-jumbo. Firstly, I do believe the university has right to
> preserve its scholarly reputation. Secondly, the university is responsible
> for the
> quality of its learning. Hadn't the guy been kicked out, he'd be teaching
> students this very moment, which I find objectionable, if not wholly
> unthinkable.
> Thirdly, such a dismissal seems to be an important message to the public who
> are laity after all, as we all are in every field except our own.
>
> What I am so frightened by is that Holocaust scholars on both
> >sides of the coin are handcuffed by the reactions of the ruling academic
> >class (and by public opinion).
>
> Agreed, they are, but that's life, isn't it? It always comes down to one's
> integrity. They are under pressure as any judge who is
> supposed to give a just verdict, when the public want death.
>
> Academics should be free to write about
> >exactly what they want.
>
> Or free to write what they think is right and be responsible for it. I view
> these dismissals as a part of their responsibility. You seem to defend
> scholarly independence, but that's precisely what these people are
> undermining! They are politically motivated. You might even say they've been
> "commissioned" to produce such and such "scholarly" results. In both
> cases (Nolte's and the Polish historian's) it is a way to achieve specific
> political goals.
>
> If they come to conclusions that aren't in
> >agreement with the current paradigms in their respective fields, it is
> >likely that their work will get ignored.  If they continue to produce work
> >like this, then they serve no purpose to their institutions and are
> >expendable.  However, the quick dismissals give these scholars way more
> >exposure and press then they would ever have received from their original
> >work, and thus martyrs the dismissed academics and their cause.
>
> How quick is quick for you? Here, the said university authorities first
> suspended the guy from teaching, then
> investigated the case, read the book  reviewed it and concluded his
> writings were in glaring disagreement with established facts (I think the
> wording was: "historical truth") and of no scholarly value. Thus he was
> found "expendable", to use your parlance. And I don't think indifference for
> fear of crowds of pilgrims bringing flowers to his grave is a good
> tactics. It is a mistake.
> >
> >But this is a situation that is far removed from the original Ernst Nolte
> >story.  Somehow his work hasn't been ignored (at least by the Christian
> >Democratic Party).  But how is it that 'one of Germany's most prestigious
> >literary prizes' is given by a group that is associated with the far right
> >anyway?  The problem seems to be that political interests have gained
> >strongholds both inside and outside the German institutions and are
> >superseding the academic institutions by legitimizing works that fit in
> >with their political agenda.  They are the real criminals, not the
> >historians who wittingly or not serve their cause.
> >- st.
>
> Right, but then I see these dismissals as endeavours on the part of
> universities to protect and retain their scholarly independence. No?
> Politicians want to
> make the whole world political, as that would allow them to call the shots
> in every issue, but let's face it, it's some scholars who are venal here.
>
> ---
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