History is “a branch of knowledge that records and explains past events.” [FN1] Accuracy of the record of events is necessary, or else the explanation of the events is, at best, fiction. At worst, a false telling of the past gives rise to beliefs based on lies. History provides examples. 1/16

On 5/10/1933, in 19 university towns, “huge numbers of books ... were piled up and set a light.” [FN2] A 7/30/1933 “decree laid down ‘Guidelines for History Textbooks’” & “history lessons” were to be “built around the ‘concept of heroism in its Germanic form.” [FN3] 2/16

German universities had been at the forefront of sciences and the arts. With the advent of rule by the NSDAP, “twenty past or future Nobel prize winners, left the country.” [FN4] [FN5] There was an effort to re-write history to comply w/intellectual pip squeaks. 3/16

This week, trump’s Domestic Policy Council published a “‘Saving America's Story’” as part of trump's “ongoing effort to reshape how American history is presented.” [FN6] A notable target is the Smithsonian, w/alleged examples of “‘degeneracy’ & political activism.” [FN7] 4/16

These parallel German criticisms of a “nation become weak, corrupted by the infusion of degenerate elements into its bloodstream.” [FN8] (i.e., immigrants) Destroying records of the past, to insert a preferred, but false, narrative, are occurring at the State level. 5/16

On 7/4, I blogged about IN’s A.G. quoting Patrick Henry. [FN9] That famous “quote” is not in any record contemporaneous with a speech Henry gave. [FN10] On “The Rinse,” [FN11] another panelist pointed to others quoting Henry, but all are from the same bio, written 6/16

years after the speech from one letter, no longer in existence, for which that writer filled in blanks. [FN12] Real statements of Patrick Henry are from writings that actually exist [FN13] and proceedings of the Virginia ratification convention. [FN14] 7/16

In junior high and high school, we were taught (in our nearly entirely white school) that slavery was not that bad, was about to come to an end and those enslaved were not ready to be free. The crap of Patrick Henry’s made-up speech reinforces those erroneous lessons. 8/16

The truth is different & more detailed. Henry says slavery is evil, but convenient. I encourage folks to read as much as they can. You might see the Framers as real people. They did not want to mention slavery, women having no rights or genocide of indigenous peoples. 9/16

Otherwise, people might get an unrealistic view of our past, as reflected in a joke about the ideal NSDAP: As blonde as the Austrian former corporal, as thin as Goerring and as tall as Goebbels. Besides, trump can’t handle the truth. I approve of this blog. Hell, I wrote it. 10/16

Footnotes:
FN1. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, (1974), p. 336.
FN2. Richard J. Evans, “The Third Reich in Power,” (2006), p. 16.
FN3. Id., p. 261.
FN4. Id., p. 16. 11/16

FN5. The record is silent on whether the former Austrian corporal demanded award of a Nobel in any field of study, or whether he received a Nobel, although he, and not a ghost-writer, authored the best-selling book that made him wealthy. 12/16

FN6. Alice Gibbs, “Trump Administration Posts Examples of ‘Degeneracy’ at Smithsonian,” Newsweek, 7/7/26.
FN7. Id.
FN8. Evans, p. 506. 13/16

FN9. “You are probably familiar with Patrick Henry’s famous words: ‘Give me liberty or give me death!’ As one of our Founding Fathers...” Full quote at Official FB page of the Office of the Indiana Attorney General, 7/1/26, accessed 7/4/26. 14/16

FN10. See, Ray Raphael, “Founding Myths,” (2004), pp. 145-56.
FN11. “The Rinse,” Brad Sowinski’s FB podcast, Sundays at 7:30 EST/6:30 CST.
FN12. See FN10. 15/16

FN13. “Would any man believe that I am master of slaves of my own purchase? I am drawn along by the general inconvenience of living without them. I will not ...” John Hancock, “Essays on the Elective Franchise; or, Who Has the Right to Vote,” (1865), pp. 31-32.
FN14. 3 Elliott’s Debates p. 591. 16/16