The Politics of History

This year at MUFF we present a selection of documentaries presenting the opinions of historical revisionists and some other speakers on post WW2 Japan and the Palestinian question. Taking David Irving as our starting point we present an address from 1993 to Australians that had to go to the censors to be rated before being allowed to be screened after some tried to ban it.

To those unfamiliar with David Irving’s work, he was a well respected historian and author of the book “The Destruction of Dresden” that brought attention to allied war crimes in WW2 for the first time and many other histories and biographies of Hitler, Churchill, Goebells and Hess. Irving had a knack to present a sympathetic insiders history of Nazi Germany that often portrayed Hitler as a moderate figure who was let down by the excesses of those under him, particularly Boorman, Himmler and Heydrich. He received much controversy when he claimed that the gas chambers at Auschwitz were a fiction and merely allied propaganda. He has been called a holocaust revisionist for his doubts about gas chambers and his views of Hitler’s responsibility for the documented genocidal actions, amongst other issues. He has been banned from visiting Australia for these beliefs.

We at MUFF don’t believe you should be silenced for being a historian and object to this legal intrusion into a debate that belongs in the History department of Universities. Surely Irving’s opinions could be enlightening even if he is misguided or wrong and subject to at least fruitful debate (Hegel’s dialectic method) and not censorship!! Many scholars praised Irving before the controversy hit in the late 80’s for his detailed research (ie. Hugh Trevor Roper and others) and his exclusive early access to Russian archives. The father of history Herodotus was notoriously biased, as was Sallust and many other classical historians, if we are to burn the books of biased historians…well the metaphor is clear enough. Irving is passionate and argues his case lucidly and has agreed to collaborate on a LIVE phone interview after the screening.

We at MUFF don’t agree with his opinions, more the right for him to hold them and have them. If you don’t protect unpopular speech what kind of freedom of speech do we hope to protect, exactly? See what these people have to say, talk about it and be glad you still have the right to hear them say it.

SESSION #1
Bug house Omniplex - Thursday 10th July 8pm

The Search for Truth in History | 80 Min
David Irving’s address, recorded in 1993 following his ban from visiting Australia, is his response to this outlandish state of affairs. This session will hopefully include a live post screening phone hook up with David Irving in the USA so he can speak directly with an Australian audience and answer questions. Stay tuned as we ‘go over the top’ and fight censorship for real.
** NOW ALSO SIMULTANEOUSLY SHOWING AT F4: Level 2, Hub Arcade, 318 Little Collins Street, Melbourne Telephone: (03) 9650 4494

My Revisionist Method Seminar with Robert Faurrison | 67 Min
From the Thirteenth IHR Conference 2000. The man who made revisionism a household word in his native France goes back to his own revisionist beginnings, and then to the frontiers of revisionism today, in this lecture. Professor Faurisson recounts how his youthful studies in Greek and Latin, followed by his celebrated deciphering of the meaning of such difficult modern poets as Rimbaud and Lautréaumont, guided him to his revisionist method: simple, “nuts and bolts,” free of pedantry, going to the centre of things.

SESSION # 2
Bug house Omniplex - Wednesday 9th July 8pm

The Israel-Palestine Conflict: A Palestinian Perspective | 120 Min
Joseph Sobran, syndicated columnist and author, is a lucid speaker in this banquet address. In this witty and effective critique of the U.S.-Israel “special relationship,” he deftly dissects the Israeli state’s familiar pretensions, and details how the holocaust story is used to justify support for Israel. Said Arikat, a seasoned writer and commentator who has often appeared on American television, gives an interesting and insightful Palestinian perspective on the seemingly intractable Israel-Palestine conflict. Taking aim at the hypocrisy of U.S. policy in the Middle East, he says that U.S. support for Israel’s brutal oppression of Palestinians is a betrayal of the ideals that Americans claim to uphold.

The Influence of America’s Postwar Occupation on Today’s Japan | 60 Min
Hiroshima survivor, career diplomat, and scholar of international affairs Akira Kawachi discusses the influence of America’s post war occupation on today’s Japan. With rare frankness, Professor Kawachi blasts the one-sided history of World War II imposed by the occupiers, and pays tribute to the spirit and search for objectivity and historical truth.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!
Israeli documentary added to MUFF program!

MUFF is proud to add to tonight's program at the Bughouse Omniplex, "Relentless: the struggle for peace in Israel" a suggested addition from Michael Lipshutz and the Australian Jewish Community Council (AJCC).

This is a documentary that takes a powerful look at the current crisis facing the Jewish people in Israel. To be screened with "The Israel-Palestine Conflict: A Palestinian perspective" and the Hiroshima survivor speech on the USA.