Whitewashing

Whitewashing is a term that describes the act of hiding or glossing over a crimes or vices by concealing, manipulating or manufacturing evidence or to exonerate by means of a perfunctory investigation or through biased presentation of data.

Scholastic Whitewashing

An example of a claim of whitewashing among scholars is provided by Dr. Robert Michael who says Luther scholars who defend, censor, or try to tone down his [ Martin Luther ] views on the Jews, ignore the murderous implications of Luther's antisemitism. Like the Nazis, Luther mythologized the Jews as completely evil: they should not be treated as humans and should be cast out of Germany. They could be saved if they converted to Christianity, but their demonic hostility to Christian society makes this inconceivable. There was a strong parallel between Luther's ideas and feelings about Jews and Judaism and the essentially anti-Jewish Weltanschauung of most German Lutherans throughout the Holocaust.^[1]

Notes

1. ^ Michael, Robert. Luther, Luther Scholars and the Jews 1985 Encounter. Indianapolis, IN: Christian Theological Seminary 46, 4 (Fall 1985) 339-356. Dr. Robert Michael is a 1997 recipient of the American Historical Association's James Harvey Robinson Prize for the "most outstanding contribution to the teaching and learning of history," Dr. Michael is Professor Emeritus of European History at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where he has taught the Holocaust for nearly thirty years. He has published more than 50 articles and eleven books on the Holocaust and the History of Antisemitism.

See also

• Censorship
• Propaganda
• Money laundering