Word: hoaxing
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...EDITORS of the German newsmagazine Stern thought they had the journalistic scoop of the century. But the diaries of Adolf Hitler "discovered" by the magazine turned out to be the hoax of the century--blatant forgeries. After Stern reluctantly handed over several of the 64 volumes to the West German government for study, it took specialists in Bonn only a few days to discover that materials contained in the paper and bindings hadn't even existed in 1945, the last year Hitler allegedly wrote in the diaries. Upon further analysis, it became clear that large segments of the journals...
...shortcomings of Stern and a few historians are not the most disturbing aspects of this fiasco. The diaries were clearly an attempt to show Hitler in a different, more positive light. Excerpts released before the hoax was discovered maintained that Hitler was reluctant prior to the war to persecute Jews and had attempted several times during the conflict to make peace with the allies. Every historical account to date on the Third Reich flatly contradicts these theses. But given Hitler's stamp of legitimacy, a new version of the Nazi era could conceivably have emerged and been accepted by future...
Many people will laugh off the diary hoax as an isolated incident prompted by a few sick minds. But recent years have seen too many similar "isolated incidents" for us not to take heed. In Western Europe and the United States, books have been published attempting to prove the Holocaust is a myth. In Edmonton, Canada last week, a school teacher was dismissed for telling his young, impressionable students that the gas chambers never existed. Crazy, demented people, we think, who will never be listened to. But as time passes, and those who survived the Holocaust are no longer around...
Stern says it is convinced of the authenticity of the diaries. "We have been extraordinarily careful," declared an executive. "It is a matter of responsibility but also of pride. Nobody likes to be the victim of a hoax." To allay any lingering doubts, Stern announced last week that it would eventually turn the diaries over to the West German national archives, where historians will be free to examine them in detail. -By Marguerite Johnson. Reported by Bonnie Angelo/London and B. William Mader/ Hamburg
Hart also attacked Reagan's proposed "Star Wars" anti-missile plan, calling it "a cruel hoax on the American people" that couldn't work and would cost "hundreds of billions of dollars...