Word: stern
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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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...
Fingers of blame quickly began to point at the senior editors of Stern, two of whom resigned. Clearly, the journalists displayed a distressing lack of caution right from the start in handling the "diary" story. But more disturbing than their carelessness is the willingness it shows--even now--to rewrite history...
Once Heidemann delivered the diaries to Stern--which paid $3.5 million for them to persons unknown--the magazine failed to conduct even rudimentary chemical tests, and instead relied solely upon the word of several historians. And even the historians performed poorly; the volumes contained numerous factual errors that should have been sufficient proof that the diaries were fakes...
...clamor for verification will surely continue until Stern opens the Hitler archive to detailed, patient analysis by scholars. Then, aided by the published record, historians would be able to reach a clearer idea of how much the 62 volumes could contribute to the historical record. If the diaries are authentic, their provenance has been tainted by Stern's mishandling of their verification. Asked to believe the all but impossible and denied the opportunity for proof, academics and most of the press rightly balked. Trevor-Roper summed up, more in sorrow than in anger: "As a historian, I regret that...
Grazing sheep, Theban women dressed in flowing colored robes, stern warriors, and mighty Dionysus turned Harvard Stadium into a scene of ancient drama yesterday afternoon before a crowd...