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Long Shadows: Truth, Lies and History
Long Shadows offers a personal examination into the shifting terrain of war and memory that seeks to understand how nations come to terms with their most painful history. Combining storytelling with observation, Paris takes the reader on a remarkable journey through four continents to explore how nations reinvent themselves after cataclysmic events. She seeks out politicians and powerbrokers, as well as men and women living in the aftermath of repression, asking the Who gets to decide what actually happened yesterday, then to propagate the tale? How do people live with the consequences? Any why is it that many countries cannot lay the past to rest?
Her journey takes her to the United States, with its memories of slavery; to South Africa, to sit in on a Truth and Reconciliation hearing to heal the divisions of apartheid; to Japan, to probe the unresolved struggled for truth in Second World history; to France, still wrestling with its wartime legacy of collaboration; to Germany, where ferocious 'memory battles' continue to swirl around the Holocaust; and to the former Yugoslavia, where she exposes the cynical shaping of historical memory, and the way the international community responded to the lethal outcome.
Paris takes us directly to the places of reckoning; she finds hope in the way ordinary people grapple with defining events of their lives, and in the changing face of international justice. Long Shadows illuminates the modern world and makes us question where we stand as individuals in relation to our own collective histories.
Her journey takes her to the United States, with its memories of slavery; to South Africa, to sit in on a Truth and Reconciliation hearing to heal the divisions of apartheid; to Japan, to probe the unresolved struggled for truth in Second World history; to France, still wrestling with its wartime legacy of collaboration; to Germany, where ferocious 'memory battles' continue to swirl around the Holocaust; and to the former Yugoslavia, where she exposes the cynical shaping of historical memory, and the way the international community responded to the lethal outcome.
Paris takes us directly to the places of reckoning; she finds hope in the way ordinary people grapple with defining events of their lives, and in the changing face of international justice. Long Shadows illuminates the modern world and makes us question where we stand as individuals in relation to our own collective histories.
- GenresHistoryNonfictionCanada
480 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2000
12 people are currently reading
214 people want to read
About the author
Erna Paris
17 books9 followersErna Paris was a Canadian non-fiction author born in Toronto.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 19, 2019
"It is now a truism (although it didn't used to be) that every revolution of history inevitably distorts because it is the product of an individual researcher's choices, emphases and points of view." With this caveat on page 322 (hardback edition), Erna Paris masterfully describes her own dilemma in writing this book.
As a Jewish historian, Ms. Paris begins with the Holocaust and Germany and, inevitably using this as both yardstick and bottom line, begins to analyze selected targets of liberal wrath, those violators of "Western values" of tolerance and human rights. All the politically correct villains of the 1990s are here: Holocaust deniers, Serbs, Japanese who bewail Hiroshima while denying the Rape of Nanking, white racists in South Africa and the Mississippi Delta.
Conspicuously absent are others that could also well serve as examples of mythology and its deadly effects on the living. For one, the founding myths of Zionism, in deadly link to the ongoing repression and war of the Occupied Terr - well, you know where I mean. This particular choice might pull a few more bricks out of Holocaust mythology, as officially interpreted by Israel, than even Ms. Paris might dare. The shadow of truth, lies and history over Northern Ireland might have been raised; but as a Canadian subject of the British Commonwealth Ms. Paris might have felt that example wouldn't clearly demonstrate the superiority of Western values. True also, I suppose, for Central America, where the shadow of past injustices lingered long in present-day violence - helped along by "the West." Well, then, the Hindu-Moslem communal violence of India might also have been a fitting choice, but too culturally remote for demonstrating the human universality of Western values. Yes, there's just too many of these darn examples out there, so better to stick with those that give the author the high ground.
But a high ground has value only when an author doesn't use it for a urinal. Typical of Ms. Paris' approach is her 1990s demonization of Serb myth-makers and Slobodan Milosevic. Repeating all the cliches of Serb villainy and touting the West's moral irreproachability (the Rambouillet negotiations merely "failed," with no explanation as to why), our virtuous selves were left no choice but to finally bomb to demonstrate our commitment to tolerance and human rights. The fact that Serb mythology, especially regarding Kosovo, is a virtual template for Israel's take on Jerusalem and the West Bank is noted but ritually ridiculed. One should expect such shallow convenience from popular scribes, as well as ignorance of the Balkans: atrocities in the 90s were not some throwback to the Nazi era, to be conveniently explained by Holocaust terminology, but to the Balkan Wars of 1912-13, where the same tribal passions and bloody deeds were enacted and recorded by Western observers deserving far more recognition than Ms. Paris' one-dimensional effervescence.
To her credit, however, Ms. Paris does take on the "Goldhagen Thesis" of German collective responsibility for the Holocaust, treating it as self-righteous posturing that only discredits Holocaust survivors and their sponsors. (However, if Ms. Paris' address to an audience of survivors carried the same smug tone evidenced throughout her book I can see why they virtually egged her off the podium.) Exploitation of the Holocaust for personal axe-grinding and political gain are certainly to be decried. So is an oblivious inability to apply the lessons learned to one's own and one's self.
As a Jewish historian, Ms. Paris begins with the Holocaust and Germany and, inevitably using this as both yardstick and bottom line, begins to analyze selected targets of liberal wrath, those violators of "Western values" of tolerance and human rights. All the politically correct villains of the 1990s are here: Holocaust deniers, Serbs, Japanese who bewail Hiroshima while denying the Rape of Nanking, white racists in South Africa and the Mississippi Delta.
Conspicuously absent are others that could also well serve as examples of mythology and its deadly effects on the living. For one, the founding myths of Zionism, in deadly link to the ongoing repression and war of the Occupied Terr - well, you know where I mean. This particular choice might pull a few more bricks out of Holocaust mythology, as officially interpreted by Israel, than even Ms. Paris might dare. The shadow of truth, lies and history over Northern Ireland might have been raised; but as a Canadian subject of the British Commonwealth Ms. Paris might have felt that example wouldn't clearly demonstrate the superiority of Western values. True also, I suppose, for Central America, where the shadow of past injustices lingered long in present-day violence - helped along by "the West." Well, then, the Hindu-Moslem communal violence of India might also have been a fitting choice, but too culturally remote for demonstrating the human universality of Western values. Yes, there's just too many of these darn examples out there, so better to stick with those that give the author the high ground.
But a high ground has value only when an author doesn't use it for a urinal. Typical of Ms. Paris' approach is her 1990s demonization of Serb myth-makers and Slobodan Milosevic. Repeating all the cliches of Serb villainy and touting the West's moral irreproachability (the Rambouillet negotiations merely "failed," with no explanation as to why), our virtuous selves were left no choice but to finally bomb to demonstrate our commitment to tolerance and human rights. The fact that Serb mythology, especially regarding Kosovo, is a virtual template for Israel's take on Jerusalem and the West Bank is noted but ritually ridiculed. One should expect such shallow convenience from popular scribes, as well as ignorance of the Balkans: atrocities in the 90s were not some throwback to the Nazi era, to be conveniently explained by Holocaust terminology, but to the Balkan Wars of 1912-13, where the same tribal passions and bloody deeds were enacted and recorded by Western observers deserving far more recognition than Ms. Paris' one-dimensional effervescence.
To her credit, however, Ms. Paris does take on the "Goldhagen Thesis" of German collective responsibility for the Holocaust, treating it as self-righteous posturing that only discredits Holocaust survivors and their sponsors. (However, if Ms. Paris' address to an audience of survivors carried the same smug tone evidenced throughout her book I can see why they virtually egged her off the podium.) Exploitation of the Holocaust for personal axe-grinding and political gain are certainly to be decried. So is an oblivious inability to apply the lessons learned to one's own and one's self.
September 24, 2011
Ровичкане в историческата тиня – “Дълги сенки” на Ерна Парис: http://www.knigolandia.info/2009/12/b...
Канадката Ерна Парис си е поставила тежка задача – да изследва националната памет за тежки исторически събития като войни и репресии. За прицелна точка тя е взела Германия, Франция, Япония по отношение Втората световна война, САЩ за робството и Южна Африка и апартейда. Парис обикаля тези държави към края на 90-те и резултатът е една великолепна книга.
Канадката Ерна Парис си е поставила тежка задача – да изследва националната памет за тежки исторически събития като войни и репресии. За прицелна точка тя е взела Германия, Франция, Япония по отношение Втората световна война, САЩ за робството и Южна Африка и апартейда. Парис обикаля тези държави към края на 90-те и резултатът е една великолепна книга.
July 2, 2019
Who decides what happened in the past? Who decides how we learn it?
May 20, 2015
It has been a while since I read this book, but I mentioned it in a review for "Sarah's Key" and thought I should put in a comment here.
A well-written, and comparatively easy to read, look at the significance of 'national memories', the stories of a country's past. In this case, for my interest, mainly WWII: the Holocaust for France and Germany and the wartime actions of Japan, each country being at a different stage of coming to terms with the 'real' versus the 'official' story. The author delves into the impact of the 'official' stories and how that affects the national consciousness, as well as those citizens who know the truth to be otherwise and have their voices silenced or ignored.
A thought-provoking and worthwhile read.
A well-written, and comparatively easy to read, look at the significance of 'national memories', the stories of a country's past. In this case, for my interest, mainly WWII: the Holocaust for France and Germany and the wartime actions of Japan, each country being at a different stage of coming to terms with the 'real' versus the 'official' story. The author delves into the impact of the 'official' stories and how that affects the national consciousness, as well as those citizens who know the truth to be otherwise and have their voices silenced or ignored.
A thought-provoking and worthwhile read.
April 20, 2021
Still relevant 20 years later
Narratives and words matter. Watching the Floyd trial and the persistence of Trump’s Big Lie in the US, it’s important to realize how important truth really is. Here we have chronicles of dealing with various travesties. It’s a slow read, but it matters.
Narratives and words matter. Watching the Floyd trial and the persistence of Trump’s Big Lie in the US, it’s important to realize how important truth really is. Here we have chronicles of dealing with various travesties. It’s a slow read, but it matters.
March 2, 2022
How do societies “move on” from atrocities?
Rich, moving, well-researched and personal. While painful in many places, I found it hard to put down. Having described experimental solutions drawn from examples such as Nuremberg, The Hague, South Africa and elsewhere, Paris ultimately prescribes paths to take us forward from the many atrocities of the past, present and future.
Rich, moving, well-researched and personal. While painful in many places, I found it hard to put down. Having described experimental solutions drawn from examples such as Nuremberg, The Hague, South Africa and elsewhere, Paris ultimately prescribes paths to take us forward from the many atrocities of the past, present and future.
August 30, 2023
An insightful and at times harrowing look at how countries that have experienced wars and catastrophes or committed grave crimes against humanity (or sometimes both) deal with or fail to deal with the memory and reverberations of those events. The author examines Germany in the wake of Nazism, post-collaborationist France, post-slavery America, post-Apartheid South Africa and several other case studies. The analysis is both penetrating and personal; why have I never heard of this author before? While I generally dislike first-person narratives in works of history or social analysis, Paris is so strong a writer and insightful an observer that I did not find this detracted from the experience.
May 2, 2022
This is a book that needs to be read, and thought about. Unfortunately it is so very relevant today. It brings the ideas and views of people who commit enormous crimes into the open, and opposes them with a whole variety of views of the victims. The conflicting ideas all require personal assessment. It's a hard, long, read, but very moving and thought-provoking.
January 4, 2018
Very long book it seems. Chapters were all long and she provided a lot of detail. Found that she went on and on sometimes.
Read
July 28, 2011Although this was not a quick or entertaining read, I think it was worth it. Each chapter focuses on a place and an issue: holocaust in germany, ww2 human rights violations in japan, apartheid in south africa, slavery in usa, war crimes in yugoslavia, etc. Each chapter introduces people and issues that show the complexities of each theme, and in particular relates the role of memory, apology and forgiveness.
April 22, 2013
p. 419 http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/...
p. 463 http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/...
p. 464 http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/...
p. 464 ���But seen through a long lens, peacemaking founded on 'forgetting' appears to have a limited lifespan.���
p. 463 http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/...
p. 464 http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/...
p. 464 ���But seen through a long lens, peacemaking founded on 'forgetting' appears to have a limited lifespan.���
Want to read
August 18, 2007On the phoenomenon of how nations, societies, and individuals face up to the shameful historical events of their recent past. Starts off with how Germany faces up to its Nazi past. So far, a good read.
February 2, 2009
shared with Sarah - outstanding perspective - one of those books you think about just about every month thereafter
February 2, 2009
This book impacted the way I evaluated the presentation of history. It is an indepth look at how different countries handle the black marks that exist in their pasts.
May 6, 2009
A read about the struggles of countries painful histories of slavery, apartheid, Holocaust & Hiroshima. I am just beginning it.
August 4, 2011
Very thought provoking... How do you deal with group or cultural guilt? Why are there so many Holocaust museums in the US and none focused on slavery?
abandoned
July 23, 2016Feels a bit dated... Maybe if I'd come across it 20 years ago (or whenever it was published), it would have made more of an impact.
November 19, 2012
An unforgiving account of history. Exceptionally hard to read, but necessary.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews