Lies, Big Lies, and Media Documentaries

I take my inspiration today from the History Channel series about World Wars I and II. I’ll only focus on just one relatively short segment so this will be a quick read. Life is made of short segments. But I think this one tells a story that applies generally to … “information” … that is pushed to us today. And there’s a moral.

The whole series is long on drama and action, but just a little short on facts. Sort of like the rest of the “entertainment” that is pushed to us. The entertainment is more honest, however. It doesn’t pretend to be information.

The specific segment that caught my attention is a gripping scene from WW I where a British soldier had Hitler in his sights, but decided not to shoot. The “what if” potential is mind-boggling. Noted historians talk about how everything would have been completely different if the Brit had taken the shot. The camera focuses on the Brit and then down the sights until we see a helpless, young Corporal Hitler. The suspense builds. Finally, the young Hitler turns away and the Brit lowers his weapon.

The British soldier was Henry Tandey. But we don’t learn much more about this incident. History Channel plays it like it’s absolute fact! But in all probability, it never happened, even though a lot of people – probably nearly everyone who watches the series – now thinks it did. But, Hey! Why let the truth stand in the way of a dramatic story?

Tandey is known for a different reason. He was the most decorated private soldier in WW I, winning three of the highest honors that England can bestow including the Victoria Cross. You might think that they would have mentioned that. You might be wrong. Although the story has become popular now, Tandey himself never claimed that it was true. After being besieged by people writing stories, he finally said it might have happened, but that he just didn’t have any specific memory of it.

So, how did this story get started? Well … Hitler himself started it. A painting of WW I was on the wall during a meeting with English Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain when he met with Hitler to try to talk Hitler out of starting WW II. Hitler spun the whole story for Chamberlain and the story was off to the races. But a detailed look at the circumstances around the event show that it could never have happened. Tandey was a well known war hero. But Hitler was just gaslighting Chamberlain. And it worked.

I’m an amateur student of Hitler’s rise to power. It seems that Trump is following Hitler’s playbook in his own bid to become a dictator. Both lie whenever it seems like it might be useful. … Actually, Trump lies a lot more than Hitler ever did. I had never heard this story before and it just sounded fishy, so I looked into it. The BBC did a very good analysis that contains actual facts about why the story is almost certainly a myth. (The BBC is old-fashioned that way. I relied on the BBC analysis heavily in writing this blog. You can read it yourself at https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-28593256 )

“Big Honking Deal !” (I hear you saying.)

Actually, it is. These days, “Lies” drive a red sport car and “Truth” takes the bus. Trump might get a second bite of the apple because people don’t care about the truth anymore. If he does, then he’ll eat our whole lunch. My point is that the crumbling respect for simple truth is one of those foundation blocks under civilization that is crumbling away and it’s a big reason why civilization itself is looking shaky today.

Join my religion – the religion of “I Don’t Know”.