Pseudohistory

Pseudohistory is an account of past events that claims to be historical fact but misrepresents the truth by ignoring established evidence and basing its conclusions on conjecture or myth. Pseudo- is a prefix derived from the Greek word pseudes, meaning “false, lying, or deceived.” Pseudohistory is often created by people who believe it to be real, but also view the historical record as rife with conspiracies or inaccuracies. In seeking to develop their “true” version of history, they may selectively choose information or interpret facts in a way that supports their narrative. They often present their argument in a manner similar to legitimate historians but without the proper investigative credentials to back their claims. Some modern examples of pseudohistory include reports that aliens had contact with ancient human civilizations or denials that the Holocaust ever occurred.

Background

In a way, the study of history is only an interpretation of the past. Historians must often piece together various fragments of written, verbal, or physical evidence to arrive at a plausible conclusion. This is especially true with older historical events. At times, historians may devise a theory that is criticized by other historians. The theory may also turn out to be wrong upon further examination. These inaccurate or disputed conclusions are not examples of pseudohistory. Legitimate historians make every attempt to properly review the evidence at hand in a scientific manner.

Pseudohistory is a relatively modern concept. Historians generally accept the 1882 book Atlantis: The Antediluvian World by Ignatius Donnelly to be the first pseudohistorical work. Atlantis was a utopian society introduced in the writings of Greek philosopher Plato in the fourth century BCE. According to Plato, the society was destroyed by the angry gods and sank below the sea. Donnelly’s book suggested that Atlantis was a real place and was the home of a technologically advanced civilization. This civilization introduced farming, language, and metallurgy to ancient humans and inspired cultural legends of gods and heroes. Despite a lack of historical evidence to support Donnelly’s claims, the idea of Atlantis as a real lost civilization has endured into the twenty-first century.

The acceptance of myths and legends as a basis of historical truth is one aspect of pseudohistory. Most scholars view myths as a means for ancient cultures to interpret and understand the world around them. Those who create pseudohistorical accounts from myth may see the stories as an attempt to record actual history. They are rarely skeptical of ancient interpretations and often take them at face value. When they are presented with evidence that contradicts their conclusions, they may argue that history itself is nothing more than myth and claim that their interpretation is as valid as any.

Many times, pseudohistory is based in some sort of political or social agenda. Rather than searching for the truth, it attempts to undermine the truth by introducing facts, theories, and arguments that support that agenda. Historical evidence that does not reinforce the established narrative is ignored or brushed off as inaccurate. The authors of pseudohistory may claim that legitimate historians or even a national government are engaged in a conspiracy to supress the “truth” that they have uncovered.

While many people can create an alternate view of history, only those accounts that achieve some measure of public acceptance are typically classified as pseudohistory. Pseudohistorical accounts that succeed at capturing popular attention tend to be interesting or compelling stories. These stories must find an audience that is predisposed to believe that they are real. Those presenting the accounts must also appear to have followed academic standards used by legitimate historians. Their work may be based on speculation and selected facts, but they present it to the public as properly researched.

Topic Today

Of the many examples of modern pseudohistory, some of the most well-known include an account by Russian author Immanuel Velikovsky that the planet Venus was responsible for influencing historical events described in the Bible and accounts from several ancient civilizations. In his 1950 book Worlds in Collision, Velikovsky claimed that Venus was expelled from the planet Jupiter as a comet and had several close encounters with Earth before settling into its current orbit. These encounters caused numerous natural disasters that changed the course of human history. Velikovsky based some of his claims on ancient myths, including the Greek myth that the goddess Aphrodite (Venus to the Romans) was born from the head of her father, Zeus (Jupiter). Science and the historical record show absolutely no evidence that his theories were even remotely possible, but the book still sold millions of copies in the 1960s and 1970s.

In 1968, Swiss author Erich von Däniken published Chariots of the Gods?, a work proposing that alien astronauts visited Earth in the distant past. His book helped popularize the idea that aliens influenced human history. Von Däniken concluded that because monuments such as the Egyptian pyramids or England’s Stonehenge monoliths seemed to be beyond the technological capabilities of ancient humans, aliens must have constructed them, or at least given humans the technology to do so. He also claimed that biblical and mythological accounts of divine intervention were actually records of alien contact. Archeologists and historians have discovered compelling evidence that humans did in fact build these structures. They also found no evidence of any extraterrestrial contact. However, the idea of ancient aliens has spawned numerous books, movies, and television shows in the twenty-first century.

A somewhat more unsettling branch of pseudohistory claims that the systematic extermination of Jewish people by the Nazis during World War II (1939–1945) never happened, or was not as horrific as portrayed. This pseudohistory is rooted in racism and anti-Semitism. Its origins can be traced to the work of American historian Harry Elmer Barnes, a vehement critic of American involvement in both World War I (1914–1918) and World War II. Barnes felt the German government was treated unfairly after the war, and stories of the Holocaust were invented to make Germany a scapegoat. As Holocaust denial became more prominent in the 1970s, theories circulated that the death camps operated by the Nazi leaders were only work camps, and that stories of mass executions were fabricated to gain sympathy for the Jewish cause. Some Holocaust deniers admit that some Jews died in these camps, but the numbers of the dead were greatly exaggerated. Modern historians have no doubt the atrocities of the Holocaust occurred, and adamantly dismiss any attempt to claim otherwise. Several European nations even have laws making Holocaust denial a crime.

On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. Since the invasion, Russia has published a collection of pseudohistory in order to justify the war. The collection includes hundreds of documents, dating back to the eleventh century, as well as pseudohistorical analysis by Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to the UK Defense Ministry, Putin and the Russian government are using the documents to weaponize history and justify invading Ukraine.

Bibliography

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