How did policies shape the historical narrative in authoritarian states?

Policies in authoritarian states have shaped the historical narrative by controlling information and promoting state ideologies.

In authoritarian states, the government often has a monopoly over the means of communication and information dissemination. This includes control over education, media, and publishing, which are used to shape the historical narrative in a way that supports the regime's ideology and legitimises its rule. For instance, in Nazi Germany, the Hitler Youth was used to indoctrinate young people with Nazi ideology, while textbooks were rewritten to reflect a distorted version of history that glorified the Aryan race and demonised Jews and other 'undesirable' groups.

Similarly, in the Soviet Union under Stalin, history was rewritten to glorify the achievements of the Communist Party and erase the contributions of individuals who had fallen out of favour with the regime. This was done through a combination of censorship, propaganda, and the use of 'show trials' to publicly discredit and eliminate perceived enemies of the state. The state-controlled media was used to disseminate this revised version of history, while dissenting voices were silenced through intimidation, imprisonment, or execution.

In China under Mao Zedong, the Cultural Revolution was used as a tool to reshape the historical narrative. Traditional Chinese culture and history were denounced as 'feudal' and 'reactionary', while Mao's own ideology of continuous revolution was promoted as the only path to progress. This was accompanied by a widespread campaign of political indoctrination and the persecution of intellectuals and other 'class enemies', who were accused of spreading 'counter-revolutionary' ideas.

In all these cases, the manipulation of history served to reinforce the power of the authoritarian regime and suppress dissent. By controlling the historical narrative, these regimes were able to present themselves as the only legitimate source of authority and the only solution to the problems facing their societies. This manipulation of history also served to create a sense of national identity and unity that was centred around the regime and its ideology, further strengthening its hold on power.