Writers, Artists & War History

Uwe Neumhar documents the scene at the Nuremberg trials in his book, “The Writers’ Castle: Reporting History at Nuremberg,” published by the Pushkin Press. Here, 23 high-ranking Nazi criminals were judged, with over 200 journalists from around the world in attendance, forming opinions that remarkably changed their writing styles. They were forced to live cooperatively in a ruined castle, an arrangement which caused considerable friction especially between Soviet and western correspondents.

Meanwhile, UK-based art critics, Gabriella de la Puente and Zarina Muhammad, known collectively as The White Pube, critique the contemporary art world, in their book “Poor Artists”, published by Particular Books. The duo commonplace anti-establishment views on the lack of diversity in art circles are apparent in their book. The narrative follows Quest Talukdar, a fictional artist dealing with ethical and financial dilemmas in the modern art sphere. This book’s dialogue, comprised of anonymous interviews with diverse characters, presents a surrealist portrayal of life in the art world.

In the book, “The War Against the Past: Why the West Must Fight for its History”, author Frank Furedi published by Polity, argues for the preservation and understanding of Western history. With a price tag of £25, this book passionately conveys Furedi’s views on historical preservation.

Furedi sets out his premise early in the introductory part, stating “Culture combatants, effectively, open an additional battleground to gain control over the perception of history.” It’s safe to assume that Furedi isn’t seeking to sway individuals with a balanced or slightly left-leaning point of view. His reasoning offers plenty of allusions to cultural battles, woke ideology, decolonisation, and a phenomenon he terms “grievance archaeology”, resolutely showing his stance. To support his claim that the modern interpretation of history through the perspective of current western thinking essentially “obliterates” the past, Furedi utilises emotionally potent, inflammatory terminology seen commonly in extremist political rhetoric today. Claire Looby penned this.

Condividi