Cover-up aims to alter the past
Justin Dragos
Issue date: 11/18/09 Section: Opinion
In war they say that history is always written by the victor, however, German law seems to take a different approach to how history should be written. Wolfgang Werlé and Manfred Lauber, two German men who were convicted of killing a German actor in 1990, are suing Wikipedia to remove their names from articles connected with the murder. Under German law, now that the men have served their sentences, it is illegal to refer to them by name in relation to the crime they committed.
The German version of Wikipedia has already complied, although, citing free speech, the U.S. Wikipedia Web site is refusing to remove the information. The issue here is something much bigger than Wikipedia. Should countries be able to create laws that alter history? And if so, should they be able to enforce them internationally?
There are several issues wrapped up in this case, but I'm most interested in the inevitable by-product of this law: to attempt to alter the past. It seems that in spirit, the law is aimed at giving criminals who have served their time a chance at a normal life, for better or worse, but what it amounts to is rewriting history and removing the names of the perpetrators.
The truth is, whether Werlé and Lauber like it or not, the events happened. They were convicted. It seems monstrous to even suggest that people must never again mention it, to require history to be rewritten.
However, German law is binding in that country, and rightfully the German Wikipedia Web site complied as it must, but do they have a right to try and enforce this law outside of Germany itself? Of course not.
Many of the columns and comments I've read on this article cite the American freedom of speech protecting the U.S. Wikipedia Web site, but there's a fundamental issue that's even more important - countries simply don't have the right to rewrite history the way they want it. Japan can't one day decide to sue the United States to remove references to Japan from the Pearl Harbor attack, nor can the German government petition to have the Holocaust scrubbed from history books. They simply have no right. Period.
I'm definitely in favor of people or countries having the right to clarify or correct inaccuracies, but this idea that once x, y or z has been completed the event never happened is ludicrous. You can make all the laws you want, and spin them any way you wish, but reality is reality. No matter how much politicians wish it to be so you cannot change the past. Attempting to cover up the actuality of events is one of the greatest types of fraud that can be committed, and should never be tolerated.
The German version of Wikipedia has already complied, although, citing free speech, the U.S. Wikipedia Web site is refusing to remove the information. The issue here is something much bigger than Wikipedia. Should countries be able to create laws that alter history? And if so, should they be able to enforce them internationally?
There are several issues wrapped up in this case, but I'm most interested in the inevitable by-product of this law: to attempt to alter the past. It seems that in spirit, the law is aimed at giving criminals who have served their time a chance at a normal life, for better or worse, but what it amounts to is rewriting history and removing the names of the perpetrators.
The truth is, whether Werlé and Lauber like it or not, the events happened. They were convicted. It seems monstrous to even suggest that people must never again mention it, to require history to be rewritten.
However, German law is binding in that country, and rightfully the German Wikipedia Web site complied as it must, but do they have a right to try and enforce this law outside of Germany itself? Of course not.
Many of the columns and comments I've read on this article cite the American freedom of speech protecting the U.S. Wikipedia Web site, but there's a fundamental issue that's even more important - countries simply don't have the right to rewrite history the way they want it. Japan can't one day decide to sue the United States to remove references to Japan from the Pearl Harbor attack, nor can the German government petition to have the Holocaust scrubbed from history books. They simply have no right. Period.
I'm definitely in favor of people or countries having the right to clarify or correct inaccuracies, but this idea that once x, y or z has been completed the event never happened is ludicrous. You can make all the laws you want, and spin them any way you wish, but reality is reality. No matter how much politicians wish it to be so you cannot change the past. Attempting to cover up the actuality of events is one of the greatest types of fraud that can be committed, and should never be tolerated.
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