| Summary: | The purpose of this essay is to study uses of history in a complementary teaching material in the subject of history. The material in question is a 170 page book titled Hitler och Stalin- En bok om ondska. In English, “Hitler and Stalin- A book on evil”. Essential to the study is that it is expressed within the material that it might be used as the basis for a discussion of the threats against an open democratic society. In the study the book is regarded as a historical narrative with a specific purpose, the basis of the aforementioned discussion, and hence can be regarded as a use of history.The narrative found is that of the totalitarian state since the two dictatorships are essentially equated with Hitler and Stalin. A great focal-point is the similarities of the two historical figures and the systems they represent. In the final chapter of the book the dictators and their systems are portrayed as representations of the threat to an open democratic society and furthermore compared to other threats such as modern communist states and modern terrorism.It is concluded that this is an example of a reversed ideological use of history. Reversed in the sense that an ideological use of history normally entails a justification of a political system through glorifying stories of its origins. This narrative instead focuses on the counter-point of what is desired. In conclusion, studies of the reception of materials of this kind are recommended.
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