I've been a big fan of Fahrenheit 451 for years, have taught it numerous times to my HS English classes, and now have the chance to do a paper or two about it for a course I'm taking. In reading through "Readings on Fahrenheit 451"(the Greenhaven Press Literary Companion to American Literature), I was pretty shocked to read the article by Richard Widmann, "Problems Warned About in Fahrenheit 451 Threaten Today's World." I then checked out the webpage listed on that page. Am I the only one that has problems with Neo-Nazis and Holocaust revisionists using Fahrenheit to bolster their cause? Please tell me that Ray Bradbury himself would not use his book to support such things. I'm as much against censorship as anyone, but this is very upsetting to me. I'd love to hear what this community thinks.

In my view, Ray’s novel warns against censorship of any kind. The sense of being offended by some sort of communication is exactly what drives censorship in the first place—a very human reaction. But we must be vigilant and outspoken. If there is an untruth being said then make the truth known. Ultimately wisdom will triumph over ignorance but people must be informed in order to be wise.

The holocaust? It happened, and is humankind’s crying shame. It must never be forgotten.

Neo-Nazis? They get a thumb on my nose and a Bronx cheer from me.

--Best

Look what's being done to poor Anne Frank: https://raybradburyboard.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6791083901/m/9331038901/p/1

That reminds me, though Stalin murdered three times as many as Hitler, most Americans are unaware of this. In fact, many young people here simply use the name "Hitler" as a "buzz word" with little or no understanding of the man or his heinous actions in history.
Stalin? Who's he?
One of many articles:
http://www.sovereignty.org.uk/siteinfo/newsround/sovkill.html

When teaching Animal Farm (often with a F451, 1984, BNW sequence in S.F. or Senior Lit), I includeviewing of an old A&E documentary on Stalin. Like all authoritartians, the first thing he did was clean house. Friends, relatives, confidants, and anyone else who got in his way or might someday do so.

He spent the nation's GNP (as questionable as it was) on an incredibly large hydro project that never produce any power due to pay offs, rip offs, poor technology, and even worse construction. Along with his complete failure to feed his people, he relied on a bizarre charisma (based on ultimate terror) to stay in power for a very long time.

Right you are BrII, 25 (more?) million lives lost under his regime. Comrade Stalin embodied evil.

Yes, the Stalin horrors don’t get the press of Hitler’s. For those interested, and who haven’t already, I recommend reading Solzhenitsyn and seeing the film “Stalin” staring Robert Duval.

A final reflection: So long as I live, and my posterity lives, the true story of Anne Frank will never die.

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