After an extremely negative review in the Copenhagen newspaper Berlingske Tidende, Denmark's biggest publishing house, Gyldendal has stopped the planned publication of Bent Christensen's book 'The Green Devils', so far temporarily. The book originally was to be published on October 7, 2009. In his review in Berlingske Tidende, the book is criticized by the Berlingske Tidende journalist Bent Blüdnikow, who is Jewish, and an avid defender of Israel. According to Blünikow, who also is a historian, the book is criticized amongst other things for celebrating the German 1. Paratroopers division as some of the heroes of WWII, and as victims of barbaric Greek civilians during the Battle of Crete. The brutal assaults on civilians are not mentioned at all. According to Blüdnikow's review, the author is trying to imply that the German elite forces, was made up of brave soldiers, and not of fanatical Nazis, or criminals. This criticism now causes the president of the Gyldendal Facts Department, Lars Boesgaard to react: - There is a need to have the manuscript scrutinized by historians, in order to clear up if, and how, it would be proper to publish the book, he says, and adds: - It is of course not Gyldendal's intent to publish books which celebrate the German war effort. Lars Boesgaard says that first and foremost he is disappointed about the fact that the elite corps's executions on Crete have not been mentioned. Secondly he regrets that the elite corps is not connected to the rest of the German war machine, and thus is shown as any other elite corps, without responsibility for the Nazi outrages.' - We should have been aware of these things, but we have not been sharp enough, and I regret that, Lars Boesgaard says. The books author; Bent Christensen, who works as a 'controller' [undefined] on the isle of Fyn, for six years has used vacations and spare time to do research on his subject. According to publisher Lars Boesgaard, the book's author completely agrees that the publisher now has to scrutinize the book. - He doesn't want to offend the victims of Nazism, and regrets having come in this situation. He does not want to comment on the matter, before he has got the opinion of our historians, says Lars Boesgaard.
Bent Blüdnokow: Review of 'De grønne djævle' (The Green Devils) a book by Bent Christensen: Update: Just as critical Blünikow was towards Ben Christensens 'The Green Devils', just as uncritical he praised a dubious holocaust story by Chil Rajchman.... More Bent Blüdnikow: Here Blüdnikow agitates against censorship, in connection with a governement grant to WWII author Erik Haaest, who was accused of 'holocaust denial', amongst other things, because he questioned the authenticity of the Diary of Anne Frank. The Simon Wiesenthal Center complained to the Danish government. Three Jews discuss. Transcript in English.
Comment: After reading the review; Bent Blüdnikow's criticism of some aspects of this book seems fair enough. But this is a subtle form of censorship; a not completely unbiassed Jewish journalist, no matter his undeniable qualities, stops the publication of a book before the public has had a chance to read it. The right order of things would have been to publish the book, and criticize it afterwards. The book may have ommitted some information about German atrocities. But how many books and films are being published which greatly exaggerate German crimes? Could we also demand, that when 'the holocaust' and the evil of the German people are being discussed, that it should be mentioned, that completely innocent German civilians and prisoners of war numbering more than the alleged number of Jewish victims, died from hunger, cold and mistreatment after the war was over? And that some were kept prisoner in Sovjet concentration camps for decades? About the millions of German girls and woman who were raped by the Sovjets, and many of them murdered in front of their families? About the Eisenhower death camps, where about one million German POW's were deliberately starved to death, camping out in the open in freezing temperatures? Related:
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Berlingske Tidende 1 oktober 2009 - 
Balder.org - 
