The New Gospel

From the totalitarian point of view history is something to be created rather than learned.  A totalitarian state is in effect a theocracy, and its ruling caste, in order to keep its position, has to be thought of as infallible.  But since, in practice, no one is infallible, it is frequently necessary to rearrange past events in order to show that this or that mistake was not made, and that this or that imaginary triumph actually happened.