1984 ON THE POTOMACEditor’s note

Some may object to the contention that current DOJ is, in some ways, analogous to the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell’s 1984. But comparing the removal of Jan. 6 documents from DOJ website to the Ministry of Truth’s memory hole, while imperfect, is not absurd. In 1984, inconvenient documents from the past are physically destroyed so the ruling Party line can no longer be contradicted. In a digital administrative state, however, incinerators are unnecessary. A vanished page and a broken search result can accomplish something disturbingly similar.

But what is the Ministry of Truth’s memory hole, and what is its function?

In 1984, the “memory hole” is a small pneumatic chute connected to an incinerator. It is used to physically destroy inconvenient documents, historical records, and photographs which contradict the ruling Party’s official line and propaganda, thus making sure that anything erased ceases to exist both on paper and in public consciousness.

Wikipedia summarizes the key functions of the memory hole, among them:

●  Rewriting History:The Party operates on the philosophy that “who controls the past controls the future.” When the Party changes its stance on an event, its enemies, or its allies, workers like Winston Smith, the book’s protagonist — and his fellow employees at the Ministry of Truth — alter past newspaper articles to match the new narrative, and then destroy the original documents.

●  Maintaining Infallibility:By destroying conflicting evidence, the Party ensures Big Brother and the government are never seen to be wrong, cruel, or anything less than all-knowing.

●  Erasing Dissent:Any individual who speaks out or falls out of favor with the regime can have their entire existence “memory-holed.” All records of them ever living are tossed down the chute so they are completely forgotten by society.

Ultimately, the memory hole acts as a physical tool for psychological control, allowing the totalitarian regime to manipulate reality and enforce absolute conformity.

The book’s fictional totalitarian regime of Oceania thus maintains complete dominance over its population through the control of history and memory, specifically by erasing the past and forging historical facts. This historical forgery enforces a collective reality onto the masses, ensuring that the Party and its ideology persist.

In an article in this issue of HSNW, Tyler McBrien, Michael Feinberg, and Benjamin Wittes note that “Last week, the Justice Department began systematically removing material from its web sites regarding the many indictments and convictions related to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.”