How history changed my point of view in certain aspects?

I am very fond of History because of its unpredictability. History can never be interpreted in the same way because each person has his own point of view. However there are some facts in History that changed my point of view about some events and people. After reading various textbooks and different sources like letters and articles I discovered some shocking revelations against the common notion that people had. One can study History by challenging the common notions and going against the obvious. I would like to give three examples how History changed my point of view and i challenged the common belief.
Every textbook I have read till date has one similar viewpoint that Hitler was a brutal and ruthless ruler who was completely wrong in killing the Jews. He is always portrayed as a villain who got entertainment from bloodshed of the Jews. I always looked upon Hitler as a cruel and inhumane ruler but could never understand his hatred for Jews. Thus I started researching on his life and his interaction with Jews. At the end of the research I could not believe the truth. Hitler was justified in hating the Jews, it was because of the Jews that Germany surrendered in World War I and were humiliated by signing the Treaty of Versailles. The German soldiers were ready to fight till they were all dead but the SPD party which mainly consisted of Jews signed an armistice with USA against the will of the nationalist German people. Hitler was one of the soldiers and was furious with the fact that the Jews had betrayed Germany. Thus his hatred for the Jews is justified. The Jews of Germany had a secret agreement with Britain that if they were given a homeland in Palestine, Germany will withdraw from the war. Thus the rich class which were mainly the Jews signed an armistice which came as a shock to the German soldiers who were yet ready to fight. Thus Germany was humiliated in the Treaty of Versailles where she was declared guilty of being responsible for the war. Germany had to pay huge reparations. This was all because of the Jews. According to me, Hitler was justified to kill the Jews as they betrayed the German people for selfish interests. History completely changed my point of view about Hitler. He was a true patriot who killed the Jews because of a justified reason.

The second example I would like to give is about my view about the so called good countries USA and Britain. After studying History in depth this year I realised that both the countries quite different from how they are portrayed. For example Britain were bribing the Jews of Germany with a homeland which they always longed for. After the Jews betrayed Germany Britain failed to fulfill their promise and the Jews were left homeless. The Jews were killed in Germany and hated all around the world. The British for their self-interest betrayed the Jews. This eventually led to the Arab-Israel conflict which is yet existent. Due to this selfish diplomacy of the British many lives were lost. Thus I see Britain as a very selfish nation. Before I used to feel that Britain is a very good nation which promoted democracy and wanted freedom of other nations. After studying history my point of view changed because Britain was only motivated by selfish interests of acquiring colonies. Even though she propagated peace and freedom of nations after World War I, she did not stop the production of arms and armaments and did not give freedom to her colonies. Britain is not a good nation but a hypocrite driven by selfish motives. Not many people know these facts because they only believe in the common notion that Britain is good country and a promoter of peace. While it is because of this hypocrite Britain that today the Jews do not have a homeland and many lives are being lost in the Arab- Israel conflict.

The third example I would like to give is the reason why USA entered the World War I. I always thought that USA entered the war because the Germans had sunk a British ship which had 100 US citizens. This event occurred in 1914 while USA joined the war in 1917. Thus this could possibly not be the reason as stated in most of the textbooks. This year after studying History in depth and doing research I realised that there were many other reasons why USA entered the war. Firstly from the beginning of the war USA supported Britain and France providing them with loans and armaments. If Britain and France lost then they would never recover their loans and on the other hand Germany would become a world power and challenge the supremacy of USA. Thus USA knew that if they entered the war Germany would lose. Thus the sinking of the British ship was just a diplomatic reason given by USA to enter the war. Her main motive was to ensure supremacy as a world power by defeating Germany. I would have never known this underlying reason of USA to enter the war if I had not done research on this topic in History

What is history but a fable agreed upon?- Napolean Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte is one of the leaders I have admired since childhood. He was a great leader who wrote his own history. The above quote said by him is very interesting. One learns History from textbooks or the Internet which receive information from other sources. These are known as secondary sources. According to me, these sources are not trustworthy as they are a mere collection of various other sources written by people who were not physically present when the events occurred. Thus one can never interpret history in the same way.

Historical events can be compared to a fables as they includes many human beings and the situation in which they existed. Even though one believes that a historical event took place. one cannot be completely sure as he or she was not present when the event occurred. Thus knowledge gained in history in mainly through communicating with people or getting second hand information. For example I learnt that Germans hated Jews because my teacher told me. I did not question her why did they hate Jews? However once I asked my mother that why did Germans hate Jews. She replied saying that the books written by historians gave the information. How valid are the books? How do the historians know that the Germans hated Jews? It is just a common belief that is accepted by all because their ancestors told them that.

In order to study History one must look at different point of views and not be stubborn. Only a person is not stubborn and is ready to challenge the common notion can achieve true knowledge. Most of the people believe that knowledge in History can be achieved by reading textbooks which are completely manipulated in the way in suits the government. Every textbook is written in a way in which the existing power can be appeased. For example the history textbooks of USA will only talk about how USA emerged as a major power after World War II. How it defeated Germany and bailed out France and Britain. It is a common notion that USA is a good country which always propagates democracy but no one has challenged the common notion. Everyone readily accepts the facts told by textbooks and their ancestors. However has one thought about the use of the atom bomb by USA on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? The Vietnam War? It is a common notion that France and Britain were stronger than Germany in World War I which is completely false. Germany were much stronger and invaded France in both the World Wars capturing Paris on both occasions. They captured most of Europe in World War II. It was the USA that came on both occasions and bailed out Britain and France.

History is not just a set of notions agreed upon by people on the basis of textbooks. Primary sources like letters, newspaper articles or autobiographies help us study History better but it is very difficult to find these sources.History will always differ depending on who you ask. Just like the old adage: There are three sides to every story yours, mine and the truth. A fable is something that hasn't been proven or documented, but if enough people WANT it to be the truth, it'll eventually come to be known as the truth in the same way if people want a historical event to be interpreted in a particular way it will be interpreted in the same way. If people want to believe that USA is a good country it will become the truth and history will written in a way that USA is always portrayed to be the good one. No one will challenge the common notion that Germany was responsible for World War I as it is agreed upon by all people and thus becomes the Truth