BBC accused of giving children ‘dishonest’ view of communism after failing to mention mass killings
The BBC has been accused of giving children a “dishonest” view of communism after their website failed to mention mass killings.
The broadcaster’s educational branch BBC Bitesize has come under fire for failing to mention the millions that died under such governments.
The website even excludes referencing specific Soviet dictators altogether – including Joseph Stalin.
Designed for those aged between 4 and 11, the material on the broadcaster’s website outlines the central principles of Marxism alongside a short introduction into the Soviet Union.
Cambridge Historian Prof Robert Tombs told The Telegraph: “To teach the history of communism as if it was just another political theory with a few minor downsides, rather than the basis of many of the most inhuman forms of totalitarianism in history, is utterly dishonest and makes it impossible for children to understand the modern world.”
In a short video summarising the topic, the educational content covers communist original thinkers Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx, as well as their most famous work The Communist Manifesto.
After outlining the main beliefs and its emergence in eastern Europe, the website mentions that critics of communism accused the ideology of “being too centralised” and “placing too many limits on individual freedom”.
Then, the video sweeps past the Second World War and onto the Cold War until the end of the Soviet Union.
During the video, there is no mention of the concentration camps – the gulag – in the Soviet Union nor of the mass murder of millions under Stalin’s rule.
The BBC’s page on fascism, in contrast, does mention the ideology’s most prolific leader Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust.
President of the think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies Clifford D May said that the BBC was “backtracking” on its World Service legacy.
Speaking to The Telegraph, he said that millions of oppressed groups across Europe used to listen to the BBC World Service despite the consequences that they might face.
Urging the corporation to speak the truth, he declared that: “Communism goes against everything the BBC has historically represented”.
The BBC has insisted that its educational branch had not received any complaints or feedback on the matter.
A BBC spokesman said: “This is a Bitesize for Teachers resource and clearly labelled for use by teachers, not for direct use by students. It is designed to be used alongside other resources and therefore is not a comprehensive summary of the curriculum area.
“There are other resources for teachers which cover the oppression and murder by communist regimes.”