The Stolen Generations and genocide: Robert Manne’s In Denial: The Stolen Generations and the Right

Abstract

In recent years many Australians have been troubled over two words or terms, the Sto-len Generations and genocide, and no more so than when they have appeared in tandem, as they did in the report of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Com-mission's inquiry into the separation of Aboriginal children, Bringing Them Home, 1 and the inquiry that gave rise to it. 2 Subsequently many conservatives have increased their attacks upon so-called black armband history and particularly the Stolen Generations narrative. 3 This assault gathered momentum during 1999 and 2000, eventually provok-ing the political commentator and historian Robert Manne to pen In denial: the Stolen Generations and the Right, an essay in which, to quote the publicists for this new venture in Australian publishing, the Australian Quarterly Essay, he sets out to 'demolish' these critics and their 'demolition' of the history presented by Bringing Them Home. 4