8543RB Reading for Me Level 6 Part A

Factual
Fact or Fiction? Debunking
History’s Greatest Myths
If you’ve ever been taught that Marie Antoinette famously cried ‘Let them eat cake’, that
George Washington was responsible for chopping down a cherry tree or that Adolf Hitler
created the autobahns in Germany, then I’m afraid you’ve been the victim of bad teaching.
As time passes on, stories are often changed; however, below are three popular myths that
are completely untrue.
MYTH ONE – Adolf Hitler built Germany’s autobahns
The autobahns are responsible for lots of crazy, fast driving but it’s not true that Hitler
built them. Children have been taught that Hitler had the roads built as a way to help
Germany out of poverty after the depression of the 1920s; however, this is impossible as
construction on the roads actually began in the 1920s and Hitler did not become Chancellor
of Germany until 1933. Whilst Hitler’s government continued work on the highways, it
certainly wasn’t his idea. In any case, only 1 in 44 people in Germany had a car that could
drive on them!
MYTH TWO – Let them eat cake
Can you imagine a callous queen who didn’t really
care about her people? In fact, she was so nasty
that when she was told that her people were
starving and that there was no bread to feed them,
she suggested they eat the more expensive cake
instead! This was the gossip that followed Marie
Antoinette, wife to King Louis XVI of France,
for four years from 1789 to her eventual death
in 1793. In fact, the gossip made the people of
France so mad that they started a revolution and
cut off Marie Antoinette’s head! (Don’t worry, her
husband lost his too.) In reality, Marie Antoinette
cared about the poverty in France, and she
donated regularly to charities. The famous quote
was actually written in a book around 1760 when
Marie was only five. She was a little too young to
say it.
MYTH THREE – George Washington and the
cherry tree
A famous American tale about honesty may not
be all that honest! The story goes that when he
was six, a young George Washington received a
small axe for his birthday. Being super excited,
he went about his family's orchard testing his axe
and chopping everything in his path. When he tried his hatchet on a young cherry tree,
he damaged it so badly the tree could not survive. His father, seeing the damage, angrily
asked, ‘Who has done this?’ George, feeling guilty, immediately confessed that it was him
and his father was so pleased with his honesty that he forgave him on the spot. This story
has been held up as an example of honest behaviour to children of all ages. The problem is,
it was written ten years after Washington’s death by a man who never knew him!
100 Reading for Me Level 6 (Part A) 978-1-922843-65-4 R.I.C. Publications ® Prim-Ed Publishing