"He signed an executive order putting Vice President JD Vance in charge of an effort to "remove improper ideology" from the Smithsonian Institution, including its museums, education and research centers and the National Zoo.

Trump's order specifically names the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Women's History Museum, which is in development.

"Museums in our Nation's capital should be places where individuals go to learn " not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history," the order said.

Representatives for the Smithsonian did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment."

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Somewhere Hitler and Goebbels are high-fiving.

It reminds you of a fascist state': Smithsonian Institution braces for Trump rewrite of US history

Normally staid historians sound alarm at authoritarian grasping for control of the premier US museum complex

The move was met with dismay from historians who saw it as an attempt to whitewash the past and suppress discussions of systemic racism and social justice.

With Trump having also taken over the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, there are fears that, in authoritarian fashion, he is aiming to control the future by controlling the past.

"It is a five-alarm fire for public history, science and education in America," said Samuel Redman, a history professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

"While the Smithsonian has faced crisis moments in the past, it has not been directly attacked in quite this way by the executive branch in its long history. It's troubling and quite scary."

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