Good morning, Today marks the 77th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps. It would be another three 1/2 months before the Nazi regime unconditionally surrendered. We tend to think of the Nazis as an overwhelming surge of unanimity among the German people. But that was not the case. The Nazis were a small populist group of angry people who thought their country was impure and damaged by the presence and power of minorities. They never won a popular vote. They attracted supporters through a nationalist mantra and promises to fix the post-Weimer German economy and the damage caused by the Treaty of Versailles forced on a defeated Germany at the end of The Great War. It rose as a populist movement that competed with the Communists for dominance. In the early 1930s, one could not have predicted which of these two extreme ideologies would be victorious, or whether democracy might somehow survive. In these dark days, with the rise of right-wing autocracies around the world, a totalitarian emboldened China and a dangerous mischievous Russia taking us to the brink of war, the mantra “Never Again” might be followed by the rejoinder “Never Repeat.”
Having pride in ones country, whichever country that is…is a beautiful thing. It’s okay to consider your own home first. Embracing one’s culture is what makes us all unique. Couple that with respect for all mankind is what brings about true and lasting meaningful peace.
Well said. There are groups in between the far right and far left. Sadly, the far extremes seem to have a disproportionate influence.
Having pride in ones country, whichever country that is…is a beautiful thing. It’s okay to consider your own home first. Embracing one’s culture is what makes us all unique. Couple that with respect for all mankind is what brings about true and lasting meaningful peace.