Heroes. Birth, life and death. History covers it all. Technology changes, names and
languages change. But the one constant throughout history is the people.
History is all about people, what they did and how they responded to events. You can draw
a lot of parallels about how people have acted in the past with how they are acting now
and how they may act in the near future.
Yesterday I was talking about the 1936 German Olympics as a comparison with the 2014 event.
A few comments on Facebook and other places mentioned that Jesse Owens winning did not
save the millions killed by the Nazi death camps.
You are indeed correct. Jesse Owens at the time was one man, his victory was a news story and
a minor embarrassment for Hitler. But consider. Had the world been paying attention to what
was going on rather than deliberately turning a blind eye. Had there been scores of Jesse Owens
winning events and drawing the attention of their nations to Germany.
Would things have been different?
German anti Semitism was deliberately ignored. It couldn’t happen here. It’s just stories. It’s the
Jews dear, pass the marmalade. Those signs at the Olympics saying “No Jews”, not happy about
those, oh you will take them down, that’s fine then, problem solved. Krystallnacht, just some sort of
riot, you know what those Europeans are ike causing a fuss. Burning books, what a strange thing to do.
The world turned a blind eye and Hitler ramped up events. Politicians went to Germany and came
away with reassurances that Hitler only wanted the Sudetenland. Bohemia-Moravia, that’s the last
thing Hitler wanted. Oh well the rest of Czechoslovakia, not a problem as you control everything
else there but that’s the last is it, you promise, that’s good. Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemburg,
Denmark and Switzerland are all guaranteed to be neutral, that’s good.
Oh wait, you are invading Poland. Didn’t you have a non aggression pact with them, didn’t you say
you would not attack them.
All of this happened while the great nations stood by and watched and chose to do nothing.
In September 1935, a year before the German Olympics the Nuremburg race laws came into effect.
From that moment on Jews became a separate species. Marriage or sex between Jews and non Jews
was forbidden, half Jews and quarter Jews began to be identified and would later be denied a number
of jobs. The world did nothing. It’s just the Jews. Not many of them in this country. Don’t worry about it.
Ignore it.
This is what Russia is doing today.
A year from now we will have another Olympics. Three years after the 1936 Olympics a Nazi Tyrant
had plunged the world into war because the world turned a blind eye to his actions. Will we see a
Communist Tyrant plunge the world into war in 2017 because the world has turned a blind eye?
The Nazis killed millions while the world looked the other way.
The Russians are starting to do the same but there is little publicity, if this is left in the dark they will
be getting away with murder. What we are seeing unfold is an almost exact repeat of previous events
in the 1930s.
Charismatic leader, poor economic situation, mass dissatisfaction, the creation of "Enemies
within and without" to act as a unifying factor. About the only thing missing so far is building
autobahns. The Russian propaganda is in full swing, the “Leader” is in staged photo’s everywhere,
the army is restive. Russian expansion back into the old Warsaw pact nations to bring them under
the Bears’ rule looks just like Lebensraum.
The suffering of the Gay and Lesbian community in Russia is tragic but I am looking at what comes
next. The world’s athletes standing together with the backing of their nations may not seem like much
but it is a potent symbol. In a way it is putting a line in the sand and then standing on it.
From the perspective of a future historian this is not about the Gay and Lesbian community in Russia,
It is about a minority that serves a purpose. They are different, strange, and odd, not like us. It is easy
to turn the population against them. They are perfect scapegoats.
If not them then it would be the gypsies, the intellectuals, the counter revolutionaries. As long as they
are a small and different group they will be used to rally the people against them. Against the threat of
the “Enemy Within”.
Once the people accept that there is an enemy then increased security becomes cceptable, even desired.
Look out; there may be a Jew/Gay/Gypsy about.
Does anyone think for a moment that Russia under Putin will have the slightest hesitation about Ghettos,
concentration camps, state sponsored Murder.
Simply cancelling the Olympics as is being suggested will not solve the problem. It gives Putin a huge
propaganda club. The Olympics were stolen from Russia because of the gays. Those dirty gays are
the enemy of Russia, denounce them, round them up, warm up the ovens.
This is exactly what Hitler did to the Jews.
The west has Obama and Cameron. Both about as much use as Chamberlain was when he stood there
waving his sheet of paper and talking about “Peace for our time”.
Look at our political leaders, where is the Churchill, the Reagan, the Maggie.
Our current political leadership are about as much use as chocolate teapots when it comes to facing
down a resurgent bear. The only way they will do a damn thing is when it is too late or if they are forced
to do something.
Perhaps the Athletes can force the governments to step in, to stand together in the face of this threat.
By demanding the protection of their own governments these men and women can force action.
The same socio economic pressures are present in much of the world that were seen in the mid 1930s.
Large numbers of people in poverty, mass unemployment, mass dissatisfaction with the status quo.
Look at Greece to see what can happen in the “Civilized” west of Europe. Mainland Western Europe.
Internment camps, police squads rounding up immigrants, drug users, beggars, gypsies, Gay or
Transgender, prostitutes. Lesbian and Gay events banned from TV and subject to religious and political
criticism. Gay pride is Unholy says the church.
The "Enemy Within".
The worlds Governments stand by, busy with their own little problems, unconcerned with events
elsewhere. It’s not our problem. We cannot interrupt our political agendas just because a few million
people are going hungry. Next week is as far as we look; who cares about a few years from now, it will
be some other Government by then.
My parents as children had German bombers and rockets overhead. My Father fought against Russian
sponsored insurgences and terrorists around the world. I was born down the road from a primary cold war
nuclear target. I watched the cold war end and the wall come down.
I witnessed the rise of the National socialists and stage by stage the inevitable path to war and its bloody
conclusion through the medium of history.
I am watching it happen again with my own eyes and I know what happened the last time.