Nazi genocide before WW2: blog a book: Blood and soil

-
My library acquired the just-released book Blood and Soil, a world history of genocide and extermination from Sparta to Darfur, by Ben Kiernan, and I was the first to check it out. I don't think I will be able to finish it then record all the quotes before it's due date. So I'm sharing some as I go along. The trauma of this book for me is reading about so many genocides I never knew about before. Kiernan is a fair author so far. The only one guilty is mankind. Sadly, victims become victimizers. It is a terrible cycle. Today's quote points out that victimizers will repeat their crimes when opportunity affords.
Genocides not only exhibit similarities, many are actually related events. Their relationships are often personal and generational. For example, we can identify the German precursors of individual Holocaust perpetrators. Heinrich Goring, father of the future Nazi leader Hermann Goring, served in 1885-91 as Reichskommissar of German Southwest Africa (now Namibia). There, German participants in the 1904-8 genocide of the Herero and Nama peoples included the future Nazi governor of Bavaria, Franz Ritter von Epp, who during World War II presided over the liquidation of virtually all Bavaria's Jews and Gypsises. At the Nazis' 1931 Nuremberg rally, von Epp and Hermann Goring stood together in front of Hitler. (35-6)

Sadly, practice at genocide in Africa led to efficiency during the War and not abhorrence and repentance.

Similar articles at World War 2, atrocities, genocide, book reports

Comments

Anonymous said…
For anyone interested there is an extraordinary documentary called Passing Poston about the Japanese American citizens forcibly placed in interim camps during WWII. The film is being shown at the Two Booths Pioneer Theater from August the 8th till the 14th. The documentary follows the tales of four former internees, and shows their struggles with their painful past and their search for a place to belong in a country that labeled them the enemy. It is a must see!!

For tickets and info go to www.twoboots.com/pioneer
July 29, 2008
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why did Peter put his coat on before jumping in the water? John 21:7

-
I have the great pleasure of facilitating every week a Bible discussion group with several high school students. We've been discussing the Gospel of John  this past year, and we finally finished tonight. We enjoyed the humorous scene John writes about in this last chapter. The great apostle John can't help himself when it comes to embarrassing his fellow inner circle apostle; the denial of Christ, his slowness in getting to the empty tomb, and this event in the last chapter. John 21:7 That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. What's the joke? Well John is the first to realize that Jesus is on the beach, #humblebrag, but then Peter puts ON his coat before jumping out of the boat? I've seen some academic ink spilled trying to explain this weird behavior on the part of this fisherman ( good one
Read more

bike review: Actionbent JS2-US, for sale

-
Image
Update 2011: Sold to the LBS in trade for something new. Pictures soon. Update May 2009. This baby needs a tuneup, cables and tires, and I bought something new . If you are interested in buying this from me for $350 and are willing to pick it up in New London County Connecticut, contact me by email or facebook. Both contact methods can be found to the right below the "about me" section. Click on "contact the Umblogger." Here is my new bike review from April 2007, 2 years ago. I still think the Huffy Star-Spangler would be my ideal bike. I bought a recumbent bike last month from Actionbent and have been using it for my commute. here is a picture of the Jet Stream 2, understeering. i've been a bicycle commuter for years but last summer i developed at work a bad case of tendinitis in both wrists which made riding painful. one day i longed for my old Huffy Star Spangler with the banana seat and the hot rod handle bars and pined for the good old days. then i remembe
Read more

The near sacrifice of Isaac and bad religion

-
Image
Bad religion asks parents to sacrifice their children. Bad religion is cultural. Bad religion looks for scapegoats. Bad religion always find scapegoats in those with less power. Bad religion kills kids. Abraham's story in Genesis 22 is a story of good religion prevailing over bad. image source    Abraham lives in a culture which not only approves of child sacrifice, but even encourages it for assistance from the deities. Abraham believes his deity wants him to also perform this act of devotion. But after he ties his son up, he has an encounter with God unlike any previous one. It appears God changed his mind.  More likely, Abraham changed his mind about God. Evangelical and fundamentalist christians also live in cultures where they think their deity asks them to bind their children, to not let them live in truth their sexual identity. Hence, these children who normally benefit from the protective effects of religion on suicidal thoughts and tendencies actually experience it worse a
Read more