Monty Python: Hitler in England

National Socialism in modern day England:

The Nazis Have Returned to Europe

And once again, most Europeans are saying nothing:



This man must be incredibly proud:

Personal Reflections

Because of my family history, with my father born in Germany in 1931, I cannot help but make comparisons between 1944-45 Europe and 2008 Gaza. Different times, different wars, different people but striking resemblances indeed there are.

Every time I hear a condemnation of Israel, I think about whether it would have also been applied to the Allied Forces. Every time I hear a moral equivalency argument made about Israel and the Palestinians, I think about whether it would have been made about the Allied Forces and Nazi Germany. Every time I hear about innocent civilians being hurt or killed - I am naturally saddened and feel grief for the Palestinian families - but then I also wonder if calls were made to stop the advance of the Allied Armies toward Berlin.

To think that some people making such ludicrous arguments back then didn't exist would be naive. To think that so many today have learned NOTHING from history both saddens and appalls me. Just like the people of my father's homeland made a terrible mistake, which had to be stopped in its tracks, so must Hamas & Iran as well. For the leaders of these two tyrannies I will shed no tears.

The Rape of Europa

I just watched a fascinating documentary entitled The Rape of Europa. It focuses on how the Nazis during World War 2 plundered art work from all the countries they conquered throughout Europe. There was a particular focus on Jewish families, from whom much was stolen.

From the film I learned several things which I had previously not known:

• During his teen years Adolf Hitler was an aspiring artist in Austria. He was rejected from entering the prestigious Vienna Academy of Fine Arts and some say that this inflamed his hatred toward Jews, as many artists of the time admitted into this school were Jewish.
  
  
• The American military had a special group of 200 Monument Men, whose sole purpose was to rescue and preserve paintings, sculptures, and architecture.
  
  
• I have been to Pisa, Italy but had no idea that the main attraction used to be the Camposanto, a monumental cemetery, and not the leaning tower. But the Camposanto was so badly damaged during WW2 that it lost all of its world renowned frescoes.
  
  
• Hitler had long planned to build an enormous museum in his honour in Linz, Austria, the town that he referred to as his hometown, even though it really wasn't. This museum was slated to be by far the largest in the world.
  

If you get a chance, do watch this film. It's fascinating.

2008 - 1933 = 75 Years

1933 was the year that Adolf Hitler achieved absolute power in Germany. Prior to this there was a democracy of sorts, known as the Weimar Republic. But challenged with economic and institutional political problems, it fell prey to a highly charismatic leader who promised the German people positive change.

After several attempts, enough of the voters finally put their doubts aside and gave Hitler the power he had been seeking. It was the worst mistake they ever made.

While doing some research on this subject I came across this post by a fellow Canadian named James Laxer. He's clearly a bright guy and provides a detailed analysis of what occurred back then. I just happen to disagree with his conclusions about how this historical lesson relates to the situation we face today. To that end, I left him this message:

Interesting analysis, James. I came upon your post, about 9 months after you wrote it by searching for: Obama Hitler 75 years ago

In your world view, I sense that you believe that the worst things today are religion, multinational businesses, and conservative governments.

I, on the other hand, view arrogance, ignorance, and intolerance as the necessary key ingredients that lead to a blind overthrow of our long held institutions. Nothing more represents this trio nowadays than the blind followers of Obamanation; not all Democrats, but way too many of them.

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For the record, I have never made any comparison between Barack Obama and Adolf Hitler, and am not making one now.

Only time will tell what Obama's true agenda really is. In the meantime, my views of him are a medley between what Bill O'Reilly and Jeremiah Wright have said: He's an opportunistic politician who will say anything and betray anyone to achieve power. In this regard, he's not the first and far from the last. But he definitely is the slickest snake oil salesman (read "politician") in recent memory.

My difficulty, and often disgust, lies with two distinct groups:

1. MSM "Journalists" who have completely given up all pretenses of being unbiased, professional, and holding ALL politicians to account. Anyone who says that the Fourth Estate is, in fact, doing their jobs is either in deep denial or has been paid off by the Obama Campaign; there is no other plausible explanation.
   
   
2. The ignorant, blind, arrogant followers of Obama, especially the Under 30 crowd who question nothing but have simply replaced the chant of "Kumbaya My Lord" with "Obama: Hope and Change".

Take a look at some videos and be honest with yourself about whether you see some scary similarities: