nostalgia, ULTRA

Impression of Nazi Germany

14.2.17

During World War II, the overall impression that Nazi Germany (also known as the “Third Reich”) gave to the world was one of immense cruelty, suffering, and devastation to the world--especially much of Europe. The invasion of Poland, the Holocaust, the millions of deaths that came as result of the war both due to casualties from conflict and casualties from mass slaughters by Nazi Germany, for example, were numbers far beyond any previous conflict in world history. According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, up to 6 million Jewish civilians were killed in the war. This number, while not large in proportion to the world population at the time, was unheard of. Hitler’s reign and ideals in Nazi Germany resulted in these millions of deaths, and today is remembered as a major low point in German and human history. Some time in Hitler’s New Year address to the nation regarding Nazi Germany’s leader Adolf Hitler said, “We will get well when we eliminate the Jews.” (Longerich, p. 156). This clear hatred for Jewish individuals in Europe defined, alongside the countless acts of violence the country committed against the world show just how inhumane of a country Nazi Germany was.

In addition, Nazi Germany wasn’t just an extreme when it came to its’ radical ideals in exterminating non-Aryan races. The country was seen as a terror on the battlefield early on. Various battles were victories for the Germans during the years prior to the U.S. entering the war (1939-1942). As the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum puts it, “Nazi Germany began to cajole and pressure the southeast European states to join the Axis.” In order to increase it’s power and “assurance” in dominating Europe, conquest and suppression was its’ method. Psychologically though, Nazi Germany did attempt to ‘ease the deal’ with the various countries it wished to have in its’ arsenal. Those countries ranged from countries that welcomed the Nazi’s (Hungary, for example), as well as countries that didn’t and forced in, like Yugoslavia. At the time, there were about 2.3 billion people in the world. According to The National WWII Museum New Orleans, 3% of this total were killed; about 60 million people, both civilian and military. Nazi Germany was responsible for a very large part of this, both on the battlefield and civilian-wise with their frightening techniques in war.

http://www.warsawuprising.com/paper/wrobel1.htm
https://web.archive.org/web/20090709111759/http://www.hdot.org/en/trial/defense/pl1/17
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKDL5ZgicLc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh1ciamb1DU
https://web.archive.org/web/20080511190923/http://econ161.berkeley.edu/TCEH/Slouch_Purge15.html
http://www.world-war-2.info/statistics/
http://www.historyonthenet.com/world-war-two-germanaxis-successes-and-failures/

Inhumanity Articles

10.2.17

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/least-13-000-hanged-syrian-prison-2011-amnesty-international-n717671 and https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/pol10/2552/2016/en/

http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/berkeley-riots-inside-the-campus-showdown-over-free-speech-w465151

Modern day genocide: 13,000 hanged in Syrian Prison: Amnesty International

From 2011 to 2016, Amnesty International--a non-profit governmental organization focused on human rights--reported an approximate 13,000 people hanged in the Saydnaya Prison, north of Damascus, Syria. Many of the prisoners consisted of those who protested against the regime that rules Syria. They were treated very horribly, and detained under terrible conditions. The report itself stated that “thousands of detainees died as a result of torture and other ill-treatment…”. At the head of these mass executions is president Bashar Assad, who denies the allegations. Hangings, many cruel and widely ranging forms of torture, and general inhumane treatment against prisoners caused the death of the thousands lost, with a rate of about 20-50 hangings a day over the time frame. The Syrian government uses these various methods of torture and hanging to effectively destroy any type of dissent a the population may have against its’ government.

Berkeley Riots over Free Speech

When Milo Yiannopoulos was going to give a speech at Berkeley University, where a violent outbreak of a riot, outnumbered the peaceful protesters. Despite many protests in an attempt to not allow Milo to speak, Berkeley believed that the Berkeley University Republicans had a right to let him speak. This of course made many upset. The night Milo arrived, 1,500 people arrived in order to protest against his speech. This protest started as a peaceful protest, until sundown when 150 black clad protesters decided to turn it violent, using clubs and molotov cocktails to turn the once peaceful protest into chaos in order to convey the fact that they had no intention for letting Milo speak at all. This thus dissapointed University officials, “It's not a proud moment for us," says Dan Mogulof, assistant vice chancellor of the university. “It was a sad day, given UC Berkeley's legacy, history and institutional values… We want to provide a venue for speakers across the political spectrum." Majority of the campus were against the radical’s methods of protest, and ended the night with many injured and only two arrested, and goes against the purpose of a proper purpose, making such rash, ignorant, and hateful acts to not be listened by the majority.