Its definitely important to look at what humans have done to each other. Pretending that it couldn’t happen here, or downplay the suffering of others only puts us all in the path of cruelty and destruction. I can’t begin to imagine what it would be like to go through some of these terrible events and survive it.
13 Likes
I met Franciszek Gajowniczek back in 1989/1990. He gave a vivid account of the conditions in Auschwitz.
11 Likes
This is precisely the problem. It’s so easy to convince ourselves that there must have been something uniquely evil and Satanic about the Nazis, but to carry that off, we have to ignore all the other genocides that have occurred. Look at the controversy generated by merely mentioning the Armenian genocide. The logical conclusion then is to start thinking that these things must have been overblown, no way humans could possibly do this to others. Then, it becomes far too easy to have it happen again by making the victims non-human. We can see it happening here now, and fuck yes, it could happen here!
17 Likes
14 Likes
Lots of countries were looking into anthrax during WWII.
Canada had overkill quantities of botulinum toxin, and no one’s quite sure what happened to it after the war.
eta: About the one country didn’t work on bioweapons was Germany, because Hitler forbid it.
14 Likes
I have not had a chance to listen to this podcast yet…
But I did hear an interview with some of the folks that put it together and it sounds interesting.
11 Likes
“Nearly 2 million Mexican Americans, more than half US citizens, were deported without due process during the Great Depression”
10 Likes
A new episode of the Fall of Civilizations podcast just came out yesterday, over 10 months since the last one.
This one is about the Mongols. I knew some of the broad outlines of their conquests but man, this was serious stuff. I don’t think I had ever even heard of the Khwarazmian empire before but apparently it was huge, and the Mongols managed to conquer the whole thing in just two years, with somewhere between 2 and 15 million people killed.
Later on when the Mongols moved into Russian areas Kiev was hit especially hard, going from the major metropolis in the area to a total ruin with about 200 remaining households. That whole area has seen some serious shit. (As it is again, sadly)
11 Likes
I’ll play that tonight while I try to sleep!
4 Likes
We tend to hear very little about Iranian and Islamic civilizations when they aren’t fighting with Europeans, which I think gives a pretty warped perspective on them.
8 Likes
Ok, but be warned that it’s following the pattern where each podcast episode is even longer than the last. It’s a total of 6 hours, 45 minutes! (Split into two parts)
6 Likes
It is left as a problem for the student to calculate when a future podcast episode will outlast the very civilization it describes.
11 Likes
A recent interview with Elian Gonzalez…
8 Likes
12 Likes
9 Likes
Yes let us never forget what the Germans did 83 years ago today.
12 Likes
A day that will live in infamy.
12 Likes
Movie propaganda songs for World War II, like this:
And this:
My personal favorite, for the songs and for the somewhat-progressive tone (yeah I know the backgrounds, one guy looks like an ice-cream man, but still):
And the DANCING is so much better! And Joe Louis! And all the performers were active duty soldiers, in the entire movie (a real fun watch!)
7 Likes
In “You Can Always Tell a Yank” when he sings about the Constitution and Democracy, I just started crying. Also, do you recognize one of the actors from “Some Like It Hot”?
Did folks really believe in those things at one time, I mean, sincerely? And did it really exist back then (kind of but no?)?
what happened? because some folks are so hypnotized by power and money they want to get rid of it, when in fact it actually can work?
and it’s not going to stop. the right wing has been eroding education as much as they possibly can so kids can’t learn the real history of the usa. and then they grow up to be ignorant while the right wing also paints learned folks as snotty elites (and most of them are, tbh).
i also believe all the performers believed in what they were doing.
oh, and this one, also from TYLS. Has it aged well? Isn’t Ann Sheridan just too hot? Discuss!!
6 Likes
Only tangentially related, but I think Romani Rose (chairman of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma) is one of the most charismatic people I have ever seen.
3 Likes