Days of Great Import

    Calendar days in my memory are a steady stream of happenings. Unlike many, I tend to remember dates further in the past than current times; like today, for example (which really is not the best one because many will be thinking of Pearl Harbor). I think of years and events in chronological order, but not an order that is precise enough to remember dates. I can vaguely recall, however, that I know someone (I still can't remember who) that has a birthday today. What's sad is, I'm pretty sure it's a birthday I should be remembering- like family. And yes, sometimes I forget what days my own children were born on. Eek. How is that possible?
    Dates on a calendar aren't really my thing. I get quite a bit of ribbing about this, especially if my love of history is known. How can someone who loves history and has a degree in it not know specific dates? I have no idea. I know the dates of holidays, some birthdays (obviously not all of them), and some historical dates like December 7, 1941. When I think of the day Pearl Harbor was struck, I immediately begin thinking about the historical events that preceded and the things that immediately took place afterward.
    My learned memories think of the world's history in a broad sense. What made Pearl Harbor such a pivotal moment in history? It was the catalyst that drew the United States into World War II. The United States had an adamant policy of isolation, choosing  to not be involved in events that took place beyond its borders. Interestingly enough, they had aided the Allies with armament and funds long before Pearl Harbor. For the first days following the US declaration of war against Japan, many still hoped to avoid involvement in Europe. Within days of Pearl Harbor (see I don't know the date), Germany and Italy, of the Tripartite Pact (or Axis Pact) of 1940 with Japan, declared war on the US, forcing American involvement.
    The 'official' beginning date for WWII is September 1, 1939 with Germany's invasion of Poland. Arguably that date should have been much earlier, say in 1934 when Hitler began outright violations of the Treaty of Versailles or more specifically with the Anschluss of Austria in March of 1938 and the occupation of the Sudetenland in late 1938, followed by the complete invasion of Czechoslavakia in March of 1939. These dates, while noted, did not hold sway with the United States during those years. It was not until after December 7, 1941 that the US advocated action. The United States entered a multi-front war and the rest, yes I will say it, is history. And that is my thought process on this day of infamy.

The following is a link to the attack scene from the movie Pearl Harbor. In my opinion, it's the longest 9 minutes, 46 seconds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9RSzcKp6Ww&feature=related

Villains, Heroes or Bystanders?

    Years after a moment in time becomes history, those of us who know its story hold it in judgment, forcing this history into explainable categories. History is very rarely remembered fondly. It is the times of war, atrocities, destitution and destruction that are foremost in our minds. Baffled with the need to make it all right again, we seek to explain, justify and villify a certain part of the history. We apply a pattern to historical thought with three categories: 1) the Villain, 2) the Hero and 3) the Bystanders. These simple labels we place on historical events for our own peace of mind find themselves thrust on the people who lived in those times. We are determined to decide who falls into these categories. We feel exultant when we have succeeded in doing so. It makes all events and everyone who witnessed/participated in them acceptable, manageable in our minds.

     There were villains, there were heroes and there were bystanders. There had to be for the cycle of history; people with the abilities and the knowledge to change life completely and permanently for their own betterment and people who refused to follow suit. A large portion of these people fall yet another group. They are in between the villain and the hero. They are those who initially wanted the promised change only to later discover the villain at work, playing with their lives and dreams and they became caught up with basic survival.

    Once these categories are filled, we have our answers of ‘why’ or ‘how.’ The bad parts of history happened because of the Villains, until the Hero arrives to turn back to clock or to save society. The Bystanders are simply that. Those who allowed time and history to pass them by. It seems we are all geared for the experience of a happily ever after and we want histories to end on a good note. History cannot be glossed over in this fashion. Not everyone can be a villain and not everyone is a hero, and many times, there is no happy ending. The historical event may have ceased, but those who experienced it did not just pick up where life left off. The repercussions last a life time and effect the generations after. Our simple categories are a disservice to those who continue to come to grips with their pasts.

    We look upon the past and judge it with the standards we know and experience For those who have only known what it’s like to live in a democratic republic, it is unfathomable to understand how any other government could exist or for a society to choose something different from that. The governments of many European nations have fluctuated, many at a rapid pace. The 20^th century saw the most activity in the rise and fall of governments, particularly that of Germany. This week, November 8-12, marks the anniversary of several unfortunate events in German history.

    By the end of the 19^th century, Germany was on the fast track of industrialization and modernization. Germans harbored a deep-seated spirit of competition and envy with the British and French. While other nations were at the peak of their greatness, Germany had floundered. They desired an identity they could be proud of, one that reflected the achievement of Imperial greatness. A hero emerged in Otto von Bismarck. With his Prussian military abilities, he pushed Germany in the direction it most desired to go. The German spirit soared, exuberant in the achievement of the unification of its smaller kingdoms and the tangible desire to take a place among the nations. It became a thing of honor to be German.  They had the makings of a national identity.

    Heaving a deep sigh of satisfaction, the German breath was snuffed out in November 11, 1918. Their identity was now in the rubble of their great cities and lying dead in the trenches of foreign fields and unmarked graves. Destitution was now the common identity among Germans. Denied a place among nations, the German people let history decide their future, their thoughts on the more urgent needs of food, clothing and shelter and not on the doings of an obsolete government.  The individual became responsible for the care of their own families. Unemployment was rampant.  Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated, leaving the nation to sue for peace with the Allies on its own. The fledgling Weimar Republic was the first attempt at democratic rule, but it appeared doomed even at the start because of the Treaty of Versailles. The first leaders of this new government later became known as the “November Criminals” because they accepted full responsibility for the war and reparations on behalf of the German people. Reeling with the loss of their nation and unable to put food on their own tables, Germans were made to bear the brunt of shame and they faced the prospect of war reparations. This was the beginning of the ‘stabbed in the back’ mantra and it also kindled a hatred of the Allies.

    By 1920, the Weimar Republic no longer kept up with inflation, more concerned with staying afloat. The returning troops from the front were dismal. They had fought in trenches for four years to come home only to find the decimation of their families, towns and government. They had fought for the dream of a great German nation, but came home to the opposite. Lines were drawn by the younger generation, freely doling out their disdain of the past and bitter with the lack of a future. Hundreds of political parties sprang up, vying for recognition and claiming to be the answer to getting past the war years. The Weimar Republic barely functioned in a sea of party politics.

  Frustration and anger spilled out onto the streets by 1923 and violence became common, the people taking no notice. Slowly, however, the Republic was able to somewhat alleviate the economic stress of post war Germany. After ten long years, it appeared that Germany could bounce back. Whisperings of a promising future began to take the place of the political rants against the Republic. Prosperity became attainable.  Another sigh of satisfaction and then another blow to their efforts. October 29, 1929, Black Tuesday, sent its demobilizing effects around the world. The support of other nations that Germany had grudgingly depended on disappeared, signaling global economic failure. The younger Germans had been given a tantalizing taste of prosperity. The old bitterness returned, overshadowing the progress that had been made. Once again the parties drew tighter lines, rocking the Weimar Republic and escalating the violence.

  The previous generation was categorized. The villains were those who caused the downfall of the German nation: the November Criminals, the Allies, and those not of pure German blood. The heroes, of course, were the soldiers, true Germans who fought and sacrificed everything for the Fatherland. The Treaty of Versailles was considered the ultimate betrayal of Germany. Too many years of bitterness and living on the edge of desperation, the German population was presented with this ideology and the promises of employment and a return of a national identity. Germans felt the ideals of the Nazi Party offered them real unification and a real sense of identity. But more than that, the NSDAP promised real food on the table.

    The year of 1934 saw a surge in employment and the basic needs of the German people finally appeared to be met. Adolf Hitler had been the Führer of this new government, the Third Reich, for a year. Economic stabilization made Germans loathe to argue about Nazi fundamentals. Another sigh of relief was heaved, not as deep or as contented as the others, but there was still hope for the ‘German.’  Blind eyes were turned from the methods of the Nazi Party. Hadn’t they already witnessed that kind of daily violence in society for the last twenty years? Prosperity has a way of clouding the picture of political health. It soon became clear that any complaints from the people about Nazi activities could mean jail or death. Their sighs of relief became forced, deemed necessary by the Nazis and the total control of the German people. Fear replaced contentment; paranoia filled their stomachs and not the food the Führer had provided.

    The world struggles to this day to decipher who the villains are for those who lived in the Third Reich. Hitler, Goebbels, Goring, Himmler… these are obvious. The obvious heroes are the men and women involved in resistance, those who helped save the ‘untermensch,’ those who were considered ‘sub-human’ like Bonhoeffer and Schindler, and eventually the Allies. The question remains about the majority of Germans. Did belonging to the Party in name mark them as villains? Did watching their neighbors and Jews carted off to camps make them villains? If it is difficult to decipher what makes a villain, then how can they determine what makes a hero or simply a bystander? How can one dream again or feel good about contentment when so many suffered because of their activity or passivity?

    It’s an ever present, largely unspoken shame to realize many were bystanders. Now they wished to have had the foresight to see the direction in which they were headed. Indifference and passivity allow things to happen. There is no active role, just the hope that one day it will all end. That better times will come after the violence, after employment, after food is on the table, after the new government (Nazi government) stabilizes, after the war, after Hitler is gone… The false hopes mounted, but by the time most were moved to action, it was too late. Total control meant any sign of resistance was stamped out. It became necessary for the bystanders to take a part in the villainy, to ensure a collective responsibility for the government’s actions and to ensure the continuation of their own lives during the madness. Those who were bystanders saw the easier course was to deny that such events occurred or to have known they were taking place, but the world refuses to move on, demanding a daily accounting of how and why.  The need for a national identity has been replaced with a basic need to know who the villains, the heroes and the bystanders are. There are no concise descriptions for these labels. The collective sighs of the past brought promises that ended in eternal nightmares.

    The Third Reich was an event that demands our attention, willing us to consider what we are comfortable in accepting and to not place history in a nice, tidy box on a hidden shelf of the mind. For some the name “German” has inherently become evil. For others, it’s the term “Nazi.” The stigma persists. Both have contained elements of evil, but both had elements of profound good. Many, more than likely, upon reading this, will question the good that could have come out of the Third Reich. If the Third Reich had not produced positive aspects in the beginning, it would not hardly have been able to achieve its atrocities. Its first duty was to buy the people. It succeeded in a very short time, and gained momentum with the people.

    One of the more debatable matters among historians is how much Germans actually knew about the Jewish genocide known as the Holocaust. Most say they had to have known what was taking place beyond the gates inscribed “Arbeit Macht Frei.” For others, the conclusions point to a well-oiled propaganda machine that did its best to censor all information regarding camps and their occupants. What other reason than to say “Work makes you free” at the entrance? Yes, many had to have known, but in a totalitarian state built on fear and paranoia, there would be very few to speak out against the onslaught of genocide. Those that did were quickly silenced.

    When the government controls all sources of information, they can control most of what people know. For many, the personal demands on life far outweighed the need to keep up with vacillating scenes of government.  Like any of us, time passes without too much knowledge of current events. It’s feasible for some to have been unaware until the truth was staring them in the face and they were labeled guilty by association or passivity. So consider what can be learned from the history. When viewed objectively there is more to be learned than the far reaching stigmas. Be aware of the promises and be aware of what those promises can require of the future. Determine what motivates the promises. Do not be indifferent or ignorant of the choices your government makes. It’s important to know the histories to at least realize the mistakes and make sure that the pattern is not repeated. What would you choose to be? The villain, the hero or the bystander?

Judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating. By judging others, we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as ourselves.
    Dietrich Bonhoeffer - The Cost of Discipleship (1937, 1948 in English)

Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.
    Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The Supposed Wave of the Future

    Nooks, Kindles, eBooks-- will be taking the place of printed books.At least that's what many people are saying these days, at least that's what Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon would have you believe. It's about the convenience, the cost, the technology. That's great and everything, but I beg to differ. There are plenty of people in the world who hold a book in their hands, the loved books with fine paper/leather/cloth covers and their various qualities of paper and texture held to the bindings. An eBook can only express itself by the words on the screen. A book with paper, ornate bindings and the pungent odors of ink will be absent from the complete package.
    For those who are true book lovers, this new wave of publishing has to be a terrible dream. On demand books that you can get in an instant take away from the thrill of holding a book in your hands. There will be no running your fingers along the spine, feeling the creases in the paperbacks from parts of the book that were especially favored, no tactile appreciation of the finer leather bound tomes. There will be no smelling the pages that seem to unlock more of the story. The paper, some thick and some thin depending on quality, begs the reader to see more than what's written. If it's an old book, you feel the essence of the previous owners. Who read this before? Who pored over the words, painstakingly looking for meaning? What caused that smudge on the print? A tear over the words, a drip of coffee, a quick moment found during a meal for the reader desperate to know what happens next? The musty odors ingrained in the paper speak just as loudly as the print.
    No matter the age of the book, there is a pleasing, comforting scent that can only be found in a book. Have you ever smelled your computer or laptop? It's weird, but I have. It doesn't exactly heighten my excitement for a book if it smells so plastic and factory produced. Reading a book is a sensual experience, requiring more than just the senses of sight and touch. Each edition, volume, size and look of a book are far beyond what a Kindle or Nook can promise. They said TV would replace radio, too.

Why the new blog

    Reading is my sixth sense. I can't remember a time when I haven't read. Novels, poetry, short stories, biographies, essays, columns, ads, shampoo bottles. Whether well written or poorly written, I can't help but lavish attention on them. In short, I always have several books lying around, bookmarked with memos, papers, sales receipts, bobby pins... whatever happens to be around when I am forced to lay aside a fantastic story. This was not always so. Before I had children, I very rarely put down a book until I had read it from cover to cover. I never needed bookmarks either for the few times I did finish. I could remember the page number and the paragraph where I stopped. Not so anymore, but my love of the written word has never diminished.
    So why this blog? Even though I have children, very young ones, I still am enthralled with reading and history. Ask me what I'm currently reading, and you will more than likely not get the answer you expect, at least for a mom. I have a certain, unique fascination-- uh, interest, would be a less creepy descriptor-- with German history, specifically the era of about 1900-1945. I would like to broaden that range by about twenty years on either side, but haven't gotten that far-- it will require several more books and research. That would be my specialty, but I dabble around in early American history and the histories of ancient Greece and Rome. So the purpose of this 'new' blog is to share some in my personal interests and reading.
    My first interest in blogging was my family. I love talking about my kids, but there is a point where my whole life is not about my kids. It sure feels that way sometimes, but this is an attempt to share another side of my life. I would love any questions or comments, any discussion on topics that I touch on. I know many women that  become so wrapped up in their children, that they lost sight of who they were before kids and have no clue who they are after the last child flies the coop. My children are a part of me, but they don't define all of me. So here goes... history can be fun. I promise. This is not high school history.

Voices from the past

    As a historian, I love to delve into the lives of people. I'm what you would call a social historian. I want to know about how people were impacted by historical events, the era they influenced, the ideas they had, the emotions. Centuries have past, each generation claiming to throw off tradition and accomplish what no other generation before has dared to dream of. Goethe said that "Each ten years of a man's life has its own fortunes, its own hopes, its own desires" and "The destiny of any nation at any given time depends on the opinion of its young people, those under twenty-five." Looking out across history, this is true, no matter the time period or the civilization. If you've heard the saying "history repeats itself," that's really not off.
    Quotes from well-known/famous individuals smattered throughout time bring me great delight. There's a comfort, a settled feeling, that what we experience today is not new; that our struggles are the same, our ideals and goals, in essence, the same, never changing, static. No matter the time period, the words of humanity ring true today and some are, in fact, quite entertaining. The great people of the past were human, they were normal-- most of them not elevated to 'pedestal' status until well after their deaths.
    That being said, here are some of the quotes I have found interesting and enjoyable in recent weeks.

• "The person who in shaky times also wavers, increases the evil, but the person of firm decision fashions the universe." ~ Johann von Goethe, 1749-1832
• "The only thing necessary for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing." ~ Edmund Burke, 1729-1797
• "We have the best government money can buy." ~ Mark Twain, 1835-1910
• "There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded." ~ Mark Twain
• "To succeed in life you need two things: ignorance and confidence." ~Mark Twain
• "No man for any considerable period can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true." ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1804-1864
• "Only the mob and the elite can be attracted by the momentum of totalitarianism itself. The masses have to be won by propaganda." ~ Hannah Arendt, 1906-1975
• "Revolutionaries do no make revolutions. The revolutionaries are those who know when power is lying in the street and then they can pick it up." ~Hannah Arendt
• "I never expected to see the day when girls would get sunburned in the places they now do." ~Will Rogers, 1879-1935
• "The most radical revolutionary will become a conservative the day after the revolution." ~Hannah Arendt
• "Every day we should hear at least one little song, read one good poem, see one exquisite picture, and, if possible, speak a few sensible words." ~Goethe
• "If you start to think of your physical and moral condition, you usually find that you are sick." ~Goethe
• "Nothing is more terrible than seeing ignorance in action." ~Goethe
• "Lifetimes are made up of a lot of little lifetimes." ~Danny Kaye, 1913-1987
• "Trouble and perplexity drive me to prayer and prayer drives away perplexity and trouble." ~Phillip Melanchthon, 1497-1560
• "Faith is nothing else than trust in the divine mercy promised in Christ." ~Phillip Melanchthon
• "Only under conditions or tyranny it is far easier to act than think." ~Hannah Arendt
• "People never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war or before an election." ~Otto von Bismarck, 1815-1898
• "There is a Providence that protects idiots, drunkards, children and the United States of America." ~Otto von Bismarck
• "When a man says he approves of something in principle, it means he hasn't the slightest intention of carrying it out in practice." ~Otto von Bismarck
• "Speech is civilization itself." ~Thomas Mann, 1875-1955
• "I think I've discovered the secret of life - you just hang around until you get used to it." ~Charles M. Schulz, 1922-2000
• "Life is a long lesson in humility." ~James M. Barrie, 1860-1937
• "The perfect normal person is rare in our civilization." ~Karen Horney, 1885-1952
• "A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul." ~George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950
• "Any girl can be glamorous. All you have to do is stand still and look stupid." ~Hedy Lamarr, 1913-2000
• "Fashions have done more harm than revolutions." ~Victor Hugo, 1802-1885
• "Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made." ~Otto von Bismarck
• "I love to go to Washington - if only to be near my money." ~Bob Hope, 1903-2003

And last, but not least:

• "When angry, count to four. When very angry, swear." ~Mark Twain

Hey, he said it... a long time ago. So that makes it okay, right?