By Scott Shephard
Monument to the Murdered Jews of Europe - Berlin, Germany
Once upon a time, in the not too-distant past, there was a Great War in a place called Europe. The cause? Well, like so many conflicts, it started small and quickly got out of hand. Among other things, there were alliances, grievances and desires to prove national superiority. When the war started in August, many were joyous and thought the troops would “be home by Christmas.” Instead, the war lasted 5 long years and resulted in the deaths of 20 million people.
The Paris Conference that followed the war was a great opportunity for European and world leaders to create a road map for lasting peace. One leader, a visionary in the minds of some, had a list of 14 ideas that could possibly make the world a much better place. One of the ideas was to agree not to place blame on any one country since blame can sow the seeds of future war. But this man was largely ignored and a Middle European country was declared the main perpetrator of the war (which they were not) and forced to pay dearly.
Middle Europe was forced to give up most of its military, which had a proud tradition of greatness. Their economy was left in tatters, though before the Great War, they had been an economic powerhouse. When borders were redrawn, they lost large parts of their homeland, including agricultural and industrial territories. Unemployment and economic inflation destroyed a way of life. Finally, to make matters even worse, a new government, not of their own choosing, was forced on Middle Europe in a way that made Middle Europeans question their own sovereignty and being. A deep rage and desire for revenge settled upon the land.
A decade or so after all of this started, an unlikely man emerged amidst the chaos and dissatisfaction. He promised to make Middle Europe great again. This man, who was known as The Man With the Mustache, was not taken seriously at first. In fact, some thought he was laughable, in part because of some of the odd ideas he had. Perhaps the most shocking was the need to eliminate the Jews of the world, who, he said, hated Christians and controlled the government and the economy.
Though The Man With the Mustache seemed an unlikely leader, he was a gifted speaker and politician. He knew what to say and how to say it when large rallies were held for him as he ran for office. He and his people crafted powerful symbols that became associated with him and his cause, the most famous of which was the Twisted Cross, a flag with a black symbol on a field of white and red.
The Man With the Mustache also used two new emerging technologies to help him win support and power in Middle Europe. One was the airplane, which he used to get quickly from one brilliantly staged political rally to another. But perhaps the most important was a technology that was replacing struggling local newspapers. The technology was what was known by some in Middle Europe as Volksempfänger, or “the people’s receiver.” We now call it the radio. With this new invention, the voice of The Man With the Mustache and his people could be delivered to citizens in a way that no politician’s voice had ever been delivered before. And because of the way he used the People’s Receiver, The Man with the Mustache could shape the truth in a way that suited his goals. It turns out that many people were willing to believe anything. Also, because they heard the same thing many many times, they thought it must be true. Along with this, The Man With the Mustache also convinced people not to believe other sources of information, which were called Lugenpresse, which is German for “lying press.”
Ultimately, the Man With the Mustache became Chancellor of Middle Europe, in part because of the support of the angry masses, including tens of thousands of veterans of the Great War, but also because business leaders and even some religious leaders, among others, saw that this man could, as he had promised, make Middle Europe great again. The Man With the Mustache was even declared Time Magazine’s Man of the Year for all the good he had done.
But he was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, as the world was soon to find out. Many saw this, and championed it. Others were quiet, in part because they were afraid of the Man With the Mustache and his powers. Other European powers tried to appease him because they were afraid of provocation.
But soon Middle Europe started an even Greater War with European powers to regain its greatness. At the same time a “secret” war was also started against the Jews of Europe. By the time the dust has “settled” after the last bomb of the Greater War destroyed the Japanese city of Nagasaki in Japan, 70 million people had died. This number includes 6 million of 9.5 million European Jews, who had been rounded up, murdered and either burned or buried.
And people asked, “How could this have happened?” After all, Middle Europe was the land of Bach and Beethoven and many other great artists, thinkers and scientists. The people were cultured, worldly and educated. Again and again they wondered.
And long after all of this happened, many are still wondering, but are saying that in their own country, “It can’t happen here.” But the weary wise, who have watched the history of the world since the Great and Greater wars, know it can.
And so the parable ends - without a real ending. But we have work to do wherever we are to help prevent what happened in Middle Europe all those years ago from ever happening again.
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