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A REALITY CHECK
Fillmore County Journal, MN
March 7 2014
By Col. Stan Gudmundson
Fri, Mar 7th, 2014
It is important to periodically reexamine humanity's hideous past to
remind us of how extremely dangerous our world is. We cannot afford
to take our country, liberty, and our way of life for granted.
The slaughter of the last 125 years or so can be divided into three,
often interrelated, categories. The first is war. Millions and millions
have lost their lives for, in most cases, literally nothing.
The second is government's murder of its own people in pursuit of
utopian fantasies. Socialists, i.e. Fascists and Communists, for
example have killed far more than 100 million of their own citizens in
Germany, Russia, China, Cuba, Cambodia, and North Korea to name a few.
Worse, in places like China, Cuba and North Korea it still goes on.
The century's death toll as a result of government's killing their
own people is far greater than that of its wars.
The third category is that of ethnic cleansing, the focus of this
editorial. The phrase "ethnic cleansing" is relatively new.
Unfortunately the process isn't.
The stereotypic view of the Jewish holocaust places virtually all of
the blame on Germans. That view is incorrect. An observer in Romania
in 1940-41 noted that the, "average Rumanian hated Jews with fury
unapproached in Germany and equaled only in Poland". There were
anti-Jewish pogroms that killed hundreds of thousands and forced
millions to flee in Croatia, Romania, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania,
Latvia, Greece, Serbia, and the Soviet Union before, during, and
after WWII.
German observers were stunned by the viciousness of Croatians. Most
its 700,000 Jews died in Croatia.
Consequently, eastern and central Europe was virtually emptied of
Jews. "Never Again" became the rallying cry. Unfortunately the reality
is more like "Again and Again".
Early in the 20th century thousands of Bulgarians were killed and
hundreds of thousands were banished by Romanians and Greeks.
During the late teens and early 20s more than two million Greeks were
thrown out of places they lived, often for centuries, by Bulgarians and
Turks. Some Greeks forced to flee Turkey didn't even speak Greek.Five
hundred thousand were also forced forever into Turkey's interior. Turks
kidnapped many of the Greek women.
Beginning in 1915, 1-1.5 million Armenians were the victims of
a Turkish genocide. Earlier, in the 1890s, Turks killed tens of
thousands. In the late 1990s a quarter of million Armenians became
refugees at the hands of Azerbaijanis. Kurds and Tatars also purged
Armenians.
In 1932-33 Ukraine suffered a terror famine under Stalin's direction.
Upwards of 7.5 million died. During the '40s at least 1.6 million
Ukrainians were displaced or killed by Romanians, Poles, and Germans.
Turks suffered at the hands of Greece, Bulgaria, and Serbia. Hundreds
of thousands were forced out of these countries. In the early '20s
at least a million left lands conquered by Greece.
Hungarians, 350-425,000 of them, were banished by Ukraine and 200,000
fled in 1956, 200-300,000 Italians were driven out of Yugoslavia,
and over a million Serbs fled at the hands of Kosovars, Croatia,
Albania, and Bulgaria.
During WWII the Soviet Union removed from the Caucasus region and
Crimea, entire Chechen, Balkar, Ingush, and Tatar populations.
According to the Soviet NKVD, 144,000 Chechens were eliminated.
Upwards of 2.5 million Poles were slaughtered or moved by Ukraine,
Germany, and the Soviet Union. At least 500,000 were sent east to
work and die in Soviet labor camps.
And the nationality subject to the largest population purge in European
history? Germans. After the WWII, 12-14 million Germans were purged
from Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia, Romania, Austria, and the
Soviet Union.
Precise death tolls as a result of "ethnic cleansing" are impossible to
tally. Movements of huge populations always caused enormous numbers
of deaths. The agony and suffering caused by starvation, rape,
pillage, and whole varieties of other inhuman treatment is beyond
description. Virtually every German woman in the area occupied by
Soviet troops was raped.
In the 1980s and '90s there were hundreds of thousands of Georgians,
Bosnians, Serbs, Croatians, Chechens, Azerbaijanis, Armenians, and
others killed or forced out of the countries they had been living in.
The hatreds are still there. Human nature has not changed. Having an
unpopular religious, ideological, ethnic, or racial heritage was and
still is enough to get one killed or purged.
During the Ottoman Empire 20 percent of its population was Christian.
Today Christians make up about 2 percent of the population in those
same areas. Having the legal status of second class citizens their
homes and businesses are being destroyed and they are being murdered.
Ancient Christian communities are being obliterated. 450,000 have
fled Syria and more than 850,000 have left Iraq. Copts in Egypt are
being slaughtered.
There are huge faultlines throughout the world that will assuredly
continue to produce the horrors of war, slaughters within countries,
and ethnic cleansing. A small sample includes Muslim v. Christian in
the Middle East but especially in Europe as a declining European
population faces a growing Muslim population, Shia v. Sunni,
nationalistic China v. its neighbors and the US, and competing hatreds
in the Caucasus. Hatred is worldwide and it is deep and long-lasting.
Americans really can't comprehend hatred of this kind. Those who think
they see racial prejudice and hatred everywhere here in the US don't
have a clue.
Years ago I began to try to understand the scale of and the reasons
for the death toll of the 20th century and the potential for the same
kinds of events for the future. I just finished another related book
"The Tragedy of Liberation" by Frank Dikotter, an account of Chinese
Revolution between 1945-1957. Mao was incredibly depraved and by normal
standards of behavior, literally insane. I don't see how anyone can
draw any other conclusion.
I wondered if this hatred and evil was just part of human nature or
was there more to it? Even without my Christian faith I would find it
very difficult to believe humanity is intrinsically that terrible. The
toll is just too great. There is more to this wickedness than just
human nature.
This overview is far from all-encompassing but it should help
illustrate why it is absolutely essential that the United States
maintain the strongest military on earth. We can't let our guard down.
The world is just too dangerous. This is imperative for not only the
survival of the United States but for the survival for the rest of
world as well.
http://fillmorecountyjournal.com/single.php?article_id=32551
From: Baghdasarian
Fillmore County Journal, MN
March 7 2014
By Col. Stan Gudmundson
Fri, Mar 7th, 2014
It is important to periodically reexamine humanity's hideous past to
remind us of how extremely dangerous our world is. We cannot afford
to take our country, liberty, and our way of life for granted.
The slaughter of the last 125 years or so can be divided into three,
often interrelated, categories. The first is war. Millions and millions
have lost their lives for, in most cases, literally nothing.
The second is government's murder of its own people in pursuit of
utopian fantasies. Socialists, i.e. Fascists and Communists, for
example have killed far more than 100 million of their own citizens in
Germany, Russia, China, Cuba, Cambodia, and North Korea to name a few.
Worse, in places like China, Cuba and North Korea it still goes on.
The century's death toll as a result of government's killing their
own people is far greater than that of its wars.
The third category is that of ethnic cleansing, the focus of this
editorial. The phrase "ethnic cleansing" is relatively new.
Unfortunately the process isn't.
The stereotypic view of the Jewish holocaust places virtually all of
the blame on Germans. That view is incorrect. An observer in Romania
in 1940-41 noted that the, "average Rumanian hated Jews with fury
unapproached in Germany and equaled only in Poland". There were
anti-Jewish pogroms that killed hundreds of thousands and forced
millions to flee in Croatia, Romania, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania,
Latvia, Greece, Serbia, and the Soviet Union before, during, and
after WWII.
German observers were stunned by the viciousness of Croatians. Most
its 700,000 Jews died in Croatia.
Consequently, eastern and central Europe was virtually emptied of
Jews. "Never Again" became the rallying cry. Unfortunately the reality
is more like "Again and Again".
Early in the 20th century thousands of Bulgarians were killed and
hundreds of thousands were banished by Romanians and Greeks.
During the late teens and early 20s more than two million Greeks were
thrown out of places they lived, often for centuries, by Bulgarians and
Turks. Some Greeks forced to flee Turkey didn't even speak Greek.Five
hundred thousand were also forced forever into Turkey's interior. Turks
kidnapped many of the Greek women.
Beginning in 1915, 1-1.5 million Armenians were the victims of
a Turkish genocide. Earlier, in the 1890s, Turks killed tens of
thousands. In the late 1990s a quarter of million Armenians became
refugees at the hands of Azerbaijanis. Kurds and Tatars also purged
Armenians.
In 1932-33 Ukraine suffered a terror famine under Stalin's direction.
Upwards of 7.5 million died. During the '40s at least 1.6 million
Ukrainians were displaced or killed by Romanians, Poles, and Germans.
Turks suffered at the hands of Greece, Bulgaria, and Serbia. Hundreds
of thousands were forced out of these countries. In the early '20s
at least a million left lands conquered by Greece.
Hungarians, 350-425,000 of them, were banished by Ukraine and 200,000
fled in 1956, 200-300,000 Italians were driven out of Yugoslavia,
and over a million Serbs fled at the hands of Kosovars, Croatia,
Albania, and Bulgaria.
During WWII the Soviet Union removed from the Caucasus region and
Crimea, entire Chechen, Balkar, Ingush, and Tatar populations.
According to the Soviet NKVD, 144,000 Chechens were eliminated.
Upwards of 2.5 million Poles were slaughtered or moved by Ukraine,
Germany, and the Soviet Union. At least 500,000 were sent east to
work and die in Soviet labor camps.
And the nationality subject to the largest population purge in European
history? Germans. After the WWII, 12-14 million Germans were purged
from Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia, Romania, Austria, and the
Soviet Union.
Precise death tolls as a result of "ethnic cleansing" are impossible to
tally. Movements of huge populations always caused enormous numbers
of deaths. The agony and suffering caused by starvation, rape,
pillage, and whole varieties of other inhuman treatment is beyond
description. Virtually every German woman in the area occupied by
Soviet troops was raped.
In the 1980s and '90s there were hundreds of thousands of Georgians,
Bosnians, Serbs, Croatians, Chechens, Azerbaijanis, Armenians, and
others killed or forced out of the countries they had been living in.
The hatreds are still there. Human nature has not changed. Having an
unpopular religious, ideological, ethnic, or racial heritage was and
still is enough to get one killed or purged.
During the Ottoman Empire 20 percent of its population was Christian.
Today Christians make up about 2 percent of the population in those
same areas. Having the legal status of second class citizens their
homes and businesses are being destroyed and they are being murdered.
Ancient Christian communities are being obliterated. 450,000 have
fled Syria and more than 850,000 have left Iraq. Copts in Egypt are
being slaughtered.
There are huge faultlines throughout the world that will assuredly
continue to produce the horrors of war, slaughters within countries,
and ethnic cleansing. A small sample includes Muslim v. Christian in
the Middle East but especially in Europe as a declining European
population faces a growing Muslim population, Shia v. Sunni,
nationalistic China v. its neighbors and the US, and competing hatreds
in the Caucasus. Hatred is worldwide and it is deep and long-lasting.
Americans really can't comprehend hatred of this kind. Those who think
they see racial prejudice and hatred everywhere here in the US don't
have a clue.
Years ago I began to try to understand the scale of and the reasons
for the death toll of the 20th century and the potential for the same
kinds of events for the future. I just finished another related book
"The Tragedy of Liberation" by Frank Dikotter, an account of Chinese
Revolution between 1945-1957. Mao was incredibly depraved and by normal
standards of behavior, literally insane. I don't see how anyone can
draw any other conclusion.
I wondered if this hatred and evil was just part of human nature or
was there more to it? Even without my Christian faith I would find it
very difficult to believe humanity is intrinsically that terrible. The
toll is just too great. There is more to this wickedness than just
human nature.
This overview is far from all-encompassing but it should help
illustrate why it is absolutely essential that the United States
maintain the strongest military on earth. We can't let our guard down.
The world is just too dangerous. This is imperative for not only the
survival of the United States but for the survival for the rest of
world as well.
http://fillmorecountyjournal.com/single.php?article_id=32551
From: Baghdasarian