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10 Things The Nazis Got Right

A real eye-opener, though I have a serious problem with #1 (IMHO, they definitely did NOT get that one right)

http://listverse.com/2011/01/31/top-10-things-the-nazis-got-right/

 

Who Started the First World War – Part II

The multibillion-dollar question, obviously, is: Did Austro-Hungary really had to declare war on Serbia (everybody in Vienna, Belgrade and everywhere else knew that there was no way in the world Serbia would accept the ultimatum so the war was a foregone conclusion when it was issued)?

The answer, unfortunately, is Yes. Yes, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had no other choice but to declare war on Kingdom of Serbia. Not doing so would have been to demonstrate a critical weakness which would have immediately resulted in more terrorist acts – and even in uprisings in the Imperial provinces on the Balkans – Croatia, Bosnia, Slovenia – and possibly even in other provinces.

The problem (of which both Vienna and Berlin have been well aware of) was that by declaring the war on the Kingdom of Serbia, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was inevitably starting the European War. The Great War in Europe. And as French and British colonies and dominions were to be automatically drawn into the war, the World War. The future First World War.

Why? Because there was no way in the world the Serbian government would have approved the Sarajevo assassination (and Apis for all practical purposes was the Serbian government in such strategic matters) without getting an approval guaranteed support from a very powerful external ally. And everybody in Europe knew who this ally was.

Russia. The Russian Empire. The largest and the most populous country in Europe (if not in the whole civilized world). With the largest army in Europe – by far.

Why did the Russian government approve of the plot that would have inevitably led the country into war with the Austro-Hungarian Empire (and, therefore, with Germany)? Because it had its own very compelling reasons for starting a new Great European War. And it was certain that it will be supported by two very powerful allies – France and the British Empire.

Why would the Russian empire want to start a new European war? First, there was the usual domination issue (‘the king of the European hill’). The Balkan hill for starters and later of the whole Europe – after the inevitable dissolution and destruction of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (that at the time was all but falling apart and needed just one external push) and weakening of its primary ally (Germany). Well, initially not the king by itself, but in an alliance with France and (to a lesser extent) with Britain, but still… well, you get the picture.

By June 1914, such an alliance (the so-called Triple Entente) has already been in existence for seven years. However, having an alliance was one thing, but convincing the allies to support the war with the Triple Alliance (of Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Italy) was quite another. How in the world did the Russian government managed to accomplish that?

With France, the job was relatively simple. It was enough (probably more than enough) to utter two key words: Alsace and Lorraine.  After its defeat in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71, France lost these territories to Germany. And very obviously wanted them back.

No less obviously, the only way to get these territories back was through a new war with Germany and its allies. Which France – in partnership with Russia – fully expected to win. Especially with Britain joining the fun – and the latter had no other choice but to do so (because of the treaties between these nations and general aversion to German domination of the continent).

There was one more incentive for all three nations to go to war. The Ottoman Empire which was also falling apart and was, therefore, up for grabs. Russia wanted the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles straits that were vital for the Russian foreign trade (in 1914, about 80% of its exports went through these straits). And Britain and France wanted the Arab territories outside Turkey.

It is highly doubtful that Russia informed French and British governments about the Sarajevo assassination plot in advance; however, it did manage to convince both governments that if something like that would happen, both governments would support Serbia and Russia. Which they actually did!

The person responsible for this very impressive diplomatic achievement (and thus for the commencement of the First World War) was one of the most brilliant diplomats in Russian (and possibly European) history. Sergei Dmitrievich Sazonov.

Who had a skillful, energetic and devoted accomplice (more like lieutenant) in Belgrade, Russian ambassador to the Kingdom of Serbia Nicholas Hartwig (Baron Nikolai Genrikhovich Hartwig).

An ardent Pan-Slavist, Baron Hartwig was said to be “more Serbian than the Serbs” and in the period prior to World War I was thought by many to practically control the policy of the Serbian government (obviously sharing it to a significant extent with the “shadow government” of Colonel Dimitrijević and his Black Hand). However, for obvious reasons of military, economic and industrial might, the Black Hand was no less obviously a very much junior partner in this arrangement.

Interestingly enough, even anti-German propagandists (i.e., mainstream historians) admit that Baron Hartwig “may be seen as one of the causes of the war”. Well, yes – together with two other causes of this war – Russian Foreign Minister Sazonov and Serbian Colonel Dimitrijević. In this case, the cause of the war did have both first and last names – three of each.

The initial idea for the assassination plot most likely came from Apis (he was, after all, a professional in these matters). Probably long before actual assassination. During the so-called Saloniki trial, Apis confessed to the Serbian Military Court that he ordered the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in his position as head of the Intelligence Department and that the assassination was planned with the knowledge and approval of Nikolai Hartwig and the Russian military attaché in Belgrade Viktor Artamonov.

Which was very probably true (although the trial itself was… well, not up to the highest judicial standards). More like one of Stalin’s show trials (or the ‘main’ Nuremberg trial, for that matter). All defendants were found guilty of planning and executing the Sarajevo assassination. Apis and eight of his associates were sentenced to death; two others were sentenced to 15 years in prison.

These sentences, however, were considered quite a bit harsh, so the Serbian High Court reduced the number of death sentences to seven. Regent Alexander commuted four of the remaining death sentences, leaving just three death sentences in place.

Apis and two his closest associates were executed 26 June 1917 by a firing squad. Baron Hartwig very conveniently died on the 10^th of July, 1914 (roughly two weeks after the Saraevo assassination), officially of a massive heart attack. Interestingly enough, while visiting the Baron von Giesl, Austrian ambassador to Belgrade.

The Serbian press immediately published several inflammatory articles accusing the Austrians of poisoning Hartwig while he was a guest at their embassy. Although he very well might be poisoned, the right place to look for culprits, must be, IMHO, a bit closer to home.

After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Sergei Sazonov emigrated to France (no surprise here). He died in 1927 in Nice. Interestingly enough, even some ‘mainstream’ historians place the blame for an early and provocative mobilization of Russian troops (which transformed the initially purely local conflict into a full-fledged European war) squarely on Sazonov’s shoulders.

Obviously, before giving their approval to the assassination plot, Hartwig had to clear it with his boss Sazonov and Artamonov – with his boss Major General Nikolai Yanushkevich (Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Imperial Army).

Which they obviously did – and Apis got their approval. And went ahead with his assassination plan. Which, in turn, triggered the chain of events which in just over a month started the First World War.

On 28 July 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. The very next day Russia unilaterally declared – outside of the conciliation procedure stipulated in the Franco-Russian military agreements – partial mobilization against Austria-Hungary. Which for all practical purposes was the same as declaring war on the latter.

On the 30th, Russia ordered general mobilization against Germany. Which again was essentially the same as the declaration of war. Consequently, contrary to the popular misconception, de-facto Russia declared war on Germany, not the other way around (which was only de-jure).

German Kaiser Wilhelm II asked his cousin, Russian Emperor Nicolas II, to suspend the Russian general mobilization. When the latter refused, Germany issued an ultimatum demanding the same thing plus a commitment not to support Serbia. Russia promptly refused again, so on 1 August Germany ordered general mobilization and declared war on Russia.

Did Germany had a choice? Was declaring war on Russia its only choice? Yes, it was, because by itself Austro-Hungarian Empire stood no chance against combined Russian and Serbian forces supported by inevitable French financial and other assistance.

And after the inevitable defeat of its ally, Germany by itself again stood no chance against combined Russian (on the Eastern front) and French (on the Western front) forces. So it had no choice but to come to the defense of Austro-Hungarian Empire. In other words, both nations were forced into the war – Austria-Hungary by the Sarajevo assassination and Germany by the Russian mobilization.

Hoping against hope to avoid war with France, Germany sent an ultimatum to France, demanding her not to support Russia, if the latter were to come to the defense of Serbia (which the latter essentially already did). France, apparently anxious to return Alsace and Lorraine (and to punish Germany for annexing them), responded by mobilizing its reserves, thus de-facto declaring war on Germany.

Germany responded by mobilizing its own reserves and implementing Aufmarsch II West (a modified version of the now famous Schlieffen Plan). Which was a sensible thing to do given that Germany and France were now de-facto in the state of war.

Following the directives of this plan, Germany attacked Luxembourg on 2 August and on 3 August declared war on France de-jure. On 4 August, after Belgium refused to permit German troops to cross its borders into France (not a smart thing to do, as it turned out), Germany declared war on Belgium as well.

Which gave Britain a desired casus belli. His Majesty government issued an ultimatum to Germany that Belgium must be kept neutral (which was impossible to accept if Germany wanted to win the war on the Western front – which it obviously did).

Germany replied; Britain considered the reply “unsatisfactory” (no surprises here) and on August 4^th declared war on Germany. The First World War was now officially on. Courtesy of Russia, Serbia, France and Britain. Probably in this very order, although Serbia, Russia, etc. night also be a possibility.

True, all major (and probably some minor) European powers were consent with going to war. Some maybe even wanted it – for one reason or the other. But consenting to the war (and even wanting it) was one thing, but actually provoking it was quite another.

So the correct answer to the titular question is: The First World War was started by a very unholy alliance of Russia and Serbia (and some Yugoslav nationalists in Bosnia) assisted and supported by France and to a much lesser extent by Britain.

Therefore, the punishment of Germany stipulated in the Treaty of Versailles and administered by the victors was not only horrendously savage but totally unjust and unfair. No wonder Germans (all Germans, not just Nazis) developed a very powerful and irresistible (and very much understandable, if not justified) desire for revenge.

Which in just 20 years led to the Second World War.

Who Started the First World War – Part I

‘Mainstream’ historians implicitly (and often quite explicitly) state that the Great War (the First World War) was started by Germany. More precisely, by the German Empire (the ‘Second Reich’). Anti-German propaganda (sorry, the ‘mainstream’ history of the first half of the XX century) goes even further – by stating that Germany started both World Wars and thus was the arch-villain of the XX century (if not of the whole history of mankind).

In one of my previous posts I debunked beyond the reasonable doubt the common and persistent myth that Germany started the Second World War. In reality, Germany started only a brief German-Polish war (by invading Poland on September 1^st, 1939).

World War 2 began two days later when both France and Britain declared war on Germany. Which automatically brought into the war numerous colonies of both nations (including such enormously populous nations as India which at that time included present-day Pakistan and Bangladesh) and the dominions of Great Britain (Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa).

Which no less automatically transformed a very much local conflict between two neighboring nations into a global armed conflict – the Second World War.

Now let’s debunk one more very common and very popular myth. The myth that Germany started the First World War. Let’s start with a sequence of key events that ended ‘the last summer of Europe’ and started the bloodiest and the most destructive conflict in human history (prior to the Second World War, of course).

On 28 June 1914 Bosnian terrorist Gavrilo Princip – member of a no less terrorist organization Mlada Bosna (‘Young Bosnia’) – assassinated in Sarajevo (the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina) Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (heir to the throne of Austro-Hungarian Empire) and his wife Sophie.

Not surprisingly, Austria-Hungary subsequently issued an ultimatum (considered quite reasonable even by today’s antiterrorism standards) to the Kingdom of Serbia (which at that time was essentially a terrorist state not much different from a present-day so-called Palestine National Authority – PNA).

Not that much different because PNA quite openly calls for the destruction of Israel and the Kingdom of Serbia also quite publicly advocated the destruction of Austro-Hungarian Empire (by annexing its Balkan provinces and their subsequent incorporation into a ‘Greater Serbia’ – or Yugoslavia).

This dream came true on 1 December 1918 in Belgrade, where the jubilant Serbian leaders proclaimed the creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes which ten years later was officially renamed the “Kingdom of Yugoslavia”.

Not surprisingly, the Kingdom of Serbia rejected the Austrian ultimatum (PNA would have done the same with any Israeli ultimatum). Well, formally Serbia rejected certain parts of it, which according to international law meant rejection of the ultimatum in its entirety. Which left Austria-Hungary with no other choice but to declare war on the Kingdom of Serbia. Which it did on July 28^th, 1914.

Why did Austro-Hungarian Empire issue the ultimatum in question to the Kingdom of Serbia in the first place? Because Mlada Bosnia was run by the Black Hand – a secret Serbian military society which was essentially a front for the Serbian Military Intelligence (SMI) run by a certain Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijević who for all practical purposes was the ‘shadow ruler’ of Serbia.

Why so? Because it was Colonel Dimitrijević who in 1903 brought to power the then-king of Serbia Peter I by… storming the royal palace and assassinating the previous king (Alexander I) and his wife Queen Draga. Seems like Apis (“Bull”) had a thing for assassinating royal couples. Not surprisingly, after that coup d’etat no Serbian politician dared to oppose the bullish Colonel.

Unfortunately for the Colonel and for the whole Serbia (and quite probably for all Europe), his involvement in the Sarajevo assassination turned out to be not that secret. The Austrian Secret Police conducted a very swift and very efficient investigation of the assassination and promptly arrested not just one, but several members of the Black Hand (actually, Serbian intelligence officers) who took part in plotting and executing the assassination.

Under a thorough and skilled interrogation by the Austrian authorities, these officers stated that three men from Serbia (Dimitrijević, Milan Ciganović, and Major Voja Tankosić) were behind the plot. Apparently, captured officers produced enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it was the Serbian government who was behind the assassination attempt.

Hence the ultimatum – and the subsequent declaration of war. But, alas, the fun did not stop there. The fun has not even started yet.

Was WW2 Inevitable?

According to anti-Nazi propaganda (sorry, the ‘mainstream’ version of history), Nazi Germany bore the sole responsibility for the outbreak of the Second World War. Consequently, the WW2 could have been avoided had someone either prevented the Nazis from coming to power in Germany (e.g., a united Communist/Social Democratic coalition in the Reichstag or Reichspresident von Hindenburg) or taken this power away from them (e.g., Reichswehr or Wehrmacht via a military coup d’etat or Britain & France via a military invasion).

The only problem with this theory is that it is completely wrong. World War 2 in Europe (the Second Great War) was inevitable – and not because Hitler wanted it (he didn’t). But because Stalin wanted it. And not just wanted it, but created the military-industrial complex (at that time the most powerful in history) that made it actually possible to fight this war – and win it.

Stalin was so determined to start the global war that nobody and nothing (short of unexpected death from natural causes) could stop him. Consequently, even if some internal or external power put an end to Nazi regime (or prevented it in the first place), it would not have prevented the WW2. Just the opposite, it would have ensured the subsequent Stalin’s victory – and the end of the human civilization as we know it.

Hitler and the Nazis knew that Germany was one of the first (right after Poland) to be attacked by Bolshevik hordes (it almost happened in 1920 when only the ‘Miracle on the Vistula’ saved Germany and the whole Europe from being occupied by the Soviets). Ironically, the man who saved the Germany from Bolshevik occupation and destruction was no other than Marshal Józef Piłsudski – the sworn enemy of Germany.

Hence, the Fuhrer had no illusions: in order to save his Fatherland from invasion, occupation and inevitable destruction by the Soviet Union, he had to perform a miracle of his own – in the shortest possible time create the military-industrial complex capable of defeating its Soviet counterpart.

Which – for all practical purposes – meant being able to launch a preventive lightning strike and win the blitzkrieg in the shortest possible time. And that’s exactly what Adolf Hitler did.

Consequently, the answer to this question is: Yes, it was inevitable. And it had nothing to do with Hitler and Nazi Germany – and everything to do with Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union.

Why Did Hitler Invade the Soviet Union?

The answer (not surprisingly) depends on whom you ask. The ‘mainstream’ historian will tell you that Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union because it wanted to create sufficient Lebensraum (‘living space’) for its citizens (at the expense of the latter).

More specifically, to establish control (although ‘ownership’ would probably be a much better word) over agricultural (fertile land, livestock, etc.), natural (oil, metals, timber, etc.), human and other resources of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. In short, according to ‘mainstream’ historians, invasion of the Soviet Union was pretty much a typical colonial war aimed at making a significant chunk of Soviet territory a colony of the Third Reich.

The ‘revisionist’ historian will say that Hitler invaded the Soviet Union to save his Fatherland (and the whole Europe – if not the whole world) from invasion, occupation and subsequent destruction by the ‘Red Tamerlane’ Joseph Stalin and his Bolshevik hordes. Consequently, the war on the Eastern front was essentially a holy war for Hitler and Nazi Germany.

Who is right? Interestingly enough, both are. With a minor correction – being a national sociopath, Adolf Hitler could not have cared less about the well-being about any nation other than his (literally) beloved Germany. Let alone Europe or the world.

Actually, there is one more, far more interesting question: Did Hitler really have a choice or did he have to invade the Soviet Union? And the only historically correct answer which fits the indisputable facts, rock-solid logic and the good old common sense is No. Regardless of whether Hitler even asked himself this question or not (most likely, he didn’t).

No, Hitler had no other choice but to invade the Soviet Union and thus to launch the de-facto pre-emptive war. In September of 1939, Britain and France had the choice whether to declare war in Germany or not but in June of 1941 Nazi Germany had no choice.

It had to invade the Soviet Union because Stalin was about to attack Germany regardless of what Hitler did – or didn’t – do. In fact, Stalin almost did invade Germany – there is very strong evidence (which I will cover in one of my future posts) that Hitler beat him by 24 hours (or even less).

Hence, the correct answer to this question is: It does not matter.

Who Committed the First War Crime in WW2?

Mainstream historians implicitly create an impression that Nazi Germany was the only nation that committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during the WW2 in Europe (and Japan – in the Far East, correspondingly).

Implicitly because this is simply not true. In reality, all major powers (and even minor, of you add the immediate aftermath of the war into equation) committed horrible war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war. It is a well-established and totally indisputable historical fact that I will cover in detail in one of my future posts.

Interestingly enough, Nazi Germany was not even the first belligerent country to commit a war crime. The first war crime of WW2 was committed… by Poland on September 3^rd  1939 – two days after Nazi Germany invaded that nation and right on the very same day when Britain and France declared war of Germany (thus transforming a very much manageable local conflict between neighboring nations into a full-scale Great War). The Second World War.

This war crime came to be called the Bromberger Blutsonntag (‘Bloody Sunday in Bromberg’). As it is typical in almost all such incidents, an account of what actually happened depends heavily on ‘who is writing’. Hence, German and Polish versions of events are… well, different.

Given the general situation of the first days of this brief German-Polish war, the most probable version is something like this. In the morning of September 3^rd the contingent of the Polish Army was withdrawing through Bromberg (currently Polish city of Bydgoszcz) and was attacked by German commandos (operating behind the enemy lines) supported by some armed German citizens of the city (the ‘insurgents’, if you will).

There was an exchange of gunfire which resulted in some heavy Polish losses and in a complete extermination of their German opponents. When the Polish soldiers (and officers) and some local Polish citizens discovered that they have been fired upon by their ‘good German neighbors’, they got so outraged that they massacred all German citizens of the city they could lay their hands on.

The death toll, according to different sources, was anywhere from around 100 (Polish estimates) to over 1,700 (German estimates). The latter, however, includes the number of Germans who died during the subsequent so-called ‘death marches’.

Unfortunately, the Poles did not stop there. They continued wholesale killings of their ‘good German neighbors’ and by the end of the German-Polish war, murdered about 5,000, according to American historian Alfred-Maurice de Zayas – probably the leading expert on war crimes against Germans and their allies.

Not surprisingly, German reprisals were horrendous. Right after taking Bromberg and discovering war crimes committed by Poles, German military units of the Einsatzgruppen, Waffen SS, and Wehrmacht executed between 200 and 400 Poles practically ‘on the spot’.

Interestingly enough, there was an actual investigation of the events by German military authorities – and even a formal, official trial. According to German historian Christian Raitz von Frentz, 876 Poles were tried by German military tribunal for their alleged involvement in the events of Bloody Sunday before the end of 1939. 87 men and 13 women were sentenced to death without the right to appeal and promptly executed. Whether they were actually guilty, is a very big question, but there is evidence that German military tribunals (unlike the Soviet ones) at least tried to conduct fair trials.

All in all, it is estimated that more than 20,000 Polish citizens of Bydgoszcz (14% of the population) were either executed or died in concentration camps during the occupation. The Bromberger Blutsonntag, not surprisingly, heavily influenced the whole German program for the so-called ‘pacification’ of Poland (Nazis were always really big on vengeance) which resulted in the death toll of over 800,000 (!) Poles.

It did not cause this program, of course (Nazis had been planning mass murders of Polish nationals as early as in Spring of 1939), but it did influence it. It is highly probable that without the ‘Bloody Sunday’ and subsequent mass murders of Germans in Poland, the number of casualties of German reprisals would have been much lower.

Who Started World War II and When?

According to the ’mainstream’ history of the WW2, the Second World War broke out when Nazi Germany attacked Poland. Hence, the answer to this question appears to be obvious: WW2 was started by Nazi Germany on September 1^st, 1939. Right?

Wrong. Dead wrong, in fact. On September 1^st, 1939, Nazi Germany started a local war with the neighboring Poland (exactly why it did so is an interesting question that I will cover in one of the following posts). The Second World War started on September 3^rd, 1939, when France (and especially Britain) declared war on Germany. It is a very little understood, but nevertheless indisputable historical fact.

Why is it so? Because by declaring war on Germany, Britain essentially forced all its colonies and dominions (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and India – which at that time included present-day Pakistan and Bangladesh) to do the same. So did France – to its colonies. Which almost instantly (actually, by September 10^th) transformed a significant but still very much local armed conflict into a full-fledged world war.

‘Mainstream’ historians would say that because Britain and France on March 31^st 1939 pledged support to guarantee Polish independence and on August 25^th Britain and Poland signed the so-called Agreement of Mutual Assistance, both governments had no choice but to declare war on the ‘German aggressor’. As this agreement promises of mutual military assistance between the nations in the event either was attacked by some “European country” (according to then-secret protocol, very specifically Germany).

Unfortunately for the ‘mainstream’ historians, there was a small problem with that guarantee. Lord Halifax – then Foreign Secretary of the British government, on the very next day after that agreement was signed, quite openly stated: “We do not think this guarantee will be binding“.

Polish publicist Stanisław Mackiewicz stated in the late 1940s: “To accept London’s guarantees was one of the most tragic dates in the history of Poland. It was a mental aberration and madness“.

These two statements are more than enough to kill the arguments of mainstream historians right then and there.

In terms of Realpolitik, it meant that the British government by no means considered itself to be bound to offering any military assistance to Poland if the latter is attacked by Germany (let alone declare war on the Third Reich).

Which means that there was nothing ‘automatic’ about the decision by British government to declare war on Nazi Germany on September 3^rd, 1939 (ditto for the French government). It was a deliberate choice to go to war – and a very strange choice at that. At least for Britain.

Why? Because Hitler on literally dozens of occasions made it loud and clear, plain and simple that he had no desire to have war with Britain and that the Third Reich did not and never would be a threat – neither to the territory of the United Kingdom proper nor to its dominions and colonies (Poland was obviously neither). France was (no less obviously) an entirely different matter due to the Alsace-Lorraine issue.

Both Britain and France essentially bluffed when they ‘guaranteed Polish independence’, because there was no way they could have prevented a quick and decisive defeat of Poland. iHiHitler obviously knew that and called their bluff by invading, defeating and occupying Poland – all in less than a month.

And on September 17^th when the Soviet Union invaded Poland through the eastern Polish border, the Poles got another iron proof of the cynicism of the British government.

On that day, the Polish ambassador in London, Edward Raczyński, contacted the British Foreign Office pointing out that clause 1(b) of the abovementioned agreement which concerned an “aggression by a European power” on Poland, should apply to the Soviet invasion. The Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax calmly responded that the obligation of British Government towards Poland arising out of the Anglo-Polish Agreement, was restricted to Germany, according to the first clause of the secret protocol.

The French were not much better (if not worse). According to Polish historian Piotr Zychowicz, French ambassador to Poland, Leon Noel, as early as October 1938 wrote: “It is of utmost importance that we remove from our obligations everything that would deprive French government the freedom of decision on the day when Poland finds itself in war with Germany“. French foreign minister Georges Bonnet reassured Noel, writing that “our agreement with Poland is full of [deliberate] gaps, [which we] needed to keep our country away from war“.

Which proves beyond the reasonable doubt that the decision by British and French governments to declare war on Nazi Germany had little (if anything at all) to do with German invasion of Poland. Exactly why they did that (and whether it was a good idea) is a subject for one of my future posts, but it is painfully clear that neither government was forced by Hitler to declare war.

It was a conscientious, not automatic decision which means that the Second World War, indeed, was started not by Nazi Germany on September 1^st, 1939, but by Britain and France on September 3^rd, 1939.

Jews in Germany and Japanese in the USA

http://listverse.com/2014/10/25/10-shameful-truths-about-japanese-american-internment/

Prior to the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, there was a lot of similarities (as well as some crucial differences) in the way of how and why the Nazis treated Jews after the beginning of WW2 and how the US government treated its citizens of Japanese ethnicity after it entered the war. In fact, the latter was much worse than the former (as the article above clearly shows).

The USA declared the war on Japan – and the World Jewish Organization declared war on Germany and the German people (as early as in 1933 – right after Adolf Hitler came to power). In 1939 – right after the Great Britain declared war on Nazi Germany – the same World Jewish Organization publicly (in The London Times, of all newspapers) publicly announced that all Jews in the world will support His Majesty Government in its war against Germany.

There was a major difference, obviously, because WJO was NOT the government of Jewish people (who at that time didn’t even have their own state); however, in the eyes of the Nazis it was one and the same thing – due to certain peculiarities of Nazi ideology (‘the Nazi racial theory’). And perceptions, as we all know, are the only reality.

So up until July 1941, Nazis reacted in much the same way. This explains, by the way, why an overwhelming majority of Germans (with the exception of those who directly carried out mass murders of Jews – of which there were never more than 10,000) had no idea about Holocaust.

They knew about the way the Americans treated the Japanese and just assumed (incorrectly, as it turned out) that the Nazis (who put a very tight lid of secrecy on mass murders) were doing the same thing (actually, for about two years they had been doing exactly that).

There was another very important difference. While the US government was totally wrong in its assumption that their citizens of Japanese ethnicity were a ‘fifth column’ of the enemy and thus an ‘internal threat’ to its security (they were not) and therefore simply had to be interned in concentration camps, the Nazis had every reason to believe that the Jews in occupied territories (and even in Germany) were such a threat.

Hence the internment (but not murder, of course!) of Jews by the Nazis was a perfectly logical decision based on sound risk management principles and procedures.

Abba Kovner and ‘the Other Six Million’

Everybody (well, almost everybody) knows that the Nazis and their accomplices killed six million Jews. But few know that the Jews almost killed six million Germans in September 1945 – right after the end of World War II.

The idea was as simple as it was horrible: to poison water supplies of four major German cities, including Nuremberg – the ‘Nazi cradle’ with enough toxic substance to kill six million Germans. An eye for an eye. The other three cities to be attacked were Hamburg, Frankfurt and Munich.

The simple thought that thousands and thousands of Allied troops stationed in these cities (who earlier that year saved European Jews from complete annihilation) apparently did not bother the conspirators in the slightest.

This ‘brilliant’ idea belonged to a certain Abba Kovner – somewhat of a legend of Jewish wartime armed resistance. A poet, writer and Jewish political activist, he put together and became a leader of one of the few Jewish guerilla groups that actively fought the Nazis.

From September 1943 until the arrival of the Soviet army in July 1944, Kovner commanded a guerilla force called the Avengers (“Nokmim“) in the forests near Vilnius (Lithuania) and engaged in sabotage and guerrilla attacks against the Germans and their local collaborators.

At the end of the war, Kovner became obsessed with the idea of avenging the deaths of all Jews murdered by the Nazis according to the Old Testament principle “an eye for an eye”. For this purpose, he formed a secret organization he called Nakam (revenge), also known as Dam Yisrael Noter (“the blood of Israel avenges”, with the acronym DIN meaning “judgement”).

Its primary plan was to kill exactly six million Germans (one for each Jewish victim of the Holocaust) by poisoning the water supplies of Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich, and Nuremberg. In pursuit of this plan, Nakam members were infiltrated into water and sewage plants in these cities, while Kovner went to Palestine in search of a sufficient quantities of a suitable poison.

According to Kovner’s own account, Chaim Weizmann (later the first president of an independent Israel) approved the idea and put Kovner in touch with the scientist Ernst Bergmann, who gave the job of preparing poison to Ephraim Katzir (later president of Israel) and his brother Aharon.

After sufficient quantities of poison were manufactured, the substance was concealed in the cargo of condensed milk cans and put on the British ship bound for Germany.

However, the revenge did not happen. Apparently, Jewish leaders in Palestine who knew of this plan got (rightfully) horrified by the inevitable consequences of the plan and tipped off the British military police. Kovner was arrested on board the ship but at the last moment managed to throw the whole deadly cargo overboard, leaving the British with no hard evidence. Who reluctantly had to let him go.

Jewish leaders (specifically David Ben-Gurion, then head of the Jewish Agency and later Israel’s first prime minister) got terrified not because they cared about the lives of German civilians. They didn’t. They were scared to death because they knew for a fact that Judeophobia in Europe and elsewhere was so rampant that the terrorist act (let’s call a spade a spade) of such magnitude committed by the Jews would have meant a certain death sentence for the latter. All of them. Worldwide.

All major nations would have quickly and efficiently finished what the Nazis had started. Abba Kovner and his co-conspirators, blinded by the idea of revenge (the deadly sin of hatred) simply did not understand it.

Nakim still managed to commit one unsuccessful act of revenge – on a much smaller scale. In April 1946, members of Nakam broke into a bakery used to supply bread for the Langwasser internment camp near Nuremberg, where many German POWs (mostly Waffen SS which had nothing to do whatsoever with the Holocaust) were being held.

Nakam members attempted to coat all bread loaves with arsenic but were disturbed and fled before finishing their work. More than 2,200 of the German POWs fell ill and 207 were hospitalized, but no deaths were reported.

Interestingly enough, Abba Kovner is considered a hero in Israel to this day. Apparently, no one there is bothered by the fact that this character was a madman with a mentality of a mass murderer which made him no different than Himmler or Heydrich. The only difference was that he failed (through no fault of his own) and they succeeded.

This incident also proves that the idea of killing millions of innocent civilians as a reprisal for crimes committed by a few thousand is still very much alive and well. And that the Nazis by no means had a monopoly on such unspeakably horrible ideas.