Sudetenland, Hitler and Militant Islam
What is now the Czech Republic began as Czechoslovakia, a
nation cut from whole cloth (that being the old Austro-Hungary Empire) at the
end of World War I. It contained the
provinces of Moravia and Bohemia which, in turn, contained some 3,000,000
people of German ancestry. These Germans
were unhappy with a new nation being created that did not make them the leaders
and power brokers. They were then hit
with the paralyzing economic collapse of the Great Depression. Sudetenland is named for the Sudetes Mountains
that stretch from the Silesian coal mines to the Polish border. During the economic crises this mining area
was hit harder than the interior reaches of Czechoslovakia. Thus is the result of a one-industry economy
versus a multi-industry economy. At such
times, humans like to find a villain at whom to direct their rage. The Nazi party of Germany did that with anti-Czech,
anti-Semitic vitriol.
Life seemed
to be out of control. A loud-mouthed
opportunist was ready to put the blame on easy targets. Brainless and frenzied crowds were
manipulated to produce anarchy, violence, terrorism and political inertia. The Sudeten German (Nazi) Party was headed by
Konrad Henlein. He used the anger of the
unemployed workers to promote provocative actions and acts of disrupting
violence. The Czech government tried to
appease Henlein and his activists by giving complete autonomy to Sudetenland
and adopting a pro-German foreign policy.
Seeing how
easily things had fallen his way, Adolf Hitler insisted on more. He threatened, he postured, and recruited
the, “peace-at-any-price” crowd (who always assume that the damage done by this
attitude falls only on the deserving and never on themselves). In 1938 France, Great Britain, Germany and
Italy met in Munich to try to reach an accommodation with Hitler. These nations, in a witch’s brew of fear,
cowardice and greed forced Czechoslovakia to yield the Sudetenland to
Germany. It should come as no surprise
that Hitler’s future ally, Benito Mussolini suggested the Munich Conference and
the treaty itself was written by Hermann Goring. The British Prime Minister, Neville
Chamberlain, was certain that appeasing Hitler on this would keep him happy, occupied,
out of British hair. Give that stinking
mouse a cookie and he will stay out of the kitchen.
No, give the mouse a cookie and
he will come back for a glass of milk.
You have taught him that invasion yields reward. The Sudetenland was given to Hitler in October
of 1938. Five months later, in March of
1939, he invaded Czechoslovakia. No one
in Europe or the United States did anything except talk, talk, talk. Six months later (less than a year from when
the Sudetenland was ceded to Germany), on September 1, 1939, Hitler invaded
Poland. Europe was at war two days
later.
Throughout this entire column the
intelligent among you have seen the overwhelming parallels between what
happened at the onset of World War II and what is happening now. Evil is everywhere and Satan never
sleeps. But this should be more than a
history lesson.
I have a friend who keeps asking
me, “What are we going to do about this?”
I have his answer. We may be stuck
with history’s lessons but not history’s weapons. We have a world where no one can stay off the
grid for long. Track the money and find the
leaders. Confiscate the money. Kill the leaders. Don’t capture them, don’t torture them, and don’t
ask them a single question. Put a bullet
in their brain and send them to hell along with Henlein, Hitler, Idi Amin, all
of Boko Haram, and the whole sorry list of Satan’s apostles.
You cannot reason with killers
and keep the faith.
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