They’re not guilty of the crimes of their ancestors but they are responsible for building a more peaceful and tolerant country
When Germany talked about reuniting as one country after the fall of the Berlin Wall in late 1989, many world leaders were quite concerned, especially British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and French President François Mitterrand. But Germany wasn’t the same country it was in the first half of the 20th century, and today it isn’t…
Stalin never lost his penchant for executing his officers. In the catastrophic early days of the German invasion, he shot eight generals
Adolf Hitler launched the German invasion of the Soviet Union – Operation Barbarossa – in the early hours of June 22, 1941. Initially, it looked like a triumph. The Soviets were caught flatfooted and German troops advanced 480 km into Soviet territory within the first week. It looked like an eastern version of the blitzkrieg…
The choice should seem obvious, yet around the globe governments still spend astonishing amounts of our money building military might
When discussing global issues, there’s a proverbial, weaponized elephant in the room. The topic is central to human suffering yet we seem unwilling to discuss it: the military-industrial complex. There’s a myth that there are good guys and bad guys and if we blow up the bad guys, the world will be safer. But the…
Effective this year, the Greek government will give Greeks living abroad the right to vote in national elections
On March 25, 2021, Greece will commemorate the 200th anniversary of its national day. This bicentenary will be marked with great pomp and ceremony in Greece and in Greek communities of the diaspora around the world. Most countries celebrate their national day at the end of a revolution or the termination of hostilities after a…
A Canadian family helped solve the mystery of a teenage girl’s life and death at Auschwitz
Hana Brady could be another Anne Frank except she did not leave a diary. But the suitcase that 13-year-old left behind when she died in a gas chamber at Auschwitz concentration camp continues to teach millions of children around the world the importance of respect, empathy and compassion. It bears silent witness to the agony…
The Nazi approach rested on three pillars: popularity, tradition and coercion
The question of what Germans really thought of Adolf Hitler has been kicking around for as long as I can remember. Were Germans hoodwinked, intimidated or broadly supportive? Or was it perhaps some combination of all three? Robert Gellately is a Canadian historian who has written extensively on Nazi Germany. And his latest book, Hitler’s…
If Hitler had declared war on Japan in support of the U.S., he might have kept the U.S. out of the European war. And that would have changed history
Adolf Hitler began 1941 in a commanding position. He had 10 European conquests under his belt and just one active foe – beleaguered Britain and the members of the Commonwealth, like Canada. But by year-end, he’d added the Soviet Union and the United States to his slate of antagonists. And the declaration of war against…
More than 40,000 Ukrainian Canadians enlisted to fight overseas during the Second World War, partly to prove their patriotism. In early years of the 20th century, discrimination aimed at them was nothing short of vitriolic. During the First World War, about 80,000 Ukrainian immigrants were forced to register with the government as enemy aliens. If…
Holocaust survivor Eva Kor died in the summer of 2019 while in Poland doing one of the things she found most meaningful: touring a group of young people through the Auschwitz concentration camp. Her message remains: “Each of us has an important part to play in repairing the world. Be the change you wish to…
Until his death in 1970, Maj. Gen. Leslie R. Groves never had a single regret about the lives that were lost as a result of the Manhattan Project
Right up until practically the last minute, only an elite few knew about the building, testing and ultimate plans to drop the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. When the "gadget" was about to be tested, Maj. Gen. Leslie R. Groves – who ran the project from its inception – tried to explain it as the…
When Germany talked about reuniting as one country after the fall of the Berlin Wall in late 1989, many world leaders were quite concerned, especially British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and French President François Mitterrand. But Germany wasn’t the same country it was in the first half of the 20th century, and today it isn’t…
