WWII

An Anniversary The West Would Rather Forget

January 27, 2024 M. K. Bhadrakumar, Consortium News. Educate! Germany, History, Nazis, Russia, Sanctions, Starvation, US Imperialism, Wars and Militarism, WWII

An epochal anniversary from the annals of modern history on Saturday remains a living memory for the Russian people. The Siege of Leningrad, arguably the most gruesome episode of the Second World War, which lasted for 900 days, was finally broken by the Soviet Red Army on Jan. 27, 1944, 80 years ago. The siege endured by more than 3 million people, of whom nearly one half died, most of them in the first six months when the temperature fell to 30° below zero. It was an apocalyptic event. Civilians died from starvation, disease and cold. Yet it was a heroic victory. Leningraders never tried to surrender even though food rations were reduced to a few slices of bread mixed with sawdust, and the inhabitants ate glue, rats — and even each other — while the city went without water, electricity, fuel or transportation and was being shelled daily.

The Language We Use To Describe Japanese American Incarceration During World War II Matters

January 16, 2024 Tamiko Nimura, Smithsonian Magazine. Educate! Concentration Camps, Criminal Justice and Prisons, History, Human Rights, Internment Camps, Japan, Pearl Harbor, Racism, Trauma, World War II, WWII

Out the front windows of our bus, we could see acres of sun-dried grasses during a hot and arid Northern California summer. On either side of the road stood barbed-wire fences, like the ones many of our family members spent years behind, surrounded by armed guards and guard towers, living in crowded tar-paper barracks with little to no privacy. “How many of you have been here before or were here during World War II?” our tour guide asked. A few Japanese Americans—in their 70s and 80s, or even older—raised their hands. Many of us were stunned by what the tour guide said next, almost in passing: “Welcome back.”

On Contact: WWII America’s Historical Myths

August 15, 2021 Chris Hedges, RT. Resistance Report Chris Hedges, Wars and Militarism, WWII

On the show this week, Chris Hedges discusses the historical myths about World War II with Danny Sjursen, Retired US Army Major, author and historian. Knowledge, or what the historian Howard Zinn called the knowledge industry, is a vital form of power. Yes, the ruling elite’s monopoly on force is a direct form of power, but just as important, as Zinn points out, is the ability to shape perceptions about our origins and identity, inculcating beliefs and narratives that legitimate and often glorify the centers of power. The knowledge industry, which consists of universities, colleges, schools and the mass media, Zinn argues, is not primarily about truth but deception. Truth is dangerous. It implodes the myths and lies used to legitimate the status quo and the ruling elite’s monopoly on violence.

A Day To Remember In St. Petersburg

May 12, 2019 Bruce K. Gagnon, Space4peace.blogspot.com Educate! History, March, Russia, WWII

Our guide for the day was Elena Ivanova who is a friend of Tanya (our guide in Crimea). They have traveled together to the US in the past on citizen diplomacy trips. Elena is a remarkable person and her eyes revealed a deep and kind soul. I walked by her side for the several hours it took to reach the parade destination at the enormous plaza by the world famous Hermitage Museum. In an email from Elena, when she sent me the photo at the very top of this post, she wrote, "Exactly 1 million, 180 thousands of people participated in the Immortal Regiment this year in St. Petersburg. Please tell your colleagues that we all in one boat on the Earth."

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