Pre WWII
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The Zhengding Missionary Murder—also known as the Chengtingfu Massacre—refers to the violent abduction and killing of nine Catholic missionaries on October 9, 1937, in Zhengding (then often transliterated as Chengtingfu), Hebei Province. Occurring in the chaotic early months of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), this tragedy sits at a painful intersection of religious humanitarianism, imperial…
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Fascism, a political ideology that rose to prominence in Europe during the early 20th century, left deep imprints on the history of several countries, from Mussolini’s Italy to Hitler’s Germany and Franco’s Spain. In Ireland, however, fascism remained a relatively marginal movement, confined to small groups and figures that never gained mass political support. Yet,…
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On August 16 ,1933 Hermann Göring announced he would put an end to the unbearable torture and suffering in animal experiments. He also threatened that he would commit to concentration camps those who still thought they could continue to treat animals as inanimate property. He decried the “cruel”experiments of unfeeling scientists whose animals were operated…
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The 1936 Berlin were probably the biggest propaganda tool ever to be created by the Nazi regime, but I won’t go into the details of the actual games. I will focus on 3 people of Jewish descent. Two who survived the war and one who died a few days after the games. In 1935 the…
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On 30 September 1938, the leaders of Great Britain, France, Italy and Nazi Germany signed the Munich Agreement, handing the Sudetenland—the predominantly German-speaking border regions of Czechoslovakia—to Adolf Hitler’s Germany. The Czechoslovaks themselves were not parties to the agreement. It was presented as a settlement intended to prevent another European war. British Prime Minister Neville…
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There is a common misconception that the Nazi regime’s campaign of murder and persecution began only after the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939. In reality, the persecution of Germany’s Jews and other targeted groups began almost immediately after Adolf Hitler came to power. By April 1933, barely ten weeks after Hitler…
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I was reluctant to write this blog, mainly because of the symbolism the flag has come to represent. However, it is an important part of history, and its adoption by Nazi Germany also illustrates just how little was truly original about Nazi symbolism and ideology. The swastika itself was certainly not a Nazi invention. It…
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Unity Valkyrie Freeman-Mitford (8 August 1914 – 28 May 1948) was an English socialite best known as a devotee of Adolf Hitler. Both in Britain and Germany, she was a prominent supporter of Nazism and fascism, and formed part of Hitler’s inner circle of friends.Following the declaration of World War II, Mitford attempted suicide in Munich, and was officially allowed safe…
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It is easy to forget that the Nazis didn’t take power, they were democratically elected, although they did not shy away from using violence to secure the votes. However, despite the bullying tactics by the SA, people still had a choice to vote for the NSDAP or any other party. The General election of July…
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(Originally posted July 19, 2018) This may surprise some of you, but I have actually read Mein Kampf. Well, at least part of it. I gave up halfway through because it was boring. I recognized it for what it was: the ramblings of a delusional failed artist. Mein Kampf was published on July 18, 1925,…
