Dub - I had a discussion today with someone interested in history and whose origins are from a part of Europe which has suffered for being a buffer state between several great powers, repeatedly throughout history, but the latest in WWII between Russia and Germany - it's cities destroyed, in particular Warsaw; I am talking Poland here, of course. Just to quote one of many simlar historic sufferings and attrition of the Polish people, but it had at the time excited the public imagination, namely the blaming of various parties for the shooting of a large retreating party of Polish officers somewhere in a forlorn forest in Poland near the Russian border. After a controversy lasting years, as to whether it was the Germans or the Russians, it turned out in this instance - to have been Russian perfidy.
The loss of its citizenry, many Polish but mostly Jewish - and make no mistake they weren't the bad bankers or capitalists the German propaganda machine had them typecast as, they were small-town craftsmen, shopkeepers, labourers - they were the 'if I were a rich man' people sung about in 'Fiddler on the Roof' - and it is something which will never be forgotten, and we shouldn't forget either, because their victimhood is proof of the perniciousness of propaganda.
We are, these days exposed to a relentless flood of small and big falsehoods, assumptions, many repeated so often, we begin to believe them; of course the chance of being important and influential is now in the hands of ordinary citizens, many of whom are nice and kind people, but many also will take information without questioning its veracity and spread it over the internet. Technology has enabled masses of ethically neutral people flamboyantly spreading their alternative truths - simply called 'lies'.
I saw the tail-end of WWII as a child, saw a city divided, saw and avoided when I could see soldiers with weapons walking my city's streets - heard of suicides or sudden conversions to communism to avoid finger-pointing and punishment for having supported the Nazis. Later, when older, I tried to piece together this piece of bloody history which wasn't taught us at school, because a whole generation was too embarrassed to face up to their misdeeds, either real or by neglect. I then began reading a German newspaper called 'Der Spiegel' - nowadays a newspaper which has a left reputation, but then simply a passionate and necessary bringer of truths. I could not read the story of the Jewish people right to its end, it was too much for a 16-year old,l but I made an earnest attempt to understand my country's past.
This preamble is necessary to explain that I have become completely distrustful of anything in the public domain, which I cannot personally verify. Again and again our media, our politicians, vested interests have twisted and shaped public opinion - recently more blatantly than ever. It seems to me that the entire world wants Mr Putin of Russia to be this bad, bad boy who is going to attack the West and all the wonderful virtues we stand for. The West, which has in so many way become untruthful, manipulative, which no longer has the moral high ground or has lost it from the time, if you have been watching- the very least from the Fall of the Berlin Wall.
We have supported lies and allegations which if raised in a Court would have been thrown out as defamation and spurious, but because the Press, various political and perhaps even mercantile interests saw it in their interest to promote stories which were only hearsay and unproven, we were - by sheer repetition - convinced 'there must be something to it' and 'those commies are up to no good'. Even though Putin may have his faults, it is obvious his country is doing well under him, he supports the church in his country and supports conservative values - he is a far cry from being a communist and it seems his citizens are happy with him; yet we are determined to paint horns on him, preferably red ones.
It seems to me that we are being driven into a controversy in which we have to take sides again, as happens in all the preambles to a war. Do we need an enemy so badly as to use any pretext to let loose the Dogs of War - yet again?
The writer of this article is an Australian but lectures on History in England. He is also a historic researcher and has written some amazing books, some of which I have read. In particular 'The Sleepwalkers' - a book about the preamble to WWI is an eye opener, when I read it I also saw a historic series on TV about WWI produced by the ABC, which was excellent and fleshed out the people in the book. In this work Prof. Christopher Clerk is vividly describing (with lots of research and footnotes) the uncertainties, the stumblings, the 'do-we-want-to or 'dont-we' start a war; the toeing and froeing of diplomats, the late and garbled messages whispered and hinted at and not taken up, the ambitions of petty-this and that official, provincial governor, and also crowned heads who were too stupid to see beyond their very personal vainglorious reasons for seeking success at something, anything really, but war is so great, isn't it!
I am very afraid of what this present 'crisis' between the Kremlin and Poroshenko and the Western chorus of Poroshenko fans is going to inflict on us and hope you will look at this old article which was written at the beginning of the crisis in 1914, by a clear-headed Australian, Professor Christopher Clark:
