The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

One of my colleagues called this afternoon and invited me to go with him and his wife to see "The Boy In the Striped Pajamas." My wife and I went with them to this powerful statement about the most tragic part of World War II. You can look up movie reviews to get a sense of the direction of the movie. But you will have to see it to fully appreciate the way it ends. It is, to say the least, a moving experience. It is not a film to enjoy, but it one from which we can be reminded of lessons from the past. Every adult needs to see it. It is not a movie for children. 

A question that must accompany such a movie and the events it points to is, "How in the world could such a situation develop?" 

We need to realize that after World War I Germany experienced a horrendous depression. People needed wheel barrows to take their money to the grocery market. The Allies had punished Germany severely for World War I and this added to the depression. In the midst of this economic circumstance a messiah arose. Adolf Hitler promised to lead the nation to the heights to which Germany belonged. People would have to put their trust in him and follow the direction of Hitler and his henchmen. Although there was some protest, Hitler's government quickly evolved and Hitler soon declared himself the dictator of Germany.  

In order to make people feel better, Hitler led them to believe that the Jews were the real problem in the nation. To get rid of this pox on the nation, the Jews needed to be annihilated. This would solve another problem--bring a great of wealth into the hands of the government. 

In Hitler's case, Nazism became the religion of Germany with Adolf himself being the high priest of the religion. 

Such messianic scheme dot the landscape since World War II. One that started much earlier in 1917 was the Communist party in Russia. Vladimir Lenin, Trotsky, and Josef Stalin were involved in this political experiment that promised to correct the financial abuses in Russia and the wealth of the rich would be distributed among the poor. 

The Pol Pot regime in Cambodia that massacred a million people. Fidel Castro and Che Chevera led people in South America and Cuba on the basis that each man was a messiah who was going to deliver his people. Such individuals are scattered all over Africa. The results of the work of these messiahs has been horrific. 

Some wise acre once said, "Those who refuse to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them."