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Brian O Connor

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  1. Hi John, I think that Autism is a possible explanation and well worth further investigation. On the Zionist movement, I believe that the original principles and the ideal were honestly held and intended to be fulfilled in a peaceful and accommodating way in harmony with the Palestinians. Conflict and change occurred in the 20s and 30s with Arab agitation and Jewish reprisals by militant groups such as the Stern and Irgun groups. And, the conflict continues today. The Palestinian homeland issue needs to be resolved, but when the opportunity was given the neighbouring Arab States couldn’t agree; to me it seems that for the most part all that they can agree on is their animosity towards Israel. Sorry, still haven’t gotten round to reading the chapter on Stalins plans to attack Germany in `41, but will get back to you on this.
  2. Hi John, if we are talking about the early period then we will just have to disagree. Although, someone said that as Moses had taken them 40 years up dead ends and back again then his route over Uganda might also have worked. But, the idea of Palestine as the true home of Israel is one that cant be argued with today.
  3. Hi John, I don’t know enough about autism to be able to offer any opinion for the moment. Regarding “the application of Zionism”, at least during its infancy in the period of the1880s up to the mid 1930s, I cannot agree that it in any way equates to terrorism. In fact, I believe that the philosophy of Zionism and the ideal behind the founding of the State of Israel was one of peaceful settlement, non confrontation, tolerance of and accommodation with those non Jews affected by the foundation of the State. But, you are probably talking about the period since then and up to the present. The late 30s up to `48 including a “dirty war” between Jewish militants responding to Arab nationalist attacks is a murky period and there were horrific atrocities committed by both sides. I think that a mistake was made in not partitioning the country in 1948, but this was not agreeable to the Arab side, which refused to accept an independent Israel, and thought it could solve the problem through war. For me, the term Zionist stands today, for Israeli nationalism and Israel’s right to exist and defend itself. I am not defending Israel’s stance on settlements or its actions during the Intifadas or the Lebanon invasion, and I know that you will find many Zionists who are appalled and ashamed by this as well. Probably more important than searching for a reason behind Schickelgrubers insanity, maybe I should have looked at the trauma suffered by Israelis today, born into the world to find out that their people have been discriminated against and persecuted for millennia, pogrom after pogrom, culminating in the holocaust. Just saw the "Edit"; I meant that Hitlers industrialist financial backers may well have believed that he could be kept in check and would be a more advantageous prospect than the communist alternative they feared. And, that maybe not recognising his hold on the Nazis, probably assumed that he would be prevented from carrying out his more extreme policies.
  4. Hi John, I agree Hitler and the Nazis were welcome allies to the industrialists worried at the growing strength of communism during the 20`s and early 30`s and the implications for them if communism were to gain superiority. They were happy supporting the supposedly controllable Hitler. When I say “socialist” Zionism, I mean "my" interpretation of the philosophic principles behind and the method by which Zionists proposed to achieve the establishment of the State of Israel. The first pioneer communities and settlements in Palestine were a pooling of the individuals resources and labour with each individual receiving a share of the product according to his needs. A philosophy developed in response to and in spite of centuries of terrible discrimination and violence against the Jews, who seeking emancipation for themselves developed a utopian ideal of communal living and self help with tolerance of outsiders. Other Jews disagreed with the idea of a solely nationalist solution, and like Trotsky sought, an international socialist revolution. I looked up Hitler and Autism on Wikipedia and came across this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler%...h#Mental_health , where Michael Fitzgerald, an expert in autism spectrum disorders concuded that Hitlers profile fits all the criteria of Asparagers syndrome.
  5. Hi John, you`re right and I haven't been able to find the WW1 catastrophic battle event which might have triggered or caused Hitlers lust for revenge. I have now returned to thinking that the period around the time of his birth and up to the war is just as important in understanding the development of his character and state of mind. The period was marked by an upsurge in and continued anti-Semitism throughout Austria and Europe. The world Zionist conferences began and the development of socialist Zionism continued to grow during the 1880`s and afterwards (an amazingly utopian idea and the model for the rebirth of Israel). I suppose that Hitlers need to blame others for his own shortcomings will have found an easy scapegoat in the Jews and the Jewish socialist politics which he hated. (There is also the theory that his mother was in the care of a Jewish doctor at the time of her death and that this contributed to his hatred). But, I have to agree that the conclusion is, that the root cause of his hatred lay in the perceived treachery of the surrender and the oppressive nature of the Versailles settlement, with all of his other pent up angers and humiliations finally finding vent in his need to revenge these events.
  6. Hi again John, came accross this on the great Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analysis_of_t...f_Adolph_Hitler Analysis of the Personality of Adolph Hitler From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Analysis of the Personality of Adolph [sic] Hitler: With Predictions of His Future Behavior and Suggestions for Dealing with Him Now and After Germany's Surrender was a report was prepared by Henry A. Murray for the United States Office of Strategic Services during World War II. see http://library.lawschool.cornell.edu/WhatW...er-Section1.pdf
  7. Hi John, came accross two specific events which seem to have helped convincing Hitler that he was on the path of destiny . http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/aslowfuse.htm "Hitler, given his personality, became obsessed (obsessed even in the eyes of fellow veterans!) with an idea that he was being preserved by a divine force. Later, as Fuhrer, he would emphasise a number of examples that backed his beliefs. In the first case, Hitler recalled how a mysterious voice had told him to leave a crowded dugout during a minor barrage. Within minutes of walking out into the trenches an incoming shell flattened the bunker killing all of its occupants. The second and even stranger event occurred either at the beginning or the end of the war (records are confused). Private Henry Tandey, a highly decorated British soldier, was presented with a clear shot of Hitler trying to get back to his lines. Instead of pulling the trigger, the Englishman let him go - a moment of compassion that perversely sentenced the world to further suffering. Hitler, having seen Tandey lower his rifle, felt that the gods of war had intervened on his behalf and, strange as it may seem, had a picture of his 'saviour' hung on a wall at Berchtesgaden." Will get around to the chapter on Stalins plan to attack Germany soon ( sorry, I am a bit stuck for time at the moment) See you
  8. Hi John, the letter can be found in "Hess: Schicksal in Briefen" page 18/19 Hess, Rudolf - Hess, Ilse: ENGLAND NÜRNBERG SPANDAU. Ein Schicksal in Briefen. Leoni, Druffel.Verlag 1967. Otherwise, to be seen in "Botengang Eines Toren" Rainer F Schmidt page 53/54 The Soviet attack plans are discussed in "Botengang Eines Toren" (A fools errand) Chapter 8 Zwischen Abwarten und Angriff- Stalins Antwort auf den Hess-Flug. (Caught between waiting and attack- Stalins answer to the Hess flight) Page 262 discusses the troop movements on the Soviet side: The situation in the west had radically changed by may 1941 with the reckless withdrawal of troops and divisions from the Asia and the Caucuses. Keitel noted that the number of Rifle divisions in the west had risen from 77 to 143 between Autumn 1939 and 01 May 1941. From these, 119 divisions were to be found in the German Russian border area. But, more pronounced was the increase in Tank brigades and tank divisions with nearly all known motorised and tank divisions, a further 20 cavalry divisions and many parachute battalions having advanced into White Russia. This remained the situation until the Hess flight, but by the 20th of May the "Fremde Heer Ost" were able to confirm that the mass of Soviet units of around 130 Rifle divisions, as well as 21 cavalry, 5 tank and 36 motorised tank divisions had moved into the Odessa Murmansk western border area. I will read the chapter again and try a synopsis soon. On Hess and Speer; well both deserved the noose as far as I am concerned. Speer managed to convince the judges that he was a "good" Nazi, who somehow overlooked his demands on Fritz Sauckel, hanging Sauckel instead of, rather than together with him. Hess too, got better than he deserved, and remained the convinced Nazi and Hitler devotee till the end. His responsibility for Nazi crimes before the war and up to his departure for Scotland would be sufficient for a death sentence, in my opinion. I have never seriously considered the stay behind scenario. No doubt, there many who, like Himmler, were deluded enough to think, that there would be a regime change with the old order remaining.
  9. Apologies John, don't know how that happened, but got your name right in the postscript at least . However, I was not referring to MK , which is as you say, a total waste of loo paper. The book I was referring to is by Prof Schmidt and his investigation of the Hess Flight "Botengang einen Toren" which might be translated as "A fools errand". It has not been published in English. Mentioned there is the letter written by Hess and describing the scene in Landsberg prison and it finishes with the quote " I adore him" supporting your proposition that Hess fed Hitlers God complex. Reading the book, I was left with the opinion that Hess was more the lapdog than the friend in their relationship. And apart from Hitlers mother, Geli Raubal, and Eva Braun, I don't know that Hitler ever had a serious human relationship that caused him any grief at its loss. Hence, the question as to how Hitler could appoint himself an avenger of dead comrades with whom it appears he had no human bond. I agree that the surrender and Versailles settlement were at the root of the em bitterness which eventually led to the 2nd WW. But in Hitlers case it seems to me that the fanaticism for revenge was something more. I am certainly not trying to find an excuse for him, it just seems to me that his megalomaniac illness was worse than that of his co conspirators, and I wonder were it stemmed from. Prof Schmidts book continues with an investigation of the political and psychological impact the Hess flight had on Stalin. The Russians had refused all requests from Britain to join in alliance against Hitler, but it appears from the evidence he lays out based on the memoirs of many Soviet and German military leaders, that Stalin was not quite so naive and was preparing to make a pre-emptive strike on Germany. So, if Prof Schmidt is correct the idea that Stalins plan was to retreat, leaving a wilderness to the advancing Wehrmacht, was not the case, but in fact quite the opposite. Stalins delay in carrying out the attack was based on his belief that Hitler wouldn't make the same mistake as in WW1 and fight on two fronts, and that he therefore could choose his time. The Wehrmacht had identified the configuration of Soviet troops and warned Hitler that these could be changed from a defensive to an offensive position at any time. The logistics of this still required some weeks, but Stalin was convinced that these were available, and continued the cat and mouse game supplying Germany with raw materials, but biding his time. Sorry, for the misunderstanding it seems that we we were talking about two different things; a book and a bog roll. Afraid I cant go with you on the capital punishment thing; at least not in the case of genocide.
  10. Thanks Paul and thanks Pamela, I was struck by the quote about Hitler’s promised retribution and wondered how he could see himself somehow appointed to exact revenge. The “stab in the back” syndrome seems to be common to the virulence which affected all Nazis. But, reading the revenge quote, I am wondering if some other cataclysmic event during the war or the attrition of war itself had been responsible for Hitler’s state of mind in particular. Somehow, the quote about merciless vengeance and the presence of his dead comrades at his day of reckoning leaves me thinking, that he saw himself as a latter-day Goel (or maybe not) taking blood retribution on their behalf, and that the monster might have been born out of personal loss he had suffered in the trenches. (It’s odd; when one considers that excepting his mother, possibly his niece Geli Raubal or maybe Eva Braun he doesn’t seem to have been close to anyone during his life). And, I don’t know that there is any indication that he had any close friends or human relationships during the war, and whose loss might somehow have led to him assuming their cause, or invested him in his crusade of revenge? Throughout his career Hitler constantly refers to the divine providence which has led him to his mission, but did he have an epiphany or was he simply born evil? p.s John, I see that you have read the book. What did you think of the Stalin preparations to attack Germany ? I have not seen this discussed elsewhere ?
  11. The following excerpt is taken from Prof. Rainer F. Schmidt`s book on the Hess flight (Botengang einen Toren), and describes a scene between Hess and Hitler during their time in Landsberg prison. Hitler and Hess were working on his book Mein Kampf. The passage is taken from a letter written by Rudolf Hess to Ilsa; the woman he later married, and may help in understanding the development of Hitlers character and state of mind, the trauma he suffered during the Great War and its contributory influence on his later actions. I would be interested to hear member’s views on it. When I brought him his tea at lunchtime, he signalled that I should stay; I should listen to a corrected passage: Political observations on the beginning of the Great War, the convulsion of and darkening clouds on the horizon, until the lightening burst of the catastrophe strikes ground, and the clash of thunder mixes with the howl of the artillery salvos. He tells of his joining up with the Bavarian army, of marching out of barracks, the journey along the Rhein, the train with the young recruits passing the Niederwald monument gleaming in the sun through a thin mist of fog, then, the marching song “Wacht am Rhein” breaking forth from the lads mouths- and shortly thereafter in Flanders, the first whistling greetings of war, singing back to them in reply. Suddenly, from the far right, a ringing, at first only a murmur, but growing louder and closer “Deutschland Deutschland uber Alles”, again and again, new mouths taking up the anthem, passing it on, until the whole front is one voice, in a storm of song. But, between the columns of singers the whipping of the sheaves, flattening Germanys young blooms. The tribune had now begun to read more slowly, stuttering, with blank expression on his face, it appeared to me as if he were searching for, had become lost in his thoughts, he made longer and longer pauses, then letting the page drop, he fell silently weeping, his head in his hands. - At this moment my own composure was also at an end, but do I need to tell you that! Then he spoke a few words of the incomparable heroism of our boys, of his own battles and suffering, and then of the treachery at home, “ Oh! when the day finally arrives, when I have the chance, what a terrible and merciless retribution will I take !” “I will take revenge in the name of the dead, who I see then, standing before me!” At the end of his account, nothing more was spoken between us; but as I was leaving we offered and silently clasped hands with one another.
  12. I too once thought that Hess´s treatment was shameful, but I have thankfully woken up from this naivety and realised that there can be no redemption for a person of his conviction. He was part of the group of thugs which introduced the Nuremberg laws and supported all that went with it, remaining a convinced nazi till he died. There is no indication that Hess was trying to stop the war with his flight to Scotland, but a lot pointing to an attempt to make the Russland Feldzug easier by negotiating agreement with whover in Scotland. We have got to stop thinking of these murderers in terms of who was more or less responsible for their horrific crimes. The fact that some were more brutal than others does not diminish the culpability of any of them. Every single one of them should have swung !
  13. Adele and Jack, I appreciate your taking so much time for me. May I ask if there are any references available to the court cases where Tom Wilsons expertise was called upon?
  14. Hi Peter, and Hi Adele, like Jonathan I would like to think that this is the Rosetta stone, and as William points out 17 years is quite a stretch. I would think too, that with the advances in computer technology since then, the replication process should be much easier ? Not raising doubts for the sake of it, just looking for a satisfactory solution, that hopefully, the 2nd edition will provide.
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