Tag: Adolf Hitler

Jul 29 2011

Part II – “!No Pasaran!” – The Abraham Lincoln Brigade and the Fight against Fascism in Spain

Crossposted at Daily Kos

What You Missed in Part I of This Diary

Spain has been etched in the hearts of our generation… and carried around like a terrible wound.  Spain gave us our first taste of defeat, and because of her we discovered with an enduring shock that one can be right and still be defeated, that sheer force can trample the human spirit underfoot, and that there are times when courage goes unrewarded.  Without a doubt, this explains why so many people the world over have experienced the Spanish drama as their own personal tragedy.

Albert Camus, Algerian-French philosopher and author, Source: Honoring Fascism’s Forgotten Fighters. Sketch Source: Existential Primer.

“!No Pasaran!” – The Abraham Lincoln Brigade and the Spanish Civil War, Part I introduces you to the beginnings of the civil war between the Republicans and the Nationalists; a poignant letter written by Abraham Lincoln Brigade (ALB) volunteer Bill Bailey to his mother in New Jersey; the tense political, economic, and social conditions that existed in pre-war Spain; the response by the American government and its insistence upon assuming a neutral position in this conflict; the personal stories of a few Americans caught between economic depression at home and alarming developments on the international level; what eventually motivated them to secretly travel to and fight in Spain; and the ALB volunteers’ battlefield exploits in Spain.

Link to Part I of This Diary

The story continues below the fold…  

Jul 27 2011

“!No Pasaran!” – The Abraham Lincoln Brigade and the Fight against Fascism in Spain, Part I

Crossposted at Daily Kos

Part II of this diary will be posted on Wednesday, July 27th.

In July 1936, the Spanish Army staged a military uprising against the democratically-elected Republican government of Spain, which had been in power for less than six months. The revolt started in the Protectorate of Morocco under the leadership of General Francisco Franco and by the next day, had spread to the mainland. The rebels had badly miscalculated and not anticipated that several army units would side with the government nor expected that the working classes in towns and cities would be quickly mobilized and armed in a popular resistance against the rebellion.  In what would become a dress rehearsal for World War II, the struggle that ensued between Republican and Nationalist forces to determine the future direction of the country would rage on for the next three years.

In 1937, Bill Bailey (a son of Irish immigrants to America) wrote a letter from Spain to his mother in New Jersey.  Unbeknownst to her and defying a travel embargo imposed by his own government, he had secretly traveled to that country to become one of almost 2,800 American volunteers to eventually fight on the Republican side in a brutal war against the defenders of authoritarian conservatism

You see, Mom, there are things that one must do in this life that are a little more than just living.  In Spain there are thousands of mothers like yourself who never had a fair shake in life.  They got together and elected a government that really gave meaning to their life.  But a bunch of bullies decided to crush this wonderful thing.  That’s why I went to Spain, Mom, to help these poor people win this battle, then one day it would be easier for you and the mothers of the future.  Don’t let anyone mislead you by telling you that all this had something to do with Communism.  The Hitlers and Mussolinis of this world are killing Spanish people who don’t know the difference between Communism and rheumatism.  And it’s not to set up some Communist government either.  The only thing the Communists did here was show the people how to fight and try to win what is rightfully theirs.

You should be proud that you have a son whose heart, soul and energy were directed toward helping the poor people of the world get back what was taken from them.  When the horrible conditions of this world are eventually made right, you can look with pride at those who will be here to enjoy it and say, “My son gave his life to help make things better, and for that I am grateful.”

If it will make my departure from the world of the living a little easier for you, just remember this, Mom: I love you dearly and warmly, and there was never a moment when I didn’t feel that way.  

I was always grateful and proud that you were my mom.

Bill Bailey’s letter to his mother explaining why he was fighting in the Spanish Civil War, Photograph Source: Spartacus Educational, U.K.  Sketch Source: GMT Games

Dec 22 2010

Hitler Speaks Through His Sock-Puppet “Jacob Freeze”

I was visiting the soul of my pal Barack Obama in Future-Hell yesterday and he mentioned his internet sock-puppet, the idiot Jacob Freeze, “prophetic wonder-man of political blogging” with a single-digit audience of single-digit weirdos.

“You wanna get some stuff off your chest somewhere nobody will pay it no fucking attention?” says Barry. “This guy is more obscure than farting in Martian Morse code!”

“Toot-ta-ta-toot-toot!” says I, and we’re off to the “races!”

Toot-toot-ta-toot ta-ta-toot-toot ta-toot-ta…

“Adolf?” says Obama.

Toot?

“You don’t have to fart in Martian Morse code with my sock-puppet Jacob Freeze. That’s the point of that idiot! Nobody is listening!”

“I knew that,” says I, and so after a little preliminary fucking around with my soul-mate in Hell Barack Obama, let’s get down to business.

You stupid fucking Yankees thought you won WWII, but while I spent the next 65 years fucking ladyboys in Brazil, did you ever notice…

WHO RULES EUROPE?

Is it your wheezing British allies? Or is it MY ARYAN SUPERMEN in Germany?

Harharharhar!!!

Thanks for D-Day, morons!

Now we own everything, from the beaches in Greece to the bonds in London!

And look at yourselves!

All you had to do to “win” WWII was transform yourselves into a fascist security empire, where you pay for everything and rule nothing!

YOU pay for everything, and rule NOTHING!

No power, no jobs and no dignity! My airport-Nazis grope your woowoos every time you get on a plane!

Harharharhar!!!

You were already the biggest suckers in the history of the world, and then you elected Obama!

Harharharhar!!!  

Aug 19 2008

Apologizing for Genocide (Edited 2x)

The closest I’ve come to trying to understand genocide, is to imagine the worst, most disgusting, evil, dehumanizing, anti-evolutionary, shameless, insatiable, vile, and incomprehensible thing imaginable – and try multiplying that by infinity.

Apr 03 2008

Quote for Discussion: Adolf Hitler

It is manifestly clear and has been proven in practice and by the facts of all revolutions that a struggle for ideals, for improvements of any kind whatsoever, absolutely must be supplemented with a struggle against some social class or caste.

My object is to create first-rate revolutionary upheavals, regardless of what methods and means I have to use in the process. Earlier revolutions were directed either against the peasants, or the nobility and the clergy, or against dynasties and their network of vassals, but in no case has revolution succeeded without the presence of a lightning rod that could conduct and channel the odium of the general masses.

With this very thing in mind I scanned the revolutionary events of history and put the question to myself against which racial element in Germany can I unleash my propaganda of hate with the greatest prospects of success? I had to find the right kind of victim, and especially one against whom the struggle would make sense, materially speaking. I can assure you that I examined every possible and thinkable solution to this problem, and, weighing every imaginable factor, I came to the conclusion that a campaign against the Jews would be as popular as it would be successful.

There are few Germans who have not been vexed with the behavior of Jews or else have not suffered losses through them in some way or other. Disproportionately to their small number they account for an immense share of the German national wealth, which can just as easily be put to profitable use for the state and the general public as could the holdings of the monasteries, bishops, and nobility.

Once the hatred and the battle against the Jews have been really stirred up, their resistance will necessarily crumble in the shortest possible time. They are totally defenseless, and no one will stand up to protect them.

~Adolf Hitler, as interviewed by Major Josef Hell

(Via Bryan Caplan)

I still haven’t managed to get my jaw off the floor after reading that.  The implications stagger me.