Rich Graves <rcgraves@disposable.com> wrote in article <5cnvpf$jeu@life.ai.mit.edu>...

Hallam-Baker wrote:

...

One point I had forgotten. The demonstration took place on the 50th anniversary of Kristallnacht. This is one explanation as to why the border guards did not attempt to open fire with firearms or attempt to break up the demonstration with tear gas.

I think the timing was a coincidence. (And I'm told that Kristallnacht wasn't well advertised in East Germany; especially after the Soviets sided the United Arab Republic, the official story was that Hitler had been exterminating good Communists, not Jews.)

This differs from my information. In point of fact the Nazis _did_ exterminate communists. At the time of Kristalnacht it was the communists who were the more direct target because they had places in the Riechstag. It was by imprisoning the communist deputies that the Nazis were able to take power and pass the enabling act. Portraying the Nazis as uniquely persecuting Jews is simply not supported by the facts. The Jews were the largest group of those persecuted but not the only group. Gypsies had less support in other countries. Other groups were persecuted for opposition rather than who they were but the numbers of murders were still large. This is one reason why the Catholic church established a convent inside Aushwitz where it is estimated that about a quarter of a million Catholics were murdered. Quite what one is then to make of appeasement by the Papacy at the time is beyond me... I don't think it points to any great moral or spiritual stand.

They gave him a gun and put him on the front, where he waved to his friends as they walked across the border.

I think a lot of the border guards were like Thomas.

Shades of Machiavelli's description of the mercenaries union in the 1500s. Basically you could hire yourself an army but they weren't keen on there being much killing.

Yeah, yeah. Economics has something to do with it. But I think it comes down to "Sure, I'll carry a gun, and I'll go where you tell me to go, but I will not hurt anyone." Ideas matter.

Absolutely! Phill