On this date in 1918 Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated after the German revolution and Germany was proclaimed a republic.
Five years later on the same date police and government troops in Munich broke up the Nazi Beer Hall putsch.
And then on November 7, 1938 the Nazis unleashed the violence of Kristallnacht across Germany.
Four years later to the day the German Sixth Army under the leadership of Friedrich Paulus reached the River Volga at Stalingrad, capturing 90 per cent of the city they had pummelled since August.
The Germans had expected to take the city in two weeks. And even in spite of their splitting the demoralised and broken Soviet Army, that same army routed the invader from their city three months later; the beginning of the end for the Germans.
Not quite November 7 but two days later, November 9, 1989 it looked as if we were about to enter a new world oder; the barrier between East and West Berlin was raised at the Bornholmer Straße as crowds stormed the crossing after Günter Schabowski announced that GDR citizens could cross to West Berlin and this with immediate effect.
The fall of the Wall gave the world new hope, a hope that's now a pip dream.
What next? Are we racing towards war?
No comments:
Post a Comment