Op-Ed: Seattle Times Claims 'Hitler's Demands Not Unreasonable'

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First, I give you the words of Mr. Ramsay himself, straight from the Seattle Times editorial page:

Democrats are rebuking President Bush for saying in his speech to the Knesset, here, that to “negotiate with terrorists and radicals” is “appeasement.” The Democrats took it as a slap at Barack Obama. What bothers me is the continual reference to Hitler and his National Socialists, particularly the British and French accommodation at the Munich Conference of 1938.

What Hitler was demanding was not unreasonable. He wanted the German-speaking areas of Europe under German authority. He had just annexed Austria, which was German-speaking, without bloodshed. There were two more small pieces of Germanic territory: the free city of Danzig and the Sudetenland, a border area of what is now the Czech Republic.

Let's frst take a look at the 'bloodless' annexation, or 'anschluss' of Austria in March 1938, of which my historical memory is far different from Mr. Ramsay's.

By early 1938, Hitler had consolidated his dictatorial power over Germany and was applying enormous political pressure to the Austrian government to comply with Nazi dictats or face invasion.

The Austrian government complied, lifting a ban on the Austrian Nazi Party, freeing Brownshirt agitators from prison, and even went so far as to appoint Austrian Nazis to powerful political positions in the Austrian government to avoid war with Hitler.

However, as pressure mounted from within and without Austria, on March 9, 1938, Austrian President Kurt Schusschnigg announced a plebiscite, or referendum, on Austrian independence to be held March 13th.

On March 11th, Hitler demanded that Schuschnigg hand over all power to Austrian Nazi officials by noon that day or face invasion. One hour after noon Hitler ordered the invasion of Austria to proceed.

Since England and France were unwilling to back Austria, Schuschnigg handed over power to the Nazis in a radio broadcast, a matter rendered academic by the seizure of all major government offices by Austrian Nazis.

On the morning of March 12th, 1938, the German 8th Army crossed the German-Austrian border. Even before that, Heinrich Himmler, the architect of the Final Solution, and other top German Nazi officials arrived in Vienna to arrest top government officials.

Within only a few days, over 70,000 Austrians, primarily Social Democrats, Communists, and other potential political dissenters, as well as Jews, were arrested and imprisoned or shipped off to concentration camps, never to be seen again.

Hitler entered Austria, triumphant, an April 2, 1938.

This is the 'bloodless annex' Mr. Ramsay speaks of.

Mr. Ramsay also made the following statement in his editorial as well:

When the British let Hitler have a slice of Czechoslovakia, they were following their historical wisdom: avoid war. War produces results far more horrible than you expected. War is a bad investment. It is not glorious. Don’t give anyone an excuse to start one.

In other words, 'Avoid war at all costs.'

Pay whatever price, no matter how high.

I ask you, how is that any different from Neville Chamberlain's attitude vis-a-vis Hitler?

In the broader context, I would also point out that Jimmy Carter has even claimed that the American Revolution was an unnecessary war. His words, from October 2004:

Well, one parallel is that the Revolutionary War, more than any other war up until recently, has been the most bloody war we've fought. I think another parallel is that in some ways the Revolutionary War could have been avoided. It was an unnecessary war.

Had the British Parliament been a little more sensitive to the colonials' really legitimate complaints and requests the war could have been avoided completely, and of course now we would have been a free country now as is Canada and India and Australia, having gotten our independence in a nonviolent way.

You got all that?

'If only the British were a little more sensitive to American Colonialists.'

As it seems, Mr. Carter is being sensitive today to Hamas, a terrorist organization which seized Gaza in a bloody coup and is sworn to the genocide of the Jews.

To paraphrase Winston Churchill, it would seem that at every opportunity men like Chamberlain, Carter and Ramsay could choose dishonor or war, they will always choose dishonor.

And they will always get war.

Some things never change.

I will, however, for the historical record, point out to Mr. Ramsay and Mr. Carter that there are far worse things in this world than war.

Vote it up! The Crematoria at Auschwitz, Poland teachpol.tcnj.edu (Public Domain)

Vote it up! Taliban Execution of a Woman at Soccer Game www.michaeltotten.com (Public Domain)

Vote it up!

The last question I will ask you is this: why is it that Jimmy Carter, Bruce Ramsay, Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton and Sen. Joe 'BS' Biden are so out of sorts over Bush stating an historical fact about appeasing unappeasable enemies?

You'd have thought he'd struck a raw nerve.