On the cover on the left: Warsaw in 1939, on the right Mariupol in 2022. Two cities completely destroyed by war. This is the price for the unlearned lessons of history - people's lives and the fate of humanity. Fragments from Erich Fromm's book "Anatomy of Human Destructiveness" describe the events of the Second World War, but if you replace in them the names of political figures and the names of countries, they reflect the events of our days surprisingly accurately.
.png){kind=small}
Article Editor: Yan Beygelzimer, Dr.Sc., Professor.
Reference: Erich Fromm (1900 - 1980) was a German sociologist, philosopher, psychoanalyst, one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century. After Hitler came to power in 1933, Fromm moved to Switzerland and then to the USA. He studied the psychology and conditions of fascism.
Fragment from the book by E. Fromm “The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness”
(Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1973, 528 pp. Highlights in the text are made by the editor)
"... In certain sense Hitler's victory began with the unwillingness of Great Britain to follow the decision of the League of Nations in regard to an effective blockade of Italy after Mussolini began his attack against Ethiopia, 1935-36. Under all kinds of subterfuges Italy continued to receive oil, which was vitally necessary for conducting the war, while Ethiopia had the greatest difficulty even in obtaining arms from abroad.
The next event that emboldened Hitler was the handling of the Spanish Civil War, 1936-39. Great Britain prevented the constitutional government of Spain from importing arms for its defense, and the French government, under the Socialist, Blum, did not dare to act without Great Britain’s approval. However the committee of democratic powers that was charged with enforcing nonintervention in Spain did nothing to prevent Hitler or Mussolini from continuing their military intervention in favor of Franco.
The next event was the failure of the French and the British to resist Hitler’s occupation of the demilitarized Rhineland in 1936, at a time when the German army was completely unprepared for war. (Hitler remarked in the Table Talks [H. Picker, 1965] that if France had had a real statesman at the time, the French would have resisted his occupation of the Rhineland).
The last step, Chamberlain’s visit to beg Hitler for moderation, was hardly necessary to confirm Hitler’s conviction that Great Britain and France were unwilling to act upon their words".
.png){kind=small}
Dear reader, We invite you to share your opinion about this article and the Trust but Verify project in general through available communication channels.