Was It Over When the Germans Bombed Pearl Harbor?

[Rickington]

Normally, I would just shake my head and move on, but this, is just too good to avoid:

The whole problem of explaining the present is so nettlesome that the European Union’s “House of European History” museum decided to omit the mention of World War 2 altogether by the simple expedient of declaring 1946 the Year Zero for European history. “It celebrates the creation of the EU with barely a nod to the crisis raging all around. France’s recent history is marked by a picture of the Tour de France, and Germany’s by the famous Berlin address by Barack Obama in 2008.”

Farcically, it’s been decided to omit any exhibit on which agreement cannot be reached. And because of their differing views about World War II, the museum will begin with an EU ‘year zero’ of 1946.

But of the unpleasantness of 1939-1945 it will only say that there was an event called the “European Civil War”, which presumably was fixed by the European Union, without the slightest input from things called the United States, the former Soviet Union, China and the Empire of Japan.

Yet these absurd naming conventions are only further signs that the Narrative is now developing yawning gaps. For the current world crisis, like almost every other crisis is caused as much by what went right in the last 70 years as what went wrong. And the problem with the Narrative is that what should have gone wrong went right and what ought to have gone right went wrong.

Read the whole thing

"Year Zero" ? Seriously?

I think a need some drinks

Also? Note to EU: 1984 was not an instruction manual...

Seriously, as a historian (well, a history grad student) this kind of thing really makes me irate. For a museum, watering down everything related to the horrors of WWII and starting Europe's history in the Post-WWII era is just... bunk! You need to cover the good and bad of modern (the entire 20th century) Europe in order to gain a better understanding of modern Europe. And as a historian who focuses on contemporary European History, I find the watering down of the atrocities of WWII completely and utterly aghast!

[bbjohn]

Normally, I would just shake my head and move on, but this, is just too good to avoid:

The whole problem of explaining the present is so nettlesome that the European Union’s “House of European History” museum decided to omit the mention of World War 2 altogether by the simple expedient of declaring 1946 the Year Zero for European history. “It celebrates the creation of the EU with barely a nod to the crisis raging all around. France’s recent history is marked by a picture of the Tour de France, and Germany’s by the famous Berlin address by Barack Obama in 2008.”

Farcically, it’s been decided to omit any exhibit on which agreement cannot be reached. And because of their differing views about World War II, the museum will begin with an EU ‘year zero’ of 1946.

But of the unpleasantness of 1939-1945 it will only say that there was an event called the “European Civil War”, which presumably was fixed by the European Union, without the slightest input from things called the United States, the former Soviet Union, China and the Empire of Japan.

Yet these absurd naming conventions are only further signs that the Narrative is now developing yawning gaps. For the current world crisis, like almost every other crisis is caused as much by what went right in the last 70 years as what went wrong. And the problem with the Narrative is that what should have gone wrong went right and what ought to have gone right went wrong.

Read the whole thing

"Year Zero" ? Seriously?

I think a need some drinks

Also? Note to EU: 1984 was not an instruction manual...

Seriously, as a historian (well, a history grad student) this kind of thing really makes me irate. For a museum, watering down everything related to the horrors of WWII and starting Europe's history in the Post-WWII era is just... bunk! You need to cover the good and bad of modern (the entire 20th century) Europe in order to gain a better understanding of modern Europe. And as a historian who focuses on contemporary European History, I find the watering down of the atrocities of WWII completely and utterly aghast!

AMEN!!!!

[bbjohn]

As someone who's in the news business who also studies history, I can agree with Kham that you can't make stuff like this up. I have seen things that, if they were included in a novel, would be dismissed as ridiculous. I have found that, when dealing with politicians, the ridiculous is the norm.

I think I'll start a museum dedicated to horse manure and B.S. I could include all the stuff from that European museum as exhibits. It would be fitting.

Big Bad John

[Robert]

Also? Note to EU: 1984 was not an instruction manual...

Can you imagine what commotion the American paper "The Onion" causes in other countries?

And considering the current state of the political misinformation spewing from the campaign commercials and candidates, and what is currently happening in the state of Michigan this is more then a statement, this is also a frighting warning:

" He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future."

A Eric Blair Fan

[Rickington]

AMEN!!!!

Indeed. If Europe is going to build an official museum of their modern history. They must include all elements, not just the happy/bright ones, but all of them. If that museum is ever built, I seriously doubt I'll ever visit it even if I was in the area. I feel fortunate that I live close enough to a number of (some) good history museums/sites, such as Independence National Historic Park, USHMM (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum), the National Museum of American History, etc.

[tempman]

The Daily Mail is the UK paper equivalent of Fox News in America.

You basically don't read it. They're well known for misconstruing the facts, or flat out making stories up. It's an awful paper that intelligent people read to laugh at (as we used to do in my Masters psychology classes with Jeremy Kyle) and dumb people read to feel enraged.

[BSink42]

The history lover in me is going to be over in the corner, banging her head against the wall.

[fightingfish]

@kham

don´t be annoyed, please. It´s a stupid newspaper.
I think the european community is, despite of all the problems in these days, extremley succesfull.
We have a period of peace and prosperity for almost 70 years in Europe now and archenemies like France and Germany have become friends. The states of the european community solve their problems in common today.
But of course only with the help of our american friends we could go this way, without your role model and your protection against the communistic thread during the cold war, Europe would be a poor desert today. Especially we in Germany have to thank the United States for our freedom and prosperity and yes, I like the United States very, very much

[Mynock]

The basic concept of the EU isn't too terrible. Personally I don't see the need for a giant "over-government" but if it makes people happy then by all means have at it.
Where the EU went wrong was creating a single currency and putting successful countries on equal monetary terms with their less fiscally responsible neighbors. Greece is already toast, Spain, Ireland and Portugal aren't far behind. It's either let them default and totally destroy the value of the Euro or bail them out by printing more and inflating it, either way everyone using the currency is going to be unfairly punished for the actions of others beyond their control.

[bbjohn]

@kham

don´t be annoyed, please. It´s a stupid newspaper.
I think the european community is, despite of all the problems in these days, extremley succesfull.
We have a period of peace and prosperity for almost 70 years in Europe now and archenemies like France and Germany have become friends. The states of the european community solve their problems in common today.
But of course only with the help of our american friends we could go this way, without your role model and your protection against the communistic thread during the cold war, Europe would be a poor desert today. Especially we in Germany have to thank the United States for our freedom and prosperity and yes, I like the United States very, very much

Thank you for the kind words! Danke! Your comments made my day. We in the States hear so much negativity about America coming from Europe, we sometimes forget we still have some friends there. I'm glad to see Germany has become a peaceful and prosperous country, and I'd glad to see long-standing enemies in Europe have learned to get along. In that regard, the European Community has been a big success.

I certainly appreciate it that Germans have been very welcoming to American Presidents when they've visited there. They even forgave President John F. Kennedy when he said he was a jelly doughnut at the Berlin Wall. You knew what he meant.

Thanks again.