The Killing Compartments

The Killing Compartments
Author: Abram de Swaan
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 345
Release: 2015-01-28
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0300210671

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The twentieth century was among the bloodiest in the history of humanity. Untold millions were slaughtered. How people are enrolled in the service of evil is a question that continues to bedevil. In this trenchant book, Abram de Swaan offers a taxonomy of mass violence that focuses on the rank-and-file perpetrators, examining how murderous regimes recruit them and create what De Swaan calls the "killing compartments” that make possible the worst abominations without apparent moral misgiving, without a sense of personal responsibility, and, above all, without pity. De Swaan wonders where extreme violence comes from and where it goes—seemingly without a trace—when the wild and barbaric gore is over. And what about the perpetrators themselves? Are they merely and only the product of external circumstance? Or is there something in their makeup that disposes them to become mass murderers? Drawing on a wide range of disciplines, including sociology, anthropology, political science, history, and psychology, De Swaan sheds new light on an urgent and intractable pathology that continues to poison peoples all over the world.

Preventing Genocide

Preventing Genocide
Author: David A. Hamburg
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 460
Release: 2015-11-17
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1317253493

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Genocide has been called 'a problem from hell' and despite vehement declarations of 'never again' it's a problem that continues to plague the world. From the beginning of history to the most recent massacres in Bosnia, Rwanda, and Darfur, genocide defies resolution. And given today's worldwide access to highly lethal weapons and advanced communications technology facilitating incitement to hate, we can expect to see this problem grow. It is often claimed that genocide occurs without warning, taking both local and global communities by surprise. Yet, as David Hamburg convincingly shows, we have had long-term advance knowledge of most modern genocides dating back to the early 20th century Armenian tragedy in Turkey and before. In this book, Dr. Hamburg applies a groundbreaking new perspective-the medical model of prevention-to the scourge of genocide in the world. Preventing genocide is not only possible, Dr Hamburg contends, but essential given its high cost in lives, human rights, and international security. Here he maps out numerous practical steps to recognise genocidal conflicts early and stem their tides of violence before they become acute. He also outlines several institutions in place and programs underway at the UN, EU, and NATO devoted to preventing future genocides before they erupt. He draws lessons both from missed opportunities and successful experiences and makes many constructive suggestions about strengthening international institutions, governments, and NGOs for this purpose.

As political soldiers we face Moscow’s hordes: Dutch volunteers in the Waffen-SS

As political soldiers we face Moscow’s hordes: Dutch volunteers in the Waffen-SS
Author: Evertjan van Roekel
Publisher: Vernon Press
Total Pages: 396
Release: 2022-01-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 1648893341

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During the Second World War, approximately 25,000 Dutchmen served within the ranks of the military branch of the German SS: the Waffen-SS. They volunteered to fight to secure the victory of Nazi Germany. These Dutch volunteers fought mainly on the Eastern Front, and to a lesser extent, within their own national borders. After the war, the Allied victors regarded them as part of a criminal organization and jointly responsible for the atrocious transgressions of the Nazi regime. In the Netherlands, these men were reviled, branded as traitors and became pariahs in their own country. Those who had devoted themselves to the Nazi regime caused so much grief to the Netherlands that they had to be held accountable. Despite their military achievements, their reputation was damaged forever. The Netherlands supplied the largest contingent of SS soldiers from the occupied North-western European territories. Who were these people? What led them to enlist, and what were the consequences of their choice? An important part of this study involves the autobiographical texts of nineteen Dutch volunteers in the Waffen-SS. These ego-documents recount their own immediate experiences and are mainly fragments from diaries, but there are also letters, individual notes, and memoirs. The ego-documents are placed within the larger historical context to provide an answer to the question of whether these men were only ideologically motivated and unconditional Nazi sympathizers, and for this, their criminal records are also researched. Among other topics, the book discusses their choice to enlist, their experiences at the front, and their involvement in genocide, providing a new perspective on the Eastern Front.

With Intent to Maim; An Autobiographical Narrative

With Intent to Maim; An Autobiographical Narrative
Author: Kalman Dubov
Publisher: Kalman Dubov
Total Pages: 243
Release: 2020-10-06
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

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This book describes my experiences being subjected to and living with abuse during my childhood and early adult years in the Lubavitch-Chabad community, in Brooklyn, New York. I discuss the effects this physical, emotional and psychological abuse had on my development and life, which resulted in my leaving this community and lifestyle. When I grew up in this community, the topic of abuse was either denied, or spoken about in whispers. Generally, even if abuse of a child was known, it was not reported to law enforcement, and the child was not protected from further abuse. The topic of reporting such crimes to the law enforcement authorities, for eventual criminal prosecution, is referred to as 'mosur' a term of revilement. Such a person, regardless of the crime(s) committed, is protected by the Jewish community and the victim is forced to face the abuse by himself/herself, without the benefit of communal embrace for resolution. Moreover, Jewish law excoriates a 'mosur' / informer, by exclusion from normative communal membership. These exclusions are embodied in codes of Jewish law which formalizes the process by vilifying the informer. The victim thereby faces a double attack. The first is by the predator, and the second by the code of silence forced upon the victim. The primary focus of this book regards the physical attack I endured at the hands of my mother. She was angered by my non-diligence in religious study motivating her to try to break my arm. I was eight years old at the time. And she was following the actions of another mother who broke the arm of her son for the same perverse reason. this attack was a life changing event. It forced to identify my mother, and others, as persons who represented a great danger to me, necessitating measures that resulted in distance and eventual examination of the fundamentals of this religious life and identity. I describe the other Jewish family that similarly abused a child. Similar to my own circumstance, no investigation or prosecution was ever conducted. I remain convinced other families from these ultra-Orthodox (Charedi) Jewish communities experienced similar, or worse, violence, but such violence was muted and not reported. My father was aware of the attack but did not intervene. I discuss the details of the abuse, as well as its aftermath, and the larger concatenates these events caused in my life. I conclude my narrative by stating that these acts, and especially community refusal to acknowledge and respond, is shameful and indefensible. A few persons reviewed this material prior to publication. While I remain grateful for their comments and recommendations, the publication reflects my own insights and I remain responsible for any errors or oversights.

American Architect

American Architect
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 504
Release: 1907
Genre: Architecture
ISBN:

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The Present "Just Peace/Just War" Debate

The Present
Author: Ad de Bruijne
Publisher: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2018-09-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 3374056210

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At first the end of the "Cold War" seemed to mark a period of relative rest. However, it became apparent that we have not reached the "end of history". As a matter of fact, the world is confronted by new political constellations of so far unknown martial intensity. Although, Muslim terrorism and the revival of tribalism and nationalism are closely connected. At the same time, the international community proves mostly powerless, as a result of the cooling relationship between East and West. These developments offer challenging questions for Western societies. Both in Germany and in the Anglo-Saxon world, debates on the concepts of Just peace/ Just war have intensified, but mutual engagement between these contexts has remained scarce. Against this background a conference was held in Apeldoorn, in a Dutch "interspace", in 2016, in which ethicists from both contexts were involved. The present volume contains the edited version of the seven contributions to this conference, supplemented with four articles by others that were written deliberately for this volume. [Die Debatte "Gerechter Frieden/Gerechter Krieg". Zwei Diskussionen oder eine?] Nach dem Ende des "Kalten Krieges" hatte es den Anschein, als breche eine Friedensperiode an. Leider hat sich inzwischen gezeigt, dass wir nicht ans "Ende der Geschichte" gelangt sind. Vielmehr sieht sich die Welt am Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts mit neuen politischen Konstellationen ungekannter kriegerischer Intensität konfrontiert. Dabei hängen islamistischer Terror und das Wiederaufleben von Tribalismus und Nationalismus zusammen. Hinzu kommt, dass das Ost-West-Verhältnis sich zunehmend verschlechtert, wodurch die Machtinstrumente der internationalen Gemeinschaft kraftlos geworden sind. Diese Entwicklungen stellen herausfordernde Fragen an die westlichen Gesellschaften. Sowohl in Deutschland als auch in der angelsächsischen Welt ist die Debatte über die Themen Gerechter Frieden/Gerechter Krieg neu aufgebrochen, aber sie findet weitgehend getrennt voneinander statt. Vor diesem Hintergrund hat 2016 in Apeldoorn, im niederländischen "Zwischenraum", eine Konferenz stattgefunden, an der Ethiker aus beiden Kontexten beteiligt waren. Dieser Band dokumentiert deren sieben Vorträge, ergänzt um vier Aufsätze, die speziell für diesen Band geschrieben wurden. Mit Beiträgen von Ted van Baarda, Nigel Biggar, Jan Peter van Bruggen, Ad de Bruijne, Guido de Graaff, Gerard den Hertog, Marco Hofheinz, Wolfgang Lienemann, Hans Ulrich, Pieter Vos, Greetje Witte-Rang.

Essays on Diverse Topics

Essays on Diverse Topics
Author: Kalman Dubov
Publisher: Kalman Dubov
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2021-12-23
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

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This revised and updated volume includes twenty-two essays on timely topics. The volume begins with topics on Judaism and Jewish Ideology, the book reviews the multiplicity of languages Jewish people used throughout their history. At last count, these number 55, an amazing way to create a localized language for daily interaction, rather than use Hebrew, the sacred language reserved for prayer and study. The brief review of Lurianic Kabbalah follows, together with a discussion of human suffering. The mystery of Ashkenazic Jewry follows, offering a serious question to this dilemma. What follows is an exposition on the Jewish law of 'mosur' the informer, and the many issues affecting sexual predation in ultra-Orthodox Judaism, both in the United States and Australia as in Israel. The Cairo Genizah reviews how two Scottish sisters brought the Book of Ecclesiasticus to Cambridge and the vast treasure of Cairo brought to Cambridge and other universities to examine this ancient repository. The issue of Apostate Rabbis follows discussing several rabbis who converted to Christianity. I then discuss the Radhanites, the mysterious group of super-merchants who traveled from France to China and back for about 500 years, centuries before Marco Polo. I then discuss Chabad Messianism, a topic of interest as Chabad expands its message across the globe. Several topics follow: Medieval Blood Libel, the mystery of Jews in Sri Lanka, today a minimal number but in earlier centuries numbering several thousand. I then discuss several topics on the human condition, essays designed to reflect on Man's ethical dilemma of life in the post-World War Two era. I then discuss the two original ideas regarding religion. One of these is attributed to the Patriarch Abraham, whose reflection on Deity and how to relate to spirituality predominates in the three great Western religions. The other original thought is found in Hinduism, reflecting an entirely different way to relate to Deity. Because Hinduism is a Far Eastern phenomenon, not readily accessible in the West, I’ve included an overview of Hinduism, so that the Western and Jewish views can be appreciated. A new topic reflect on the Atrocity Soul and its counterpart, reflecting of the Son of Darkness and the Son of Light, each bringing messages, one of despair and darkness and the other of hope and redemption. While these persons may be religious, it is not a primary matter to the Son of Light, but their message of hope predominates. I conclude the book with a discussion on Calculating Zero, an advancement only made twice in human history: in the New World by the Maya and by the ancient Mesopotamians. Each of the essays and reviews reflects my understanding of these, and other, diverse topics. Each essay provides grist for discussion and reflection.

Fall of Giants

Fall of Giants
Author: Ken Follett
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 1010
Release: 2011-08-30
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1101543558

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Ken Follett’s magnificent historical epic begins as five interrelated families move through the momentous dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women’s suffrage. A thirteen-year-old Welsh boy enters a man’s world in the mining pits. . . . An American law student rejected in love finds a surprising new career in Woodrow Wilson’s White House. . . . A housekeeper for the aristocratic Fitzherberts takes a fateful step above her station, while Lady Maud Fitzherbert herself crosses deep into forbidden territory when she falls in love with a German spy. . . . And two orphaned Russian brothers embark on radically different paths when their plan to emigrate to America falls afoul of war, conscription, and revolution. From the dirt and danger of a coal mine to the glittering chandeliers of a palace, from the corridors of power to the bedrooms of the mighty, Fall of Giants takes us into the inextricably entangled fates of five families—and into a century that we thought we knew, but that now will never seem the same again. . . .