If you happen to have a family member who was on planet Earth back in the days leading up to the start of World War II, this might be a good time to ask if he or she thinks that perhaps history is repeating itself. Different players are assuming different roles in the game now, but there’s little denial of the fact that a certain nation is looking to invade another nation to retrieve what the first nation perceives as its rightful territory. Similarities to turf battles then and what’s happening now are pretty darn obvious. (I would encourage any historical scholars and modern-day pundits to weigh in with their opinions.)

Back in 1939, the aggressor was, of course, Germany. You would have perhaps thought that since it was 0-1 in World Wars, and that loss had occurred a mere 20 years prior, it wouldn’t have been keen to try to even its record. But no. Basically, in 1919, the victorious Allies carved up the lands that once were part of Germany and Austria-Hungary. One of those newly designated countries was Poland and another was Czechoslovakia.

In the 1920s and 1930s, this Hitler fellow, a former casual laborer and sometime artist, began climbing the German political ladder by convincing the country’s citizens that the German populations in those new nations needed to return to the Fatherland. He pretty much harped on the fact that he was very concerned about their collective welfare in “foreign” lands.

In 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain struck one of the worst deals in the history of deals. The infamous Munich Agreement allowed Hitler to annex the Sudetenland (northern, southern, and western areas of the former Czechoslovakia with ethnic-German majorities). Chamberlain thought he had saved Europe from another war. He was wrong. The deal strengthened Hitler’s hand and, while continuing to pay lip service to peace and prosperity for all, he looked for the opportunity to conquer other lost turf.

Poland proved to be an easy target. It took a little over a month for Germany to invade and subdue its victim. For some inexplicable reason, Germany had been allowed to build up war materials after 1919. That still boggles the mind. (Almost simultaneously with the Munich Agreement, Russia and Germany signed a non-aggression pact. Basically, Russia, it seems, wanted to help carve up Poland for its own benefit. Those tricky Russkies.)

There’s little, if any, reason to dwell on what happened next. The next five and a half years plunged the world into fighting mode and ended up making Germany’s record 0-2. Russia ended up on the side of the victors and managed to pick up a whole lot of terra firma in the bargain. (See tricky Russkies comment above.)

Fast-forward to the present. There’s a country that, while not defeated militarily, found itself broken up back in 1991 into independent states. What had been the United Soviet Socialist Republic became just Russia plus 15 other separate countries. One of those was Ukraine. No doubt you’ve heard of it recently (although it still might be hard for many of us to locate on a map without help).

Vladimir Putin, the leader of Russia, has somewhat similar concerns to Hitler’s regarding the welfare of former citizens now living in another country. In this case, Russians in Ukraine. He wants them, and the land on which they reside, back in the fold. So much so that he’s amassed 150,000 or more troops along the Ukraine border.

Back in 1939, other European countries basically told Germany, “Oh, you don’t want to invade Poland. Things will not go well for you. We’re going to be very angry.” Today, so far, that’s basically the same message being given to Putin by the U.S. and Europe (although some loud sanction actions did occur late this week). The exception is perhaps Germany. It kinda needs oil from Russia to stay alive and kicking. But everybody else in Europe seems to be giving Russia a stern warning. I don’t know why, but the situation kind of reminds me of that scene in the movie Animal House where Dean Wormer puts the Delta house on double secret probation.

Alas, the situation may be at a point where it’s impossible for Mr. Putin to back down without losing face. The egomaniacal rantings of one man eight plus decades ago about turf battles proved disastrous. Even though events of this week don’t bode well, let’s hope détente trumps devastation this time. My dad and an entire generation fought so a world at war would never happen again. Word of warning, Vlad. If history is any indication, in all probability, this isn’t going to end well for you should you persist in your actions.

 

©MMXXII. William J. Lewis, III – Freelance Writer