Familiar patterns

by Emmanuel Bouhalakis

History professor Arthur Marwick once said that "without knowledge of the past we would be without identity, we would be lost on an endless sea of time". 

There are aspects of history that can't be argued, such as the two World Wars of the 20th century. Whether one sees them from a Soviet, German or American perspective, these wars were devastating and caused unbelievable suffering and loss of life. 

A remarkable although not new notion seems to have been one of the causes of these major conflicts, apart from the geopolitical and strategic ones. It seems that national identity was a major factor and ethnic cleansing was a desirable goal. Even before the two World Wars, of course, this desire and practice was not uncommon. The Armenians suffered the first genocide of the 20th century by the Ottomans.

The empire of Austria - Hungary hated the Serbs and their national struggle and after the assassination of Francis Ferdinand the motto was, Serbien muß sterbien (the Serbs must die). 

In World War II, Hitler's hatred towards the Jews caused the death of 6 million people. However there were other innocent nations as well, like the Poles, and races among the Soviet Republics (as well as millions of Russians) who died during this war having done nothing to provoke Germany. 

The lessons of these two wars may be more than sufficient to establish an undeniable fact: Hatred towards entire races or nations brings nothing but war, death, pain and disaster. Those who choose not to remember the very recent past of these conflicts may eventually find themselves entangled in dire situations.

The current affairs in Ukraine and the palpable hatred between Ukrainians and those of Russian heritage or influence, does not forebode too well. Even if Russia resists the temptation of "liberating" the entire easter Ukraine after annexing the Crimean peninsula, the very easy use of extreme rhetoric on behalf of the "oppressed" eastern Ukrainians, plainly shows that for many people war is a desirable means to achive various goals.

However, and given the fact that Europe is by no means a continent with clear ethnic borders after centuries of immigration and wars, the crisis in Ukraine brings back echoes of a past that made Europe a slaughterhouse. 

How will European leaders tackle this matter? By foolishly expanding the EU to the east? Or by acting as a credible mediator that could bring peace and thus preventing the USA from stepping in and reviving the Cold War? The answer is, of course, the latter. 

After all, this continent has seen enough wars.