Russia’s annexation of Crimea, by leader Vladimir Putin, draws many historical comparisons to Adolf Hitler’s annexation of Sudetenland almost 76 years ago. Vladimir Putin, three term President of Russia, signed a document that officially acknowledged the "reunification" of the Ukrainian region of Crimea with Russia, after recently invading the region. He claims not only to have been invading the area for the good of the ethnic minority, but to also have been amending the historical blunder that gave Crimea to Ukraine, in the first place. Although he alleged pure intentions, they were undermined by the fact that they resembled Hitler’s tactic of entering adjoining countries under the pretense of protecting its citizens. Even though there exists no evidence that Putin wants to mirror Hitler’s exact actions; his desire for dictatorship and his means of ruling, parallel that of Hitler’s, in that he mimicked his invasion tactics. However, clear lessons should have been learned from Hitler’s occupation that can be applied to the current situation with Crimea, which could help prevent another disaster and another fascist regime.
After Germany’s takeover of Austria, Hitler focused on the Germans residing in Czechoslovakia’s Sudetenland. First, he ordered Sudetenland’s surrender to Germany, with full compliance from the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain. Hitler, then, promptly changed his orders so that the German military could seize the area. Regarding the issue as “a quarrel in a faraway country between people of whom we know nothing” (Crimea), he ended it with the signing of the Munich Agreement. In signing this agreement, Chamberlain not only strengthened Germany, but he also fed Hitler’s desire for more power and en...
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...rmed by actual objectives, not just threats or unsupported allegations. Additionally, the West should stop responding to Putin with “shock and awe,” shock that he can act with complete freedom, and awe at his diplomatic genius.
Both Europe and the US have Europe and the US have larger influence and assets than Russia, with its emaciated political system and tired economic model. They seem to not comprehend the economic and political costs of protecting the morals that they allege to uphold. Lastly, Western leaders must acknowledge that appeasement does not necessarily guarantee peace and stability in Europe. When encountering a leader whose ideologies are that the weak can be beaten, western governments must show their determination, without giving up their resilience. Only then can the Ukraine issue be tackled without essentially endangering transatlantic security.
I have chosen to write my response paper on our course’s monograph Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin, by Timothy D. Snyder published by Basic Books in 2010. This text is considered revisionist history and has been very well received, even earning the 2013 Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thought. Snyder’s was considerably unconstrained in his research. He has a reading knowledge of eleven European languages allowing him utilize a wide range of primary and secondary sources. These widespread sources allowed him compile a book containing many groundbreaking perspectives and conclusions.
In a recent White House brief, President Obama called the Russian invasion of Crimea a clear violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and international law. When assessing the Russo-Ukrainian crises in Crimea, the commander of European Command (EUCOM) and the Supreme Allied Commander of European Forces (SACUER) must account for U.S. interests in the region before deciding a proper course of action. This essay aims to assess four of the United States’ national interests through the perspective of EUCOM and SACUER. The first section will outline the role of EUCOM and SACUER in the European region and assess the overall problem of Russia invading Crimea. The second section will outline four of the United States’ national interests at stake: international order, trade and economic prosperity, energy supply, and freedom of the seas. In doing so, this assessment of U.S. interests in Crimea supports the options of non-intervention and a non-provocative stance in order to maintain long-term stability because the Russian invasion has only violated peripheral interests of EUCOM and SACUER.
With the fall of the pro-Russian government Russia had lost basically a very important ally to the European Union and NATO. President Vladimir Putin took a great risk and invaded Crimea that resulted in strong reactions from the West. Even Russia’s closest allies supported the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
From the time Hitler and the Nazi’s took control of Germany in 1933 until the collapse of the Third Reich in 1945, the aim of the regime under the calculating guidance of Hitler himself sought no less than global conquest. This ambitious objective can be further dissected into short term and long term goals that provide insight into Hitler’s character, thoughts and actions.
On March 19, 1944, Nazi Germany invaded and occupied Hungary making life for Hungarian Jews more difficult than it was. Before Germany had invaded Hungary, there were already anti-Jewish laws, and other conditions that were applied to Hungary, because Hungary was allied to Germany during part of the war. Although Hungary was allied with the Germans, there were disagreements that occurred between the two allies. One of the disagreements was that Hungary was not willing to send its troops to the Soviet Union for battle (On the German Occupation of Hungary). Hungary was very cautious about sending its troops for German assaults, because a lot of their soldiers had been killed in the fighting, and they didn’t want that to happen (On German Occupation of Hungary). Hungary also started to see that Germany would not win the war, therefore the government started to secretly negotiate surrender between Hungary and the allies (Hungary after the German Occupation). Hitler found out about this, and with all of the disagreements that occurred, the uncovering of the secret negotiations resul...
Snyder, Timothy. "What the West Owes Ukraine." CNN. Cable News Network, 25 Feb. 2014. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.
On June 22, 1941, the Adolf Hitler launched a ruthless attack on his so-called ally, the Soviet Union. In December 1941, after a short five months, Operation Barbarossa, induced by the Nazi’s, failed. The Nazi Party ultimately fell to its demise, through the fail of Operation Barbarossa, from a combination of Hitler’s arrogance towards the Soviets as well as the Soviet response, but most importantly, Hitler’s greatest mistake: spreading his troops too wide across a colossal Russia.
The United States and Russia have been battling off pernicious factions menacing the stability of their democracies over the years. Russia has come a long way over the past century, enduring a number of different phases that have completely desecrated any power Russia may have had paralleled to the rest of the world. The United States, however, has been evolving into a prosperous world power that has led to new respect from many other nations. Both Russia and the United States have struggled in the past at maintaining a significant amount of cultural commitment to preservation of specific aspects of their respective democracies. Having a relatively new democracy, Russian citizens have different perceptions and expectations of government from those of United States citizens. With new liberties and freedoms, Russians are struggling to grasp the concept of capitalism and participation in government. In order to preserve strong features of democracy, such as the right to vote or freedom of speech, a country's constituents must respect and positively view their government. They must have faith in that the government is working for their best interests. Physically, the United States and Russia have been impacted greatly by their geography. Historically, the backgrounds of Russia and the United States are of stark contrast. Traditionally, Russians have a difficult time believing in the stability of their government as it has changed a number of times. Geography has had a profound influence on the Russian psyche. Russia is a land that lies open to invasion and the elements, for it possesses no major natural barriers. In the southeast, there are great plains that allow easy entrance to any would-be conquero...
To avoid military duty in Austria Hitler relocated to Munich just as World War I commenced. Appreciating German customs and traditions he soon became a part of the Bavarian- German army. Although proving to be very courageous amongst his fellow- men Hitler did not advance in highe...
It is possible that with no other country in the twentieth century clearly on the inevitable road to war has there been as much unpreparedness and complete lack of all comprehension than that of Russia prior to World War I. For the few years before 1914 and the start of the war, especially following the embarrassing loss to Japan, Russia recognized its eminent clash with Germany. The way with which it conducted its international relations and internal affairs is puzzling to say the least.
Politics. Politics control this world, and sometimes for the worst. Politicians can be deceiving, and lie right to you, with no signs of remorse. They can be the worst type of human being, manipulating you for their own cause. They can be evil. In America, the next presidential election is approaching, and we have many of these politicians trying to become our next president. Although there are many, I 'm going to concentrate on one. Donald Trump. He is a corrupt politician, and a cancer to our society. This man is so malevolent, he is drawing comparisons to one of the most barbarous men of all time, Adolf Hitler. These men are eerily similar, and I am uneasy knowing that someone that could be our next president is showing similarities to a mass murderer. These are not erroneous claims. Donald Trump and Adolf Hitler are similar because of their rhetorical abilities, hating of
While many see Russia’s movement to admit Crimea as an attempt recreate a communist USSR-like ‘supercountry’ and the Russian government and their Pro-Russian Ukrainian counterparts have committed multiple crimes against humanity, the United States should not intervene in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Tight sanctions risk severing ties with Russia and military intervention may very well ignite World War III. This may be seen as even more democratic imperialism, which the United States has been trying to avoid recently.
Crimea’s history with Russia begins in 1783, when it became an annexed state (Taylor). However, to most of those within the western sphere of schooling most commonly learn about Crimea from the Crimean war. It occurred from 1853 to 1856 and involved Russia, Sardinia, France, Britain, and the Ottoman Empire. After three years of arduous fighting Russia eventually lost the war, but it did manage the keep the treasured peninsula. After the fall of the Russian Empire, in 1921 Crimea became “ The Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic” and unquestionably part of the Soviet Union. In the following decades, Crimea much like the rest of Europe endured the strain of the Second World War, but surprisingly in 1945 it was gifted from Russia to the Ukraine. According to Taylor, there are a couple of possi...
Meanwhile, Fuhrer Hitler and the Nazi party were continuing their domination of Europe and threatening to invade Czechoslovakia, which many felt would most likely incite another World War. To prevent this, England, France, Italy and Germany entered into an agreement, which would allow Germany to seize control of Sudetenland and is today known as the ‘Munich Pact’. Sudetenland had a large German population and its borders were in strategically strong areas for the German military. For negotiations to be successful there are many components that one must be aware of such as personalities of all parties, end goals of each person and the history of the country. England led the process with an appeasement policy as an attempt to mollify Hitler and the Nazi party and prevent war, which this pact did not.
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe, that borders Russia north and northeast. Lately Ukraine has been making international headlines; the country is in complete and total turmoil or for lack of better words a crisis. What started as a request from the Ukrainian citizens for a change in government, limit the powers of the president, restore the country constitution back to its original form from 2004-2010, and get closer ties to the EU. Peaceful protesting turned in to a nightmare, when the then president of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych failed to make good on his word. Instead, he made a deal with Russian president and late sought refuge in Russia. A few weeks later, he was ousted from this prompted the Ukraine revolution and the annexation of Crimea also known as the Crimean crisis. A revolution in Ukraine took place in February 2014 for a period of 5 days in Kiev the capital of Ukraine, after a series of violent events in the capital culminated with the ousting of the then-President of Ukraine. Immediately following the ousting of Yanukovych, immediate changes took place in Ukraine’s sociopolitical system. Starting with the a new interim government being installed and the constitution was restored to its original state, and plans to hold impromptu presidential elections in the months to follow. Before the revolution, Ukraine had been sunken by years of corruption, mismanagement, lack of growth economically , their currency value had dropped , and they had the inability to secure funding from public markets. Because of this, president Yanukovych wanted to establish closer relationship with the European Union (EU) and Russia in order to attract the money necessary to maintain Ukraine's standard of living without a...