Netanyahu, Auschwitz and ICC arrest warrants

Well, what a twist. I looked at the comments below the article about Netanyahu not coming to Poland for fear of being arrested. Apart from the usual Polish antisemitism accusations (Poles have the blood of millions of Jews on their hands) which, to me, are misplaced, delusional, and caustic nonsense, there are some good comments, too.

The way I see it is the Polish government is simply calculating what the best move here is. I’m pretty sure they’d rather have Netanyahu here without all the ICC mess. Easier for them. He’d take part in the Auschwitz Liberation Anniversary Ceremony, and off to Israel he goes.

Also, contrary to what some seem to think, the ICC warrant for Netanyahu story has barely made the news here. Sure, there are some antisemites who are going to be cheering, but most people have other concerns right now. Plus, it’s Christmas, and Polish people are hunting for carp. Personally, I like what we call a Jewish carp. Karp po żydowsku. 

About the whole liberation. One commenter has made a good point. Was it liberation, really, or just happenstance? The bombing of Auschwitz dilemma is mentioned.

Anyway. Some are annoyed that Germany wasn’t punished harsh enough for its crimes. Well, I understand that sentiment. There were really harsh plans, including sending German children across the world, so the idea of Germany as a nation ceased to exist. Mass emasculations, and so on.

Germany is supposedly an independent and powerful nation now. Sure, Germany has more than three million millionaires. Poland has around seventy thousand. Germany is a powerhouse. But still, is it truly independent? There are theories, sure, some on the fringes, but they don’t sound that illogical to me. I don’t believe for a second that the Allies, the US in particular, would just withdraw from Germany and give up its control. The US had no problem taking German scientists to Texas to work on the US space program. Good move. So, do you really think the US just said one day, ”Alright, Germany, you’re sovereign now?” No, Sir. No way. Sovereign only for public relations purposes.

One of the mechanisms the British used when they wanted to fool the local population into believing they were independent, was giving the locals just enough freedom and decision-making powers to think they were free to do and be what they wanted to be, but, ultimately, the British were very much in charge. Pulling their invisible strings.

When you know you’re a puppet, you’re likely to rebel. When you don’t know you’re a puppet, you’re extremely unlikely to rebel. As such, I believe there are many nations that are puppet states but have all the hallmarks of sovereign states. Except, it’s a lie. They aren’t sovereign.

Hard power – military power – is needed to keep certain nations in line but soft power is a vital component as well. The cultural influence, the language influence, and so on. Combine hard power and soft power, wait a while, and you can brainwash the conquered population to think the way you want them to think about themselves and the world. You can also tell the world how to see the conquered population. Military occupation is a vital component of reshaping your enemy in your image, preferably so your enemy never threatens you again but becomes a pandering puppet, but the main battle happens in the psyche. Military occupation alone doesn’t do the trick. You need brainwashing to follow the military invasion.

Imposing a sense of collective guilt on your enemy is a must. The Germans learned their lesson. Do you think the same sense of collective guilt could be imposed, say, on Russians? Would it be justified? Who would be doing the imposing and how would it look like? Not an easy task, let me tell you. Way harder than with Nazi Germany. But it just might be needed if the world is to survive and not get consumed by a nuclear hellfire.