Martin Amis and Ian Buruma had a discussion on World War Two on C-Span. Here are some selections.
A lesson from the war was that a high education did not make for moral behavior.
Institutions were crucial for both sides, recalling Applebaum's description of the Nazi and the Russian attempt to destroy Eastern Europe's culture.
German troops killed women and children all day, every day in Eastern Europe. Transfers were available (without prejudice) but were rarely requested. In one instance, mental hospital patients in Prussia were machine gunned to free beds for soldiers from the east suffering battle fatigue.
"The Year Zero"--1945--refers to Buruma's belief that the enmities of the post-war period were created and fanned by the Nazi and Russian invaders prior to military invasion and the effects of that manipulation persisted after the war.
The war against Japan was a war against feudalism--versus the war against Germany which was seen as a war against criminals--and ended with an effort to reeducate the nation. Kabuki plays were outlawed, square dancing introduced and the forbidden "screen kiss" in movies introduced. The Japanese were expecting Nanking and thought this a bargain.
The atomic bomb gave reason to the diehards to surrender but the War Council was still not unanimous so, for only the second time, the Emperor intervened.
Japan wanted a pacifist constitution and it is still a problem in Japan between the left and the right.
A lesson from the war was that a high education did not make for moral behavior.
Institutions were crucial for both sides, recalling Applebaum's description of the Nazi and the Russian attempt to destroy Eastern Europe's culture.
German troops killed women and children all day, every day in Eastern Europe. Transfers were available (without prejudice) but were rarely requested. In one instance, mental hospital patients in Prussia were machine gunned to free beds for soldiers from the east suffering battle fatigue.
"The Year Zero"--1945--refers to Buruma's belief that the enmities of the post-war period were created and fanned by the Nazi and Russian invaders prior to military invasion and the effects of that manipulation persisted after the war.
The war against Japan was a war against feudalism--versus the war against Germany which was seen as a war against criminals--and ended with an effort to reeducate the nation. Kabuki plays were outlawed, square dancing introduced and the forbidden "screen kiss" in movies introduced. The Japanese were expecting Nanking and thought this a bargain.
The atomic bomb gave reason to the diehards to surrender but the War Council was still not unanimous so, for only the second time, the Emperor intervened.
Japan wanted a pacifist constitution and it is still a problem in Japan between the left and the right.
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