The ’ 80s: I want you back, I think

I HAVE never liked the glory worship of war. War is madness.

But my views on commemorating Anzac Day have changed as I have grown older.

The courage and sacrifice of our soldiers, which was so sorely needed, should and must be acknowledged and remembered.

What should also be acknowledged is that they were pawns and victims in a larger struggle played out behind a veil of secrecy by those in power whose roles and deeds still are a matter of conjecture today.

I talk of the two world wars, of the actions of the German military and industrial junta, of the Soviet Union and Stalin, the Americans and the Allies.

A book published only recently, How Hitler Came to Power by Sara Moore, sheds more light on this and deserves wide circulation.

What it tries to do is correct our history books and the view that the reparations enforced by the Allies after The Great War led to Germany’s hyperinflation and the rise of Hitler.

It argues big business, particularly armaments manufacturer Krupp, groomed and funded Hitler and schemed with Stalin through the provision of arms and agricultural development for the German communists to side with the fascists in the Reichstag.

Further, that by creating the mess of hyperinflation, they were able to break the will of the people for their own selfish, deluded ends.

Is it too long a bow to draw and say that these are important lessons today?

I see the propaganda being spread such as that the filming of the victims of chemical warfare in Syria was a fabrication; the denials by the Syrian president and by Russia.

I see the Chinese harbouring a corrupt and dangerous North Korean regime and Islamic State gaining strength through dislocation.

Strength of purpose for what is right and harmony through equality of opportunity remain lofty goals for all humanity.