7 ms·

Are you going to blame the the Nazi regime and the Holocaust on the WWI victors who refused to make a reasonable deal with a defeated Germany? It’s hard to imag

Are you going to blame the the Nazi regime and the Holocaust on the WWI victors who refused to make a reasonable deal with a defeated Germany? It’s hard to imagine WW2 without the horrid WW1 peace terms. But we rightly lay the blame squarely at the feet of the Nazis and their supporters.

AndrewBissell 6y ago
It is an extremely blinkered view of history to look at each event as a totally isolated occurrence of individual actors divorced from any wider social context or developments. There's more than just a little self-exculpation at work when the Western Allied powers -- who initially financed Hitler's war machine, hoped he'd be a useful tool against the Red Menace, and even served as a source of inspiration to his eugenicist ideology -- downplay and ignore their own role as a handmaiden to Nazism. Incidentally, in 1953 when the CIA carried out its coup in Iran it was basically run and controlled by people who had made a great deal of money financing the Nazi war effort and then imported a bunch of Nazi war criminals to work for Western intelligence and the space program.
- artificial 6y ago
  Do you have any good suggestions/recommendations for learning about the CIA during this period? Sounds fascinating and I'd welcome any books or long form comprehensive articles on the topic.
  - AndrewBissell 6y ago
    "Devil's Chessboard" is a good overall view of the CIA although not specifically about the postwar period. Stephen Kinzer has some good books which touch on the subject including "The Brothers" and "Poisoner in Chief." Christopher Simpson's "Forbidden Trilogy" (esp. "Blowback") is very good as well.
    - artificial 6y ago
      Excellent, added to my queue, I really appreciate it. I'm curious how much of an impact the importation of talent had, I've not researched this subject much so any direction is welcome. Have a good weekend!
      - AndrewBissell 6y ago
        Yeah if Operation Paperclip is your particular interest then I would say start with Simpson and then move on to Kinzer. There have also been some books written specifically about Sullivan & Cromwell, which was the investment banking firm where the Dulles Brothers worked and established financial ties to the Nazis, but I haven't read any of them.
        artificial 6y ago
        Oh, wonderful, thank you! The financial sector is something I've not researched either, figures the lenders would be involved, thanks for the suggestion!

AndrewBissell 6y ago

It is an extremely blinkered view of history to look at each event as a totally isolated occurrence of individual actors divorced from any wider social context or developments. There's more than just a little self-exculpation at work when the Western Allied powers -- who initially financed Hitler's war machine, hoped he'd be a useful tool against the Red Menace, and even served as a source of inspiration to his eugenicist ideology -- downplay and ignore their own role as a handmaiden to Nazism. Incidentally, in 1953 when the CIA carried out its coup in Iran it was basically run and controlled by people who had made a great deal of money financing the Nazi war effort and then imported a bunch of Nazi war criminals to work for Western intelligence and the space program.

artificial 6y ago
Do you have any good suggestions/recommendations for learning about the CIA during this period? Sounds fascinating and I'd welcome any books or long form comprehensive articles on the topic.
- AndrewBissell 6y ago
  "Devil's Chessboard" is a good overall view of the CIA although not specifically about the postwar period. Stephen Kinzer has some good books which touch on the subject including "The Brothers" and "Poisoner in Chief." Christopher Simpson's "Forbidden Trilogy" (esp. "Blowback") is very good as well.
  - artificial 6y ago
    Excellent, added to my queue, I really appreciate it. I'm curious how much of an impact the importation of talent had, I've not researched this subject much so any direction is welcome. Have a good weekend!
    - AndrewBissell 6y ago
      Yeah if Operation Paperclip is your particular interest then I would say start with Simpson and then move on to Kinzer. There have also been some books written specifically about Sullivan & Cromwell, which was the investment banking firm where the Dulles Brothers worked and established financial ties to the Nazis, but I haven't read any of them.
      - artificial 6y ago
        Oh, wonderful, thank you! The financial sector is something I've not researched either, figures the lenders would be involved, thanks for the suggestion!