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> Ireland chose to take a position against colonialism By refusing to fight the Nazis? What? Are you implying that the Allies were the colonizers in WW2? (The

> Ireland chose to take a position against colonialism By refusing to fight the Nazis? What? Are you implying that the Allies were the colonizers in WW2? (The Allied countries were also colonizers obviously, but within WW2 it's pretty obvious which countries were doing more of that, and more aggressively)

Spooky23 11mo ago
What was a tiny, broke, agrarian country just out of a civil war that was still simmering going to do about the Nazis? They had a well-justified disdain for being pulled into the British orbit. They chose neutrality. Do you hold Switzerland and Sweden to the same standard? If Britain were to join in a conflict with Russia over Ukraine, would you expect Indian soldiers to rally to the cause of their former King and Country? If you’re an American, would you be in favor of providing VA benefits to US Army soldiers who deserted and joined the Ukrainian army?
- tim333 11mo ago
  Dunno about deserting to join the Ukrainian army but they seem ok with leaving the US military and joining the Ukrainian army. See Malcolm Nance for example.
  - TMWNN 11mo ago
    Nance had been retired from the US military for two decades when he joined the Ukrainian military.
jonplackett 11mo ago
Britain was still literally an empire at this point, currently colonising India and many other places. You can say they should fight the nazis anyway but making the argument that they should do this because Britain weren’t colonisers doesn’t make sense.
orwin 11mo ago
Ireland's position at the time (before they got images of concentration and elimination camps) was that what the Nazi did was no different than what colonial powers did during 200 years. And since the Nazis invented the concentration camps in Mozambique and Namibie (taking example from Belgium) around 1909, i'd say they weren't that wrong.
- Spooky23 11mo ago
  The Germans in Africa were cruel and inhumane. But the concentration camp and modern military campaigns targeting civilian populations were not something alien to the British. Most well documented was in the Boer war: https://theconversation.com/concentration-camps-in-the-south-african-war-here-are-the-real-facts-112006 https://theconversation.com/concentration-camps-in-the-south... Ireland is usually underplayed and less clearly linked to government policy as much of the dirty work was done by private entities. You’re not likely familiar with Cromwell’s invasion, the Ulster Plantation or the famine… but the Irish were. Cromwell’s actions and later events resulted in the death of 10+% of the population. The famine resulted in the death of 10% and emigration of 10% of the population. That’s a lot of dead Irish and deeply affected these leaders. I’m not defending Nazis or on some insane rant about Britain. I just think you need to judge decisions in context of the times.
- antonymoose 11mo ago
  The Nazis we’re not in power in 1909… stepping beyond that fact, my understanding is that the British pioneered the technique during the Boer Wars…
  - orwin 11mo ago
    But many of the nazis in power in 36 did their first experimentations in the colonies. And by the way, in 33, one of the first act of Nazi germany was the sterilization of black and multiracial children.

Spooky23 11mo ago

What was a tiny, broke, agrarian country just out of a civil war that was still simmering going to do about the Nazis? They had a well-justified disdain for being pulled into the British orbit. They chose neutrality. Do you hold Switzerland and Sweden to the same standard? If Britain were to join in a conflict with Russia over Ukraine, would you expect Indian soldiers to rally to the cause of their former King and Country? If you’re an American, would you be in favor of providing VA benefits to US Army soldiers who deserted and joined the Ukrainian army?

tim333 11mo ago
Dunno about deserting to join the Ukrainian army but they seem ok with leaving the US military and joining the Ukrainian army. See Malcolm Nance for example.
- TMWNN 11mo ago
  Nance had been retired from the US military for two decades when he joined the Ukrainian military.

jonplackett 11mo ago

Britain was still literally an empire at this point, currently colonising India and many other places. You can say they should fight the nazis anyway but making the argument that they should do this because Britain weren’t colonisers doesn’t make sense.

orwin 11mo ago

Ireland's position at the time (before they got images of concentration and elimination camps) was that what the Nazi did was no different than what colonial powers did during 200 years. And since the Nazis invented the concentration camps in Mozambique and Namibie (taking example from Belgium) around 1909, i'd say they weren't that wrong.

Spooky23 11mo ago
The Germans in Africa were cruel and inhumane. But the concentration camp and modern military campaigns targeting civilian populations were not something alien to the British. Most well documented was in the Boer war: https://theconversation.com/concentration-camps-in-the-south-african-war-here-are-the-real-facts-112006 https://theconversation.com/concentration-camps-in-the-south... Ireland is usually underplayed and less clearly linked to government policy as much of the dirty work was done by private entities. You’re not likely familiar with Cromwell’s invasion, the Ulster Plantation or the famine… but the Irish were. Cromwell’s actions and later events resulted in the death of 10+% of the population. The famine resulted in the death of 10% and emigration of 10% of the population. That’s a lot of dead Irish and deeply affected these leaders. I’m not defending Nazis or on some insane rant about Britain. I just think you need to judge decisions in context of the times.
antonymoose 11mo ago
The Nazis we’re not in power in 1909… stepping beyond that fact, my understanding is that the British pioneered the technique during the Boer Wars…
- orwin 11mo ago
  But many of the nazis in power in 36 did their first experimentations in the colonies. And by the way, in 33, one of the first act of Nazi germany was the sterilization of black and multiracial children.