Mankind's history is steeped in war, blood, and death. The 21st century is the most peaceful time in history. Consequently, it is difficult to grapple with the fact that only about 75 years ago, the human race was responsible for the bloodiest wars and genocides the world has ever witnessed.
Hitler and the Nazi regime get much traction from the media and general population. He is often regarded as the most evil person ever to exist. While it is understandable for one to have this opinion, ruthless dictators like Stalin, Mao, and Hirohito are largely ignored. In fact, the Nazis didn't even cause close to the highest death toll or the most suffering. The Japanese empire, for instance, exceeds all boundaries set by the Nazis in terms of the cruelty beset upon another race. The last century recorded close to 123 million deaths due to war, genocide, and massacres. It's essential to understand why so much blood was spilled. This series of articles will talk about various regimes of the 20th century, how they came into power, and what they did.
This series will also address the lack of knowledge of our past and the cruciality of historical literacy. History is an indispensable part of education that is neglected and often twisted. Various events were recorded in different ways, depending on circumstances and politics. The main goal of these articles is to help people understand at least some events that happened. Historical literacy isn't only about remembering the dead. Its primary purpose is to understand our past so that we don't keep making the same mistakes over and over again. A German philosopher, Friedrich Hegel, once said: "The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history."
This, unfortunately, remains to be true. The consequences of forgetting one's past will only lead to its repetition.
"Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
- George Santayana
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