A Nation's Tale, Part 6

A Nation's Tale, Part 6
Thursday, May 14, 2020 by Dr. James W. Walraven

What lessons can we learn from this tale?

As you may have guessed this “fictional tale” is a very thinly disguised telling of what happened in Germany from shortly before World War I through the end of World War II (with a couple exceptions).

There are a number of things that happened during that time frame, especially during the Weimar Republic years and what followed that parallel our own situation. We have a very one-sided press, and woe to anyone who disagrees with that view. The polarization we are facing is not helpful. The difference is that for us, the intimidation is coming from the political Left. One political party in particular is proposing things that if enacted have the potential of bankrupting our currency. Like the Weimar Republic, our currency has no real backing. Berlin, during the Weimar years seems to have been regarded as the world’s capital for “free sex” and “alternative lifestyles.” Those choices didn’t end well.

The media can both have an agenda and be very wrong at the same time. Hitler was voted Time’s man of the year because of how he revived Germany in the 1930s, prior to World War II. With all that is being pushed with COVID-19, along with a particular political view (other views are generally ignored, and thereby in essence censored), skepticism is wise. Again the divisiveness and polarization is not helpful. Jesus had a lot to say about a divided kingdom, and that applies not only to the spiritual realm, but nations as well.

What is downplayed in the description of Germany’s leader is that he was a staunch atheist evolutionist along with having family ties to the occult. Although a bit off topic, more people were murdered in the twentieth century by atheistic leaders than were killed in any previous time in history. Hitler murdered an estimated 12 million (six million Jews, and six million other undesirables). How many Stalin murdered is hotly debated, especially by “emergent” historians. A total of 20 million is very possible when including the number of people he killed indirectly through starvation. In China, Mao may have murdered as many as 77 million (again exact totals, who knows?). On a per capita basis Pol Pot murdered even more. It is estimated that from 1975–1979 he murdered somewhere between 21–24% of the entire population of Cambodia. Currently, deaths in North Korea are estimated around 1.5 million. There is a pattern here, and the Bible warns us of one who is coming who will murder on a vastly greater scale.

If we think we are immune, we are fooling ourselves, especially given how some groups in our country are starting to be regarded. It is worth remembering that the persecution of the Jews by Hitler escalated over time. It started with all sorts of slanderous articles in the press. The Jews were then forced to wear a star of David identifying themselves as Jews. On November 9–10, 1938, the turning point came: Kristallnacht. Jewish homes, schools, and businesses were looted, and synagogues were burned. The name is taken from all the shattered glass windows. The concentration camps would follow. The government’s program was calculated and deliberate. People started to believe the press and the propaganda being churning out. They then accepted the Jews being singled out, and their inferior status. The government could then escalate their persecutions, and eventually institute mass murder. Again, we are not immune to that same process.

In the next part, we will look at some of the things we can learn regarding how the church responded. What we will find is that key church leaders were more wrapped up in German politics rather than Jesus.

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