Eighty-four years ago, in March 1938, Hitler made himself the advocate of ethnic Germans living in neighboring Czechoslovakia. The German-areas of Czechoslovakia were called the Sudetenland. In April 1938 Sudeten Nazis, led by Konrad Henlein, agitated for autonomy. The Sudeten Nazis are very comparable to the self-appointed, Russian-speaking militants who took over parts of Ukraine’s Dombas region. Hitler claimed that he wanted to protect the German-speaking residents of Czechoslovakia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is using Hitler’s playbook, claiming that he is “protecting” the Russian-speaking residents of the Ukraine from harassment. Both Hitler’s and Putin’s claims were false—neither group was being discriminated against or harmed in any way.
Putin falsely claims that genocide is taking place. He claims that there are mass graves of Russian-speaking Ukrainians. Putin’s claim of genocide has as much proof as Trump’s claim for voter fraud: none. Both Hitler and Putin used subterfuge to claim a right to invade a neighbor’s territory and killing thousands of innocent civilians in their aim for European dominance.
In August 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain sent Lord Runciman on a mission to Czechoslovakia in order to see if he could obtain a settlement between the Czech government and the Germans concerning the Sudetenland. He failed to reach an agreement. The next month Neville Chamberlain met Adolf Hitler in Germany and agreed to the cession of the entire Sudetenland. French Prime Minister Edouard Daladier concurred. No Czechoslovak representative was invited to these discussions. Germany was now able to walk into the Sudetenland without firing a shot. The Czech government, though not party to the talks, surrendered to Hitler’s threats and abided by the agreement on Sept. 30.
Hitler’s hunger for territory was not satiated. The remaining Czech part of Czechoslovakia was subsequently invaded by Germany in March, 1939. Germany annexed part of the country and the remainder was turned into the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. The Slovak part of the once-sovereign nation declared its independence from Czechoslovakia becoming the Slovak Republic, a satellite state and ally of Germany.
On Feb. 21, 2022, Russian President Putin signed legislation that accepted the independence of the Russian-speaking Ukrainian province of Donbas, an historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine, a third of whose territory was occupied by two separatist groups calling themselves the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic.
These two so-called republics are led by self-appointed dictators like Konrad Henlein was to the Sudetenland. None of these so-called leaders were elected, they merely seized power.
The United States, Europe and the rest of the civilized world must not act like Neville Chamberlain and concede sovereignty to Russia. We have conceded Crimea to Russia, which it occupied without a shot being fired.
While we are now in a nuclear age, understandably, we cannot send troops to defend the Ukraine. We can, however, impose exceptionally stiff sanctions and send a massive airlift of arms to the Ukraine so that it is able to defend itself.
We should also immediately ban the importation of all Russian products. I will not be happy until all Stolichnaya vodka and Russian caviar is removed from our grocery store shelves. After the Russian takeover of Crimea and the Russian arming of insurgents in Donbas, we still see Russian caviar and vodka on store shelves throughout the United States. This must stop.
Vodka and caviar are a few of the Russian products that we still buy. We don’t need them. We never did. We have Smirnoff Vodka, made in the United States (developed in Russian in 1864, but escaped when the communists took over), as well as many other American-made vodkas including award-winning Tito’s and Rain Organic Vodka. If you must have caviar, try American Sterling caviar, Marky’s Beluga Caviar or American Paddlefish caviar.
About 5,000 Russians are now studying at American colleges and universities. Throw them out. Deport them. Give them 24 hours to leave. They come from the most influential, wealthiest families in Russia and by immediately deporting them we will be sending Russia a strong message: Get civilized or get out.
All nations should ban flights to and from Russia to isolate it further. The United Nations should expel Russia. Since Russia has shown that it is not committed to the basic goals of the UN, world peace, it must be thrown out. Russia is an outlaw nation and must be shunned by the civilized world. And most importantly, Putin should be indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes.
Joel Joseph is a lawyer and chairman of the Made in the USA Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting American-made products. Email joeldjoseph@gmail.com. Phone 310 MADE-USA
From The Progressive Populist, April 1, 2022
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