REMAIN PURE, OR MARRY A MONSTER???

 The period leading up to WWII was full of intrigue and political division.  With whom should we ally?  Prepare for war?  Should we think mainly of our interests in the Pacific, or Europe? or???

       I did not plan to raise this topic, but when I saw Bose quoted, well, here goes.  Bose had been elected Mayor of Calcutta on the Congress Party ticket, I guess in the late 1930s.  Unlike Congress leaders Gandhi and Nehru, Bose was not inclined toward pacifism.  When war broke out, he was more interested in using force to free India from its colonial masters.  Brits held him under house arrest.  With help ov the Abwehr, he escapes, first to Afghanistan, and thence to Moscow (during the Nazi-Soviet Pact), and finally flown to Berlin. 

     Like Sir Roger Casement during the Great War, who recruited Irish POWs for the Reich, Casement also boarded a U-boat and emerged in Ireland, to be quickly apprehended by the Brits who knew of the forthcoming Easter Rebellion of 1916.  Tho it half-started badly, and many involved in the early episode would be executed, including Casement, it was the beginning of the end of Brit rule in Catholic Ireland.

    Once in Germany, Bose recruited Indian POWs for the Wehrmacht, and he broadcast over Radio Berlin to India.  Also broadcasting on Radio Berlin, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, with a simple message - kill the Jews.  He later visited Auschwitz.  Meanwhile, broadcasting from London was an Indian born gent (born in Burma, but I think Burma was then assigned to India) the man known as George Orwell. Orwell's broadcasts urged the colonials to support Britain.

    Remaining in Germany, Bose felt left behind in the struggle.  To activate things,  Bose boarded a German U-boot, and "sailed" to the coast of Vichy French Madagascar, where Bose switched to a Jap sub, and off to Asia.  With Japanese support, he proclaimed a provisional Republic of India, declared war on Britain and the US, and recruited the Indian National Army from among the Indian POWs of the Japs.  They finally had a major battle in 1945 at Imphal, and tho the Brits won, they were afraid that a Bose victory might see British rule crumble. (For a terrific account of this era, see the old series The Jewel in the Crown, n early, costly, and superb tv series from Britain's ITV)  But with the A-bombs, the Japs surrender, Bose loses his support, and dies in an airplane accident.  I did not know he said, Hitler, Stalin, Tojo, whatever is best for India.  But what is wrong with that?  FDR decided Hitler was the strongest enemy, so we would help Stalin.  And we did with considerable material.  And the FDR Adm. let Hollywood know, we needed some kindly Uncle Joe Stalin movies, and so North Star and other pro-Stalin Hollywood films were made and shown.  Truman had early said it would be best if the 2 monsters fought it out till both were ruined, but he was not then President.  America did choose, Stalin, helping him directly, and indirectly through spies.  Remember, Putin, in a speech in the early 21st century thanked Western scientists for their help in developing new weapons, providing suitcases of secrets.

    What about Gandhi?  Here is an AI discussion of another Congress Party leader's views of the era:

 

Mahatma Gandhi, a proponent of non-violent resistance, controversially suggested that Jews in Nazi Germany should respond to persecution with non-violent resistance and even embrace suffering as a form of protest. 

 

Here's a summary of his views:

1. Embracing Suffering and Non-violent Resistance:

• Gandhi believed that Jews should offer themselves to be killed rather than resist violently or flee.
• He argued that "suffering voluntarily undergone will bring them inner strength and joy".
• He suggested they should have "thrown themselves into the sea from cliffs," believing such extreme acts of non-violent resistance would "arouse the world and the people of Germany". 

2. Remaining Courageous and Asserting Equality:

• Gandhi urged Jews to remain courageous and practice non-violence, even in the face of extreme brutality.
• He believed they should assert their rights as equal citizens within Germany and refuse to be discriminated against. 

3. Criticisms and Controversies:

• Gandhi's views on Jewish resistance during the Holocaust were widely criticized, even by those who admired his broader philosophy of non-violence.
• Critics argued that his advice was unrealistic and impractical in the face of Nazi atrocities.
• Some questioned whether Gandhi truly understood the scope of the Nazi persecution and the threat it posed to Jewish survival. 

In Conclusion:

Gandhi's recommendations for Jews in Nazi Germany were rooted in his strong belief in the power of non-violent resistance. However, his specific proposals were considered controversial and largely unrealistic by many, particularly in the context of the Holocaust. 

 

    Orwell was one of many critical of Gandhi.

 

   I am often critical of FDR, but like Bose, he thought of what might be best for his country.  And you make a marriage of convenience, even to a monster.

   Tony and I work together on many items, but we do disagree on many things too.  Yes, I think that Stalin was a monster, in many ways; but at times he was our monster ally in the struggle against another monster.     Hugh Murray