E-mail the Congress:
Congratulations to Sec. Napolitano on her new security clearance program for people entering the United States!
Sec. Napolitano has done mostly a miserable job up to now, but we must give credit where credit is due. As Secretary of Homeland Security, her job is to protect physically the people of the United States, including guarding them from terrorists entering from abroad.
The new program will involve initial questioning on race and religion, which seems to have upset a number of people. The record shows that Muslims and nonwhites have the highest prevalence for terrorist activities. Therefore, this is a logical area for questioning. The Secretary has said that people of those two groups will have special concentration on the initial interrogation, and may even go on to a second phase of interrogation, depending upon information collected in the primary instance. The Secretary is not talking about beating these people, torturing them, or jailing them. Some may be considered this profiling, but profiling is the only way progress is made on some problems.
In the 1970s, I was pulled out of line at Hawaii airport screening, for a private disrobing and body search. I was never given a reason for this action by immigration authorities, and I believe I should have had an explanation. However, I was not overly disturbed, and was especially appreciative of the diligence of immigration authorities, when I learned later that I fit the description of a person who was reported to be bringing drugs into the state.
I am on the whole a strong believer in individual freedoms but admit that some license must be taken depending on circumstances. In 1944, I was forced into the United States Army and subsequently required to do my best on uranium separation for an atomic bomb. I had no desire to kill thousands of people, but I did have an understanding that I could shorten casualties of the US military by use of this device. I felt my temporary limitation on individual liberties was justified for the good of the country.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Poppies Are the Basis for Afghan/US Split
E-mail to Congress:
EIN News says, "Afghan President Blames Western Officials for Election Fraud. Just days after a visit by President Obama, Hamid Karzai blames foreigners for last year's problems and says they 'do not want us to have a parliamentary election' in September. (latimes.com)".
Here we start to see cracks in the dike caused by increasing political pressure. The fact is that neither the Afghan people nor the Afghan government want us in their country. They know that part of our objective for drug control in the United States is to eliminate drug production at its source. The Afghan income from foreign sources is almost exclusively from poppy related products, in the form of heroin. As poor as these people are, they will be worse off without that income, and they know it is our objective to kill it. They can count on the foreign income from the presence of the US military in the short term, but know but that it is of limited duration. The market for poppy related products will continue indefinitely.
EIN News says, "Afghan President Blames Western Officials for Election Fraud. Just days after a visit by President Obama, Hamid Karzai blames foreigners for last year's problems and says they 'do not want us to have a parliamentary election' in September. (latimes.com)".
Here we start to see cracks in the dike caused by increasing political pressure. The fact is that neither the Afghan people nor the Afghan government want us in their country. They know that part of our objective for drug control in the United States is to eliminate drug production at its source. The Afghan income from foreign sources is almost exclusively from poppy related products, in the form of heroin. As poor as these people are, they will be worse off without that income, and they know it is our objective to kill it. They can count on the foreign income from the presence of the US military in the short term, but know but that it is of limited duration. The market for poppy related products will continue indefinitely.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Basis of the Afghanistan War
E-mail to Congress:
EIN News says, "U.S. Aid Going to Afghanistan Partners. The Pentagon is pouring millions of dollars into equipment and training for its smaller partner nations in the Afghanistan war, a new effort that could encourage some countries not to abandon the increasingly unpopular conflict. (seattlepi.com)".
This is what happens when you have a dirty job and you don't want to do it yourself. You hire somebody else to do it, if you have the money. The US doesn't have the money. We are deeply in debt and continue to increase our debt through budget deficit financing.
Let's consider again why we are in this Afghanistan war. We say we are not nation building. Fine, we will take it that. We also say we are protecting ourselves from terrorists by moving the operation abroad rather than trying to control them in the US. While that sounds good on the surface, it is not necessary to have ground forces to do that job. Through a combination of intelligence and technical observations from satellites and other means, we can easily pick out training camps or the physical locations of other operations detrimental to the US, and bomb the hell out of them. That's why we have an air force. If we can't do this with conventional explosives, let's develop a nice compact atomic bomb that will do the job. We need to forget the reticence to use atomic explosives, because of promises to other countries that we would not do so. Subsequent developments of atomic explosives in many countries of the world have made this promise obsolete. We need to maintain superiority in atomic weaponry. One of the best ways to do this is to establish small atomic weapons to do specific jobs without too much ancillary killing of citizenry.
If one wants to deceive himself into thinking that our military presence in Afghanistan is favorable to the Afghanistan people, we need to think again. Perhaps we think we are protecting the Afghanistan people from the Taliban. It should not be our business to do that, if the people want the Taliban. Consider also that Afghanistan is a great area for production of poppies, leading to heroin, which has great acceptance on the world market. This is a substantial portion of the Afghanistan GDP, and it is well known that the US desires to wipe it out. If you were an Afghanistan citizen, would you welcome a foreign military operation, whose intention is to reduce your standard a living from an already poor state? If we are there to eliminate poppy production, let's be clear about it and maximize our use of herbicides to do so. We are likely in this operation to reap the wrath of the Afghanistan people, but so be it.
I have mixed feelings on drug use. There will always be individuals who will choose that route, but most will not. The Dutch program works on that basis. It is not possible to stamp out drug use, but it is also not desirable to promote it. A Mexican official has said that it is not Mexico's fault that the US desires marijuana. If the market were not there, there would be no need to produce it. I believe our government should spend considerably less time and money on controlling the influx of drugs and also on rehabilitation of drug addicts. Most addicts are there because they took a risk and failed. It is not the responsibility of the remaining public to bail them out of their situation. As unemployment remains high, there will likely be a greater increase in drug addiction, because these people have nothing else to do. Whether we support them as unemployed or as drug addicts makes little difference economically. In either case, they are nonproductive.
EIN News says, "U.S. Aid Going to Afghanistan Partners. The Pentagon is pouring millions of dollars into equipment and training for its smaller partner nations in the Afghanistan war, a new effort that could encourage some countries not to abandon the increasingly unpopular conflict. (seattlepi.com)".
This is what happens when you have a dirty job and you don't want to do it yourself. You hire somebody else to do it, if you have the money. The US doesn't have the money. We are deeply in debt and continue to increase our debt through budget deficit financing.
Let's consider again why we are in this Afghanistan war. We say we are not nation building. Fine, we will take it that. We also say we are protecting ourselves from terrorists by moving the operation abroad rather than trying to control them in the US. While that sounds good on the surface, it is not necessary to have ground forces to do that job. Through a combination of intelligence and technical observations from satellites and other means, we can easily pick out training camps or the physical locations of other operations detrimental to the US, and bomb the hell out of them. That's why we have an air force. If we can't do this with conventional explosives, let's develop a nice compact atomic bomb that will do the job. We need to forget the reticence to use atomic explosives, because of promises to other countries that we would not do so. Subsequent developments of atomic explosives in many countries of the world have made this promise obsolete. We need to maintain superiority in atomic weaponry. One of the best ways to do this is to establish small atomic weapons to do specific jobs without too much ancillary killing of citizenry.
If one wants to deceive himself into thinking that our military presence in Afghanistan is favorable to the Afghanistan people, we need to think again. Perhaps we think we are protecting the Afghanistan people from the Taliban. It should not be our business to do that, if the people want the Taliban. Consider also that Afghanistan is a great area for production of poppies, leading to heroin, which has great acceptance on the world market. This is a substantial portion of the Afghanistan GDP, and it is well known that the US desires to wipe it out. If you were an Afghanistan citizen, would you welcome a foreign military operation, whose intention is to reduce your standard a living from an already poor state? If we are there to eliminate poppy production, let's be clear about it and maximize our use of herbicides to do so. We are likely in this operation to reap the wrath of the Afghanistan people, but so be it.
I have mixed feelings on drug use. There will always be individuals who will choose that route, but most will not. The Dutch program works on that basis. It is not possible to stamp out drug use, but it is also not desirable to promote it. A Mexican official has said that it is not Mexico's fault that the US desires marijuana. If the market were not there, there would be no need to produce it. I believe our government should spend considerably less time and money on controlling the influx of drugs and also on rehabilitation of drug addicts. Most addicts are there because they took a risk and failed. It is not the responsibility of the remaining public to bail them out of their situation. As unemployment remains high, there will likely be a greater increase in drug addiction, because these people have nothing else to do. Whether we support them as unemployed or as drug addicts makes little difference economically. In either case, they are nonproductive.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Using Nazi Identification Techniques in the US
E-mail to Congress:
EIN News says, "Immigration Overhaul Calls for Capturing Biometric Data of All US Citizens. March 19, 2010 /EIN PRESSWIRE/ Part of the overhaul of US immigration policy would call for new Social Security cards that would include biometric information of all citizens."
This is a silly proposal. The Germans developed a much better identification technique in the '30s. They tattooed numbers on the backs of the hands of Jews. This has the advantage of quick identification. Not necessary to fool around looking for a card, which you may not have with you or which actually may be someone else's or a phony.
True. The Nazi's identified the Jews before tattooing. The present "immigration overall" proposal suggests that everyone have the card. The actual sorting can be done later.
Wikipedia defines biometrics as follows: "Biometrics comprises methods for uniquely recognizing humans based upon one or more intrinsic physical or behavioral traits. In computer science, in particular, biometrics is used as a form of identity access management and access control. It is also used to identify individuals in groups that are under surveillance."
Note the part about identifying individuals, who are parts of groups under surveillance. Democrats in power could then easily round up all identified Republicans and parade them to the gas chamber.
EIN News says, "Immigration Overhaul Calls for Capturing Biometric Data of All US Citizens. March 19, 2010 /EIN PRESSWIRE/ Part of the overhaul of US immigration policy would call for new Social Security cards that would include biometric information of all citizens."
This is a silly proposal. The Germans developed a much better identification technique in the '30s. They tattooed numbers on the backs of the hands of Jews. This has the advantage of quick identification. Not necessary to fool around looking for a card, which you may not have with you or which actually may be someone else's or a phony.
True. The Nazi's identified the Jews before tattooing. The present "immigration overall" proposal suggests that everyone have the card. The actual sorting can be done later.
Wikipedia defines biometrics as follows: "Biometrics comprises methods for uniquely recognizing humans based upon one or more intrinsic physical or behavioral traits. In computer science, in particular, biometrics is used as a form of identity access management and access control. It is also used to identify individuals in groups that are under surveillance."
Note the part about identifying individuals, who are parts of groups under surveillance. Democrats in power could then easily round up all identified Republicans and parade them to the gas chamber.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Jewish Support Goes under the Bus
E-mail the Congress:
EIN News says, "White House Goes on the Offensive Against Netanyahu. Israel's government was yesterday facing the worst chill in relations with the U.S. since taking office after a top White House official said the announcement of plans to expand an East Jerusalem settlement seemed "calculated to undermine" the negotiating process. (independent.co.uk)".
This is a very interesting development.
US Jews are a very important voting block. They have traditionally voted Democratic, and they put their money where their mouth is. They were very instrumental in helping Obama be elected as President.
However after the election, we have all learned that Pres. Obama is a combination Muslim/Marxist. The Marxist aspect generally does not bother US Jews. While they tend to operate on the benefits of a private enterprise system, they have a strong leaning toward socialism, which is why they generally vote democratic as a block.
Having had Jewish support to put him in office, Pres. Obama is now proceeding with his previously disguised program of developing a Muslim US society. To do so, he needs Muslim support. The number of potential Muslim supporters/voters in the US and abroad far exceeds the potential Jewish support, for which reason he is wiling to throw Jewish support "under the bus".
EIN News says, "White House Goes on the Offensive Against Netanyahu. Israel's government was yesterday facing the worst chill in relations with the U.S. since taking office after a top White House official said the announcement of plans to expand an East Jerusalem settlement seemed "calculated to undermine" the negotiating process. (independent.co.uk)".
This is a very interesting development.
US Jews are a very important voting block. They have traditionally voted Democratic, and they put their money where their mouth is. They were very instrumental in helping Obama be elected as President.
However after the election, we have all learned that Pres. Obama is a combination Muslim/Marxist. The Marxist aspect generally does not bother US Jews. While they tend to operate on the benefits of a private enterprise system, they have a strong leaning toward socialism, which is why they generally vote democratic as a block.
Having had Jewish support to put him in office, Pres. Obama is now proceeding with his previously disguised program of developing a Muslim US society. To do so, he needs Muslim support. The number of potential Muslim supporters/voters in the US and abroad far exceeds the potential Jewish support, for which reason he is wiling to throw Jewish support "under the bus".
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Coalition against Marxist Obama?
E-mail to Congress:
EIN News says "Lawmakers Decry Energy Grants That Create Foreign Work. Four Democratic senators on Wednesday implored the Obama administration to stop spending federal stimulus dollars on renewable energy projects whenever the bulk of solar cell and wind turbine manufacturing is done overseas. (chron.com)".
Are a few Democrats waking up to the fact that Pres. Obama is a Marxist, rather than the Democrat? He has only used the Democratic Party to gain initial power. Marxism has a worldwide expansion objective, similar to Christianity and Islam. However the latter two are excluded from government action by our Constitution. Marxism is not.
Is this an opportunity to start a coalition with awakened Democrats to work against the Marxist objectives of the Obama Administration?
EIN News says "Lawmakers Decry Energy Grants That Create Foreign Work. Four Democratic senators on Wednesday implored the Obama administration to stop spending federal stimulus dollars on renewable energy projects whenever the bulk of solar cell and wind turbine manufacturing is done overseas. (chron.com)".
Are a few Democrats waking up to the fact that Pres. Obama is a Marxist, rather than the Democrat? He has only used the Democratic Party to gain initial power. Marxism has a worldwide expansion objective, similar to Christianity and Islam. However the latter two are excluded from government action by our Constitution. Marxism is not.
Is this an opportunity to start a coalition with awakened Democrats to work against the Marxist objectives of the Obama Administration?
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Will We Repeat Austrian/German Nazism in the US?
E-mail to Congress:
I'm old enough to have lived as a US resident through the time of Nazi development. What Kitty says below is consistent with my remembrance. The key point is that Nazism developed because the German people wanted Hitler. Perhaps they later changed their collective mind, but by that time it was too late.
The American people wanted Obama and voted him in. Is the collective mood changing? Is it too late?
ACS
This Truly Is the Greatest Country in the World.
Don’t Let Freedom Slip Away.
By: Kitty Werthmann
What I am about to tell you is something you’ve probably never heard or will ever read in history books.
I believe that I am an eyewitness to history. I cannot tell you that Hitler took Austria by tanks and guns; it would distort history. We elected him by a landslide – 98% of the vote. I’ve never read that in any American publications.
Everyone thinks that Hitler just rolled in with his tanks and took Austria by force.
In 1938, Austria was in deep Depression. Nearly one-third of our workforce was unemployed.. We had 25% inflation and 25% bank loan interest rates.
Farmers and business people were declaring bankruptcy daily. Young people were going from house to house begging for food. Not that they didn’t want to work; there simply weren’t any jobs. My mother was a Christian woman and believed in helping people in need. Every day we cooked a big kettle of soup and baked bread to feed those poor, hungry people – about 30 daily.
The Communist Party and the National Socialist Party were fighting each other. Blocks and blocks of cities like Vienna , Linz , and Graz were destroyed. The people became desperate and petitioned the government to let them decide what kind of government they wanted.
We looked to our neighbor on the north, Germany, where Hitler had been in power since 1933. We had been told that they didn’t have unemployment or crime, and they had a high standard of living. Nothing was ever said about persecution of any group – Jewish or otherwise. We were led to believe that everyone was happy. We wanted the same way of life in Austria . We were promised that a vote for Hitler would mean the end of unemployment and help for the family. Hitler also said that businesses would be assisted, and farmers would get their farms back. Ninety-eight percent of the population voted to annex Austria to Germany and have Hitler for our ruler.
We were overjoyed, and for three days we danced in the streets and had candlelight parades. The new government opened up big field kitchens and everyone was fed.
After the election, German officials were appointed, and like a miracle, we suddenly had law and order. Three or four weeks later, everyone was employed. The government made sure that a lot of work was created through the Public Work Service.
Hitler decided we should have equal rights for women. Before this, it was a custom that married Austrian women did not work outside the home. An able-bodied husband would be looked down on if he couldn’t support his family. Many women in the teaching profession were elated that they could retain the jobs they previously had been required to give up for marriage.
Hitler Targets Education – Eliminates Religious Instruction for Children:
Our education was nationalized. I attended a very good public school. The population was predominantly Catholic, so we had religion in our schools. The day we elected Hitler (March 13, 1938), I walked into my schoolroom to find the crucifix replaced by Hitler’s picture hanging next to a Nazi flag. Our teacher, a very devout woman, stood up and told the class we wouldn’t pray or have religion anymore. Instead, we sang “Deutschland, Deutschland, Uber Alles,” and had physical education.
Sunday became National Youth Day with compulsory attendance. Parents were not pleased about the sudden change in curriculum. They were told that if they did not send us, they would receive a stiff letter of warning the first time. The second time they would be fined the equivalent of $300, and the third time they would be subject to jail. The first two hours consisted of political indoctrination. The rest of the day we had sports. As time went along, we loved it. Oh, we had so much fun and got our sports equipment free. We would go home and gleefully tell our parents about the wonderful time we had.
My mother was very unhappy. When the next term started, she took me out of public school and put me in a convent. I told her she couldn’t do that and she told me that someday when I grew up, I would be grateful. There was a very good curriculum, but hardly any fun – no sports, and no political indoctrination. I hated it at first but felt I could tolerate it. Every once in a while, on holidays, I went home. I would go back to my old friends and ask what was going on and what they were doing. Their loose lifestyle was very alarming to me. They lived without religion. By that time unwed mothers were glorified for having a baby for Hitler. It seemed strange to me that our society changed so suddenly. As time went along, I realized what a great deed my mother did so that I wasn’t exposed to that kind of humanistic philosophy.
Equal Rights Hits Home:
In 1939, the war started and a food bank was established. All food was rationed and could only be purchased using food stamps. At the same time, a full-employment law was passed which meant if you didn’t work, you didn’t get a ration card, and if you didn’t have a card, you starved to death. Women who stayed home to raise their families didn’t have any marketable skills and often had to take jobs more suited for men.
Soon after this, the draft was implemented. It was compulsory for young people, male and female, to give one year to the labor corps. During the day, the girls worked on the farms, and at night they returned to their barracks for military training just like the boys. They were trained to be anti-aircraft gunners and participated in the signal corps. After the labor corps, they were not discharged but were used in the front lines. When I go back to Austria to visit my family and friends, most of these women are emotional cripples because they just were not equipped to handle the horrors of combat.
Three months before I turned 18, I was severely injured in an air raid attack. I nearly had a leg amputated, so I was spared having to go into the labor corps and into military service.
Hitler Restructured the Family Through Daycare:
When the mothers had to go out into the work force, the government immediately established child care centers. You could take your children ages 4 weeks to school age and leave them there around-the-clock, 7 days a week, under the total care of the government. The state raised a whole generation of children. There were no motherly women to take care of the children, just people highly trained in child psychology. By this time, no one talked about equal rights. We knew we had been had.
Health Care and Small Business Suffer Under Government Controls:
Before Hitler, we had very good medical care. Many American doctors trained at the University of Vienna . After Hitler, health care was socialized, free for everyone. Doctors were salaried by the government. The problem was, since it was free, the people were going to the doctors for everything. When the good doctor arrived at his office at 8 a.m., 40 people were already waiting and, at the same time, the hospitals were full. If you needed elective surgery, you had to wait a year or two for your turn. There was no money for research as it was poured into socialized medicine. Research at the medical schools literally stopped, so the best doctors left Austria and emigrated to other countries.
As for healthcare, our tax rates went up to 80% of our income. Newly-weds immediately received a $1,000 loan from the government to establish a household. We had big programs for families. All day care and education were free. High schools were taken over by the government and college tuition was subsidized. Everyone was entitled to free handouts, such as food stamps, clothing, and housing.
We had another agency designed to monitor business. My brother-in-law owned a restaurant that had square tables. Government officials told him he had to replace them with round tables because people might bump themselves on the corners. Then they said he had to have additional bathroom facilities. It was just a small dairy business with a snack bar. He couldn’t meet all the demands. Soon, he went out of business. If the government owned the large businesses and not many small ones existed, it could be in control.
We had consumer protection. We were told how to shop and what to buy. Free enterprise was essentially abolished. We had a planning agency specially designed for farmers. The agents would go to the farms, count the live-stock, then tell the farmers what to produce, and how to produce it.
“Mercy Killing” Redefined:
In 1944, I was a student teacher in a small village in the Alps. The villagers were surrounded by mountain passes which, in the winter, were closed off with snow, causing people to be isolated. So people inter-married and offspring were sometimes retarded. When I arrived, I was told there were 15 mentally retarded adults, but they were all useful and did good manual work. I knew one, named Vincent, very well. He was a janitor of the school. One day I looked out the window and saw Vincent and others getting into a van. I asked my superior where they were going. She said to an institution where the State Health Department would teach them a trade, and to read and write. The families were required to sign papers with a little clause that they could not visit for 6 months. They were told visits would interfere with the program and might cause homesickness.
As time passed, letters started to dribble back saying these people died a natural, merciful death. The villagers were not fooled. We suspected what was happening. Those people left in excellent physical health and all died within 6 months. We called this euthanasia.
The Final Steps – Gun Laws:
Next came gun registration. People were getting injured by guns. Hitler said that the real way to catch criminals (we still had a few) was by matching serial numbers on guns. Most citizens were law abiding and dutifully marched to the police station to register their firearms. Not long after-wards, the police said that it was best for everyone to turn in their guns. The authorities already knew who had them, so it was futile not to comply voluntarily.
No more freedom of speech. Anyone who said something against the government was taken away. We knew many people who were arrested, not only Jews, but also priests and ministers who spoke up.
Totalitarianism didn’t come quickly, it took 5 years from 1938 until 1943, to realize full dictatorship in Austria. Had it happened overnight, my countrymen would have fought to the last breath.
Instead, we had creeping gradualism.
Now, our only weapons were broom handles. The whole idea sounds almost unbelievable that the state, little by little eroded our freedom.
After World War II, Russian troops occupied Austria . Women were raped, preteen to elderly. The press never wrote about this either. When the Soviets left in 1955, they took everything that they could, dismantling whole factories in the process. They sawed down whole orchards of fruit, and what they couldn’t destroy, they burned. We called it The Burned Earth. Most of the population barricaded themselves in their houses. Women hid in their cellars for 6 weeks as the troops mobilized. Those who couldn’t, paid the price. There is a monument in Vienna today, dedicated to those women who were massacred by the Russians. This is an eye witness account.
“It’s true, those of us who sailed past the Statue of Liberty came to a country of unbelievable freedom and opportunity. American truly is the Greatest Country in the World. Don’t let freedom slip away. After America, there is no place to go.”
by george
I'm old enough to have lived as a US resident through the time of Nazi development. What Kitty says below is consistent with my remembrance. The key point is that Nazism developed because the German people wanted Hitler. Perhaps they later changed their collective mind, but by that time it was too late.
The American people wanted Obama and voted him in. Is the collective mood changing? Is it too late?
ACS
This Truly Is the Greatest Country in the World.
Don’t Let Freedom Slip Away.
By: Kitty Werthmann
What I am about to tell you is something you’ve probably never heard or will ever read in history books.
I believe that I am an eyewitness to history. I cannot tell you that Hitler took Austria by tanks and guns; it would distort history. We elected him by a landslide – 98% of the vote. I’ve never read that in any American publications.
Everyone thinks that Hitler just rolled in with his tanks and took Austria by force.
In 1938, Austria was in deep Depression. Nearly one-third of our workforce was unemployed.. We had 25% inflation and 25% bank loan interest rates.
Farmers and business people were declaring bankruptcy daily. Young people were going from house to house begging for food. Not that they didn’t want to work; there simply weren’t any jobs. My mother was a Christian woman and believed in helping people in need. Every day we cooked a big kettle of soup and baked bread to feed those poor, hungry people – about 30 daily.
The Communist Party and the National Socialist Party were fighting each other. Blocks and blocks of cities like Vienna , Linz , and Graz were destroyed. The people became desperate and petitioned the government to let them decide what kind of government they wanted.
We looked to our neighbor on the north, Germany, where Hitler had been in power since 1933. We had been told that they didn’t have unemployment or crime, and they had a high standard of living. Nothing was ever said about persecution of any group – Jewish or otherwise. We were led to believe that everyone was happy. We wanted the same way of life in Austria . We were promised that a vote for Hitler would mean the end of unemployment and help for the family. Hitler also said that businesses would be assisted, and farmers would get their farms back. Ninety-eight percent of the population voted to annex Austria to Germany and have Hitler for our ruler.
We were overjoyed, and for three days we danced in the streets and had candlelight parades. The new government opened up big field kitchens and everyone was fed.
After the election, German officials were appointed, and like a miracle, we suddenly had law and order. Three or four weeks later, everyone was employed. The government made sure that a lot of work was created through the Public Work Service.
Hitler decided we should have equal rights for women. Before this, it was a custom that married Austrian women did not work outside the home. An able-bodied husband would be looked down on if he couldn’t support his family. Many women in the teaching profession were elated that they could retain the jobs they previously had been required to give up for marriage.
Hitler Targets Education – Eliminates Religious Instruction for Children:
Our education was nationalized. I attended a very good public school. The population was predominantly Catholic, so we had religion in our schools. The day we elected Hitler (March 13, 1938), I walked into my schoolroom to find the crucifix replaced by Hitler’s picture hanging next to a Nazi flag. Our teacher, a very devout woman, stood up and told the class we wouldn’t pray or have religion anymore. Instead, we sang “Deutschland, Deutschland, Uber Alles,” and had physical education.
Sunday became National Youth Day with compulsory attendance. Parents were not pleased about the sudden change in curriculum. They were told that if they did not send us, they would receive a stiff letter of warning the first time. The second time they would be fined the equivalent of $300, and the third time they would be subject to jail. The first two hours consisted of political indoctrination. The rest of the day we had sports. As time went along, we loved it. Oh, we had so much fun and got our sports equipment free. We would go home and gleefully tell our parents about the wonderful time we had.
My mother was very unhappy. When the next term started, she took me out of public school and put me in a convent. I told her she couldn’t do that and she told me that someday when I grew up, I would be grateful. There was a very good curriculum, but hardly any fun – no sports, and no political indoctrination. I hated it at first but felt I could tolerate it. Every once in a while, on holidays, I went home. I would go back to my old friends and ask what was going on and what they were doing. Their loose lifestyle was very alarming to me. They lived without religion. By that time unwed mothers were glorified for having a baby for Hitler. It seemed strange to me that our society changed so suddenly. As time went along, I realized what a great deed my mother did so that I wasn’t exposed to that kind of humanistic philosophy.
Equal Rights Hits Home:
In 1939, the war started and a food bank was established. All food was rationed and could only be purchased using food stamps. At the same time, a full-employment law was passed which meant if you didn’t work, you didn’t get a ration card, and if you didn’t have a card, you starved to death. Women who stayed home to raise their families didn’t have any marketable skills and often had to take jobs more suited for men.
Soon after this, the draft was implemented. It was compulsory for young people, male and female, to give one year to the labor corps. During the day, the girls worked on the farms, and at night they returned to their barracks for military training just like the boys. They were trained to be anti-aircraft gunners and participated in the signal corps. After the labor corps, they were not discharged but were used in the front lines. When I go back to Austria to visit my family and friends, most of these women are emotional cripples because they just were not equipped to handle the horrors of combat.
Three months before I turned 18, I was severely injured in an air raid attack. I nearly had a leg amputated, so I was spared having to go into the labor corps and into military service.
Hitler Restructured the Family Through Daycare:
When the mothers had to go out into the work force, the government immediately established child care centers. You could take your children ages 4 weeks to school age and leave them there around-the-clock, 7 days a week, under the total care of the government. The state raised a whole generation of children. There were no motherly women to take care of the children, just people highly trained in child psychology. By this time, no one talked about equal rights. We knew we had been had.
Health Care and Small Business Suffer Under Government Controls:
Before Hitler, we had very good medical care. Many American doctors trained at the University of Vienna . After Hitler, health care was socialized, free for everyone. Doctors were salaried by the government. The problem was, since it was free, the people were going to the doctors for everything. When the good doctor arrived at his office at 8 a.m., 40 people were already waiting and, at the same time, the hospitals were full. If you needed elective surgery, you had to wait a year or two for your turn. There was no money for research as it was poured into socialized medicine. Research at the medical schools literally stopped, so the best doctors left Austria and emigrated to other countries.
As for healthcare, our tax rates went up to 80% of our income. Newly-weds immediately received a $1,000 loan from the government to establish a household. We had big programs for families. All day care and education were free. High schools were taken over by the government and college tuition was subsidized. Everyone was entitled to free handouts, such as food stamps, clothing, and housing.
We had another agency designed to monitor business. My brother-in-law owned a restaurant that had square tables. Government officials told him he had to replace them with round tables because people might bump themselves on the corners. Then they said he had to have additional bathroom facilities. It was just a small dairy business with a snack bar. He couldn’t meet all the demands. Soon, he went out of business. If the government owned the large businesses and not many small ones existed, it could be in control.
We had consumer protection. We were told how to shop and what to buy. Free enterprise was essentially abolished. We had a planning agency specially designed for farmers. The agents would go to the farms, count the live-stock, then tell the farmers what to produce, and how to produce it.
“Mercy Killing” Redefined:
In 1944, I was a student teacher in a small village in the Alps. The villagers were surrounded by mountain passes which, in the winter, were closed off with snow, causing people to be isolated. So people inter-married and offspring were sometimes retarded. When I arrived, I was told there were 15 mentally retarded adults, but they were all useful and did good manual work. I knew one, named Vincent, very well. He was a janitor of the school. One day I looked out the window and saw Vincent and others getting into a van. I asked my superior where they were going. She said to an institution where the State Health Department would teach them a trade, and to read and write. The families were required to sign papers with a little clause that they could not visit for 6 months. They were told visits would interfere with the program and might cause homesickness.
As time passed, letters started to dribble back saying these people died a natural, merciful death. The villagers were not fooled. We suspected what was happening. Those people left in excellent physical health and all died within 6 months. We called this euthanasia.
The Final Steps – Gun Laws:
Next came gun registration. People were getting injured by guns. Hitler said that the real way to catch criminals (we still had a few) was by matching serial numbers on guns. Most citizens were law abiding and dutifully marched to the police station to register their firearms. Not long after-wards, the police said that it was best for everyone to turn in their guns. The authorities already knew who had them, so it was futile not to comply voluntarily.
No more freedom of speech. Anyone who said something against the government was taken away. We knew many people who were arrested, not only Jews, but also priests and ministers who spoke up.
Totalitarianism didn’t come quickly, it took 5 years from 1938 until 1943, to realize full dictatorship in Austria. Had it happened overnight, my countrymen would have fought to the last breath.
Instead, we had creeping gradualism.
Now, our only weapons were broom handles. The whole idea sounds almost unbelievable that the state, little by little eroded our freedom.
After World War II, Russian troops occupied Austria . Women were raped, preteen to elderly. The press never wrote about this either. When the Soviets left in 1955, they took everything that they could, dismantling whole factories in the process. They sawed down whole orchards of fruit, and what they couldn’t destroy, they burned. We called it The Burned Earth. Most of the population barricaded themselves in their houses. Women hid in their cellars for 6 weeks as the troops mobilized. Those who couldn’t, paid the price. There is a monument in Vienna today, dedicated to those women who were massacred by the Russians. This is an eye witness account.
“It’s true, those of us who sailed past the Statue of Liberty came to a country of unbelievable freedom and opportunity. American truly is the Greatest Country in the World. Don’t let freedom slip away. After America, there is no place to go.”
by george
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