The March of History

One of the more interesting documentaries last year was
National Geographic's Apocalypse World War II.

It is always interesting to decipher if history is a product of circumstances or the actions of individual people.

I believe it is both. Of course circumstances have to be ripe for revolutionary or colossal events to happen -- one can go back to the French Revolution, the American Revolution etc -- and that of Nazi Germany is no exception. But I also believe the actions of some individuals direct the turn of these events. In this case, Hitler's fanaticism and those around him. One of the most telling footages from this documentary is the sight of the six children of Joseph and Magda Goebbels playing in their yard as if the world was perfect even as the tide of war was turning against them, and the same children killed by their own parents when the end of the Reich drew near.

Maybe the course of history can be likened to a car -- the circumstances are like the engine providing the inevitable force forward, and the actions of individuals are like the steering wheel that directs these events to good or bad, ruin or victory.

May the lessons of history not be lost on us as we embark on the second decade of the 21st century.