Five Minute History

How Did Confessing Christians Tolerate Hitler? Excerpts From Post-War Interviews

The war softened the hearts of many Germans. One German remembers shopping during the time of the brutal Allied bombing of Berlin, the “shopkeeper was talking to another customer whom she knew and said, ‘This is the punishment for what we’ve done to the Jews.’ And she dared to say that much, although I was a stranger in her shop.” […]

Five Minute History

WWII Lessons: What Happens When Politicians Promote Violence? Comparing Mussolini and Hitler to Trump

The Fascist movements in Italy and Germany came to power with assistance by large gangs of fascist thugs who bullied, beat up, and sometimes murdered their opponents. These fascist thugs were drawn from the millions of veterans of the bloody fighting in the tranches of World War I. After assuming dictatorial powers Mussolini promised the Pope that he would reign in his thugs, but this was a promise he never fully kept, in part because these fascist gangs were hard to control, in part because he wanted to remind the Pope who was really in charge, who alone could rein in the gangs. […]

AntiSemitism

Viktor Frankl’s Logo-therapy, Man’s Search For Meaning in Life, Love, and Suffering

Viktor Frankl’s book, Man’s Search for Meaning, is a life-changing book and one of my favorites, it touched me deeply when I first read it many years ago. The main theme of the book is no matter what challenges you face in your life, or how busy you are, you always have time to be kind to all those whom you encounter, to be a positive influence on the lives whom you touch. Although he does not directly mention stoicism, his account of how he survived Auschwitz is a living example how a stoic mindset can help you survive and thrive through any challenge life may throw at you. […]

Five Minute History

Christians Surviving Fascism in World War II: What are the Dangers of Single-Issue Politics in Vichy France?

The danger of such a narrow view of the single issue politics of abortion is apparent when we review the history of the only anti-abortion, pro-Catholic regime in France after the French Revolution, the fascist regime of Vichy France that collaborated with the conquering Nazis. The leaders of this pro-Catholic Vichy regime were also deeply anti-Semitic and cooperated with the Germans to persecute the Jews from the earliest days of the regime. The Vichy regime was also deeply xenophobic in its immigration policies. Communism was the mortal enemy of the Christian faith; many Catholics saw fascists as allies in their struggles against communism. […]

Five Minute History

Christians Surviving Fascism in World War II: Under Hitler’s Brutal Nazi Regime, Were Brave Protests Ever Successful?

Hitler’s Nazi regime in Germany was an incredibly brutal regime. We must ask, Were Brave Protests Ever Successful in Nazi Germany?

The answer is a surprising YES, sometimes brave protests against one of the most evil regime in modern times were successful and did cause the Nazi state to retreat from its brutal policies. […]

Five Minute History

Christians Surviving Fascism in World War II: What Were the Major Concerns of the Church?

Many Christians are confused about what spiritual warfare means, but the definition of spiritual warfare in a relatively free modern society is simple: the spiritual battle is an eternal contest of who is going to influence whom. Will Christians push back on the godless influences surrounding them, slightly improving the virtues of those who they meet? Or will Christians allow the godless influences surrounding them to corrupt their love for their neighbor? Will their politics increase in them their love for their neighbor, or will their politics decrease their compassion for the poor, the sick, the immigrant, the unemployed, the imprisoned, the elderly, and those who do not look like them? […]

Greek and Roman History

Unique Spartan Warrior Culture and History, Plutarch’s Life of Lycurgus, Lawgiver of Sparta

Sparta was the city-state that dominated the Peloponnese, the region that is separated from Athens and the rest of Greece by the narrow Isthmus at Corinth, and without that isthmus it would be an island to itself. Sparta was a traditional and conservative agricultural society that was not welcoming to foreigners, other than aristocratic guest-friends. […]