Appeasement—History Repeats Itself

The following quote by Alexandr Solzhenitsyn from his 1970 Nobel lecture indicates that history is, indeed, repeating itself in foreign affairs.

Before reading the quote, it is necessary to review the results of the Munich Conference of March 1938. At that conference, France, the U.K., and Italy ceded the western part of Czechoslovakia to Germany before the outbreak of World War II without a shot being fired. It was done, supposedly because there were many ethnic Germans in that part of Czechoslovakia—German speakers. Czechoslovakia was not invited to the conference. In October 1938, in violation of the Conference’s agreements, German armies occupied Czechoslovakia. World War II was underway!

Today, we are watching as Russia plans a take-over of the Crimea, with the free world looking on. Russia's claim to the Crimea is that there are many ethnic Russians living there that speak Russian. The belief of liberal politicians led by President Obama is that Russia is so good-hearted that they will do nothing like the Germans of 1938. We’ll see.

I invite you to look at this prescient quote and make up your own mind: “The spirit of Munich has by no means retreated into the past; it was not merely a brief episode. I even venture to say that the spirit of Munich prevails in the 20th century. The timid civilized world has found nothing with which to oppose the onslaught of a sudden revival of barefaced barbarity, other than concessions and smiles. The spirit of Munich is a sickness of the will of successful people, it is the daily condition of those who have given themselves up to the thirst after prosperity at any price, to material well-being as the chief goal of earthly existence. Such people—and there are many in today's world—elect passivity and retreat, just so as their accustomed life might drag on a bit longer, just so as not to step over the threshold of hardship today—and tomorrow, you'll see, it will all be all right. (But it will never be all right! The price of cowardice will only be evil; we shall reap courage and victory only when we dare to make sacrifices.)”