Find the parallels – Hitler’s rise in Germany and lessons for Sri Lanka
My first article to Groundviews is on the rise of Hitler in Germany. The article is in Sinhala.
All I ask the reader to do at the end of the article is to transpose Sri Lanka’s own political developments and context today, to that which I point to as the rise of totalitarianism and fascism in Germany in the early years of the last century.
Read the article in full here.
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I agree about your view, the history is repeating.
Rank one of SL Fascists hold by Pirabaharan. Also, he is the only one practicing ethnic cleansing. But there is a big difference between Mr. Hitler and Pirabaharan. Hitler made the things worst for jews but made a heaven for Germans. Pirabaharan is making the graves for the whole Tamil nation including his. The innocent Tamils are suffering for his blood thirst. Have you look at the people who were displaced in Vaharai? They look similar to jews who were in Hitler’s concentration camps. But Tamils who lived in Colombo enjoy a luxury life compared to them. LTTE ruling areas are now became concentration camps for poor Tamil community.
R. Premadasa hold the rank two. He killed lot of people and convert the country into a lawless war zone. But he belonged to the history now.
Good article Uvindu – I’m surprised to see on Groundviews and I hope that you continue to write, but why don’t you write to Ravaya? I read Mahinda and Ranwaka as Hitler and Goebel, though of course the interpretation of Pirapaharan as Hitler is also accurate.
Tragedy is that we have two Hitlers in Sri Lanka today – one confirmed in the North, the other growing in the South. Both live in bunkers. Both are scared that the other will kill them first. Both have democratic credentials that are suspect. One is a confirmed mass murderer. The other is turning a blind eye to his own Army’s questionable actions in the East.
Caught between the two, I wonder who the population will support? In Germany’s case, it was WWI reparations that led to the rise of Hitler. In SL’s case, it was the useless, pipe dreams of the UNP that linked peace to all sorts of vague dreams of prosperity that led to its downfall when they obviously could not keep to their own promises.
The lack of choice between leaders / pol. parties who are equally corrupt I think is the greatest challenge facing democracy today.
By the way, new to Groundviews – came to it today and impressed by the range and depth of content. Nice to see old journalists use this new medium to address a new audience.
Forgot to add that I would like to see some of the articles here in the media. Is there anyone doing this already?
Dear Wasantha,
While certainly desirable, the publication of content on this website in mainstream (print) media is an aspect to Groundviews I have not had the time yet to engender. Initial conversations with one newspaper group has confirmed their interest in taking some of the English content from Groundviews to be published in their daily once they start it later this year.
Some authors print their articles in the newspapers independent of Groundviews. Anyone is free to use the content here – hopefully with full attribution, though there’s no way really I can stop anyone from taking content from here and publishing it elsewhere without pointing back to us.
That said, my interest in setting up Groundviews was to have a website that you would read articles that you wouldn’t necessarily encounter in the mainstream media. So in that sense it’s great that people come here to read stuff they want to see more of in the mainstream media.
Sanjana
“First they came for the Communists,
And I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
And I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics,
And I did not speak out because I was not a Catholic,
Then they came for the Jews,
And I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me,
And there was no one left to speak for me.â€Â
Pastor Martin Niemöller
Dear Disco,
what about the present one!! ? well everbody knows that Pirabaharan didn’t come to power through popular vote, but through violence. he only has a military power in the North and east. so there’s a difference between a person who comes to power by vote and violence. so and also, Hitler is not a guarilla leader, he was a politician like our presidents. I think you need to read more about history and the World War 2. Then you will understand who the real Hitler is at present. I think Hitler is about to born in this country.
The caparison of Hilter to Prabhakaran is somewhat hilarious as pointed out by Chandu, but here we should not forget and according to me have to emphazise the fact that writing of such articles, revealing the reality of the prevailing political situation of the country, is not sufficient to change the system. I am not an idealist to believe that the situation can be changed in a fortnight, but i strongly believe that the time has dawned for all of us, true sri lankans to fight against this mean situation. Uvinu, it is truly well worded.
I don’t know Sinhala….
But I think there will be a big change in Sri Lanka and elsewhere when people begin to pay attention to the structural violence of governments that have generated ‘visible’/'real’ violence among the suppressed …..