Bøger af Marcel Ernst

Basel is located in the Rhine Valley, where the river takes a turn to the north. The "gate of Switzerland" used to be one of the few regions not covered during the Ice Age. The Rhine River has provided a natural border for millennia, bolstering ancient Roman fortifications as well as protecting neutral Switzerland from Nazi incursions during the Second World War. On the other hand, the city's somewhat submerged location has turned it into one of the few Swiss locations where none of the majestic Alps can be seen in the distance. To the north lies the Black Forest on German territory, and to the southwest the Jura hills. Many chroniclers and researchers have written about the city on the Rhine. Among them, the local historian, archivist and publisher Rudolf Wackernagel (1855-1925) compiled a three-volume history of Basel between 1907 and 1924. With those works he strongly influenced the residents' sense of self and their place within Switzerland. Wackernagel remarked in the preface that the city's past required special treatment: "Because the powerful, the heroic is missing, the historian is forced to bring out numerous details if he wants to give the depiction an appeal, something unique, appropriate to the subject." That challenge certainly persists, even though Basel's history had many ups and downs, including a major earthquake, the Black Death and being given the exclusive right to organize exhibitions twice a year by the Holy Roman Emperor. The city's development after Wackernagel's death in 1925 involved the Depression, the upheavals of the Second World War and the boom years of the postwar period. Storytelling thus takes centerstage in relaying my hometown's unique heritage. Having been born there and lived until age 17, I can add personal recollections and impressions to the official records and secondary sources. Basel has often been a place that arouses contradictory sentiments, ranging between infatuation and revulsion. A proud built heritage, much of it recently restored, beckons visitors today. Yet, Switzerland's industrial center has not always been this welcoming. When Friedrich Engels called his treatise, The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1845, he could have been referring to Basel's overworked and underpaid laborers, the descendants of the diocese's subjects. Class-based resentment has a long record here, dating back at least to the noble deacons who ran the Prince-Bishopric in the 13th century, keeping the flock of Catholic subjects in line. Little wonder that the diocese's downtrodden majority switched its faith to Protestantism by the 16th century. Unfortunately, that did not mean the end of their oppression. To a good extent, Basel's story remains that of an elite-run jurisdiction, where theocratic masters eventually gave way to merchants and capitalist entrepreneurs who steered civic development. At the same time, a lively arts scene, with Fasnacht, autumn fair and events at the city casino and elsewhere made life bearable. The region's residents work hard, but they also take their recreational activities seriously.

Shock and dismay dominated national and international reactions to the tragedies of September 11, 2001. Fear about potential copycat attacks on other population centers also surfaced. In Washington, armed vehicles patrolled streets the next morning. However, a few groups interpreted events differently, among them some of the Palestinians eking out a meagre existence in the West Bank. Some media coverage showed cheering women and children; to them, a blow had been struck against their "oppressors," as they viewed Israel and the "Jewish stronghold" of Manhattan, New York. They may have viewed the attacks as a justified payback for the killing of Abu Ali Mustafa. In addition, Saddam Hussein (who had been ejected from Kuwait by a US-led coalition a decade earlier), gleefully announced the news. Most other Muslim countries, however, condemned the attacks, including Saudi Arabia and PLO leader Arafat. In addition to bin Laden, fifteen out of the 19 hijackers had been Saudi citizens. Two came from the United Arab Emirates, one from Lebanon, and one from Egypt; none were Palestinian. Hezbollah, the militant Lebanon-based Shia group, denounced the targeting of civilians. Israeli PM Sharon urged the world to fight terrorism and declared a national day of mourning. The United Nations adopted Security Council Resolution 1368 the next day, calling on all member countries to co-operate in bringing the perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of the attacks to justice, and affirming that those responsible for supporting or harboring the perpetrators, organizers and sponsors would be held accountable. By today's standards, the world stood (nearly) united that September in condemning the attacks on the US mainland. That is worth remembering in the age of fake news and post-truth. This short book recalls the events of that fateful autumn, and the consequences for people in the US, Afghanistan, Iraq and the rest of the globe. Like so many others on that horrible day, I watched the South Tower come down live that morning, a testimony to the power of television. As a father of two young sons I worried about their future, and what society was coming to. Therefore, apart from the ringleaders I have decided not to use any of the 19 hijackers' names. They have received enough publicity. This book is not about them; it focuses instead on how society changed as a result of their ruthless and cowardly actions, and the staggering cost of the War on Terror. Its consequences remain with us today. The conclusion elaborates on some lessons that can be learned, now that the Taliban have regained power in Afghanistan.

On the surface, the 1800s had little in common with today's global society. Most people lived on the land or a nomadic existence, with few technologies save for the compass and some basic tools. However, Adam Smith had already recognized the momentum towards a more efficient and organized society with his Wealth of Nations, published in 1776. The decade brought some monumental winds of change, including the Napoleonic conquests and the beginnings of liberation wars in the Caribbean and Latin America. Jefferson bought Florida from the French, setting course for eventual US dominance on the North American continent as well as its accession to great power status. Meanwhile, the British did not belabor the "loss" of much of their North American colonies, and proceeded to occupy Cape Town and parts of India. London's sea power eclipsed that of Spain, and established the foundations of an empire on which the sun never set. Then as now, Russia continued its expansionist course, having gobbled up nearly two thirds of Poland in the 1790s. In the aftermath of the Finnish War, Finland became part of the Russian Empire in 1809, renamed the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland. Europe experienced nearly continuous warfare, enticing community leaders elsewhere to seek out alternatives based on Islam and eastern religions. On a smaller scale, conflict also erupted in China and Africa, much of it stoked by the British, later culminating in the discriminatory Unequal Treaties and the colonialization of the Dark Continent. Scientific and other imaginative minds created momentum towards industrialization and mass culture. The Enlightenment had already awakened curiosity and generated discussion on how to improve society, even though the French Revolution raised doubts about the "perfectibility of man." Romanticism represented a reaction against what many perceived as the excesses of progress-oriented thinking. Chateaubriand in France and Byron in England articulated the widespread disillusionment and longing for stability. The movement also celebrated nature, captured by Romantic painters, composers and Alexander von Humboldt in his travel notes. At the same time, the steam engine, invention of the hydraulic press and atomic theory presaged the end of pastoral life and the beginning of urbanization and acceleration of mass production.Like most decades of the modern era, the 1800s were full of contradictions. Johann Gottlieb Fichte embodied them. A proponent of German idealism, his address to the German nation in 1807/8 helped generated momentum towards unification. He meant to promote universal education and identity, although imperialists later misused this intent to "demonstrate" the superiority of Germans over their neighbours. Hence, enlightened ideas became subsumed to raison d'état. Similar trends unfolded in France, Britain, the United States and Russia. Politics began to dominate public discourse, manifested in the debates over Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France. Conflict fanned nationalist sentiment and prejudice. In the end, it was an era of stark choices. Unfortunately, Europe's great powers opted for control rather than liberalization, consolidation rather than decentralization, and censorship rather than freedom of speech. Most of the established authorities viewed the US and French revolutions as an aberration, rather than the shape of things to come. For them, democracy remained a radical, even dangerous idea. It would take decades for the European nobles' monopoly on power to be broken. However, the Haitian Revolution and the fledgling liberation movement sweeping Spanish America demonstrated that things did not have to be this way. Japan's example of self-sufficiency and isolation also presented an example of how to avoid European colonization. All these factors turn the period into a story worth telling.

This assessment of Germany's evolution and character remains more topical and concise than conventional histories, inspired partially on heritage and years of viewing German television and news as well as other sources, such as Der Spiegel. It also endeavors to provide some insights to English-speaking readers regarding Germany's intelligentsia and cultural influences, which helped shape society and the country. What and who represents Germany? That question defies a simple answer. Settlement on its territory dates back at least 40,000 years, documented by the famous Neanderthal find in 1856. Yet, as a unified political entity, the nation did not emerge until 1870. Before that milestone date, chroniclers told tales of Teutonic warriors and the Holy Roman Empire, ruled mostly by the Habsburgs and the Hohenzollerns. The latter dynasty's most famous representative: the Prussian King Friedrich the Great (1712-86), who represented enlightened absolutism. The Vienna Congress of 1815 prompted the formation of a German federation led by Prussia. Forged in war, that federation united in the German Empire following the defeat and capture of French Emperor Napoleon III at Sedan. The empire's industrial might grew and militarization accelerated under Wilhelm II, who mistakenly thought that the show of force would bring Germany and its Kaiser international respect. Two world wars followed, with an attempt at true democracy in between: the Weimar Republic. Some historians now present the 20th century's first half as a period of virtually uninterrupted conflict; many facts support that conclusion, pointing the finger at the German war machine. At war's end, the Four Powers agreement resulted in Soviet-instigated division between East and West Germany by 1949, precipitating the Cold War. Nonetheless, the western portion benefitted from the US Marshall Plan, which helped initiate the beginnings of its economic miracle. The skillful tutelage of Economics Minister and later Chancellor Ludwig Erhard also played a major role in that success. In 1961 East German authorities literally cemented the division between East and West by constructing the "anti-fascist" Berlin Wall, to stop the exodus of their own people. By the 1970s, Chancellor Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik began a period of reduced tensions with East Germany, then led by the hardline Stalinist Erich Honecker. Mikhail Gorbachev's Glasnost and Perestroika served to thaw the Cold War in the 1980s. Even so, the rapid collapse of the East German regime in late 1989 came as a surprise to many. Reunification followed under the tutelage of Chancellor Helmut Kohl, a large man with a lot of patience and persistence. Despite many scandals concerning the spying activities of people in the forty-year existence of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), as well as controversies over property and economic policy, the unified Federal Republic soon solidified its position as Europe's strongest economy. The arts flourished as well, experiencing a renaissance of Vergangenheitsbewältigung (Germany's way of processing its past). One of the most prominent manifestations: The Lives of Others (2006), a movie about Stasi surveillance and its consequences. Under the skillful guidance of Chancellor Angela Merkel, Germany became a refugees' haven by 2015, when countless of the displaced sought to escape from civil wars in Syria and Afghanistan. The German experience holds many lessons for humanity. This short volume purports to deliver a few. I have adapted pertinent sections from my earlier books on the 1900s, 1920s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Yet, part one consists of entirely new material, and much of parts two and three, including the final chapter on Germany in the 21st century. Today's republic looks much different from Bismarck's or even Adenauer's times - multicultural, open-minded and green. German society's rollercoaster ride through history deserves anothe

The 1989 revolutions in Eastern Europe and Gorbachev's proclamation of a new world order set the tone for high expectations. For a brief time, it looked like some of them would be realized. When Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded neighbouring Kuwait, the Soviet and US representatives jointly denounced his aggression. In early 1991 Operation Desert Storm, initiated by President Bush, became the largest military alliance since the Second World War, although the Soviet Union did not join it. Among Middle Eastern countries, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and even Syria participated, along with 32 other members. But setbacks soon changed the game. In August, the attempted coup that sought to depose Gorbachev - even though it failed - contributed to a rapid dissolution of his authority. Yeltsin, who had resisted the plotters in Moscow during Gorbachev's vacation absence, became the new hero. He had won the free presidential elections of the Russian republic in June with 57% of the vote. In early November Yeltsin banned all Communist party activities on Russian soil. A month later the Ukrainian citizens voted for independence from the Soviet Union. On December 8 the Russian, Ukrainian and Belorussian presidents announced the Union's dissolution and its replacement by the Commonwealth of Independent States. Gorbachev could do little except to resign, which he did on December 17. Four main international developments dominated the 1990s: the spread of the Internet that created a virtual global community; an emerging multi-polar world order that involved much destabilization; a resurgence of pre-communist resentments that had remained subdued during the Cold War; and a reunited Europe that spurred globalization in the rest of the world. The last two developments conflicted. The biggest manifestation of that conflict became the Yugoslav wars that first erupted in 1991. A ten-day conflict followed the Slovenian declaration of independence in June. Hostilities embroiled Croatia in the fall. By January 1992 most European countries recognized Slovenia's and Croatia's independence. This action, however, did not deter Serbia's attempts to carve out greater territories for their ethnic group. Atrocities followed, including genocidal actions against Muslim minorities. In Africa, the 1994 Rwandan genocide killed approximately 70% of the country's Tutsi population. Hence the early 1990s revealed the downside of the Cold War's end. Nationalistic, ethnic and religious conflicts re-emerged with a vengeance, similar to a pot boiling over. The multi-polar world looked unpredictable and treacherous. The Western response to the above human disasters turned out to be feeble. Events proved that the United Nations, focused on national sovereignty, were ill-equipped to deal with civil strife. The New World Order increasingly appeared like a mirage. Instead, international anarchy where the right of the stronger prevailed once again, resurfaced. UN forces proved powerless to stop the Rwandan slaughter. NATO involvement finally resolved the situation in the Balkans, with Operation Deliberate Force in September 1995. The Western focus on limited military operations meant that humanitarian relief efforts often fell short. No one thought of organizing any Live Aid concerts for the disintegrating Yugoslavia, much less Rwanda. Gorbachev criticized Western triumphalism in the aftermath of having "won" the Cold War. Winston Churchill advocated determination in war, generosity in victory, and goodwill in times of peace. Decision makers occasionally neglected these principles during the 1990s, partially because a recession early on tightened purse strings. The North-South gap widened, demonstrated by the digital divide. Society at large ended up sleepwalking towards the millennium. The Canadian writer and social philosopher John Ralston Saul described the situation best in his book "The Unconscious Civilization" (1995).

Reclaiming Values is a revision of my 2017 book, Values for the 21st Century. Since then, a number of developments and incidents have made the topic even more relevant. This turn of events has prompted me to revise or update the original arguments and incorporate recent developments. The resurgence of populism, driven by social media, has been a dominant force. Right-wing preachers and politicians have used simplistic arguments to capitalize on people's fears and prejudices. In some cases, the strategy entailed pandering to citizens' lowest instincts, stoking xenophobia, sexism and racism. While the media focused on the excesses of former US president Trump, the worst case probably occurred in the Philippines, where President Rodrigo Duterte openly encouraged people to take the law into their own hands, giving residents license to kill drug dealers and users. Some of these new authoritarians have used their popularity to amass near-dictatorial powers, including Erdogan in Turkey and Putin in Russia. Unfortunately, the divide-and-conquer approach has been quite successful politically. As a result, "liberal" values experienced severe setbacks in the 2010s.Apparently, so did common sense. In 2020, Joe Biden campaigned for "the soul of America" in the US, a battle apparently not won, as the January 6 attack on the Capitol building proved. Short of a common set of values, citizens divided along partisan lines no longer agree on facts. A significant minority continues to believe that the election has been "stolen." In Europe, refugee and Brexit debates fueled heated discussions on the merits (or lack thereof) of free passage vs. protectionist restrictions. In India, multi-culturalism has suffered setbacks due to the resurgence of Hindu nationalism. China has reaffirmed totalitarian Maoism under Xi Ping, who declared himself leader for life, abandoning the party principle of collective leadership. Afghanistan's women are once again excluded from public life under the Taliban. Finally, Russia has regressed to the dark days of imperialism with the attack on the Ukraine in 2022. The need for common ground is more acute than ever. We must reclaim values we can all subscribe to in order to meet today's global challenges more effectively. This book tackles the problem in four parts: Defining the topicObstaclesPromoting factorsRole models and examples