Soapbox

Why the insurrection in Washington DC on 6 January surprised people is surprising. The fire of discontent has been around for decades and fuelling it was part of Donald Trump’s strategy of dividing and ruling and undermining the democratic system of government. Reputation damaged Seeing armed people waving Confederate flags and running rampant in the Congress building was sickening. It

This multi-layered, tightly written, emotionally laden novel is one of the best I’ve read. It’s the story of Werner Pfennig, a gifted German boy and Marie-Laure, who cannot see. The narrative spans the inter-war years and Occupied France, described in meticulous detail in words that transport you to that time. Marie-Laure is six years old when the novel begins in

This well-argued book is a warning from history. Anyone who wants to understand how the Nazis came to power and how much democracy depends on commitment to making the system work should read it. Historian Benjamin Carter Hett shows the similarities between the diabolical political situation in Germany in the early 1930s and that of western democracies. He prosecutes a

Australia has a long and proud history of fighting for human rights. Australians fought in both world wars, and many since, against the scourge of tyranny. Australia has a long history of defending human beings’ dignity and worth.  Eminent Australian Dr Herbert Vere Evatt helped draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and was the United Nations General Assembly President from 1948

The loss of the Great War, the Great Depression and political catastrophe are often cited as the reasons for the Nazi’s ascension to power in Germany. They were factors but there’s another: Paul von Hindenburg. President Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler chancellor on 30 January 1933. But, as Anna von der Goltz says, he had a choice. Hindenburg could’ve declared a

Earnest but ineffective was how my right wing international political professor described the 39th president of the United States. He was replacing his objectivity with his political views. Today, 1 October, is President Carter’s 93rd birthday. By any objective measure, President Carter, in office from 1977 to 1981, was effective. Among other things, he: Made human rights a fundamental consideration

German World War I leaders knew the conflict was lost by September 1918. The spring offensive had failed and the entry of the United States on the Allied side made German victory almost impossible. The war had been led and managed by a military-industrial dictatorship called the ‘Third Supreme Council’. It comprised Field Marshall Paul von Hindenburg, above left, and

Malta last week became the latest in an increasingly long list of countries to legalise marriage equality. Catholic conservativism has been upturned. Malta is 91 percent Catholic. And the parliamentary vote was an overwhelming 66 to 1. Spain has a Catholic population of 77 percent and marriage equality. Ireland has a Catholic population of 88 percent and marriage equality. Australia

Germany is known for many achievements. More recently the country has made international headlines for legalising same-sex marriage. Germany was the birthplace of modern gay identity. As in so many things, Germans were at the forefront of thinking. Robert Beachy tells the story of the history and evolution of gay identity in this book. Gay Berlin: Birthplace of a Modern Identity,