Then as now, it began with lies.
On Sept. 1, 1939, Adolf Hitler’s forces crossed the border into Poland. The German chancellor did so on the pretext that ethnic Germans were being persecuted. German operatives, disguised as Poles, even staged an attack on a German radio station, yelling anti-German threats into the microphone.
With that lie, the most devastating war in the history of the world began.
It is far too early to know how devastating this latest European war will turn out to be, how many will die, how many will be left homeless and stateless, how the repercussions will play out across the globe. There is, however, an ominous resonance in the lies from which it arose.
First, Russian leader Vladimir Putin claimed he had no intention of invading Ukraine, even as he massed troops on that country’s border. Then he announced Russia would recognize two separatist regions. Finally, shortly before Russian ordnance began to pound the smaller country, he announced a “military operation” aimed at “peacekeeping” and “denazification.”