I think, herein lies part of the problem with our discussion. You quoted the beginning of the article I linked, "...Most historians state that Germany's invasion of Poland was an unprovoked act..." Yet, just under this lies the point of the article:
"This article uses non-German sources to document that, CONTRARY to what most historians claim, Germany’s invasion of Poland was provoked by the Polish government’s acts of violence against its ethnic German minority."
What you did was lift the "counterpoint" of the article, which the article sought to disprove, and used it as a verified fact. This counterpoint was not what the article set out to support -- in fact, just the opposite.
Yes, most books and historical reporting of this time DO implicate Germany. But who exactly is writing and printing those books? We must be careful to clear away the agendas at play here, to cover the tracks of those who were really behind this whole mess. The point of this article is to somewhat clarify the truth of what happened, as best as can be done decades later. We can place this moment in time alongside other events, contrasting against lies during this period (like Kristallnacht) promoted to evoke emotional responses, and piece together the framework of a coordinated information war waged against Hitler and Germany. Many shrug off the importance of the truth of WWII today, claiming that it is "ancient history." But, the truth is that the lies about that period continue to hide our true enemy, who continues to wage war against the world at this very moment.
During that time, the propaganda war was heavy in the press, both from the Soviets and international jewry at large. When we hear the word, "propaganda," we immediately associate it with negativity, or lies. But what is missed with the point of the Reich Ministry you linked is that the German effort was one to impress the truth not only upon the international community to counter the lies from the enemy, but also upon its own citizens. In addition, it was an effort in bolstering nationalistic pride, and patriotism, towards its oftentimes demoralized citizens. The German propaganda machine was largely one of an attempt to correct the lies printed in the papers and reported elsewhere. Positive propaganda, if you will. I watched an excellent video on this topic once. Unfortunately, I neglected to save it.
Were there staged photographs of windows smashed, intentionally done to evoke an emotional response? Possibly. But there is too much testimony of actual terrorism, including the thousands and thousands of German citizens who fled the violence across the German border seeking asylum, to indicate the truth of what was really going on.
I think, herein lies part of the problem with our discussion. You quoted the beginning of the article I linked, "...Most historians state that Germany's invasion of Poland was an unprovoked act..." Yet, just under this lies the point of the article:
"This article uses non-German sources to document that, CONTRARY to what most historians claim, Germany’s invasion of Poland was provoked by the Polish government’s acts of violence against its ethnic German minority."
What you did was lift the "counterpoint" of the article, which the article sought to disprove, and used it as a verified fact. This counterpoint was not what the article set out to support -- in fact, just the opposite.
Yes, most books and historical reporting of this time DO implicate Germany. But who exactly is writing and printing those books? We must be careful to clear away the agendas at play here, to cover the tracks of those who were really behind this whole mess. The point of this article is to somewhat clarify the truth of what happened, as best as can be done decades later. We can place this moment in time alongside other events, contrasting against lies during this period (like Kristallnacht) promoted to evoke emotional responses, and piece together the framework of a coordinated information war waged against Hitler and Germany. Many shrug off the importance of the truth of WWII today, claiming that it is "ancient history." But, the truth is that the lies about that period continue to hide our true enemy, who continues to wage war against the world at this very moment.
During that time, the propaganda war was heavy in the press, both from the Soviets and international jewry at large. When we hear the word, "propaganda," we immediately associate it with negativity, or lies. But what is missed with the point of the Reich Ministry you linked is that the German effort was one to impress the truth not only upon the international community to counter the lies from the enemy, but also upon its own citizens. In addition, it was an effort in bolstering nationalistic pride, and patriotism, towards its oftentimes demoralized citizens. The German propaganda machine was largely one of an attempt to correct the lies printed in the papers and reported elsewhere. Positive propaganda, if you will. I watched an excellent video on this topic once. Unfortunately, I neglected to save it.
Were there staged photographs of windows smashed, intentionally done to evoke an emotional response? Possibly. But there is too much testimony of actual terrorism, including the thousands and thousands of German citizens who fled the violence across the German border seeking asylum, to indicate the truth of what was really going on.