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Essays on Liberty and Human Rights - I

Essays on Liberty and Human Rights

               By Karl Hausner

Legend: Human Rights Essays I

PART ONE

      Introduction

This is a collection of essays, oral presentations, and in-depth reviews of important
historic events, such as World War I, World War II, the origin of terrorism, information
which is generally not found in mainstream publications.

Libery as spelled out in the Declaration of Independence in 1776 with its clear
definition of human rights, was the main motivation to write and/or collect these
essays.

Essays on Liberty and Human Rights include such topics as "Was T. G. Kasaryk the
mastermind of Wilson's Fourteen Points, leading America into World War I,"
"Concentration Camps, Myths and Realities," "When World War II Was Over," "Hitler's
Cross," "The Silent Majority," "Patriotism, Nationalism, Totalitarianism and
Barbarianism" and many other topics of significant importance.

Although terrorism is not new, the attack using airliners on the World Trade Center
and Pentagon on September 11, 2001, started a new era - "The War Against
Terrorism", a war which has no end in sight.

If the US Government would have closely adhered to the word and spirit of The
Declaration of Independence and the succeeding Consitution of the United States,
we, most likely, would be spared from this costly, never ending war against terrorism.

In 1907, the civilized world concluded a treaty, which clearly defined war and
terrorism. The Land War Order stated that no hostility between countries must be
initiated without due declaration of war. Only uniformed men under oath must be sent
into combat. These soldiers have the responsibility to treat prisoners of war
humanely and protect non -combatants.

In 1914, a Serbian terrorist, trained in Russia, assassinated the Crown Prince of
Habsburg in Surajevo and since Serbia refused to extradite the terrorist, Austria
declared war on Serbia.

Britain, France and Russia declared war on the Habsburg Empire. In turn, Germany,
based on the Treaty with the Habsburgs, had to declare war on Britain, France and
Russia.

Benes, Masaryk and other "freedom fighters", or by our present standards -
terrorists, encouraged Czech and Slovak soldiers, who were members of the
Austro-Hungarian army, to desert and fight against their own country, in the name of
independence,

Finally, the Wilson Government was manipulated into World War I, which decided the
outcome. As a result, the four large empires --- Austria-Hungary, Germany, Russia,
and Turkey --- collapsed and were ultimtely destroyed at te dictate of St. Germain,
Trianon, and Versailles. The Bolshevik Revolution succeeded and these
circumstances of significant oppression and injustice laid the groundwork for the rise
of Hitler and Mussolini and World War II.

During World War II, the Allies significantly supported the "freedom fighters", who,
even by the standards of the Hague Land War Order, were nothing but terrorists.
After the war, ethnic cleansing and genocide were implemented in one of the largest
scales in history. Nationalistic countries were created, most of which became part of
the Soviet Bloc. The Cold War, the war in Korea, which became known as the"Police
Action", Vietnam war, and manym other conflicts that were in violation of the 1907
Hague Treaty, continued so that no clear line could be drawn between war, civil war,
war against terrorism and revolution.

In order to win the war against terrorism, we must start with the individual, then the
family, schools, communities, and then the society as a whole, and relate to the
philosophy of classical liberalism or use the biblical blueprint.

Force creates counter-force, hate breeds hate, injustice breeds injustice, but liberty
and justice, based on human dignity and love, are more powerful in the long run.

I hope this collection of essays will illuminate some of the problems of the Ywentieth
Century, so that the Twenty First Century may finally be more peaceful.

Karl Hausner

Published and Copyright by:
Hausner Foundation
28 Concord Drive
Oak Brook, IL 60523-1767
ISBN 0-9726775-2-6

==============================================
   Professor Dr. Johannes Hampel, Augsburg, Germany

"We inherited a great house - the house of the world in which we have to live
together - Blacks and whites; Occidentals and Orientals; Jews and Non-Jews;
Catholics and Protestants; Muslims and Hindus... - the family of mankind which is
divided in ideas, cultures and interests, which must learn to live together in peace."

                                        (Martin Luther King)

Ethnicity, a global problem

1. Experiences

1.1. Franz or Frantisek

Franz was the son of our neighbor Josef Schuster, who was a roadworker at the
"Reichsstrasse" (until 1918 the "Kaiserstrasse" - the emperor's road) between
Gross-Herrlitz and Seitendorf. After the death of his first wife, Josef Schuster married
Anna, the first Czech woman to live in our village Klein-Herrlitz near Troppau.

The children of this "Mixed marriage" did in no way differ from the childen of German
families; they went to the same one-class village school, played and quarreled with us
as children usually do.

It was only during the elections in 1935 when the Sudetendeutsche Partei outvoted all
the other German political parties and the near-by borders could no longer stop the
pro-Hitler enthusism, that even in our village, an anti-Czech tendency began to
appear. Village inhabitants started to call the son of our neighbor Frantisek, thereby,
informing him that he was not completely one of them.

The annexation (Anschluss) occurred in 1938, shortly afterwards the November 9th
Pogrom initiated the Holocaust and one year later World War II broke out. Franz
joined the German army and upon his return to our village after the war, had to
witness the expulsion of the Germans. His family was allowed to say. The former
German village becam e Czech. Nationalistic village newcomers now called him Franz
and no longer Frantisek. Thus, showing him again that he - the son of a German
father an d a Czech mother - was a stranger among them.

During the visit to Klein-Herrlitz in 1988, Franz and I visited te quarry, the village
pond, the farm grounds, places where we had spent our childhood... Finally, we sat
down on the top of a little hill, where we could see the houses of the village nestling
at its foot. When I asked Franz whether he was happy now, he answered quietly: "No,
I should have left with the others." A few months later I had learned that Franz had
drowned in the village pond.

1.2. "There are neither Czechs nor Germans in the eyes of God..."

After some terrible months in the PW-camp of Kurim near Bruenn in July of 1946, I was
sent as a prisoner of war to work on the Lojda farm (Vanuvek near Telc) during the
harvesting period. It was on a Sunday when the farmer asked me to join him for the
holy mass. Suddenly, in front of the church he stopped and removed the white band
marked with N (for Nemec/German) which I had to wear. "You must not do that", I
cried trying to stop him. "If the police shall notice it is missing, I will be sent back to
the camp!" - "Don't you worry about it. In the Church God is "Pan". To Him there is no
difference between Germans and Czechs, Jews or Christians. He knows you and he
knows me, and that's all that counts."

1.3. Four religions in one village

Some years ago I visited a village near Bihac in western Bosnia with students of the
Paedagogic College of Augsburg. I asked an elderly villager about the religions in his
village, and he answered: "Imamo tre viere (there are three religions): Turkish,
Croatan and Serbian." After a short reflection he said "and there are the Jews."
When I asked him how long it had been that way, he replied: "It was always so."

The war in the former Yugoslavia now approaching its 19th month, reminds us of the
brutal reality of the words of Franz Grillparzer: Humanity leads to vestiality via
nationality." May the poor beasts forgive him!

It seems as if all demons in the history of mankind are making every effort to prevent
the realization of a human world. Ethnocentrism is just one of the new horrifying
expressions.

"Germany for Germans!", "France for the French!", and "The Czech lands for the
Czech!"; in Moravia I even heard "Moravia for the Moravians!" There seems to be no
end to the series of murderous slogans: "Jews out!" - "Germans out!" (Nemci ven!") -
"Muslims out!", "Turks out!" History seems to teach us that we are not learning
anything.

Finally one last experience which happened to me on a glorious day in October. I had
visited the Strahof Hill in Prague and was full of praise about the beauties of this
fascinating city, when my interlocator interrupted me saying: "Prague is no longer
what it used to be: there are no Jews, there are no Germans." "Well, do you want us
to come back?" "Yes, why not, but the Jews should come as well."

2.     Bosnia is but the tip of an iceberg

I would imagine that every one of the symposium participants has had similar
experiences. In Bosniaa we are presently witnessing the insane practice of clearing
territories of Muslims, Croats or Serbs. None of the peace negotiating parties nor the
churches are able to prevent this from happening. Whereas, the governments of
Western European countries have decided the Maastricht Treaty to Unite Europe, the
threatening ethnic conflicts in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe bear unforeseeable
consequences for Europe and Asia.

Just to focus on some of the catastrophes: In Georgia Abkhazia, Adzharia and Ossetia
are fighting against the "centralistic state."

In the Baltic countries, national problems are created about the status of the strong
Russian ethnics, in Lithuania it is the problem of the Poles.

Romania refuses cultural autonomy to the Magyar population. The Constitution
denies any "other" nation but the Romanian. In addition ideas about "Romania Mare",
the unified Bukovina and even the Romanian Moldova and Dobrudja run wild. At a
bargain price, Germans have been sold to Germany under Ceaucescu...

Greeks and Macedonians dispute about the name of the Republic of Macedonia and
the rights of the Macedonians in Greece.

In Bulgaria the Turks were forced to adapt their names to Bulgarian.

In Slovakia the Government refuses the Magyars the right to speak and teach their
mother tongue in their schools.

In Germany, we are experiencing a wave of xenophobia, which is supported and
encouraged by a grotesque right of citizenship based on the descendants principle.
Thus, the naturalization of people born and raised in Germany (not forgetting the
hundreds of thousands of young Turks) is extremely difficult. Furthermore, there is
the obsession that Germany is not an immigration country. Different people and
different races should not be mixed together ("durchmischt un durchrasst"). The
opinion of an Israeli colleague during the Congress "Education in multicultural
societies" (June 6-10, 1993): "You will manage to create your own Intifada in
Germany; the paramilitary Neo-Nazis are already in action." An economic giant -- a
political dwarf -- an intellectual nothing! The problems of the classical ethnics of the
Danes and Sorbges seem, to a large extent, to be settled. As the newspapers confirm
- this can by no means be said about the largest of the "new ethnics" - the Turks.
During the above-mentioned congress in Jerusalem, Germany, Israel and South Africa
were heavily criticized, because of the unsolved problems concerning their ethnic
groups.

Today, ethnicity has become a key word worldwide. The riots in Los Angeles in 1992
alarmed the United States. The hope in John Deweys' theory "Everything will be
solved by adjustment and education" had long been given up. The murders of Irish
Catholics and British Protestants in Northern Ireland make people doubt the
importance of Christian religion to overcome hate and war. There are too many
examples in our present history, which show, that not only Muslims fight the "Holy
War" (Jihad). The destruction of a person, who speaks a different language or has
different religous beliefs, pleases God. "I have just shot a Serb. I am proud of it!"
said a Croatian sniper in front of an Austrian TV team. On a necklace he wore a
crucifix and medal of the Madonna of Medjugorje. Obviously, this is his way of living
the "Marianity" expected by very "pious" Catholics.

3.   Attempts for solving inter-ethnic conflicts

3.1. "Ja jsem prece stary' Rakusan"

"Don't be afraid, I am an old Austrian", was the first word Josef Lojda told me when I
came to his farm as a prisoner of war in 1946.

In 1905, the Moravian Compromise between Czechs and Germans was successfully
completed, followed in 1910 by the Bukovina (Ausgleich) Compromise. Both
compromises were based on Article 19 of the Austrian Constitution of 1869: "All
ethnics in this state have equal rights and each ethnic group has the inviolable right
to preserve and practice its nationality and language. The state recognizes the equal
right of all languages in schools, offices and in public life being spoken in this state."

It is well known that despite this Article, profound tensions could not be avoided. The
most spiteful aggressions against the compromise were launched by the group of the
All-Deutsche (nationalist movement to unify all Germans in one state; the
Gross-Deutsche movement supported a constitutional monarchy). Their political
leader Georg Ritter von Schoenerer - Without Juda and without Rome, we will build
the German dome!" - was among those to destroy peace among the nationalities and
thus, the "Donaumonarchie". Hitler referred to him several times in his book "Mein
Kampf".

The first main ambition of both successfully introduced Cimpromises was to recognize
all peoples inhabiting a Crown land living as "groups with equal rights" within "one
state". Franz Schnabel calls this idea "the quadrature of the circle": clinging to
origins and language means a commitment to Herder and the romantic movement,
emphasizing "one state" is "French". The realization of both terms - national state
and civilized nation - needs more than just common sense; it demands thought in
historical dimensions and wisdom.

A second and central ambition of both Compromises is the principle of national
self-government, which again is laid down in Article 19: the recognition of all
languages spoken in the country "in schools, administration and public." The idea of
personal autonomy - which is most important when setting up national land registers
and lists of candidates - it is transferred to ethnic or religious groups which are
identified as persons and not territorially.

Thirdly, it was now possible for citizens to elect their own representatives as
members of their national Curiae. The number of representatives elected to a Curia
was in relation to the population of the country. Thus, the national groups organized
themselves into personal associations.

By keeping up social Curiae, such as those of the land proprietors, the high clergy
and the chamber of trade and commerce, both Compromises were far from radically
realizing the "One-man-one-vote" principle. Refusing the Jews their own Curia was
far more than just an imperfection. Nevertheless, both Compromises added much to
lessen the national tensions.

(Continued on Human Rights Essays II)