The Spirit of Revenge

Patrick J. Buchanan has done a masterful job dispelling the myths regarding the World Wars in his latest book Churchill, Hitler, And The Unnecessary War. As one how has heard plenty of times the textbook version of World War I and World War II from documentaries and also from college courses, I appreciate Mr. Buchanan’s attempt to set the record straight on Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler. Buchanan applies an even hand to both Britain and Germany.
Regarding World War I, Buchanan spends time on the disastrous peace treaty of 1919. Buchanan certainly shares the position that the 1919 Versailles Treaty paved the way for Adolf Hitler’s later rise to power in Germany.
In a chapter aptly titled “A Poisonous Spirit of Revenge” Buchanan goes into a good bit of detail on the starvation blockade Britain imposed on Germany. According to Buchanan, in 1915 88,235 people in Germany died as a result of the British blockade, in 1916 121,114 people died. Also in 1916 food riots broke out across Germany. In 1917 the death toll as a result of the starvation blockade was 259,627. By 1918 the number had risen to 293,760 civilians.[1]
Buchanan forces his readers to consider how they would react to something seen as so unjust as the starvation of women and children. The answer is that instead of peace and goodwill this kind of action logically nourishes hatred and revenge, revenge that would later play into the hands of Adolf Hitler.
Pat Buchanan’s book is an excellent study of the alternative view of the World Wars. With his masterful skill at writing Buchanan gives his readers some food for thought and helps them to understand the complex issues that were at stake during both World War I and World War II.
Notes
[1] Buchanan, Patrick J. Churchill, Hitler, And The Unnecessary War, Crown 2008; pg. 78