Lesson on societal divisions


As we watch divisions emerge within societies right across the globe, in part driven by fallout from the pandemic, it might be a good idea to look back in time for similar developments.
On this issue, I can bring some fairly direct experience to the table as I was born in 1943 at the height of WWII in German occupied Norway.
The war literally came in with my mother's milk and it has shaped who I am. It also gave me the incentive to study what happened in Norway during those war years, and how people were affected.
When asked about the war, my mother told me: "We didn't know what freedom was until we lost it" (to the German invaders and their Norwegian collaborators).
She told me a story of going from the city where she lived to visit relatives on a farm some distance to the south and returning on the train, hiding a dozen eggs in a parcel under her coat, as rationing was being strictly enforced.
How did we get there?
During the Great Depression of the 1930ies, sharp divisions emerged between the "haves" and "have nots" right across the world due to a faulty financial system.
Seeing political opportunity, strong men emerged, including Benito Mussolini in Italy, Francisco Franco in Spain and Adolph Hitler in Germany.
They appealed to the nationalist sentiments of the mass of working people and created projects that provided jobs and security in economically stressed times.
Then there were tag-alongs, one of whom was Vidkun Quisling in Norway, who had some limited success in elections in the 1930ies with his party "National Gathering" (Nasjonal Samling).
And when the Germans invaded Norway on April 9, 1940 (about one week ahead of a planned English invasion), Quisling quickly stepped up to the plate and declared himself the new Prime Minister of Norway, as the sitting government and members of the royal family escaped to Britain.
Five years of bitter divisions between people in Norway followed,
and sadly, are there even today, within families.
It is a reminder of how ideology can shape minds to fall into separate silos and stay there.

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