Tag Archives: War
2 Atrocities To Remember From WWII
Everyone has heard of the atrocities of WWII as there were countless. These were committed by both sides whether it was the Axis powers or the Allied powers. No war tore the world apart like WWII and the human rights violations and war crimes that were committed were unlike any other war. It seemed like both sides of the war realized the way it could change the world and pulled no punches during any part of the war. With all of this being said, there are things that regardless of the implications of the war that should never be committed. This will highlight specific cases where the line was crossed no matter who had committed the war crime or atrocity.
Comfort Women
Japanese comfort women were instituted during WWII and there use was appalling to say the least. Comfort women were forced into prostitution to keep the Japanese soldiers’ morale up. This was also to quell any dissension that was going on throughout the ranks. These women were kidnapped from Japanese occupied territories. There was also deception used when promises of jobs turned into the women being taken to the comfort stations. Government forced sexual slavery for any reason is not acceptable. Nearly 75 percent of these women had died during their service at the comfort stations. Women who refused to take part in this were severely beaten and others who still refused were executed without hesitation. The people who ran these brothels used intimidation to keep the women in line. This is an atrocity in which no person can say this was justified in any way. Of course the numbers of women is contrasted depending on who is telling the story. The Japanese government estimates much lower numbers than other sources which is expected. Regardless if the number was 10 women, it was still wrong and something that should have reparations paid if the victims are still alive.
Biscari Massacre
Many people tend to think that only the Axis powers during the war committed war crimes. The US military were responsible of some war crimes during WWII. The Biscari Massacre was the slaughter and execution of German and Italian soldiers who were prisoners of war and more importantly unarmed. General George Patton was in charge of the division of soldiers on the American side that committed this crime. Patton in his diary when asked about the atrocity wrote “I told Bradley that it was probably an exaggeration, but in any case to tell the Officer to certify that the dead men were snipers or had attempted to escape or something, as it would make a stink in the press and also would make the civilians mad. Anyhow, they are dead, so nothing can be done about it.” This showed that he was neither sorry or had any intention of facing the consequences for this slaughter. Many people do not hear about these things as the victor of the war writes the history books. Imagining what happened on both sides that nobody will ever here about makes this writer shutter.
As you can see, both sides committed atrocities that should have never happened. Forced sexual slavery and the slaughter of prisoners are grave things that should have been punished but sadly were not punished appropriately. The punishment is spreading awareness of these awful things that happened.
Gaza Conflict Reaches Critical Phase As Humanitarian Crisis Looms
The conflict in Gaza has begun to take on a troubling complexion in recent days, as it has been revealed that more than one child has been killed per hour on average over a 72 hour period during this past week. To date, the official Palestinian death toll since this conflict began now stands at 718, but Valerie Amos, who is the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs says that the most distressing concern for her agency at this time has been the alarming incidences where children have been maimed or killed in the ongoing military operation.
Her agency, The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, has reported that the recent shelling has damaged six UN operated schools earlier this week where evacuees from bombed neighborhoods had been taking shelter. Schooling had been interrupted as a result of the fighting forcing people from their homes to seek safe harbor in these UN run educational institutions, which will soon enter its third week.
In the 77 schools that continue to care for and shelter homeless residents, food and water have begun to run short, as supply lines have been severed and markets have been shuttered due to the ongoing military operation. Gazans are limited in their options of where they can go, as 44% of the territory has been declared off-limits, compressing the civilian population in one of the most densely populated places on Earth into an even smaller area.
While the target of this operation by the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) have been the militants of Hamas, the sad reality is that the majority of victims in this campaign have been women and children.
An example of this tragic toll played itself out during an Israeli airstrike on Thursday morning, as a bombardment on the Jebaliya refugee camp killed six members of an extended family, including an 18 month old infant.
Charities and foreign diplomats have been calling for a ceasefire to allow badly needed medical supplies, food, water and aid workers into the territory to help those that desperately require assistance.
While Hamas opposes a formal ceasefire that doesn’t include the unsealing of its land and maritime borders, they are said to be amenable to a pause that would allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Since July 8, Hamas has used the Gaza Strip as a launching pad to fire more than 2,000 missiles into Israel, with thirty tunnels also being discovered by the military along its borders, passages that had been dug to alledgedly wage ground attacks within Israel by Hamas militants. Ever since, Israel has conducted an air campaign, and recently, a ground offensive to counter these threats, but as the past few days have shown, this defensive counterattack has not come about without the horrible reality of collateral damage.
Nonetheless, Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu has remained firm in his resolve, as he repeated his desired objective, “to return peace and quiet to Israel”. While time will tell whether he is successful in his endeavor, the civilians of Gaza have taken the brunt of the causalities in this conflict to date, a fact that hasn’t changed in the past week of fighting.
