I am writing on May 7th , 2026. On May 7th , 1945, Germany unconditionally surrendered to Allied forces in Reims, France. That war took between 70 million and 85 million lives. It is estimated that 3% of the world’s population was lost in World War II. Those figures become even harder to process when we consider that over 6 million of those killed were Jews. We quickly forget the details of WWII because that war was 87 years ago. Given our cultural narcissism and short attention spans something that happened over 87 years ago seems irrelevant. The problem is that the reasons for that war are even more relevant today and we should not ignore the echoes of truth reverberating through history.
In 2026 we are in the midst of figuring out right and wrong without clear enemies galvanizing us. Historically the enemy did not hide in the shadows about their intentions of world dominance. Sometimes the enemy boldly trumpets horrific theories that the world turns a deaf ear because to hear clearly would demand action. The world tolerated or outright ignored atrocities and hate infused laws. World leaders attempted to placate evil passively explaining away aggression as politics as usual until the bombs shook them out of their ivory towers. We face the same level of atrocity in our society. The difference is our realities are shielded by wealth, technology, and obfuscation.
An eerie refrain continues to be heard resonating from 1945. A similar level of indifference can be felt as politicians pad their pockets, ignore the needs of the poor, and entertain the whims of the wicked. We can see the march toward intolerance, the seduction of the church and the passive deafness of the governed. The allies required unconditional surrender on the theory that a mitigated settlement might leave embers of hate, evil and dictatorship burning underneath the cease fire. The Allies were right to demand that Germany unconditionally surrender as a symbolic eradication that this type of evil would never happen again.
87 years later let’s remember that we don’t need to wait for the bombs to appear when evil tells us what they are going to do. We have history to remind us to take the enemy at their word.
Albert R. Hartley
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