Tuesday, December 11, 2018

The eternal fight for freedom of East Europeans or why we act and think the way we act and think








Though the flagmen are gone, the flag remains… In the Battle of Mohacs, where Louis II, the King of Bohemia, Hungary and Croatia from the Jagiellonian family ended his earthly life, these flags with the national coats of arms of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Kingom, Roman-German Empire and Croatia were together for the last time.

(Screenshot from the YouTube video: Battle of Mohács 1526)




Once they formed the mighty, libertarian league of nations with Polish-Hungarian kings at the head. The mild, skillful, and just leadership style of the noble kings ensured self-government and prosperity for all their subjects. So they were the bastion of Europe! One day the young king died in the fight against the invaders from Asia. His subjects then suffered under the yoke of the four partition powers. For centuries! This preface is essential to understand today's political positions in Slovakia and Eastern Europe.




The Battle of Mohács was one of the most important in world history. The Polish-Lithuanian-Ruthenian commonwealth did not help its friends with all its power.




The Poles paid for that with the loss of their own great power position and the end of independence. Then the Western Slavs were almost eradicated as a result of a crooked persecution and prohibiting them from using their native languages by the partitioning powers.Despite of it they never lost their hope!



The desperate attempts to free themselves by a victorious uprising led only to new defeats: In the late 19th century, however, the National movements could awaken the masses of the common people and this time the long fight was won



Remarkably, it was the moderate nationalists who very often recognized the rights of minorities in the legislation, established bilingual schools, etc. In the year 1920 the world saw the resurrection of the eastern bastion of Europe, as the armies of Poland, the Baltic States, Romania and Czechoslovakia repelled the Bolshevik flood.




On the other hand, some of them had to defend themselves with an unholy alliance against the worst repression and the same danger again, as was the case in Slovakia.




This was not praiseworthy, but reasonable. Only Poland got caught up in the two-front war and nearly bleed to death.




The National movement activists were later exposed to the hardest and longest persecutions throughout the Eastern bloc and almost wiped out


But they were able to survive and to awaken the common people after the fall of the Wall. So the history is repeating itself. Nowadays, as Europe was brought on the brink of abyss, they try to forge its eastern bastion once again. The national movement activists in Slovakia and Hungary are much stronger than in Poland. Radicalism seems to serve them well. Here we see the strong Slovak national and the weak local so-called anti-fascist movement on the streets: outrageous scandal scenes (in the 5th minute) ...




The Western Slavs are by no means xenophobic and even willing to form an alliance with people of another race.




The repeated betrayals of the West and the threat from Asia have shaped Eastern Europe to this day




Thanks to the heroic attitude of the Western Slavs, the Hungarian people and Eastern Baltic Great Lithuania peoples, including for the Ruthenians, who defended their liberal-democratic order (the kings reigned there with the help of the parliaments already in the 15th century), Western Europe was able to sleep peacefully and conquer other continents. The wars between the Western European kings, even most civil wars looked very different. The war prisoners were taken and care was taken to save the body and property of the defenseless civilians as much as possible. The wars were waged by professional soldiers, by high nobles who had to watch their honor. A savage carnage of defeated counterpart was an exception, not the common rule.



But when the Turks or Tatars came, there was no mercy. Thus, in the case of defeat, the German infantry hired by Polish and Hungarian kings stood on the battlefield right to her last dying breath. It was not just the once world-famous German loyalty. It was simply much better to fall in battle than to die under torture. The inhabitants of the conquered city was very often slaughtered or abducted into slavery.


Several times the Western European countries have been asked for help. Almost every time they could only give empty promises and whole thing came to a very, very bad end! The Eastern Europeans were encouraged to armed fight even if they could bargain a cease-fire from the enemy, but later were sacrificed. Already in 1444 as a result of such lazy policy, the 20-year-old King Vladislaus III. of Poland and Hungary died at the Battle of Varna, abandoned by allies, trying to liberate Bugaria.




The symbolic memorial on the former battlefield of Varna; The national emblems of Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria (CC B-Y 3.0, an image of Matthae)


The German leaders had been a little better in this regard. Sometimes they abandoned their eastern neighbors, sometimes their help was of decisive importance. Bismarck or Hitler, who did not understand that Germany needs the Polish courage too, formed two only exceptions. Logically, her policies ended badly for their own people.




We are not stubborn fools of the old school: we draw the right lessons from history


In any case, as a result of such experiences, most Eastern Europeans no longer believe in the empty promises, in the unworldly ideologies, in the brave new world without any frontiers. We are not racists but we are reasonable. The Vietnamese or Koreans who have become part of our society because they behave properly are one of many examples. The goddess of history strides across the earth for a few years, not slowly and thoughtfully, but storms away. In this situation we judge the Western Europeans, who still cast their votes on the old parties, as victims of something which is attacking theirs minds.




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