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Writer's pictureJesse Alexander History

Has WW2 lost its grip on us?

Updated: Jun 25, 2020

There's been some talk in the last few years about how the Second World War is losing some of its influence on world affairs. Russia's annexation of the Crimea has been called the first state hostile takeover of territory in Europe since the war. The last veterans are now leaving us. Winston Churchill has become a controversial figure. The word "fascism" has returned to everyday political discourse.


But leave it to the mundane aspects of everyday life and culture to really prove the point that WW2 just doesn't frame our thought the way it used to.


Here is a pop song by Serbian folk-pop singer Nikolija Jovanovic called "No cryin'":


Now, my Serbo-Croatian is not great. But it would appear that the lyrics "my little pink ghetto" and "boom boom Nagasaki" are here used as references to Miss Jovanovic's genitalia and sexual prowess respectively, if I have understand her artistic intent correctly. I very much hope something has been lost in translation.


Here is a flyer for a sushi restaurant in Canada:



Seems no one thought that calling your sushi collection "atomic" might raise some eyebrows...


And I haven't even gotten into the use in parts of Asia of Hitler's image for t-shirts and restaurant logos).


EDIT: this just in - Austrian minister gives a speech on the Holocaust and uses the example of her grandfather passing away after a car accident as an example of how she understands what it felt like to lose a loved one.


EDIT: the Polish Institute for National Memory declares on TV that the goal of Auschwitz was that there would never be an independent Poland and does not mention Jews. Also says that state money for Poles will dry up if the government meets "Jewish demands" for restitution claims from WW2.

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Constantinos Chronis
Constantinos Chronis
13 oct 2022

It could be argued that such evident normalisation of behaviour is similar to pre WW2 events. Where aggressive behaviour, lost of empathy, and fanaticism blinds us from the horrors we are flirting with. All it takes is a perfect storm for it to spiral out of control - faster and stronger than even as the velocity of our times allows it. Such our times, where arms race between nations and radical movements overshadow hunger, environmental catastrophe and poverty. After all is those very elements that serve the purpose. As if there is an almost perfect correlation, from the days of the great depression which lead after a decade to WW2, to the great recession we faced in 2008...up until the…


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