Spread of authoritarianism, and could Hitler have been stopped?

It’s 75th Anniversary of the End of World War II in Europe.

Raising the flag on Iwo Jima: An iconic moment

The photograph w taken by Joe Rosenthal of the Associated Press on February 23, 1945.

U.S. Marines of the 28th Regiment, 5th Division, raise the American flag atop Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima, on Feb. 23, 1945. Credit: AP Photo/Joe Rosenthal

Michael Strank: Born in Czechoslovakia, died in the Battle of Iwo Jima

Michael Strank (November 10, 1919 – March 1, 1945). A Marine born in Czechoslovakia in Jarabina (now Slovakia) was one of the six flag-raisers who helped raise US flag atop Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945. Amid visible tensions in transatlantic relations, do you think that stories how we fought together have at least some symbolic meaning, could such stories serve as a reminder that it is worth to keep those relations alive? Or people probably do not care much about this anymore (if I will be cynical)? Read few comments.

Michael Strank

Why is antisemitsm on the rise?

The world marks 75 years since Auschwitz liberation but it seems that in many countries antisemitism is on the rise. In your opinion, why is this happening? Did the humanity learn nothing from holocaust, from what happened in Auschwitz? Or the lesson is simply fading away? Or antisemitism has evolved in seven decades? Or is it a combination? Read few comments.

What can we learn from the Velvet Revolution?

As we witness that various authoritarian and antidemocratic political strains are getting popularity around the globe, any lessons we can learn and apply to current situation from what happened 30 years ago in the Central and Eastern Europe (including the Velvet Revolution)? Or was it somehow a unique process and it is hard to take something concrete out of it, also taking into account that some results of the CEE revolutions are probably mixed after 30 years. Read few comments.

The PRC at 70: China’s dreams and nightmares

And what’s next. Read few comments.

Portrait of Mao Zedong at the Tiananmen gate. Credit: Andrej Matisak

R.I.P. Jacques Chirac. What is his political legacy?

How would you assess political legacy of President Jacques Chirac (1932 – 2019), what from what he had done still resonate (should resonate) in French, European politics? Read few comments.

Jacques Chirac (1932 – 2019)

The 80th anniversary of World War II: Could history repeat itself?

Read few comments.

Notre Dame is deeply embedded in the national and world culture and imaginary

Not a small part of a planet watched in horror how flames were consuming the Notre Dame Cathedral. Interestingly, we hear voices saying lets rebuild the Cathedral as European project. What does this loss mean for France and do you think a rebuilding could mean something for Europe? Read few comments.

President George H. W. Bush and the end of the Cold War

How would you assess the ability of President George H. W. Bush to help to navigate the world (and my region) during uneasy times of change from communist regimes to democracy? Do we still feel his decisions? Read few comments.

Vicepresident George H. W. Bush with President Ronald Reagan. Credit: https://www.bush41.org/