Timothy Snyder, historian of the Holocaust and Eastern Europe
Three
books by the historian Timothy Snyder about the Holocaust, fascism and tyranny:
On
Tyranny is a little book published as it became clear that Donald Trump would
be the Republican candidate for President. The book lists 20 lessons from the
20th Century on tyranny and its consequences. I copied each of the
20 lessons and posted them on Facebook in the 20 days prior to the 2018
elections. I thought there was a chance
the President would cancel the election. All of his tendencies are tyrannical.
Black
Earth is a country-by-country history of the Holocaust with manner of death per
country and the political situation in each that encouraged slaughter or
survival. At the end of the book, Snyder
acknowledges the heroes who saved Jews from the slaughter that was the worst in
countries between Germany. Then he says the Holocaust represents a complete
failure of the state Churches. I have always believed the Church dies when it
has power. Snyder demonstrates this in terrible detail.
The
Road to Unfreedom maps the demise of democracy in Russia, Europe and America as
authoritarian leaders take control of democratic governments. This book is
contemporary history. Snyder shows how Russia attacked Ukraine both on the
ground and in cyberspace. It also covers how those living in Eastern Europe
were expected Trump to win long before Americans thought he had a chance. This
book is much less sad than Black Earth, but since it so clearly shows how
democracy is crumbling it is very chilling.
