Author: Neil Spark

Why the insurrection in Washington DC on 6 January surprised people is surprising. The fire of discontent has been around for decades and fuelling it was part of Donald Trump’s strategy of dividing and ruling and undermining the democratic system of government. Reputation damaged Seeing …

This multi-layered, tightly written, emotionally laden novel is one of the best I’ve read. It’s the story of Werner Pfennig, a gifted German boy and Marie-Laure, who cannot see. The narrative spans the inter-war years and Occupied France, described in meticulous detail in words that …

This well-argued book is a warning from history. Anyone who wants to understand how the Nazis came to power and how much democracy depends on commitment to making the system work should read it. Historian Benjamin Carter Hett shows the similarities between the diabolical political …

Australia has a long and proud history of fighting for human rights. Australians fought in both world wars, and many since, against the scourge of tyranny. Australia has a long history of defending human beings’ dignity and worth.  Eminent Australian Dr Herbert Vere Evatt helped …

The loss of the Great War, the Great Depression and political catastrophe are often cited as the reasons for the Nazi’s ascension to power in Germany. They were factors but there’s another: Paul von Hindenburg. President Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler chancellor on 30 January 1933. …

Earnest but ineffective was how my right wing international political professor described the 39th president of the United States. He was replacing his objectivity with his political views. Today, 1 October, is President Carter’s 93rd birthday. By any objective measure, President Carter, in office from …

German World War I leaders knew the conflict was lost by September 1918. The spring offensive had failed and the entry of the United States on the Allied side made German victory almost impossible. The war had been led and managed by a military-industrial dictatorship …

Malta last week became the latest in an increasingly long list of countries to legalise marriage equality. Catholic conservativism has been upturned. Malta is 91 percent Catholic. And the parliamentary vote was an overwhelming 66 to 1. Spain has a Catholic population of 77 percent …

Germany is known for many achievements. More recently the country has made international headlines for legalising same-sex marriage. Germany was the birthplace of modern gay identity. As in so many things, Germans were at the forefront of thinking. Robert Beachy tells the story of the history …

Germans got a prelude to the madness in store for them on 29 June 1934. Between 6am and 7am that morning, the Chancellor, Adolf Hitler, weapon drawn, charged up the stairs of the Hanselbauer Hotel in Bad Wiessee. His quarry: the head of the Nazi …