Carl von Ossietzky, editor of Die Weltbühne, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1935
"During the years of the Weimar Republic Carl von Ossietzky's political commentaries gained him a reputation as a fervent supporter of democracy and a pluralistic society. He was convicted in 1931 of revealing state secrets, the illegal German militarization, and served 18 months in prison. He was released in 1932.
Ossietzky continued to be a constant warning voice against militarism and Nazism when, in January 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor and the Nazi dictatorship began. Ossietzky was one of a very small group of public figures who continued to speak out against the now ruling Nazi Party.
On 28 February 1933, after the Reichstag fire, he was taken by the police and held without trial in Spandau prison. He was detained afterwards at the concentration camp KZ Esterwegen near Oldenburg.
He was visited while in the camp by Swiss historian Carl Jacob Burkhardt, as a representative of the International Red Cross. Burkhardt described Ossietzky as 'a deadly pale broken creature, who seemed numb, with one eye swollen over, and his teeth broken.'
Carl von Ossietzky's international rise to fame began in 1936 when, already suffering from serious illness that was not being treated, he was awarded the 1935 Nobel Peace Prize after an international campaign of people who hoped to achieve his release through this recognition and honor.
The award divided public opinion, and was generally condemned by conservative forces. The leading conservative Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten argued in an editorial that Ossietzky was a criminal.
He was largely forgotten during the period of favorable international regard for the Third Reich, sparked in part by the propaganda campaign for the 1936 Berlin Olympics and the German 'economic miracle.'
Ossietzky died in the Nordend hospital in Berlin-Pankow, still in police custody, on 4 May 1938, of tuberculosis and from the after-effects of the abuse he suffered in the concentration camps. In 1938 Time Magazine named Adolf Hitler as their 'Man of the Year.'"
Jesse, In memory of Journalist Carl von Ossietzky, 16 June 2012
"Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one, whose betrayers and murderers you have become."
Acts 7:52
“Every time we witness an injustice and do not act, we train our character to be passive in its presence and thereby eventually lose all ability to defend ourselves and those we love."
Julian Assange, Witnessing
Commodities were slammed today, with oil, gold and silver taking a hard sell-off, purportedly because of a 'disappointment' on Wall Street at the level of Chinese economic stimulus.
Smells like teen spirit.
Stocks themselves were trading weakly despite the much better than expected housing data.
A true opium of the people is the belief that for our betrayals, our greed, our cowardice, our lawlessness, our selfishness, and even murders that we are not going to be judged.
Historically the cup is filling, and this is when we might see a reversal begin to unfold, call it karma, nemesis, fortune, judgement, or natural consequence as you prefer.
But for now, let's see what the rest of the week brings.
Have a pleasant evening.
