The Secrets of Cold War: Our Germans. Project Paperclip and the National Security State

In the last years, while studying and being involved in various projects about the Cold War, I got familiar with the fact that scientists and intellectuals with a tainted far-right past were willingly integrated into the Western intelligence aparatus for the sake of countering the Soviets. It doesn't mean that the other part of the 'War' was not doing the same, while accusing the 'capitalist world' of using former Nazis and their local variants from Central and Eastern Europe for ideological purposes. 

A clear case in this respect was East Germany which made a big ideological line of accusing the West Germany for re-cycling various Nazis, based on documents generously offered by the Soviets and their affiliate spies. After the Cold War was over and Germany reunified, the wonder was that the 'Nazi-clean' East was in fact as infestated as the West. 

The recently open Spy Museum in Berlin is documenting extensively the intelligence continuity between the old and new Germany(s), with long interviews with experts in security studies about who and how the transfer was done, a what extent and how the public opinion was, at least for a while, kept in jeopardy about the process. The thing is - and the post-dictatorship transitions in countries like Iraq, for instance, is another proof in this respect - that it is almost impossible to create new, democratic institutions from scratch, without using the institutional knowledge of some of the elites previously involved in the previous political processes. The question is at what extent and how you can avoid the ideological continuity.

Our Germans. Project Paperclip and National Security State is extensively documenting aspects not very well known academically, about top Nazi scientists, some of them with a clear role into the extermination policies that were smoothly brought to the USA for being part of the military planning during the Cold War. One of the most famous names is aerospace engineer Wernher von Braun who used to play an important scientific role at the Peenemünde complex in Germany, where slave labour was used intensively, and willingly lent further his knowledge to the Americans for setting up the basis for the aeronautical industry and the space race. The research by Brian E. Crim is based on newly declasified documents from the Department of Defense, FBI and the State Department. 

'American military officers and employers were all too willing to excuse, minimize, and eventually fabricate the Paperclippers' backgrounds to expedite their travel and ensure long-term exploitation within the US'. If once in a while there were news in the last decade about former Nazi guardians and people involved in killing 6 million Jews, is because those people were let to enter the USA and eventually received the American citizenship, in a time when the Jews that just escaped Auschwitz and other concentration camps were kept at bay because of the infamous quotas. According to the book, around 15,000 scientists and technicians - plus their families - benefited from this project and its successor programs. 

At a great extent, those scientists contributed to the configuration of a certain anti-Soviet position, in line with the Nazi ideology and further shaped policies during the Cold War in this respect. Not few of them were offered their services to Moscow too, which used them for a while, but let them go after. The role of biographies is very important in this research and it should be an important element of tracing various policies and personalities from this period of time. When their missions were accomplished, some ex-Nazis - at least institutionally - were lent to other part of the world affected by the policies of the game of influences: in Argentina, by the Americans, or in Syria or other Arab countries, by the Soviets - if they were not already there from the end of the war. 

This book enables without offering an answer, to the relationship between science and politics, starting with the way in which willingly or for 'amoral opportunism' brilliant minds served policies of muss-murder. 'Nazi science enables the worst attrocities committed by the Third Reich. Scientists and engineers, even those with few party affiliations or minimal ideological commitment, willingly lent their talents to the regime in exchange for professional advancement and the opportunity to continue their research with limitless funding or institutional support'. 

The competition to acquire German scientiests was apparntly not only an American and Soviet priority, but French and British intelligence agents also kidnapped once in a while some of them, keen to cover the scientific gap and use their knowledge for the sake of the 'new world'.

Our Germans...is an outstanding research that hopefully will be followed by other similar academic inquiries. The Cold War is over and right now it doesn't matter that much who gonna win. Investigating, based on documents and testimonies, its policies and directions, from an academic perspective will create a new level of accountability but also can offer some lessons learned about how far you can/must get for ideological purposes. It is about time that more academics are getting involved in such serious recent history researches. 

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

For a Better Academic Year

With only a few post published on a blog and only a limited academic activity, 2017 was not my best in terms of academic achievements and professional advancement. For reasons completely independent of my will, of very personal reasons - but luckily, not mine - most of my academic readings had to do with issues dealing with mental health and mental instability of persons that did not benefit the proper medical support when they needed to, developing into toxic unstable adults. An interesting investigation after all, but not my area of study and not something I am very keen to further explore.

However, once I settled down - at least on my side - my own version of the story, it is about time to set up my visual board and aim high for a reboost of my academic career. I am fully aware that things will not jump out of nowhere from 0 to 100, but at least, settling down in an academic mood, sounds like what I have to expect for my next 12 months. And work hard towards achieving it. 

In this new arrangement, the blog - and the Twitter account which is slowly slowly growing up (like 1 follower the year...maybe) is playing a very clear role, as a dairy which will help me keep the track of my records, but also encourage me to move forward with my efforts towards a better academic visibility and planning. The plan is to post at least twice the week, with a clear focus on books and various academic challenges specific to people with the highest academic training - as I do, with a PhD in history, a book written and couple of academic articles - but without the clear thought of actually being part of the academic establishment - at least for now. Maybe it is about time to make a change in this respect and hopefully 2018 will be the year when I will sort out my serious plans and maybe some teaching perspectives too. 

Here it is for now! Hopefully, things will get much better and I will be able to keep up with a modest schedule and academic planning!

Wish all my academic readers a happy healthy and successful 2018!

How Green is Japan?

Caught between the rapid industrialization policies pursued after the end of WWII, the peculiarity of resources and the pressures towards creating sustainable green policies, Japan functions as a well oiled engine with many different speeds. A well documented inquiry into the 'environmental technologies, innovation policies and the pursuit of green growth', this book covers a large area of domains, from new technologies to urban planning and development.

'Japan views climate change in the context of a nation that lives with remarkable levels of incertainty and vulnerability - including access to energy and exposure to environmental shifts, but starting with a long and tragic history of natural disasters that long ago affirmed the supremacy of the environment over human beings'. The green policies in this country are a complex web made of different directions, including national policies, private sector initiatives, academic researches and societal commitment. The policy instruments do receive political endorsement through various regulations adopted by institutions, financial support from the business sector and the academic background provided by the scholars in the field. 'The Japanese experience demonstrates that the appropriate application of subsidies, governmental investment, and local strategies can produce substantial environmental savings'. However the circle is not complete and accidents as the case of the Fukushima nuclear plant keep outlining the need of a dramatic upgrade and as for now, the pursuit of prosperity still prevails over the environmental concerns. 

The book offers an interesting evaluation of various policies and decisions and although it has a relatively limited focus on the political aspects of the environmental programs - including the actual commitment from various parties to green policies -, it dedicates a generous space to the content of the policies and its day by day implementation.

A recommended lecture to those interested in comparative studies of various green policies, as well as in the Japan society and its approach to environmental challenges nowadays.

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Internet! It's a Trap!

Indeed, the Internet can be a trap, especially when it comes to people that were born in the 2.0 years, without a prior knowledge of how the world used to look like when Google was just an utopic nightmare. As a journalist and academic in the training, I remember the good old days when I had to go to the library to read books early in the morning for preparing the background of an article. Or, when I had to use my paper files for checking facts and figures about a specific topic.

My life today is much easier and writing an article takes significantly less time, but on the other other hand, without a prior mental preparation about what really counts and what are the most reliable sources of information. I remember the horrific reaction of an academic friend of mine fighting to convince his students that Wikipedia is NEVER a source of academic reference for an academic paper or article. And the examples can continue.

Ashesh Mukherjee is using an academic tone and analysis for listing the most important challenges of our everyday life and development represented by the Internet perspective. What I highly appreciated was the balanced style and analytic skills, after having the misfortune of dealing with way too many academic books in German by German authors where the Internet was ostracized and considered an obvious casus belli for many society and educational ills. 

In reality, the online life might be a cause of distress and existential problems, but especially when most of the problems are already there. For instance, if someone already suffer of a serious mental disability he or she will rather suffer when using Internet unguided for doing, for example, unlimited online shopping. There are many people who instead of going to a reliable source of authority of information, are using an informal mediums because they have their own fears and obsessions in relation with thouse sources. And the examples can continue.

The Internet Trap is a reliable source of information for anyone looking to better understand the impact of 2.0 in our everyday life, without panic and hysterical approaches, but through an analytic and realistic approach. A recommended read to any academic researcher in contemporary issues and, especially, online realms.

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Academic Book Review: Working in a Multicultural World

The world of today is so different of the world only a couple of years back. Especially if you are living in Europe, in any big city you might notice the linguistic, cultural and ethnic diversity, which a direct influence on the working habits and culture in general. You just need to go to your Asian supermarket or wait for your pizza or shaorma at the fast food next door. In order to be able to be part of this new diverse world, declarations of supporting 'multi-kulti' are not enough. 

The first stage of the interaction has to do with the way in which the narrative is being written. How we react and what we understand out the contact with 'the other'? Are we ready to go beyond the declarative level and the basic stereotypes inherently associated to various ethnic groups?

Working in a Multicultural World by Luciara Nardon is a real 'guide to developing intercultural competence', meaning it offers a step-by-step learning process to anyone keen to manage efficiently the multicultural interactions at work and abroad. In the author's words, it helps 'to develop constructive ways of thinking about intercultural interactions and acquire the skills needed to deal with the complex multi-cultural reality of today's workplace'. 

Offering more examples and practical insights and less theoretical background, the book helps to improve the level of inter-cultural communication in various work situations. Communication is the main dimension around which the entire process is built and developed, either it is about developing empathy or revisiting the main story of the intercultural and multicultural interaction. Very useful are especially the short exercises at the end of each section, allowing an evaluation as well as the revision of the main habits and practices. 

A book recommended especially to those dealing with multicultural diversity at the workplace on a daily basis, as well as to anyone preparing for a career in the field of cultural studies, with a practical interest in creating trainings and workshops for international companies and teams.

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Academic history in Greifswald, Germany

Most of the people outside Germany, would rise the eyebrows when told about Greifwald, as in the majority of cases, this name doesn't say too much. If you are into academic histories though, in Germany and abroad, you may know that here is headquartered one of the four oldest universities in the country. The Greifswald University was founded in 1456, by approval of the Holy Roman Empire and the Pope. There are only three older universities in Germany: Heidelberg (1386), Leipzig (1409) and Rostock (1419). The first rector was Rathenow, who was also the mayor at the time, and whose memory is cherished by a square bearing his name in the front of the university offices in the central part of the town. 

The University buildings, many of them massively restored with substantial state funding after the reunification of Germany - during the Cold War, Greifswald used to be part of the GDR - are spread all over the city. This typical for this part of the country, red-bricked buildings, are hosting the medical and scientific establishments. Since 2009, it also operates an university hospital. 

Very often it is said that, in fact the urban structure of Greifswald developed around the university needs. Nowadays, around two thirds of the 12,000 students enrolled here are outside Pomerania, many of them outside of Germany. The university is traditionally part of the Nordic universities network and also hosts a chair of Baltic and Slavic studies. 

As a consequence of the 30-Year War, this part of Germany was for around 200 years part of the Swedish rule. Thus, it become the oldest university under the Swedish rule. Besides the important teaching potential, Greifswald university has since 1614 the first centralised library in Germany.

Despite various political changes and religious challenges - the Reformation was introduced here since 1539 -, the great hall and other main buildings were largely preserved in its original form. The university also had various real estate and land properties, that were seriously diminished during the communist era. Its impressive art collection remains an important source of wealth and prestige. 

In 1933, the Nazi government decided to name the university after the theologian Ernst Moritz Arndt, a name still hold nowadays. Arndt was a student here in 1791 and he taught later history here. Closed for a short time after the war, it was reopened on 15 February 1946. In 1999, it was one of the first universities in Germany to introduce the MA system according to the Bologna system. It operates 5 faculties: Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Medicine, Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Theology. 

Academic history in Osnabrück

Osnabrück has a relatively new academic history: the high education institution was established in 1974. Before that, the most prestigious educational center was since 1632 the Gymnasium Carolinum. Nowadays, with its 13,500 students from all over Germany and abroad, it is considered a prestigious university center in Lower Saxony area. 

The architecture style combines the classical, well-tempered bourgeois balance of volumes characteristic for the most part of the historical building with some bold, white and steal very modern buildings. The main offices are hosted in the baroque castle, but the majority of the classes are held in modern classrooms. Among the specialities studied here are: Humanities, Social Sciences, Law, Business Administration and Economics. One of the famous students of the university is the former German president Christian Wulff. 

The university staff comprises 209 professors and more than 900 additional academic personnel. As a first time traveler in Osnabrück, I noticed how much life the young people, reading or carrying books on the old cobblestone streets bring to the city. Either staying in the grass and discussing or solitarily reading or talking to each other, the students bring dynamism to the city and make everything around them feel and look young.