EIGHTY years after Germany’s Third Reich formally accepted defeat, the enduring reluctance on all sides to draw lessons from the causes and consequences of World War II has sparked fears of history repeating itself.

Echoes of the 1930s have been rumbling for several years, amid growing popular support across Europe for Nazi-adjacent political forces that thrive on ethno-nationalism and xenophobia. The Russia-Ukraine war is the largest conflict the continent has endured since May 1945. And the slogan ‘never again!’, widely voiced in the aftermath of the unspeakable Holocaust, rings hollow amid Israel’s genocidal campaign against its designated Untermenschen, the Palestinians.

Vladimir Putin’s onslaught against Ukraine in February 2022 appears to have been based on the assumption that Kyiv would fall within days. It is reminiscent of Adolf Hitler’s confidence in June 1941 that the Wehrmacht would overrun Moscow within weeks. In both cases, formidable resistance thwarted the aggressors’ designs. The Nazis were able to capture vast swathes of Soviet territory and advance to within a few kilometres of Moscow partly because Josef Stalin was confident the Germans wouldn’t attack until they had conquered Britain, ignoring Soviet intelligence........

© Dawn