BC HISTORY
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On this day in 1945 Soviet forces liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau. It was the largest concentration and death camp. 1.1 million people, 90% of them Jews, were murdered there. Today it is an international day of commemoration, to honor the memory of all victims of Nazi extermination.

 A few things to keep in mind on International Holocaust Remembrance Day:

1) The Soviet liberation of Auschwitz is a deeply symbolic event, but it is worth noting that allied forces were liberating Nazi camps until May of 1945. Unspeakable suffering and death continued for months
I bring this up because the popular perception of events is informed by primary school practices which present them with clean start and stop dates. Useful for repeating dates, but less useful for having an understanding of what forces you unleash and what it takes to unwind them
When we talk about the lessons of the Holocaust, too many fall into the trap of "if it's not identical to Auschwitz, it's not worth invoking the Holocaust."

The seeds for the Holocaust were laid long before Auschwitz was opened, and the Holocaust continued after its liberation.
2) Every year on this date you can reliably expect a debate on what it is we are commemorating. A small but loud group of people use this date as an opportunity to play suffering olympics. Resist the urge to engage with these fools.
On International Holocaust Remembrance Day we honor the memory of *all* victims of Nazism. That includes Jews who comprise the majority, but also gentiles including the Roma, Poles and Soviets, the LGBTQ, the disabled, and those who were murdered for opposing Nazism.
This is not an invitation to downplay the Nazi extermination of the Jews. The Nazis rose to power on demonizing Jews. It helped them recruit collaborators. At the height of the war with the Soviets they still prioritized killing Jews over getting supplies to their forces.
Put simply: the war of extermination against all "lesser" peoples in the eyes of the Nazis was organized around the belief that first the Jews must be exterminated. Every choice the Nazis made, including the murder of other peoples, was informed by this framework.
3) We need more than symbols. As @TimothyDSnyder wrote:

Auschwitz, generally taken to be an adequate or even a final symbol of the evil of mass killing, is in fact only the beginning of knowledge, a hint of the true reckoning with the past still to come.
https://t.co/FuqXkJj1Zk
For those who never click in, the above essay outlines why Westerners know about Auschwitz, but not about the actual majority of Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust.

Most were executed across what is today Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, and the Baltic states. Few ever saw a camp
The symbols we use to represent the Holocaust are too often the end of our education.

I wrote about this at some length the last time there was a controversy involving Anne Frank.
https://t.co/l1EI17uGiq
4) Due to superficial understandings, the simplistic idea is the Nazis were the bad guys and the people who fought them were the good guys.

The Nazis didn't see themselves as the bad guys. Neither did the Germans who voted for them or the people who collaborated with them.
Jews don't need you to identify with those of us who went through the Holocaust. Seeing yourself as the underdog is a tool to make yourself comfortable, not to challenge the injustice in the world you inhabit today.

Ask yourself what you have in common with our persecutors.
Are you equipped to recognize and oppose those who wish to persecute and exterminate others? Do you understand who in your own society today shares assumptions and motivations that drove people to Nazism?

Do you take ownership of your responsibility to oppose these forces?
If you're unsure, I encourage you to take the opportunity to learn more about the Holocaust. You will gain a better understanding of antisemitism, of racism, of those who wish to harness hate for power, and how to confront them.

That's how you can honor the legacy of this day.

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@smooreBofB1940
1. This is a thread about the Bristol Beaufighter & how it was the most important (if not the absolute ‘best’) heavy fighter of the SWW. Beaufighter origins go back to the Bristol Type 142 ‘Britain First’ built as a publicity stunt for Daily Mail owner Lord Rothermere in 1935.


2. With a top speed of 278mph, this was considerably faster than the Hawker Fury, which could only manage 207mph. A specification for a fast medium bomber was issued for a revised version of the 142M, named the Blenheim.


3. By the time the war started all-metal monoplane fighters had eclipsed the performance of the Blenheim. Serious shortcomings in operational capabilities of all RAF aircraft were revealed during early wartime aerial activity, leading to heavy losses of aircraft & crews.

4. Lack of defensive armament, armour & self-sealing tanks were added to the problems of looming obsolescence. The huge number of aircraft ordered from shadow factories, along with delays to replacement models, kept the Blenheim in the front line much longer than it should have.


5. Fighter Command had 7 Blenheim IF squadrons at the outbreak of war. These were dual purpose day/night units, but by early 1940 were operating primarily as night fighters. The need to provide cover for east coast convoys led to the formation of 4 ‘trade protection’ squadrons.
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governorswaraj
governorswaraj
@governorswaraj
1857 - There was chaos and bloodshed all around. Britishers were not safe in Delhi. Yamuna used to be massive because there were no dams and canals. /1

There is a British couple running for life. A Lalaji offered to help. He said, ‘I have a plan that can save your life. You cross Yamuna and reach Rampur or a safe heaven.’ But how does one cross Yamuna ? The city is up in arms. People will kill us./3

Lala ji said ‘See I am a very good swimmer. You piggback me and I will swim you across Yamuna.‘ It is a dark night Lalaji takes the couple to the bank of Yamuna. One by one, they piggyride Lalaji and cross Yamuna. Lalaji ensures that safe passage./4

Unfortunately, the British win the war. The British resorted to massacre to massacre in Delhi. A few days later the British couple returns to Delhi. The couple summons Lala ji. They asked Lala ji ‘What can we do for you ?” Lalaji said, ’kuchh nahin Sab.’/5

Next day Lalaji is summoned again. The British officials are also present. The man says, “Lalaji, this is a token amount of 50,000/-rupees in cash. In addition, you are appointed the Kotwal of Ferozepur.” Lalaji is very happy and goes to Ferozepur./6
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Gareth Harney
Gareth Harney
@OptimoPrincipi
1) The Temple of the Divine Claudius was a vast temple complex on Rome's Caelian Hill, overlooking the valley that would later be occupied by the Colosseum. Though almost nothing now remains of the structure, its scale and grandeur once rivalled anything in the city.. #LostRome


2) The 'Claudium' was intended as a sacred complex to revere Claudius and the imperial cult. Construction began soon after the death and deification of the emperor in 54 AD, initiated by his widow Agrippina who was likely responsible for his supposed death by poisoning. #LostRome


3) The sprawling temple complex sat on a gigantic podium that spread across the Caelian Hill, measuring 180 x 200 metres; with towering retaining walls of travertine that raised the structure 20 metres above the valley below. #LostRome


4) The elevated sacred area was likely entered by steps facing the temple on the west side. The temple itself had a projecting hexastyle porch and was surrounded by gardens and a grand portico, probably the 'porticus Claudia' mentioned in Martial's 'On the Spectacles'. #LostRome


5) Statues of both Agrippina and Claudius’ ill-fated young son Britannicus, sculpted in sumptuous dark Egyptian greywacke, were discovered among the ruins on the Caelian Hill in 1651 – and had almost certainly been displayed in the temple precinct. #LostRome
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Vertigo_Warrior
Vertigo_Warrior
@VertigoWarrior
The Panch Kedar Mandirs are amongst the most divine pilgrimage sites for followers of Sanatan Dharm. Apart from being Bhagwan Shiv`s abodes, they bear a strong connection to our history. Let`s explore their origins. #Thread


As per legend, the Panch Kedar Mandir relate directly to the Mahabharat and are an important part of our history. At the time of Mahabharat after the Kurukshetra Yudh, the Pandavs committed the sin of “Gotra Hatya” and “Brahmanahatya” by killing the Kauravs and Guru Droṇacarya.


Wanting to repent, Pandavs handed over the control of their kingdom to their kin and left in search of Bhagwan Shiv to ask for his forgiveness. Initially the Pandavs went to Kashi in search of Bhagwan Shiv but couldn`t find him there.


Bhagwan Shiv was furious at the deceit, death and destruction taking place during the Kurukshetra war. He was indifferent to the Pandavs prayers and took the form of a powerful bull and hid in the Gharwal Himalayas.


As Pandavs did not find Bhagwan Shiv in Kashi, after wandering for a bit they went to Gharwal Himalayas. The second eldest Pandav Bhim spotted a large bull grazing near GuptKashi in Kedar Kantha.
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Mateusz Fafinski
Mateusz Fafinski
@Calthalas
To India! We go together with one of the most original minds of the late antique and early medieval world: Cosmas Indicopleustes. Cosmas thought that the world was a box. He thought that god resided in its lid. But he also travelled a large part of that box! 1/ #medievaltwitter


Cosmas was born at the end of the fifth or the beginning of the sixth century probably in Alexandria, the great city of Roman Egypt. We actually don’t know his real name, Cosmas the India-Sailor is a monicker he got around 9th century. 2/

We know though that he became a merchant in Constantinople. From there he traveled south to Egypt and then to the kingdom of Aksum, modern day Ethiopia. He is best informed about the topography of the region and there is little doubt that he visited it in person. 3/


He is called the India-Sailor because of his description of the current-day Malabar coast and Sri Lanka. But has he made it that far? Was it even viable in the sixth century? 4/


Cosmas does mention detailed descriptions of the South Asian fauna and flora like the hog-deer which he has “seen and eaten”. He also knows coconuts and pepper and seems to have understood if not witnessed how they were harvested. 5/
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Bharat: Advancement of earth’s earliest civilization

Glorious Vedic Architecture and Temple

Architecture in India was an extremely rich form of expression and highly developed science, with a deep heritage of spirituality in it. #FreeHinduTemple


The centre of all architectural development was the temple and temple or Mandir was the earthly home of God, and like the launching pad for the devotee’s consciousness to soar toward the Divine and the spiritual world.


The murti or deity of the Divine would be placed in the temple sanctum, around which all temple activity would revolve.

Such buildings were often elaborately decorated with stone, wood, plaster, etc. and carved or cut to depict the stories from the Puranas or other sacred texts


Temples were always the centre of religious, social and educational activities, practically more so in
ancient times than today.

During a span of more than two thousand years, various dynasties were known for constructing glorious temples,


some of which include the Mauryan, Ashoka, Gupta, Satavahana, Chedi, Chandella, Chalukya, Solanki, Pallava, Shola, Hoysala, Vijayanagar, and others.

Many of these temples remain beautiful architectural wonders today.
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