Killing for Power and Profit: Remembering the Victims

By H. G. Willms

King Leopold II of Belgium built palaces, public buildings, castles, and monuments to remember his greatness as a king. People still praise him even though he killed millions of people.

The question of accountability is raised, not only in the case of Leopold, but all in power who have caused the death of millions of human beings. The terrible wars of the recent past have all been followed with excuses by those who planned the wars.

In this military and political history and commentary, the author--a U.S. Army veteran--covers more than one hundred years leading up to the present day. In addition to Leopold II, he highlights figures such as Otto von Bismarck, the chancellor of Prussia who united Germany; Japanese Emperor Hirohito; Adolf Hitler; President Franklin D. Roosevelt; President Lyndon B. Johnson; and many others.

From the rise of colonial empires to World War I and World War II to fighting in Korea, Vietnam, and beyond, we must study the past to determine what we might do better moving forward.

Learn the fascinating history of the Western world's major conflicts and gain an appreciation for those who've fought and died in Killing for Power and Profit.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Nov 14, 2018
• ISBN: 9781480868762

H. G. Willms

H. G. Willms, a bookstore owner, library administrator, and avid reader, is a U.S. Army veteran. He is eighty-five years old and lives in Tucson, Arizona.

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Copyright © 2018 H. G. Willms.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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ISBN: 978-1-4808-6877-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-6878-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-6876-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018964136

Archway Publishing rev. date: 11/13/2018

Contents

Introduction

1       Fatal Contacts

2       The Germans Are Coming

3       Collateral Damage

4       Attrition

5       Where Have All the Young Men Gone?

6       Making Germany Great Again

7       Land of the Rising Sun

8       Mother Russia

9       Armageddon

10     Final Solution

11     Kamikazes

12     Korea

13     Cuba

14     Vietnam

15     More Wars in the Twentieth Century

16     Wars That Never End

17     Mission Accomplished

18     Making Russia Great Again

19     Making America Great Again

Bibliography

Introduction

When I sit in the waiting room of a VA medical facility, I see fellow veterans who have served in America’s wars, past and present. They are veterans of wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. There are vets in wheelchairs and on crutches. Others push walkers. Some are missing an arm or a leg. Many have never recovered from the carnage of wars. Some suffer from emotional illnesses. The healthcare professionals who work in the VA hospitals and clinics are angels of mercy who care for veterans every day. They are overwhelmed by the numbers of men and women who need their help. Politicians talk about their support for vets, but the current level of funding for the VA is not nearly enough.

It is unpleasant and repellent to watch a government leader on television as he gives a speech in front of an audience of service men and women in uniform. The person speaking is using the military audiences as props for photo ops to enhance his image as a strong, caring leader. Such a leader also appears on television visiting bedridden men and women to pin on a medal or thank a vet for his service. Please keep your visits private and please don’t comment on television about phone calls that you have made to grieving widows. Please don’t insist on getting credit for making such calls. The use of veterans as props for photo ops is repugnant, especially when the leader appearing on camera has never served in the military and is someone who avoided military service when his time to serve his country presented itself.

Killing for Power and Profit is a tribute to all military men and women who have fought for their countries in the many wars of the 20th and 21st centuries. It is also a tribute to the millions of civilians who have died in these wars. Millions more have lost family members and places to live. These people, of many nationalities, did not start the wars. The wars were started by powerful men, and sometimes women, who looked to gain great power and wealth with little regard to the victims of their wars. It’s not a pleasant subject for a book, but it’s important to remind readers of what actually happened and how events of the past have led all of us to 2018. Libraries are filled with books about these wars. I have chosen some of my favorites and listed them in a bibliography at the end of this book. The choices are my own, but many others have been written, brilliantly, on the same subjects. I have not included footnotes or notes for every chapter as a skilled historian does. I am 85 years old and living the final chapters of my life. I was 8 years old when Japan staged their surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. I can remember where I was on December 7, 1941, and I remember all of the wars that America has fought in since World War II.

George Santayana (1863 -1952), a Spanish writer and teacher who grew up in the United States and became a professor at Harvard, said, Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. That statement is often repeated but generally ignored by leaders who become powerful and rich. Failure to learn from the mistakes of those who came before them has led to the mass killing of millions of human beings. Motivated by the personal need to become more and more powerful, presidents, generals, kings, and prime ministers have disregarded the lessons of history by planning more wars. In many cases, they have not been truthful concerning their reasons for declaring war.

Historians write nonfiction books of enduring value. They do not write fake news or alternative truths. They arrive at the truth by reading original, primary sources: official government records, personal interviews, letters, diaries, and historical archives in libraries worldwide. Many historians are university professors who are winners of literary prizes and honors. Their ability to transfer their research into compelling narratives is remarkable.

Everyone should be capable of recognizing and acknowledging multiple points of view. This should be an important part of everyone’s education. Historians have this ability. They present facts and let the readers decide. Military history is rich with primary sources and statistics related to wars. Readers can read first-hand accounts of great battles: diaries and letters of soldiers for example. Compare letters written by German soldiers at the battle of Stalingrad with those written by Russian soldiers. Soldiers on both sides who knew they were going to die wrote to wives telling them not to grieve for them. They wanted them to marry again and find some happiness. The soldiers were human beings; their leaders were power-hungry monsters and murderers.

In the present day, many Americans are caught up in the daily emotional saga of conservatives versus liberals. Television viewers choose cable news shows with pundits who give a daily dose of one point of view. Viewers look for talking heads who reinforce their own one-sided point of view. Few read books or even newspapers. When they do, they read to reinforce their own prejudices. People avoid talking about politics or current events with relatives or neighbors because they find themselves in arguments, often rather heated arguments. There is an amazing amount of tweeting, texting, and trolling the internet for gossip and fake news. On very rare occasions, historians are interviewed to discuss their research and findings related to some important news stories about climate change or the motivation of terrorists for example. However, the mention of history is a dead issue to most consumers of information. Gossip, rumors, and stories about movie stars are more interesting.

John Dalberg-Acton (1834-1902) was an English writer who famously said, Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men. He was a member of the English Parliament and an acquaintance of powerful men from the highest social classes. He was also an historian, a keen observer of the ruling class including royalty and prime ministers. He received the title of Baron Acton in 1869, a title granted by Queen Victoria. His personal library of 60,000 books was filled with notes concerning his observations of the books’ contents. The recurrent theme of the corruption of power remains relevant today.

Killing for Power and Profit has been written for a wide audience of readers. It is meant to cover a period of more than 100 years leading up to the present day with short chapters and a minimum of detail. Remembering what the human race has done in the past can lead to a better understanding of the present day and the future. There is reason for optimism today and reason for hope. When someone reaches the end of this narrative, he or she can also see some hopeful signs and progress on the part of the human race. It isn’t easy to make decisions based on reason and common sense, but many men and women, young and old, are up to the challenge.

1

Fatal Contacts

T he funeral of England’s King Edward VII in 1910 was attended by royalty of 70 countries. Kings, queens, emperors, and princes dressed in uniforms with gold braid, medals and plumed headgear presented an impressive display of power, privilege, superiority, and entitlement. Nearly all the nations and kingdoms of Europe were represented along with others from as far away as Japan. Men on horseback and women wearing diamonds in gilded coaches paraded in homage to England’s popular king. Many of the elite were related to one another. They all lived in luxury beyond the wildest dreams of the people who lived in their kingdoms. Their families had lived their privileged lives for centuries. It was inconceivable to them that their power would ever diminish. It was clear to them that the rest of the people in the world posed no real threat to them. Many had enriched their kingdoms by gaining colonies and military power. Their empires were large and maintained by force.

For centuries before 1910, European royalty consolidated their power with the help of armies and navies. They had soldiers, weapons, ships and money. They had a wealthy class of merchants, bankers, and investors who looked for opportunities in all parts of the world. They had wealthy landowners with great estates. The majority of the people who worked in the fields, mines, and factories were poor and without power to change the status quo. European countries with ports on the Atlantic Ocean built ships capable of sailing around the world. Spain found islands in the Caribbean and the large empires of the Aztecs and Incas in America. They were looking for gold. They were also looking for spices. The Portuguese explored the western coast of Africa and crossed the Atlantic to Brazil. Colonies were established in the West Indies and the Americas to raise sugar cane and tobacco. Gold and silver were mined and sent to Spain and Portugal. Native people were put to work as slaves; the demand for more slaves grew rapidly. Portuguese ships traded along the west coast of Africa for slaves to ship to Brazil and the West Indies. Africans were also purchased by Arab slave traders on the east coast of Africa. Millions of African men, women and children were purchased for cloth, beads, mirrors, and items of little value. Slaves were taken in chains across the Atlantic for several hundred years.

The search of treasure, territory and slaves by the powerful European nations is often called imperialism. The theft of land, natural resources and people was not considered to be a bad thing by those in power. People in Africa were considered to be inferior creatures, subhumans, who could eventually be taught to improve their lives by the superior elite white European men. It was the white man’s duty to save the black people and convert them to Christianity. Natives failed to understand how slavery, beatings, mass murder, and death from European diseases enriched their lives.

With ships and sailors capable of reaching all parts of the world, empires increased in size and wealth. New weapons were developed. Native people who lived in Africa, Asia, the Americas, and islands in the Atlantic and Pacific were unable to stop the invaders. Everywhere the contacts between the treasure hunters and the indigenous peoples were devastating for the natives who tried to resist with spears, bows and arrows, and canoes. Native people had no immunity to smallpox, influenza, or any of the invaders’ illnesses.

England and the Netherlands provided competition for Spain and Portugal. A Spice Race provided motivation for new discoveries and new sources of wealth. The search for cinnamon, cloves, pepper, nutmeg, and other spices led the Europeans to the islands that are part of Indonesia today. Sumatra, Java, and the tiny island of Run had an abundance of spices. European ships carried cloth, beads, toys, mirrors, pistols, and trinkets of little value to use as barter. In Europe, spices were in demand to make bland food more palatable. Some spices, nutmeg for example, were believed to have healing properties. Nutmeg was thought to be a cure for the plague and other diseases. Any ship that could make the voyage around the southern tip of Africa and reach the spice islands could return to Europe with a fortune. The long sea voyages were dangerous and often deadly. Scurvy, lack of food and fresh water, and warfare brought death to many sailors. Fights between island natives and European sailors became deadly. Ships that did make it back to Europe enriched the investors and the royal families.

Treasure hunting led to the establishment of colonies. Dutch settlers moved to the Cape of Good Hope to work for the Dutch East India Company. Ships bound for the East Indies and India stopped to take on food and water and other supplies before resuming their long journeys. Dutch farmers also moved to southern Africa looking for free land and new opportunities to govern themselves. British civilians and soldiers arrived; they challenged the Dutch farmers and forced them to move north.

Dutch settlers soon found themselves in conflict with the African natives who wanted to keep their hunting lands for themselves. The most-feared and most-powerful African tribe was the Zulu Nation. Zulu warriors, armed with spears, waged war against the Voortrekkers, Dutch farmers armed with rifles and cannon. At the Battle of Blood River in December, 1838, ten to twenty thousand Zulus fought – more than three thousand died. Less than five hundred Voortrekkers circled their ox-driven wagons and counterattacked on horseback. The Zulus were driven away, but they remained strong and well organized.

The British colony grew in size and strength. Diamonds and gold were being mined. Many people in England moved to South Africa hoping to get rich. The British government provided soldiers to keep natives working in the mines and to keep the peace with African tribes. In 1879, British soldiers attacked the Zulus. Zulu warriors defeated the British in several battles, killing more than a thousand well-armed British soldiers. Great Britain was stunned by their losses to people who were considered to be subhuman and incapable of such strength. By the summer of 1879, the superior fire power of British weapons including machine guns (Gatling guns) were too much for the spears of the Zulus.

The Dutch farmers, called Boers by the British, were able to establish two independent republics: The Orange Free State and the Transvaal (South African Republic). They did not want to be ruled by the British. However, gold was discovered in Boer lands and a new gold rush was on. The Boers were willing to let the mining proceed, but the mining companies had to pay for leases and taxes. The British went to war but were defeated in their first attempts to take over. A full-scale war ensued with white British soldiers fighting white Dutch Boer farmers. The war was fought from October, 1899, to May, 1902. This was shocking to the people in England who did not complain about wars against black or brown people throughout their vast empire, but killing white people whose ancestors had lived in southern Africa since the 1650’s seemed excessive.

The Boers had rifles, cannon, and machine guns. Their men on horseback were excellent marksmen. The British burned the Boer farms and rounded up the women and children who were herded into concentration camps surrounded by barbed wire. More than 20,000 white civilians and 20,000 blacks who worked on Boer farms were killed. Many of the women and children died of disease and malnutrition in the concentration camps. The British lost more than 20,000 soldiers. The Boers lost their freedom and were forced into the British Empire as part of the Union of South Africa. Many Boers never forgot the treatment of their women and children, the burning of their farms, and their loss of self-government. The quest for power and profit by the British was successful. Great Britain had more land, people, and colonies under its control than any other country by 1900. It was said that the sun never set on the British Empire.

One European nation that did not aggressively seek colonies or empires was Belgium. But Belgium’s king from 1835 to 1909, King Leopold II, was eager to acquire his own personal colony where he could have absolute power and a huge fortune. The colony would not belong to Belgium – it would be his and his alone. Belgium remained a peaceful and neutral country and did not quarrel with its Dutch, French, English or German neighbors.

Leopold received military training beginning at age nine. At the age of 18, he married Marie Henriette, 16, a princess of Austrian royalty. The newlyweds took an instant dislike of one another and regretted that they had been coerced into an arranged marriage. The lived separate lives but carried out their royal duty by having four children. Only one was a boy who died of pneumonia at the age of nine. Marie Henriette raised her daughters and spent a lot of time riding and caring for her horses. Leopold continued his military training and education until the age of thirty when his father, Leopold I, died.

Leopold traveled around the world and looked for a place that he could buy in order to establish his own colony. Inspired by the stories of the explorer Henry Morton Stanley, Leopold decided that he would take over the huge part of central Africa that had not been claimed by any other colonial power. He arranged a meeting with representatives from France, Great Britain, and Germany. He proposed the establishment of a Congo Free State for the purpose of bringing missionaries to improve the lives of native tribes. He said that the new state would end the Arab slave trade. The delegates at the conference were treated to the finest rooms in royal palaces and wine and food fit for kings. They were convinced that Leopold could take the lead in bringing the blessings of civilization to help the African people to live peaceful, happy lives. Everyone agreed that it was the white man’s duty to civilize these black natives in the heart of Africa.

King Leopold had no intention of doing anything other than making money and achieving absolute power over his personal colony, but he was careful to build his image. He became a public relations genius who purchased