Richard Koenigsberg to speak at the City University of New York Graduate
Center, 365 Fifth Avenue between 34th and 35th Street, New York, NY
10016
FRIDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 13, 2004, 7:00 PM-9:00 PM
Dying for the Country: The Logic of War & Genocide
In this presentation co-sponsored by the NEW YORK MILITARY
AFFAIRS SYMPOSIUM and the HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Dr. Richard Koenigsberg
continues his exploration into the psychological sources of group
violence. THE LECTURE IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Lectures are
usually held on the 6th floor in Room 6-495, but confirmation of the
room number should be obtained from the guard at the street-level
entrance. For further information please call 718-393-1104.
While war is most easily understood in terms of the activity
of killing, it can be extremely illuminating to consider the obverse
view: that the true meaning of war lies in the act of dying, giving
one's life in a demonstration of fealty to a sacred ideal.
Hitler stated, "We do not want to have any other God, only
Germany." He glorified warfare as an activity that required his soldiers
and people to sacrifice their lives in the name of the object that they
worshipped in common-their own nation, Germany.
In his declaration of war on September 1, 1939, Hitler asked
every German to be ready to "lay down his life for his people and for
his country." At the same time he imagined that there were others within
Germany-shirkers, selfish individuals and Jews-who wish to avoid the
obligation to sacrifice their lives. Those who attempted to "evade this
national duty," Hitler declared, would "perish."
Therein lies the meaning of Germany's part not only in World
War II but also the Holocaust. The loyal soldiers, as German General von
Rundstedt put it, would go "happily and as a matter of course to their
deaths." Others who were not inclined to give their lives would be
compelled to die.
War evokes the fervor of the population. It requires
soldiers--and sometime civilians--to give witness to their devotion, and
if necessary to make the "supreme sacrifice." Genocide grows out of the
logic of warfare, another manifestation of a collective compulsion that
requires human beings to "die for the country."
The purpose of those who wage war, commit genocide or engage
in acts of terrorism is to force the enemy or nonbeliever to submit or
bow down-to acknowledge the power of one's own object of worship. One
kills as a demonstration of faith in order to compel the other to
acknowledge the power of the object to which one has sacrificed one's
own life.
The NEW YORK MILITARY AFFAIRS SYMPOSIUM (NYMAS) is an
independent, not for profit educational body. It is devoted to
increasing public knowledge, awareness and understanding of military
history, arms control, international relations, defense policy,
disarmament, civil-military relations, international security, veterans
affairs and the interrelationship of war, society and culture through
the presentation and dissemination of diverse scholarly viewpoints. Web
Page: http://libraryautomation.com/nymas/
THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY is a national organization devoted to
revitalizing the study and teaching of history by reorienting the
historical profession toward an accessible, integrated history free from
fragmentation and over-specialization. The Historical Society provides a
forum where economic, political, intellectual, social, and other
historians can exchange ideas and contribute to each other's work.
Webpage: http://www.bu.edu/historic/index.html
RICHARD KOENIGSBERG, PhD, is Director of the Library of
Social Science in New York City. His research and writing for the past
thirty-five years have been devoted to uncovering the psychological
sources of war, genocide and other forms of political violence. In his
book, Hitler's Ideology he developed a technique for revealing the
latent meaning of ideology through a close analysis of the images and
metaphors contained within political speech. This presentation is one of
a series on the theme of "civilization and self-destruction." Please
call 718-393-1104 for further information.
____________________________________________________________
Library of Social Science
92-30 56th Avenue, Suite 3-E, Elmhurst, NY 11373, USA
Fax: 1-413-832-8145
Jay H. Bernstein, Ph.D., Executive Director. Telephone: 1-718-393-1104
Mei Ha Chan, Associate Director. Telephone: 1-718-393-1075
Website for LIBRARY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE
http://home.earthlink.net/~libraryofsocialscience/
Website for THE KOENIGSBERG LECTURES ON THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CULTURE AND
HISTORY http://www.conflictaslesson.com/why_main.html
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