Ed Luttwak argues that his hometown was one of the only Jewish communities in Europe to grow during WWII due to strategic leadership. He contends this successful resistance, where leaders acted like a "nation under attack," is a narrative largely ignored by Holocaust historians who focus on stories of victimhood.
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A country's identity is built on a "founding myth" that provides social cohesion, like the idealized story of Thanksgiving. This narrative is often a deliberate simplification to mask a brutal reality. The conflict between the useful myth and historical truth is where a nation's soul is contested.
Unlike other forms of bigotry focused on exclusion, antisemitism often includes a belief in a global conspiracy by Jewish people, which is then used to justify violence against them as a necessary counter-action.
Ed Luttwak provocatively argues that Europe's historical energy, innovation, and even population growth were fueled by constant, intense warfare between its states. By achieving peace after 1945, Europe "removed the engine of the car," leading to demographic decline and a loss of dynamism, with the most pacifist nations suffering the most.
Influential mothers of civil rights leaders like MLK Jr. were actively erased from historical accounts by scholars, despite their sons crediting them. This isn't an accidental omission but a strategic act to maintain a male-centric view of power and prevent new models of leadership from emerging.
Ed Luttwak's parents viewed the Holocaust as a colossal failure of Jewish leadership, not a personal tragedy to dwell on. This forward-looking mindset—refusing to discuss past losses or victimhood—was a powerful psychological tool that enabled them to rebuild their lives and achieve immense post-war success.
Figures like Mao and Stalin had higher death tolls than Hitler, yet Hitler's atrocities are better known in the West. This is because he ran an effective propaganda machine and, upon defeat, Allied forces captured extensive documentation, making his crimes more visible and studied than those of others.
Growing up in Sicily, Ed Luttwak learned the art of controlled violence. The culture, influenced by the Mafia, taught that escalating a simple fight could lead to family involvement and deadly consequences. This instilled a practical understanding of deterrence and the strategic, non-wasteful application of force.
Coined in 1879, "anti-Semitism" was not just a new word for old hatred. It was a modern political tool framing Jews as a foreign race ("Semites") to specifically oppose their emancipation and the Enlightenment values that enabled it.
Strategist Ed Luttwak attributes his unique, synthesizing approach to history to his diverse upbringing in Transylvania and Sicily, not a formal academic methodology. This exposure to various cultures and languages from birth created an inherently interconnected perspective on global affairs.
Unlike other forms of bigotry focused on discrimination against customs or lifestyles, antisemitism is framed as a response to a perceived global conspiracy. This dangerous distinction is used to legitimize and create cloud cover for offensive violence against Jewish people worldwide, not just sequestration.
