Revenge Strategy, Wasting the power of your hate on the guiltless (XIV). A toccata to World War II.
A brush of a flower. Exercise to practice the beauty of Aquarelles, August 2019. Painted by Eleonora Escalante. On watercolor paper Fabriano5-Fine Grain-300GSM. Size: 9 inches x 12.5 inches.
The facts about World War II are numerously well documented. We can google countless websites and find every kind of article that we wish to read about it. Nevertheless, my aim here is to elevate the analysis. I can´t counsel if World War II was the worst of our human revenge strategies supported on statistics only. Sometimes when we advise based on numbers or data, we also may be biased. But I can reassure you that World War II as much as the Great War (also called World War I) were consequences of extensive European conflicts, in which the evolution of the weapons technology innovations marked a before and after. These two wars show us the worst contemporary realness about our revenge strategies storyline since the paleolithic era.
Why is it important to see the Great War (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945) on our strategy journey thoughtfully? Let me shake your brainpower a bit with my following answers.
- It is not about finding culpable or guiltless and shamelessly exposing the guilty in public because of their repulsive crimes. So many authors have already written about it.
- It is not because of the number of deaths, which converted European in slaughters of more than 8.5 million people during WWI, and more than 15 Million during WWII.
- It is not because of the infrastructure losses (many of the testimonials building remains from our history were bombarded or destroyed) in many European cities and villages.
- It is not because so many historic paper books and documents disappeared under firestorms of attacks.
- It is not because of the type of frightening armament utilized, which almost destroyed Europe and affected some parts of Pacific-Asia with a couple of atomic bombs.
- It is not because the Jews were nastily imprisoned in concentration camps and were used as guinea pigs by the Germans who slave them using a “train to death” strategy.
- It is not because the Germans´ doctors tested massive extermination measures and medical dreadful experimentation programs as if the Jews were animals instead of human beings.
- It is not because thousands of families were separated and obliged to stop their “ usual” life routines and businesses.
- It is not because people who were directly affected by these conflicts stopped their development. Either because their life was directly cut off from the universe, or because they had to hide and escape, and live in survival mode until they found freedom. All their studying, family creating, traveling and working plans were paused for years and generations ahead.
- It is not because the Anna Frank diary is one sample of the tragedy that thousands of families lived during this proverbial apocalyptic period of time.
- It is not because these wars consequences, coming from European civilizations that we conceived as the most evolved cultures, surprised the world with a decision-making capacity only to be compared with species of lower brain abilities.
- It is not because we can find a legacy of all the pieces of evidence from World War II which are a reminder in our memories. These shreds of evidence have been portrayed through diverse visual storytelling tools: thousands of literature studies, books, canvas or paintings, sculptures, documentaries, series, films, Oscar winner movies, etc.
- It is not to show you how the inadequate concept and implementation of the WWI Treaty of Versailles and its bemols, caused a second war.
- Finally, it is not about a simple article to be written at Eleonora Escalante Strategy blog.
The real answer is: The Great War and World War II on our strategy journey must be taken seriously by anyone who wishes to work in business or corporate or political or economic or social or human development or migration strategies, simply because it is a veridic example of our most up-to-date past pivot legacy for decision making in our innovation processes.
Let´s continue. Morally any conflict or war which destroys just one or more human beings is an indication of evildoing. And any evildoing must not be financed neither supported, regardless if it is the most wonderful innovation from our brain capacity design, creation, and modeling.
Renault tanks built for combat in World War I in a factory in France (the year 1916). Source: Tank Factories, Mashable.com
From the point of view of corporate strategy, which is in charge of defining the domain of our business and the analysis of its respective industry context, the industry of war was the deployment medium for the Great War (WWI) and World War II results. In aquarelles, water is the medium for painting watercolors. I can´t paint on my cotton paper if I don´t have water. Water is the core medium to make my watercolor pans or color tube pigments strive over my illustrations. Well, the war industry is like the water for war results. The war industry is the robust medium of the consequences of any war.
When people act based on revenge strategies, and they have the resources to fight, they will use the most recent available innovation tools available at the war industry for that purpose. More destruction is triggered to infinite potential with the cutting edge innovation armaments produced for that goal.
Any nation who wish to dominate another one has the freedom to feel offended, but one thing is to feel, and another one is to do a revenge strategy. Furthermore, a nation with resources to access the war industry and its innovations is potentially more dangerous than other nations which don´t have access to those weaponry inventions.
How Ford’s Willow Run Assembly Plant Helped Win World War II. Source: Assemblymag.com
When I write about the war industry, let´s review what am I talking about: These industry assets are tangible and intangible. These assets go beyond new war technology innovation financing, they include the human talent or war geniuses who design weapons of an ample massive destruction range. They involve armament global companies which are dedicated to creating these weaponry instruments, a network of selling and distribution systems which expand their products and services to anywhere on earth. These assets include laboratories of research & development where they are generating solutions on how to apply these new technological innovations to kill more effectively and quickly. These assets include production plants of equipment, aviation, tanks, weapons, submarines, any type of product related to war and security, etc. If the war industry is not regulated by governments, this industry opens a door for anyone who can buy whatever weapon is available in the market. With the internet, armaments may be distributed massively by those who are involved in the war industry value chain.
Source: Business Insider
Recent massacres in the USA are a representation of that. The criminals who freshly perpetrated the El Paso-Texas butchery, or the Dayton-Ohio killing, or the Route 91 Harvest Music festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada (October 2017) are the most up-to-date examples. Weapons produced at the war industry are bought and sold at the sound of a click. In many countries, weapons are sold similar to when we buy detergent or butter in the Supermarket.
In the case of the prelude to WWII, the truth that Hitler took Germany in 1933 (the old Prussian Empire) gave him access to war industry resources. He was a decision-maker. He was a leader for others who supported his nationalist dominance plans with the money, public funds, and everything he needed from the war industry resources to prepare his way to World War II in 1939. Hitler was accompanied by the best german human talent he could hire. He wouldn´t have been capable of doing the harm he did without all the high-end personalities who sponsored him and the subordinates who worked for him. He was leading a crushed Germany after World War I with a desire of vengeance. And that made him the most shocking evil leader to design his revenge domination strategy. Acknowledging that Hitler was not alone is key here. He had partners. Hitler´s sponsors were powerful. He created the ideological psychological nazi force team which was more influential than the weapons themselves. Once he had his team in place, he was ready to fight with all the mediums he could access. “The mobilization of funds, people, resources, raw materials and facilities for the production and supply of military equipment and military forces during World War II was a critical component of the war effort”.
How did World War One end and what happened next? Source: BBC
I will stop my introduction to this episode here. As I have taught you, before digging into any strategic analysis, it is important to understand its context. And World War II can´t be comprehended without understanding the Great War or World War I. Remember, World War II of Hitler was a revenge strategy against the results of World War I, and clearly, Adolf Hitler served a purpose of conquering his neighbors (particularly France and England), to install Germany back to an expanded empire. Today´s post is simply the prelude for my next publication. On my next edition, which will be completed this week, I will provide a wet on dry session about some important considerations to remember from the Great War or WWI. In the meantime, I invite you to read or visit some history reviews if you wish to learn more about both wars (WWI and WWII).
Stay tuned. Thank you for reading to me.
Gracias.
Sources of reference utilized today:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zkb86v4
https://www.seeithistory.com/worldwar2/causes-of-ww2/
https://mashable.com/2015/07/17/tank-factories/
https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-I
https://www.historyonthenet.com/world-war-1-comprehensive-overview-great-war
Disclaimer: Illustrations in Watercolor are painted by Eleonora Escalante. All the presentation slides shown on this blog are prepared by Eleonora Escalante. Nevertheless, all the pictures, images or videos shown on this blog are not mine. I do not own any of the lovely photos or images posted unless otherwise stated.
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