365 Ways With Words

At a Concert at St Maurice's

Before the image of Christ crucified, some with heads bowed, we are gathered in happy devotion — to entertainment. A brethren of deliciously unmoved bodies, perhaps all unhampered by prior yields to the cross, brought to the music, as moths to a lit candle. The magnificent altarpiece, a glittering spectacle of baroque majesty, serves  as a mere ornate focal point. Each image, altar and reliquary, intense donations of public reverence and prior devotion, now carry such little weight and affect such little impact, that the venue has little more than a restaurant's ambiance, and certainly not the numinous might of eternal mystery.

Maybe it's the dust, or the mundanity of a concert venue, or the unfamiliarity with the symbolic value of religious currency inherent with such a building — one that has remained upright and been in daily use for one thousand years — for the connection is a weak magnetism, a holiday sigh or a tourist's snap. The habituation of loonies who crawl on their bellies in silent thanks is not the place for honest, gentle and normal folks.

But then something happens: such feelings as these do not spring from supermarkets, banks or sports halls. The unfashionable term 'sanctity' has a hollow ring about it when 20 yards away the beer is poured beneath screens of footy bollocks, but perhaps that is what emerges when an hour or more is spent sitting in contemplation of a baroque altarpiece. The artists may rest in peace, the builders know that their job was well done, for it turned out that the music alone was not enough. Cold buildings with unforgiving pews obviously attract for quite other reasons than mere entertainment and comfort.

We come, we gather, we sit in silent attention, until waves of encored Elgar energy flow around and through us. It is a mystery, a shared experience we take, like our coats, from now into the future: blessed be the devoted, the moths, the candle lighter, the ignorant and the perplexed, the snoozer and the shopping list maker, for theirs is the shared Kingdom of Man, forever and ever, Amen.

Hong Kong's Democracy

So Beijing has rattled the sabre. Or has it? Is this a genuine attempt to fail the hearts of pro-democrats in the Pearl of the Orient or is it merely on a level of normalcy for a Chinese government that expects to do what it wants wherever it wants?

Surely this pressure was always to be expected. Only the most space-headed fantasist would have thought Beijing would tolerate a 'democracy', unless it was under its management. In recent times, rule from the North has not really been about allowing or forbidding free opinion, but more about consolidating control – it's control. Is it any wonder, then, that Hong Kong's slow path to democracy has just been bulldozed? For how can an unfettered democracy be controlled if not by force?

A country of the size of China has always had problems with control. It has exercised this control brutally in the past, but comparatively less-so in recent decades. In fact, it is a small wonder that it hasn't bared its teeth more often. The minor rebellions in Xinjiang, Tibet and elsewhere have upset the thinking in Beijing that all things in 'communist China' are for the greater good. For how could any dissent be tolerated if it is against the harmony that an ideologically-sound centralised control is seeking to create? At least, that's how it may be seen. Such troublemakers are thus seen as true criminals, the sort that should be eradicated like so much vermin. Within this mental framework, how could Beijing permit the election of anything but a 'yes man' as a Chief Executive of Hong Kong?

The pro-democrats may puff and fume as armoured personnel carriers are driven around the territory, but what is of greater surprise, at least to me, is that the central government is frequently applauded for its actions from within a de facto democratically free Hong Kong. The east truly is red for many in Hong Kong. It is true that people have short memories, but perhaps there is also a blurring of memory and fantasy, of fact with fiction, perception and ideology. Many have conveniently forgotten the plight of refugees – frantic swimmers straggling ashore in 1970s New Territories beaches, braving sharks and deadly currents to escape the Red Guards' bullets. But if taxi drivers in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Xiamen suspend both Mao and Kwan Yin from their rear-view mirrors, it is because these mythic figures have become part of the even greater China myth. China has at last become great – it sends folks into space, builds mega-skyscrapers and runs high-speed Maglev trains between its mega-metropolises. It can now do anything. And that, of course, justifies anything. Just as 'Middle Americans' can justify bombing targets in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq in the name of self-defence and as part and parcel of their incredible projection of power, so their Chinese equivalent, Mr & Mrs Chan, can justify the Chinese state's similar actions against its enemies. And it is up to the media in both instances to inform their public about just who those enemies are. Hong Kong democrats are therefore viewed as a lot of troublemakers that need sorting out!

So will Hong Kong achieve full democracy in 2017? Of course not. Some may argue that it will look like democracy, and that may be enough. Others will continue the debate, probably right up until 2047 when the one-country, two-systems policy will be set aside for full integration with the motherland, whatever that means. Quite whether China and Hong Kong will then be in existence as they are now, no one can know. If I'm still around, then I'll be an 80-year old observer, and a cynical but unabashed democrat at that.

The End of the World

So, it's here – what are you going to do about it?

The towns fields of Ukraine burn, and bodies lie about in the street. Is Russia interfering, sending in its forces to continue the policy of consolidation in Russian speaking areas, or is it a justified response to EU/American interference in their ancient ethnic hinterland?

The Islamofascist forces of ISIS are busy turning Iraq and Syria into thei terrifying playground, making Bashar al-Assad's murderers look almost benign by comparison. Are their actions a direct result of the West's bungling interferences in the region over the past 20 years or so, or is it something new and terrifying?

There is slightly better news from Gaza, where the survivors of the heavy pounding by Israeli forces (that dropped possibly as much as 20,000 tons of explosives) can now mourn their dead and try to rebuild their lives. Was the overwhelming use of firepower justified to silence the men of violence, or are Israelis now prepared to defend mass slaughter in the name of self-defence?

Ibola continues to seize the citizens of several poor nations in Western Africa and beyond. Naturally hosted in fruit bats, the disease has a mortality rate of 55%. Will the new drug ZMapp work successfully against the virus in humans?

This is the end of the world, at least for many in the stories mentioned. For them there is no tomorrow, no resolution and no end. But for us, there is always the option to act, to ask questions and to react. And this is true whether the story happens one thousand miles away or next door.

So, the end of the world is here – what are you going to do about it?

Song of the Night

Can you hear it? Across the towns, over the fields – beyond the confines of your ears, past the strictures of your very senses. There is a profound deafness, but without any of the benefits.

Beginning with the heart, that most fickly-wickly of your organs, pumping all that garbage about the body; you are what you eat. Feeding the brains, keeping you upright in a state of readiness for tigers and things that live under the bed, the blood keeps pumping it all up and down until you are saturated – even to the extremities. Yes, those extremities...

From this state you imagine all sorts of things, none of them true. You have given these fears words, screaming tantrum words, that fill your emptiness, give you a meaning, inflate a power, give lifeless ideas meagre succour. But to what end?

Perhaps you have not thought about where it all take us. Destruction is the hallmark of pre-childhood, for to build better in cooperation would be your undoing. Negativity may move the holder onwards – but only into the night. The vision is occluded, petulent, angry. As long as you have your toys, and your arrowslits, you will continue unaware of what you do and of what is coming. This is a shameless pride, a hubris without an eye on history.

Unity appears to be a dirty word, because it is bred from consensus. Much better, then, to swagger and swear, to drink pints of a rejection projection, even if none of it has any substance. Much better to appeal to those fears, to prop the lies and stoke miscontent. Much better to blame: blame is a bitter blast, easily soundbitten, fed with self-righteous indignation, sated by never letting go.

So, can you hear it – the condemnation of the future? No, you cannot. For you have stuck your fingers in your ears. You cannot hear it, because you will not – not ever.

What about UKIp and Europe?

So, the European elections are upon us. Except, of course, no one really cares, do they? After all, no one really knows what it’s all about. We, the apathetic Jo Public Europeans, are not really that bothered about what goes on in Brussels, are we? They can elect whomever they like…

Well, as a political opinions go, that's really, really STUPID!! But I suppose the European Union has a bit of an identity problem. Why should anyone be bothered about it?

This is a little difficult to answer, at least simply. Perhaps it is better to understand what the EU is. Under the pretext of removing trade and creating closer political union, the first six countries that formed the EU set about removing the blockages that caused friction (and wars) in the European continent. They simply pooled their steel and coal resources. By trade these historical adversaries were linked with a customs union. Over time such laudable aims as 'free trade' were freely adopted by neighbouring states that quite rightly recognised the thick soupy whistle of an approaching gravy train.

Just like any large institution, this union has required governance in order that its membership (last count over 500 million) is truly represented at leadership, intergovernmental, supranational and the on-the-ground pragmatic levels. Over the years these instruments have served it well just as it has served others ill – for example, the dreaded and notorious Common Agricultural Policy. For many, however, these necessary layers of governance have appeared opaque at best, at worst underhanded. Isolationist tendencies within each country have seen in ‘Europe’ an insidious coiled dragon with busybody talons digging ever-deeper into every aspect of their cherished lives, whether that be through ensuring the straightness of bananas, or the forbidding of lollipop ladies’ lollipops with Stop Children written on them, or the banning of church bells or the outlawing of mushy peas (each of which, it turns out, are complete lies made up by the British press). Such isolationists are typified by the likes of Britain’s UKIp party that states, on its website, that 75% of all laws are now made in Brussels.

That such rubbish is readily swallowed by some EU citizens says more about the wish fulfilment of Little Englanders, or their national equivalent elsewhere: they want to believe the devil is hiding under the bed and will use any evidence, even the made up storybook tabloid kind, to affirm a bunch of prejudicial beliefs. So, many in the UK will vote UKIp in the upcoming elections, childishly choosing to believe that everything about Europe is bad, bad, bad. The irony of an anti-EU vote in a free EU vote will, no doubt, elude them, just as conversely the irony in Russian voters in Ukraine eastern cities choosing to join with mother Russia where they will no longer have the opportunity to freely vote may also elude them. For it seems UKIp’s sole appeal appears to be in popular discontentment, and is therefore a negative message. One need only examine any of the 'philosophy' beneath surface level to come to that easy realisation.

But the EU unquestionably does have an image problem for some. It is a complex organisation because it represents a lot of things. Take the accession of countries as one example. The EU expanded from the six founding and independent nations (Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, Germany and France) to 28 member states, including 8 former Soviet-bloc and former-communist countries in 1994 (Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia), Bulgaria and Romania in 2007, and the newest member, Croatia, in 2013. It therefore has to represent all of those countries, including their relationships with other countries in and out of Europe. It doesn’t take a genius to see that for simplicity's sake the unification of Europe is one of its unstated aims. But there’s a long way to go from idea to fulfilment, particularly when one considers its history of power.

Over the years the European Union has been a hapless beast. It frothed and floundered when in the 90s the ex-Yugoslavian states flared into bloody internecine feuding, promptly calling on its ‘elder brother’ the United States and its henchman NATO to crush the far-right nationalist ambitions of the Serbian leadership. In 2011, and under the auspices of UN Security Council Resolution 1973, a coalition of EU national forces and NATO flew sorties against targets in Gaddafi's Libya. That was considered a success, but it is a long way from the idea of planes with EU flags on them controlling the skies in the name of all things Brussels. Maybe those days are coming, but for now the primary work of the EU is in ensuring that everything economic, political and cultural is hunky-dory. It has had mixed success. Whilst the first is in trouble, the second has fared better and third thrives. The blue flag with yellow stars that flies from the Reichstag in Berlin, the Berlaymont in Brussels and the UNESCO building in Paris all the way to the distant four corners of this new empire reminds onlookers of an idealised beast. It is a strange chimerical creature, full of strange political concepts and strange forms of government: and we are not very clear about what it all means. Perhaps the following test will highlight our rueful knowledge of this new empire of which we are a part. So, in ten words or less, describe what is meant by the:

• European Parliament                    ________________________________________________
• European Council                         ________________________________________________
• Council of the European Union      ________________________________________________
• European Commission                  ________________________________________________

And I was being kind: the list above does not include bodies such as the European Central Bank, the Courts of Justice of the European Union, the Court of Auditors, UNESCO, and more than 40 other agencies. Clearly there is still a little work to be done if we are to become more familiar with the orchestrations of European governance. It appears so labyrinthine, and its processes so complex, that few understands it, fewer still feel proximity, and who knows how many have a sense of ownership.

As with any centralised power, we must, of course, remain watchful. Citizens of empires should always exercise caution, even when they give power to central authorities through the ballot box. The European Union, like the United States, China, and the proposed ex-Soviet Eurasia, is a collection of small states that together have made up a bigger economic and political union. It is in the nature of united powerful bodies to seek two things: to maintain their power, and to gain even more power. Thus, all of the political unions previously mentioned have impacted on their surrounding regions of the world with their turbulent power.

The long reach of American power has long been felt in Central and Southern American revolts, assassinations and wars, the end result of which has been the present day unchallengeable imperial America that dominates the Western hemisphere. It now seeks political hegemony beyond.

Post-Mao Chinese power took longer to consolidate, where it chose to focus on seeking political affiliations on a wider field (Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, South-East Asia) in order that any up-coming moves to unify Taiwan would be legitimized and supported. Theirs is a slightly longer agenda that also involves being ‘elder brother’. China has sought to implement the old imperial dominance model by which it brings into line all of the ‘little brother’ regional states bordering the mother country under the banner of harmony.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian power has yet to be properly realised. To beat up the Georgians in 2008 is one thing, but beyond the scope of turning off the European's gas tap their power has yet to be properly tested. One wonders if the present situation in Ukraine is something Putin is doing, or is having done to him.

By comparison, the EU is an unknown force. It is good at pouring money into arts and entertainment, and bailing out its members when they can't pay their bills, but will the instruments of politics and organisation ever become the sharpened point of projected power in the same way the other powers mentioned have seen fit? Will columns of tanks roll under a European flag? Or will Europeans forever spend their way out of trouble?

With all of this in mind, and with regard to the elections, perhaps Europeans should elect whomever they like, yet with a caution. Europe has always needed direction, but only of the kind given by its citizenry through the ballot box. Therefore, the real thing to do, on 22nd May 2014, the European Parliamentary Election Day, is to get out there and vote. And here are two good points in favour: firstly, that all Europeans are properly able to freely vote (even against themselves), and secondly, that democracy in the European superstate is still alive and well. The accuracy of both of those statements could, of course, be challenged, but it would be stretching credulity to breaking point to believe political freedoms are absent from the EU. You, Mr & Mrs European, can elect representatives whose job it is to make better laws for everyone. Could someone please tell that to Nigel Farage...

I am an unabashed Europhile. I believe that more involvement, not less, is the way ahead. That Europe is now a place of tolerance, of freedom, of choice and the rule of law is the realisation of beautiful ideas voted into reality: that these ideas still need a little more fine-tuning is another reason to vote. So, instead of tu-tutting behind a piece of sensational anti-European hack journalism that seeks attention like a hyperactive child, we should calmly exercise a right to put people in power that can make a difference to us all and improve our lot in Europe. You can't do that by sitting at home, or by shouting from the outside. Vote for your future!

Welcome to Mother Russia

So, Russians (and others) in Crimea are voting for their self-determination. Well, kind-of. The legality of a vote, mainly by ethnic Russians, in another country, Ukraine, to break away from that country and 'unite' with mother Russia could be likened to ethnic Germans in the Czechoslovakia of October 1938 voting to join the Nazi Fatherland. That didn't last, and it's not difficult to discern Czech appreciation of current Russian foreign policy either (or German, for that matter).

It may not be immediately obvious exactly what will happen next in Ukraine itself. To say that since the break-up of the Soviet Union this country has enjoyed a difficult, if not chequered, history would have its corollary in saying Putin has long taken a shine to a bit of power. On the plus side, Ukrainians have been able to wave their own flag and maintain a strong political tradition, on the negative, well – pretty much everything else, really. Corruption is endemic.

Corruption is everywhere in the post-communist world, but is worse in some countries, such as Ukraine. The country has the dubious honour of ranking 144th out of 176 countries on the Transparency International Corruptions Perception Index. And it has got worse every year since independence. The fat fingers of corruption have reached into every sphere of life – political, judicial, educational, business, social services, and anything else from which a hryvnya can be squeezed (that's the local currency, by the way). The grass roots political turmoil that has occasionally reared its head since Ukraine declared independence on August 24th 1991 has often been arraigned against the extraordinary kleptocracy that is the ruling elite: they have literally stolen from the people they lead. And when they've not been busy stealing from their own people, they've merrily arranged to do the same to everyone else they come across.

This is nothing new. The established criminal system has had a long and inglorious history within the Soviet Union. After the dissolution of the country, criminals took over their respective countries, particularly Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, although they emerged from within separate ethnic identities within – Ukrainians, Uzbeks, Kurds, Jews, etc. These colourful criminals frequently feature in gangland films and TV that over-use fierce tattooed Russian-types. In reality, any glamour that a director may wish to conjure in a movie plot unhappily comes apart in the reality of sheer heartlessness associated with human trafficking. And all their ill-gotten gains get regularly wash in money laundering and business deals across the globe, including Hong Kong.

So, with all this in mind, what is really going on with an 'election' in Crimea? If the Western press is to be believed, the Russian people are being hoodwinked by the Moscow political elite into separating an integral part of another country where they are under threat from rioting mobs who follow nothing other than a Nazi agenda. For them Putin's strength, therefore, is as a stabilizing influence against the onslaught of long term Russian foes. He currently has a huge approval rating of 70% or more. But that's not really very surprising: Putin controls the media, so nearly all comment about him will be positive.

Crimea will secede from Ukraine. No one will be able to do anything about it – not the rest of Ukraine, nor the Europeans, nor the U.S., nor... well, that's about it really, unless you think the UN will be able to turn the hearts of these criminals who are literally nicking a large chunk of valuable real estate on the Black Sea coast. This is a moment when the right of might and the perception of self-determination will happily co-exist under the umbrella of Russian 'national interest'. Quite how long this will last rather depends on how things go once unity is formalised. If the Western powers impose sanctions in response to this outright theft of Ukrainian soil, life in mother Russia may get a little rougher and questions be asked that require tougher response than mere flag waving popularism. If jobs go and inflation begins to bite, Russians may be looking for a revolution of their own. And that particular piece crystal ball reading isn't really that difficult to perceive, nor all that palatable.

The Protest Site at Lumphini Park

Not so very long ago, some Thai people got very angry. Their voices were raised in defiance against the Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the corrupt practices that his Thai Rak Thai-led government exercised at that time. By taking to the streets, supporters of the People’s Alliance for Democracy coalition, better known as ‘yellow shirts’, along with the army, managed to expel him from the country.

Unfortunately, the Thaksin supporters, better known as ‘red shirts’, promised a better deal in Thailand’s economic success, didn’t take his removal with equanimity, and themselves took to the streets demanding if not the man himself, then at least the fulfilment of his promises these being, chiefly, for a better, artificially high, price for their rice, the mainstay of Thai farming. The political situation, charged with arrests, aggressive confrontations, charges and counter-charges lurched from one faction in control to its opposite number, and from crisis to crisis.

The present government, headed by Taksin’s daughter Yingluck, brought in under the mantel of the previous practices, maintain that they speak for the ordinary people and farmers, the good old boys of the Thai hinterland. Be that as it may, the same deal with the farmers that previously kept their mandate high in the country at large, has been reneged upon. The government’s support is, therefore, ultra-low, not just in the provinces, but particularly here in Bangkok, where party politics is never far from resorting to trigger-happy fingers.

The current protests around the town, chiefly organised by the People's Democratic Reform Committee, erupted as a means to arouse the general populace into removing, by popular revolt, the Thaksin Yingluck government and its perceived cronyism.

Their occupation of strategic thoroughfares late 2013 nearly brought the place to a standstill but, after their voice was heard and some delicate political manoeuvring involving a general state of emergency and the promise of elections took place, their protest limited itself to hijacking only the peripheries of these intersections. After some further indelicate negotiations involving hand grenades and reckless police charges, cooler heads prevailed agreeing that the protestors should completely withdraw from the streets and take up residence in the large Lumphini Park in the centre of town.

The protest site can’t be missed; first are the constant speeches and music, then the smell of free food (for the hardcore protestors encamped all around), the sea of tents, medical centres and the unarmed army squads in fatigues kept at a distance across the streets observing and maintaining public order. Conscription still being maintained by the armed forces for all Thai citizens, the army is viewed more favourably than the police and their protective presence here appears to be not merely noted but positively welcomed.

Although two people were shot there yesterday morning, walking through the camp just after midday the atmosphere was one of a sleepiness and generally positive bonhomie. Many of those awake waved merrily to the inquisitive non-Thais: had I more time I would no doubt have learned more about the grievances directly from the ordinary people. Under the bombardment of political rhetoric and invective-filled speeches, the tents flap in the balmy early-March breezes. The food and clothing suppliers are content, but the placards are uncompromising. Things get a little hotter at night.

Thai politics, let’s call it free political dialogue, is a relatively new thing. That opposing parties can meet and hammer out some sort of a compromise without resorting to bombs, riots and an army coup (last done in 2006) is a new thing. It is unlikely that the ever-present, ever-gracious but 87-year old King Bhumibol will intervene in such matters again, so it’s up to the children to settle all squabbles without punching each other’s faces in. Another months will have seen the elections come and go. Let’s hope for a more settled future. Long live Thailand!

The Citadel

Without sleep, the citadel churns and heaves, all sleep having eluded those without the satiety of whiskey, or the blanket of heroin, or the surfeit of food that dulls the senses. From above are the lights – great beaming golden lights that fill every corner, cast a shadow on every conversation and fill the void between foes. ‘How long can this last?’ is the question posed on all lips.

The citadel’s unsightly answer is awash with unhappiness, anger and spoil. Tensions come and go on the scooter-strewn streets. Neighbours with very different agendas peer at each other and play a waiting game. This, in effect, is the only game in town, unless games are no longer played. Then, ah then, a terrible path is cut through the underbrush. The knife is long and sharp and the risk of permanent injury increases with each whooshing swing.

Elephant dung drops where grass grows. The happy greenery enjoys a fertilized surfeit, even when it is being consumed. Elsewhere, observers cry finality to this cycle, but their eyes are keenly held by traditional mix of attentions. Like items on a city restaurant menu, their ideas are each a dish of food made with the known and tested ingredients, some loved, some despised, but well understood.

When the citadel falls, as a massive and aged bull elephant, it will cut off its tired old skin, trumpet a cry heard far and wide, and pick itself up again. Elephants may come and go, may work or stand around, posture and devour, but they seem to remain supreme.

Citadels are strong, and any battering they receive makes them stronger, wiser and bigger. Dancing girls decorate the battlements whilst roaches scuttle under their feet. Magnetically drawn to it, the newcomers lie awake in the empty patches of ground between sparkling new condos and tired old office blocks. So enchanting is it that even its filth seems magnificent. It is the dung beetle’s prize – pushed around, fought over – within which eggs are laid. Everyone wants a piece and there seems plenty of it to go around.

Until Bundestag Sinks Into The Spree

Lighted in blind light

Beneath glaze for souls above open

On steel rolling curves, curved, cut paths

Driving up an aperture, a skylight

For eyes down, the work done

Sons of Odin to heavens mirrored

Newness insists on it

Web spiral dna birth

Drives the sharpened stake into the heart

The deep chamber ever-challenged

Opera of ja und nein

Until Bundestag sinks into the Spree

A Different World

As elsewhere in Europe, dotted here and there all over the Czech Republic are memorials to the dead, many of whom died during World War Two. Nearly every government building and railway station also has a plaque dedicated to the workers who died, one way or another, in the convulsions of 1938-45. What is of startling difference to the cenotaphs, memorial crosses and statuary all over Britain and France, however, are the local memorials to Soviet Soldiers, primarily because of their association with the post-war communist history of Czechoslovakia. Twenty-five years on from the Velvet Revolution, one can't help wondering whether the history of the intervening years could have been different.

On 6th May 1945 the combined armed forces of the Soviet Union took part in the Prague Offensive, the last great European battle of World War Two. The allies had advanced into central Germany and capitulation was surely only a matter of days away. The last intact German army, that comprised the Army Group Centre and the Army Group Ostmark, was held in strength in Czechoslovakia to  directly counter the Soviet army's advance. This they had just done at the battle of Bautzen: the Germans may have failed in their primary objective of advancing on and reinforcing a besieged Berlin, but in the full force engagement with the enemy they inflicted severe casualties and thereby stalled the advancing Soviet and Polish armies. As far as the Russians were concerned, this million-strong army had to be smashed.

The American 3rd Army, already in the far west of the country, largely sat it out aware that the Russians were going to take the rest of the country. They, and the 1st Army further to the north, had captured vast swathes of Germany and counted their captives in the hundreds of thousands. So the allied forces of eastern European – Russians, Poles and Romanians – were given free rein to swoop in from the north and east to deliver the country from the hated, occupying Germans. At the same time Czech partisans were to establish an armed uprising, despite SS Obergruppenführer Karl Hermann Frank's stated intent to put down any such action in a "sea of blood". Nevertheless, Hitler was already dead and on 7th May, within two days of the beginning of the offensive, and the Nazis were committed to unconditionally surrendered their armed forces on all fronts.

On a local note that day, 7th May, the Ukrainians under Soviet command attacked Olomouc, but it was not to be fully liberated before the 8th. As a parting gift, the German troops fired on the famous medieval Olomouc clock, so severely damaging it that it was not repaired until the communist era (replacing the religious images with the secular, politically-approved iconography of scientists, labourers and a happy procession of Haná farming folk).

What happened next was the speedy evacuation of all remaining German troops from Czechoslovakia. The Army Groups Centre and Ostmark in the east that surrendered to the Russians  numbered approximately 900,000. They were then interned for years in Soviet prison camps and gulags. Barely one tenth that number made it through hostile western Czech territory to surrender at the American lines.

The Russians, once in control, were not going to give it up. Despite a brief return to assumed normality, the country increasingly fell under the dominant, Russian-controlled communist sphere. In 1948, despite political manoeuvring and deal-making, Czechoslovakia became a communist state after a coup d'etat. There was little any in the west could do – this fait accomplis resulted in the formalisation of the iron curtain so predicted by Churchill in previous years (although he used the term 'iron fence' with Stalin at the Potsdam Conference).

It is doubtful that anything could have been done to prevent the westward influence of the powerful U.S.S.R. into central and eastern Europe – at least, not without massive bloodshed if not complete ruination. Germany had been destroyed and any more of the same in Europe was unpalatable to all. But whereas a new dynamic Germany arose with the support of the Marshall plan, the nations within the Russian sphere had to adopt Soviet industialisation plans that took decades to reach fruition. Czechoslovakia was still in the throes of such during the Velvet Revolution a little over four decades later.

Whether the Russians, Ukrainians and Poles who died fighting against fascism in the effort to drive out Wehrmacht forces would have approved of the resultant division of Europe into spheres of influence is debatable: certainly Russian soldiers had only one thing in mind – the total destruction of their enemies. That Stalin and the Soviet Central Committee reneged on previous promises to the allies of self-determination for the liberated countries was par for the course of a regime in which political support was not merely expected, but also enforced. In time Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria could do no other than fall in line: it was slightly different for Yugoslavia only because of the political belligerence of Tito. The Allies destroyed German-domination of Europe, but over here the Russians went on to create a different world – one of their own making, the remnants of which can still be seen all around this part of the world. Because of the events of 1945 and the eventual communist coup, it is unlikely it could have been otherwise.