I can't resist posting this, apropos the conflicting images of America that you showed us in this part, Shayne.

[Linked Image]

This is Sven Hedin, a Swedish explorer. Around the turn of the previous century he travelled extensively in Asia and made a small fortune by writing books of his wild and wondrous exploits. So, for example, did he claim to have walked on foot for seven days through a desert without a drop of water, while his camel and his native carrier-boy (or whatever designation he would have used for him) lay unconscious on the ground, victims of their thirst. Hedin says that he found a wellspring, drank from it himself, filled one of his boots with water, and trekked all the way back to his camel and his carrier-boy, saving them both with his boot-encased water.

I think that when you look at the picture, you get an idea of what a self-satisfied person Sven Hedin was. He certainly believed in the complete superiority of white European people over all other peoples and races of the earth. It is no surprise that he eventually became a fervent supporter of Nazism:

[Linked Image]

Sven Hedin shaking hands with Adolf Hitler.

But there was a country that Sven Hedin hated. Can you guess what country that was? Yes, that's right. America. Hedin thought that America was vulgar, loud and devoid of any glorious history. Worse, according to Hedin, America didn't understand that black people were not equal to whites. There was nothing that Hedin hated so much as black jazz music:

[Linked Image]

So I just wanted to say, that even though there were horrible things going on in America in the 1920s and 30s, the United States was still so hated by Nazis in Europe because it was precisely not Nazi. And it was such an inspiration to those who wanted to fight oppression.

Ann