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let's also make sure not to miss the misdirectional, identity-based non sequitur, focusing exclusively on a few colonizing europeans and a singular incident over the shackled lives of millions of slaves and their prolonged casualties over literal centuries. with one being the consequence of the other, no less.
To calrify (reagrding comments) I'm not saying this is noble deed but I would not judge them with ordinary moral standards.
If we are to reinterpret France's wrongs in light of modern norms, why not too interpret the wrong of the Haitian's? Why is this "rules for thee?"
The greater picture is this: Haitians were slaves and had every right to fight against their oppression. The "white Europeans" belonged back home in France. They brought it on themselves.
I always like to use this thought experiment: which of the two sides had power to change the situation?
The Haitians couldn't help being slaves until they rebelled. The French could from the very start choose not to be slavers.
Actually Europeans did the same in not so long ago, not as slaves, but as slavers (or some more fancy words), so people can go down much further IMHO.
Sure, and the Soviets claimed the Katyn massacre was perpetrated by the Nazis.
Consider sprinkling a few grains of salt on contemporary accounts by interested parties.
(Of course, this too is a crass generalization.)
Could you imagine Germany sending a bill for the total cost of WW2 to the newly created Country of Israel?
If only there was some way of searching for this information so you don't have to rely on shitty gut feelings
> According to the Yalta Conference, no reparations to Allied countries would be paid in money. Instead much of the value transferred consisted of German industrial assets as well as forced labour to the Allies.
> Later the Western Allies softened their stance in favour of the Marshall Plan, while Eastern Germany continued to deliver industrial goods and raw materials to the Soviet Union until 1953
It was.
So they may not have a crippling financial debt, but the loss wasn’t “free”.
And they of course never paid for the utter deforestation they forced on much of Eastern Europe.
And this debt payment was not the reason for WW2. By the time Hitler came to power Versailles was a dead document. The financial terms had been revised multiple times and in those negotiations Germany got a pretty good deal and a number of additional benefits and access to a gigantic amount of US loans and trade deals.
And after WW2 Germany still had to pay some debt but because of financial restructuring after WW2 those were not as large. Part of why this was possible however was because the US actually promised a great deal to nations who accepted debt restructuring. Including economic and military aid, and trade deals.