1956: The Holocaust, outside of Israel, is not discussed. The nearest approach is the reworking of Anne Frank’s story for the stage. Today: Ignoring the right-wing extremists who deny the Holocaust ever happened, recent years have seen a number of mourning activities for Holocaust victims. Elie Wiesel was named head of the Swiss Holocaust Fund. All across Germany, memorials, art works, and peace shrines have been raised. Art has been returned and Spielberg’s Schindler’s List has been viewed by millions of people around the world. Holocaust museums have been opened in several cities and archives set up for the recording of survivor testimony.
1956: The Cold War heats up as suburban dwellers construct bomb shelters in their backyards. At school, the kids practice air raid drills. Today: The Cold War has been declared ended. The U. S. and Russia are almost partners both politically and economically. Unfortunately, little has altered in terms of nuclear targeting by either country.
1956: Canada assists India with a nuclear energy program. Today: Both Pakistan and India have nuclear capabilities aimed at deterring the other.
1956: It is a tense year in the Middle East due to disagreements over the Suez Canal. Today: Tensions run high in the Middle East because the peace process stalls between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization. Meanwhile, Britain and the U. S. add to this tension by insisting on the enforcement of UN resolutions against Iraq without having ever done the same about resolutions concerning Israel.
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