BREAKING NEWS – War crimes trial in Kyiv, Ukraine, May 13, 2022

 

WAR CRIMES TRIAL IN UKRAINE - THE GHOSTS OF BABI YAR ARE CALLING TO US

United States military and intelligence analyst/investigator Andy Martin is in Kyiv, Ukraine for the start of war crimes prosecutions arising from Russian atrocities. Starting as a 10 year-old boy, Andy studied the Holocaust and the conditions under which human beings become capable of committing atrocities. Andy first came to national prominence during the My Lai Massacre, when he provided evidence of other mass killings in Viet-Nam.

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Andy Martin, J.D.

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Executive Editor and Producer

One of America’s most respected

independent intelligence analysts

and military investigators

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not politically correct”

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(Intercontinental Hotel)(Kyiv, Ukraine)(May 13, 2022)

Dear Reader:

Today the first war crimes trial of Russian atrocities began in Kyiv. This trial will be one of many, in Ukraine and at other international tribunals. For me, the start of the trial is a chilling day. To be here at the start of the momentous undertaking, putting the mass murders on trial, exploring questions raised by the Russian atrocities, takes me back to the origins of my early years.

Growing up, my spiritual father was Sigmund Neumann (see link [1] below), a brilliant political scientist who fled Germany at the beginning of the Holocaust. Dr. Neumann (he was always “Dr. Neumann”) had a special fondness for my mother. She was also one of his students. Both had served in OSS, America’s first spy agency. Every Friday, Dr. Neumann was at my family’s restaurant for dinner. Inevitably my mom and I were asked to join his table. Dr. Neumann had a sadness about him.

It was a heavy lift for a 10 year-old to learn that Neumann’s books had been burned by the Nazis. He got out early, when fleeing Germany was still easy. Starting from age 11, I became Dr. Neumann’s paperboy. There was always a cookie and soft drink at his modest home on the corner of High Street and Loveland Street when I came by with his paper. We also visited Neumann at Russell House, where he moved on the Wesleyan campus. He taught me to explore the Holocaust. I could read what Nazi Germany had done, but I lacked understanding. Later, in Viet-Nam as an analyst, investigator and journalist, I began to understand.

Through many wars and revolutions, I have gained a lot of comprehension about mass murder. Nevertheless, the atrocities of Russia and Germany during World War II stand apart, as historic examples of systemic national evil.

So it is with a special understanding that I watched the relentless atrocities committed by young Russians in Ukraine, mostly conscripted troops, across northern and eastern regions. What could possess a human being to commit an atrocity? A lifetime later, I am still searching for the answer. But now the first trial has begun in Kyiv.

During the Viet-Nam era, I was sometimes called to speak on the campus of the University of Illinois. In one forum, I was asked to compare My Lai to Babi Yar. While I was aware of the poem “Babi Yar” by Yevgeny Yevtushenko (please see Link [2] below), it meant nothing to me. (In those days, to research a topic you did not press a button; you went to the library.)

At Babi Yar, part of the City of Kyiv, German forces and their collaborators murdered over 100,000 Jews and other nationalities (please see link [3] below). You could say that in a spiritual sense, in 1941 Babi Yar became “ground zero” for understanding mass murder and atrocities.

I am staying at the Intercontinental Hotel, just a couple of miles from Babi Yar.

There is a cosmic sense of justice that war crimes trials in the latest outburst of insanity, Putin’s War, should begin just a short distance from the ghosts of Babi Yar.

This time, no one can plead ignorance, as the German nation did after World War II. This time, there are Ukrainian and international war crimes investigators (assisted by the FBI) on scene to research and document Putin’s atrocities.

Amazingly, this time there are often surveillance videos and other recordings of the murders. This time, the claim that no one can be held accountable because we are all responsible, cannot be applied.

The war criminals have started being brought to trial. Literally, the whole world is watching.

I understand how a soldier can be taught to kill. That’s what soldiers do. So purely military mayhem is understandable, apart from a lack of any justification for an invasion of Ukraine.

But what prompts a human being to commit mass murder or individual atrocities? While over 100,000 adults and children were murdered at Babi Yar, mostly Jews, most were shot at close range. I continue in my lifetime search for an understanding of this boundless evil.

In closing, I don’t wear my religion on my sleeve. After all, I have seen too much bloodshed in a long life. But I can truly tell you that my body trembled as I wrote these words. The spiritual cries of those helpless victims of antisemitism at Babi Yar, over 80 years ago, cried out to me. Their souls are restless, but they can rest in peace. They will never be forgotten. This time, the monsters will be held accountable. Babi Yar has not been forgotten.

From Kyiv, the capital of a free Ukraine.

CONTRARIAN COMMENTARY

Rédacteur en Chef,

Andy Martin

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Links to this story:

[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Neumann

[2]

https://www-tc.pbs.org/auschwitz/learning/guides/reading1.4.pdf

[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babi_Yar

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/kiev-and-babi-yar

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Other web sites for Andy Martin:

www.AndyMartinforUSSenator.com

www.AndyMartin.com

www.FirstRespondersOnline.us

ANDY MARTIN - A BRIEF BIO:

Andy Martin is a legendary New Hampshire, United States-based muckraker, author, Internet columnist, talk television pioneer, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. With over fifty (50) years of background in radio and television and with decades of intelligence, investigative and analytical experience in Washington, the USA and around the world, Andy provides insight on politics, foreign policy, military and intelligence matters. For a full bio, go to: www.AndyMartin.com. See also www.FirstRespondersOnline.us; www.BoycottABC.com/executive_director.htm

Andy holds both Economics and Juris Doctor degrees from the University of Illinois and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York (LaGuardia CC, Bronx CC).

He is the author of “Obama: The Man Behind the Mask” [www.OrangeStatePress.com] and produced the Internet film “Obama: The Hawaii’ Years” [www.BoycottHawaii.com]. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of the “Internet Powerhouse,” blogging at www.contrariancommentary.wordpress.com and www.ContrarianCommentary.com.

Andy’s family immigrated to Manchester, New Hampshire over 100 years ago; today he is New Hampshire’s leading corruption fighter and Republican Party reformer.

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Andy’s opinion columns are posted at ContrarianCommentary.com, ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com and ContrarianCommentary.wordpress.com

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