Baby Hitler and regrettable history

Recently, New York Times Magazine raised a bold question to the readers. “Could you kill a baby Hitler?”

It is well known that Hitler is one of the most terrible tyrants in the world. He killed thousands of people based on his twisted ideology. His ambition brought Germany and Europe itself into the tragic WWII.

So, do you kill him if you could return to the past when Hitler was a baby? This assumption is, of course, ridiculous but also is worth to consider at the time DeLorean has come in the Back to the Future.

The Telegraph: Back to the Future Day: is the DeLorean as bad as we think?

The result of the vote is interesting. Forty-two percent of the voters said that they could kill Hitler to prevent the subsequent Holocaust. Thirty percent rejected to kill him.

New York Times Magazine: Could you kill a baby Hitler?

Jewish Telegraph Agency: NY Times Magazine asks readers: ‘Could you kill a baby Hitler?’

It is not sure how many voters thought the concept of killing a baby seriously. This result suggests that Hitler is still subjected to the hatred of many people.

I do not remember a Japanese, like Hitler, so much hated by everyone. Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan, is sometimes criticized for his aggressive behavior. Some people compare him to Hitler. But this comparison is nonsense. Even if Abe is a nationalist, I do not think he is going to the war for realizing his ideal.

In Japan, there are three historic points of regret. First is the WWII. Nowadays, most Japanese recognizes that participating in the WWII was wrong for Japan. The second is Aum Shinrikyo. It was a cult group originated from ancient Buddhism whose boss was Shoko Asahara. Asahara committed mass murder with spreading toxic gas in the subway station, killing many people. This case has been the biggest terrorism in modern Japan. Not a few people including scholars were brainwashed, to obey Asahara’s order. Asahara was sentenced to capital punishment, but has not been executed yet. Some supporters are appealing for the reconsideration of the court decision. And the third may be Fukushima Daiichi atomic power plant crippled by the earthquake and tsunami disaster in 2011. This accident emerged due to some sequential human errors. If concerning people had been a little more cautious, this atomic power plant would have been safe. The accident influenced seriously on Japanese atomic power policy.

History has some crucial points. But we cannot go back, nor can forecast the future. My answer is I cannot kill baby Hitler because his future had not been determined at his birth.