Axis of Obscura

In history classes and academic discussions, many events are placed within a dichotomy, such as the success or failure of military strategies and the position of policies. Notably, an apparent dichotomy was made in which the Allied Powers were justified in all of their war measures since the Axis Powers were the foremost perpetrators and committed more severe war crimes. In other cases, alternative perspectives are overlooked and replaced by standard historical narratives. However, these dichotomies and narratives are more complicated than they seem. Like an obscure axis, our dangerous path toward a conservative, one-dimensional approach to history seems to be on its way. At the dawn of the fourth industrial revolution and the decline of globalization in this new world order, understanding WWII and Cold War history becomes ever more important. We must understand how social and political factors shape the transformation of technology and science—sometimes controversially—and how modern politicians manipulate history to replay the past in the present. From Adolf Hitler to Putin, from Nasser to Le Pen, this transition period from modern to post-modern times continues to reshape and affect our modern world order. In Axis of Obscura, we shall break down the x-y-z lines of the historical axis that come in multi-dimensional perspectives and the cold divides that happen across polarized discussions. The book reveals the possible alternatives in history that are often obscured, reconstructs the Allied-Axis dichotomies fixed along cold divides, relates socio-political factors to a technical change that overlook moral lines of propaganda and scientific experimentation and reflects upon the importance of understanding the transition from modern to post-modern times for every single one of us.