The Economist - USA (2020-02-08)

16 The EconomistFebruary 8th 2020

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Letters

DataandtheHolocaust

TheGraphicdetailsectionon

theHolocaust(January25th)

illustratedthegreatjobarchi-

vistsandothershavedonein

identifyingthevictimsand

preservingthedocumentation.

FormostwestEuropeancoun-

triesnearlyallthevictimshave

beenidentified;it isinsomeof

theotherNazi-occupiedterri-

toriesthatmanycasualtiesare

stillunknown.Post-warlistsof

thosewhowereidentifiedhave

beenlinked,forexample,to

Nazi-registrationrecords.This

hasenabledmemorialsites,

suchastheDutchDigitalJew-

ishMonument,tocommem-

oratemurderedJewsincon-

text,suchastheirlastlocation,

householdandoccupation.

Around73%oftheJewish

populationintheNetherlands

didnotsurvivetheNaziperse-

cution.Slightlyoverhalfof

that73%diedinAuschwitzand

abouta thirdperishedinSobi-

bor,a lesser-knowncamp.But

whosurvivedandwhodidnot

variedsignificantlyacrossthe

Netherlands;thereisa huge

variationindeathratesin

differentlocations.

Thosedifferencesinlocal

deathratesraiseinteresting

questionsaboutwhowasmost

atriskofpersecutionandwhy.

Butansweringthosequestions

requiresanalysingthere-

trieveddatawithadvanced

quantitativetechniques.Yet

withinHolocaustliterature,

studiesthatusestatistical

methodsarestillunusual.We

mightbeablesoontolearn

eachvictim’sname,butlag

behindinourunderstanding

oftheHolocaust.

petertammes

Seniorresearchassociate

PopulationHealthSciences

BristolMedicalSchool

A longer view of history

I was saddened to see Bagehot

referring to the #MeToo move-

ment as exposing “the seamy

underbelly of the sexual revo-

lution” (January 11th). Sexual

abuse is not an offshoot of the

sexual revolution. The Victor-

ians’ adherence to “moral

values”, lauded in Bagehot’s

tribute to Gertrude Himmel-

farb,werecontradictedbythe

undersideoflifeexperienced

bywomen,richandpoor,long

beforetheswingingSixties.

Theonlyunderbelly#MeToo

hasexposedistheuseofprivi-

legetoabusewithimpunity.

judystanley

Scarsdale,NewYork

Makingdiplomacywork

Violentconflictremainsstub-

bornlyresistanttoresolution

(“Notyouraveragediplomats”,

January25th).Halfofallpeace

agreementscollapsewithin

sevento 12 yearsofbeing

signed.One-thirdofpeace

dealsnevermakeit frombeing

agreedtobeingimplemented.

Sincethemid-1990s,most

conflictshavebeenrecur-

rencesofolddisputesrather

thannewones.

Onecauseofthesedis-

appointingfactsandfailuresis

animbalanceatnegotiating

tables.Dealsarebeingstruck

bythebeneficiariesofconflict

thatemphasiseshort-term

incentives,rewardsand

commitments.Effective

conflictresolutionrequires

moreattentiontolonger-term

solutionsforthesilentmajor-

ityatthegrassrootswhopay

thehighestpriceduringcon-

flictandwhohavethemostto

gainfrompeace.Thatmeans

fewerbackroompeacedeals

agreedsolelybyelites,and

moreagreementsthatinvolve

allgroupsandcommunities.

simongimson

Vice-president

Interpeace

Geneva

Limited choices in Russia

You were rightly hesitant to

draw any clear-cut conclusions

about Vladimir Putin’s future

plans based on the constitu-

tional amendments he recent-

ly proposed (“Glued to the

throne”, January 18th). The

amendments don’t tell us who

will occupy which high office

in the Russian state after Mr

Putin steps down as president

in 2024. But perhaps we’re

reading this crystal ball all

wrong. If the Russian

nomenklatura is anything like

the big-business class in Rus-

sia, many will have a foreign

passport or long-term foreign

residence. These cosmopolites

are now out of the game.

Real competition was elim-

inated from Russian elections

years ago by preventing dis-

favoured candidates from even

running, much less winning.

This is the “Soviet restaurant”

method of political popularity.

When only one item on the

menu is available, it will by

default be the most popular.

william spiegelberger

Vienna

You assert that Russian

economic growth has been

“brought to an end by corrup-

tion, uncompetitiveness, the

end of the oil boom and West-

ern sanctions following the

annexation of Crimea in 2014”.

This would seem to be an

exaggeration. The latest imf

projections show Russian gdp

growth rising from 1.1% in 2019,

to 1.9% in 2020 and 2% in 2021.

Despite the factors you

mention, it is nonetheless

modest growth, and no doubt

the envy of countries like

France, Germany and Italy.

martin gilman

Professor of economics

Higher School of Economics

Moscow

Religious symbols

Many mosques built by Arab

autocrats could be described as

vulgar, but not in the case of

the Sheikh Zayed mosque in

Abu Dhabi (“Mine’s bigger than

yours”, January 11th). Size aside,

the mosque is generally char-

acterised by exquisite good

taste and an architectural

vision that seamlessly blends

modern technology with the

best of Islamic tradition. It is a

remarkable achievement that

transcends the motivations of

the obscenely rich sheikhs of

the United Arab Emirates. A

similar disjuncture between

self-serving autocratic motiva-

tion and genuine artistic merit

was also associated with many

of the celebrated architectural

achievements of the past.

Think Angkor Wat, the

Alhambra, the Taj Mahal.

reg whitaker

Victoria, Canada

Obrigado

America is not Britain’s “oldest

ally” (“Declarations of

independence”, January 18th).

The oldest military alliance in

the world is between Britain

and Portugal, dating back to

the Treaty of Windsor in 1386.

Although seemingly irrelevant

today, the alliance was in-

strumental during the Napole-

onic wars and the fleeing in

1807 of the Portuguese mon-

archy to Brazil, leading to its

subsequent independence. The

treaty was invoked both during

the second world war and the

Falklands conflict to allow

British refuelling in the Azores.

benjamin johnson

London

A family of two halves

Upon hearing a third sports

metaphor in as many minutes

last week, I wondered whether

the usefulness of such tropes

in the workplace has played

out. So it was with amusement

that I read your comparison of

an English football club to the

royal family (“Losing the title”,

January 25th). I want to know

Bartleby’s thoughts on the

subject. Perhaps he can huddle

with Johnson, draw up a game

plan, and tackle this topic in a

column. I’m confident he will

knock it out of the park.

ryan juenger

Costa Mesa, California

The comparison of Sir Alex

Ferguson, a former manager of

Manchester United, to the

queen, current manager of the

monarchy, was fantastic. Sir

Alex famously referred to a

particularly tense period of his

tenure as “squeaky-bum time”.

I am sure the queen has an

equally telling if not more

elegant turn of phrase to

describe the current position

of the monarchy.

zack goldberg

London