Art Studio Elbe - Verband freischaffender Künstler.

  Author - Brian Hawkeswood. I. Introduction: A Civilization Torn Asunder China’s artistic and cultural legacy, stretching back over five millennia, is one of the richest and most continuous in the history of human civilization. It has produced sublime ink landscapes , refined ceramics, majestic bronzes, delicate jade carvings, and calligraphy of spiritual depth. But between 1966 and 1976, in one of the darkest chapters of the 20th century, this heritage faced near-annihilation—not from foreign invaders, but from within, at the hands of a self-proclaimed revolutionary savior. The Cultural Revolution , launched by Mao Zedong , was not only a political purge; it was a war against memory. Under the banner of destroying the “ Four Olds ”—old customs, old culture, old habits, and old ideas—Mao oversaw the wholesale obliteration of cultural continuity. Monasteries were razed. Scrolls burned. Statues smashed. The refined sensibilities that had shaped Chinese art for generations were br...

  Abstract This essay investigates the psychological mechanisms that enable ordinary people to become willing accomplices to tyrants. While dictators like Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and Mussolini rarely killed directly, their genocides, purges, and atrocities were executed by millions of compliant citizens. Drawing from psychological research, historical case studies, and philosophical inquiry, the essay explores how obedience, authority, conformity, fear, ideological indoctrination, and the seduction of power lead individuals to suspend morality. Ultimately, it asks: what is it about the human condition that allows mass violence to flourish—and how can we resist it?                                                            Soon to be murdered children in  Auschwitz . Would you kill these children? Introduction: Tyranny Needs Hands ...