Anne Applebaum says pacifism wrong path to support Ukraine

Pacifism in the face of Russian aggression is nothing more than a willingness to accept dictatorship, said American-British historian, journalist, author, and Pulitzer Prize winner Anne Applebaum during her acceptance speech for the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, reports Voice of America.

Speaking in Frankfurt, she said adhering to pacifism would mean agreeing “to the military conquest of Ukraine, to the cultural destruction of Ukraine, to the construction of concentration camps in Ukraine, to the kidnapping of children in Ukraine.”

“If there is even a small chance that a military defeat could help end this horrific cult of violence in Russia, just as a military defeat once ended the cult of violence in Germany, we must seize that opportunity,” Applebaum added.

She voiced support in providing Ukraine with weapons to achieve a military defeat of Russia. In Germany, many are inclined to support the idea of pacifism following German aggression under Adolf Hitler during World War II, according to Voice of America.

“They worry that arming Ukraine could lead to the spread of war beyond Ukrainian borders to the rest of Europe,” the report states.

In turn, Applebaum urged Germans to refrain from choosing a pacifist route.

“The demand for pacifism in the face of an advancing aggressive dictatorship may simply mean appeasement and acceptance of that dictatorship,” she said.

Some even call for peace, solemnly referencing “the lessons of German history,” Applebaum said.

“As I stand here today, accepting the peace prize, it seems an opportune moment to point out that the phrase ‘I want peace’ is not always a moral argument,” the writer said.