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THE SEVEN RULES OF NATIONALISM.

1. If an area was ours for 500 years and yours for 50 years, it should belong to us -- you are merely occupiers.

2. If an area was yours for 500 years and ours for 50 years, it should belong to us -- borders must not be changed.

3. If an area belonged to us 500 years ago but never since then, it should belong to us -- it is the Cradle of our Nation.

4. If a majority of our people live there, it must belong to us -- they must enjoy the right of self-determination.

5. If a minority of our people live there, it must belong to us -- they must be protected against your oppression.

6. All the above rules apply to us but not to you.

7. Our dream of greatness is Historical Necessity, yours is Fascism.

If your seven rules of nationalism abide all over the world, then the Sudetenland of the old countries of Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, and parts of Austria, should still belong to Germany, because these lands were 90% German populated at the end of the First World War. However, the Sudetenland was given to the newly founded state of Czech-o-slovakia by the terms of the Versailles Peace Treaty. The Czechs forcibly took over German villages, towns and businesses, and thereafter fired German employees. This caused much unrest among the German population and was instrumental in leading to the second world war.

Naturally these Germans followed Hitler who offered them release from their Czech bondage via the Munich agreement, which the Sudeten Germans welcomed without reservation. However, much to their regret, this agreement was not welcomed by the rest of the world, which didn't or wouldn't recognize the serious plight of the Germans under the oppressive Czech rule. As history has shown this agreement became a massive powder keg.

After the war, the Czechs expelled some 3 million Germans, my relatives among them. They lost their homes, personal belongings, farms, shops, etc., to the Czechs, who gave them no compensation for homes and lands that had been in their families for several generations.

My relatives were allowed to take with them only that which they needed for daily survival. Photographs, jewelry and other valuables were confiscated. Many Sudeten Germans resettled in Germany, and have been mostly quiet about their plight. However, they have not forgotten their homeland.

Your seven rules of nationalism sound great and are truly moral for the innocent people of the world, but don't expect these rules to be upheld in a world where those who wield the most power always win.