User:Sca

This user is of German ancestry.

This user is of Norwegian ancestry.

This user is interested in the Middle Ages.

This user is interested in World War I and World War II.

This user enjoys reading non-fiction, mainly history.

This user enjoys reading fiction.

This user laments the sad decline of American newspaper journalism.

This user is a member of WikiProject Germany.

This user is a history buff.

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"Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law."

– Immanuel Kant, resident of Königsberg, Prussia, 1724-1804

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Hello, Guten Tag, Dzien dobry, Labas, Dobry dien. I live in Boise, Idaho, U.S.A., where I work for a human rights agency.

The photo above was taken in Kaliningrad, Russia, in 1998, at Kant's tomb. While I cannot claim to be a serious student of Kant's philosophy, I value some of his basic thoughts, including the motto "Dare to know" (Latin: sapere aude), which dovetails with my own training in journalism.

My main interest on Wikipedia is history, specifically central and eastern European history, especially that of Germany – with a focus on the expulsion of the Germans from eastern and central Europe in 1945-49. Politically I am a liberal, and I view history with an eye to the impact of historical events on human rights. I am a pacifist at heart, and as a young man I actively opposed the Vietnam War.

Among my forebears were "Russian" Germans from Bessarabia, who emigrated

to the U.S. in the late 19th century and ultimately settled in North Dakota.

I have lived in Poland and Lithuania, so I also am particularly interested in the history of these countries, along with that of Russia.

In the late '80s, I wrote an academic paper titled, "Revenge: The Expulsion

of the Germans." If you would like a digital copy, send me an email request.

My email: saks2800@aol.com

Here's a photo of me at the Westerplatte memorial in Gdańsk, Poland, taken on a zimno winter day in 1996.

And, in a lighter mood, here's a photo of me at the beach in Palanga, Lithuania, in 2002.