27 May 1942: Assassination of Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich by Czech Paratroopers

On this day in 1942, paratroopers sent by the Czechoslovak government-in-exile in London assassinated Reinhard Heydrich, the ruler of the Nazi-occupied "Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia." Heydrich was not only the "Reichsprotektor," but also the architect of the SS security apparatus and a driving force behind the extermination of European Jewry.

The attack mortally wounded Heydrich, who died on 4 June. The reprisals that followed are, if possible, even better known than the assassination itself. In particular, the massacre or deportation of the innocent villagers of Lidice became a synonym for the state terror and collective punishment under Nazi occupation. (That such terms are nowadays cavalierly applied in vastly different and incommensurate contexts is a sad irony worth noting, even though we cannot discuss it in detail here.)

The motivations and calculations behind the assassination were complex, and in part because of the ferocity of the Nazi response, details remained murky long afterward.

Reflecting on the difficult choices and consequences some three decades later, former Chief of Czechoslovak Intelligence František Moravec concluded:

Perhaps 5,000 Czechs paid with their lives for the death of a single Nazi maniac. The cost and the worth of the killing of Heydrich has been the subject of much controversy. It is certainly true that the price paid for Heydrich was much higher than the figures indicate, for the Nazis executed systematically the very best of the nation. On the other hand, it is quite clear that had Heydrich lived he would have done no less. The eradication of the Czechoslovak nation and its amalgamation into the Reich, including the systematic murder of its leaders, was the assignment with which he came to Prague.

In my opinion, the problem of cost can be reduced to a simple principle, so well understood by the parachutists Kubis and Gabcik: freedom and, above all, liberation from slavery have to be fought for, and this means losses in human lives.

The ethical and strategic dilemmas remain as relevant today as they were then. Among other things, it is bracing to be reminded of an age in which leaders calmly and resolutely--though not at all lightly--made such calculations involving both political principles and human lives. Our otherwise commendable modern desire to avoid loss of human life "at all costs" may blind us to the equal or greater costs of inaction.

Because I was for the first time present in the Czech Republic on the occasion of these anniversaries, I'll return to these topics in a more systematic way in the near future.

Practical Things You Can Learn from Studying Science. Lessons from history

A recent article by John Malone and Brian Oliver, "The genomic 'inner fish' and a regulatory enigma in the vertebrates," in the Journal of Biology (an OpenAccess publication, always a good thing) managed to include one of my favorite scientific anecdotes:

Even before the origin of species by descent from a common ancestor was posited, it was realized that groups of animals had related morphologies. Georges Cuvier, the father of comparative anatomy, viewed anatomical structures though the lens of form and function. Similar looking anatomical structures should have similar function, and anatomy could be used diagnostically to group organisms – a theory he termed "the correlation of parts" [1]. A famous story illustrates the idea. One of Cuvier's students dressed as the Devil with horns on his head and hoof-shaped shoes burst into Cuvier's bedroom when he was asleep and said, "I am the Devil. I have come to devour you!" Cuvier woke up and replied, "I doubt whether you can. You have horns and hooves. You eat only plants."

Cuvier thereupon rolled over and went back to sleep.

Run It up the Flagpole and See. . . what?

This was the sight that greeted visitors as they came up the main drive onto the Hampshire College campus shortly before Commencement.

The question is: why?

The College always sets out the flags of United Nations member states on festive occasions. So, nothing unusual there. And, given that the flags are arranged in a circle, every flag will by definition be next to two other flags. There are a total of 192 UN member states. Are you with me? So far, so good. This is the United States, so one could reasonably assume (yes, even in Amherst), that the Stars and Stripes would be front and center. And, either because this is Amherst, or simply because we try to fly the flags of all nations of the world, one could also surmise that the UN flag might be highlighted (the Town flies it on the Common, alongside the national flag). So, the US and UN flags are next to each other. Each therefore has a chance of being next to only one national flag out of the 191 remaining.

The flags next to the US flag are the UN flag and that of Israel.

What, as the saying goes, are the odds of that?

Yes, this could be your chance, by demonstrating understanding of statistical methods, to pass your quantitative skills requirement.

We don't like multiple-choice tests at Hampshire. In fact, most of us don't give tests at all, preferring essay assignments. But for the sake of argument, humor me, and give it a try.

As a cultural historian, of course, I see just these basic choices:

• random, statistical chance (both the US and UN flags have a chance of being next to any one of the 191 other flags)
• there may be some meaning to the choice, but it was just something those guys in Physical Plant did on their own when they set up for graduation, so it's anyone's guess and has no official meaning
• the College, reeling from the bad publicity occasioned by the divestment issue and other controversies involving the Middle East, quite deliberately sought to send the implicit message—in particular to parents and prospective donors—that it is neither anti-Israel nor antisemitic

Which is it? You decide.

Emily Dickinson Poetry Walk

The Emily Dickinson Poetry Walk, held annually on the weekend closest to the date of her death, by tradition concludes at her graveside, where there are a few formal remarks and readings from her works and a toast (seltzer rather than champagne these days, alas). Attendees are also invited to step forward and read their favorite poems.

Herewith, a few images of the afternoon's event, which drew one of the largest crowds in recent memory.

Then: the Dickinson Family plot, in an old photograph, on the sign marking the final stop on the poetry walk.

These are the original family grave monuments: matching, but cubical in form and simple. Emily's stone originally bore only her initials, "EED." Early in the twentieth century, her niece Martha Dickinson Bianchi, who came to assume the role of keeper and quasi-creator of the Dickinson poetic legacy, replaced the simpler markers with larger, upright ones, bearing sententious inscriptions (below). She created similarly uniform stones for members of the Austin Dickinson family in Wildwood Cemetery (a modern "rural" or "park" cemetery, in whose creation Austin played a major role).

Now: the Dickinson plot today, with the gravestones that Martha Dickinson Bianchi substituted for the originals. Emily's, as is well known, bears the poetic-philosophical epitaph, "Called Back."

Tributes—a bouquet and a program—left by dancers from Amherst Ballet's production of "Emily of Amherst" on the preceding night are still present.

Restoration of the badly deteriorated and improperly repaired iron fence (see details below) is on the list of the Historical Commission's Community Preservation Act projects for the coming fiscal year.

The throng arrives, via the Gaylord Gate, making its way from the 1730 Knoll (where landscape restoration is in progress) to the post-1870 section of the cemetery, in which the Dickinson plot is located.

Literary scholar, Dickinson aficionado—and Town Meeting Moderator—Harrison Gregg reads Emily's poetry:


The crowd assembles. A guest offers song as well as poetry.

[updated images]

West Cemetery Landscape Restoration: Second Planting

This weekend, just in time for the Emily Dickinson Poetry Walk and close on the heels of Town Meeting's approval of a long list of Historical Commission projects, the second phase of West Cemetery landscape preservation got underway.

The Stockbridge School fraternity, Alpha Tau Gamma (ATG), continued its efforts to bring back a meadow-like environment on the 1730 Knoll, the oldest and most threatened part of the Cemetery. Volunteers planted 120 creeping phlox, two dozen creeping thyme, a dozen rudbeckia, and five lupines.

Volunteers efforts such as these are the spearhead of the restoration process, but do not end there. The new CPA funds that will become available with the start of Fiscal Year 2010 will begin to finance the larger and more ambitious restoration efforts, including tree plantings. ATG will, however, be involved here, as well, contributing labor and maintenance services as appropriate.

In this way, the Historical Commission hopes to maximize the use of resources by drawing upon volunteer donations of materials and labor wherever possible, while turning to public funds and Town staff for implementation of the more ambitious aspects of the plan.

May 15: The Cemetery is Alive on the Anniversary of Emily Dickinson's Death

The spirit of Emily Dickinson seemed tangible in West Cemetery as night waned on the anniversary of her death. Following the very successful premiere of "Emily of Amherst" by Amherst Ballet, members of the company spontaneously decided to pay a nocturnal visit to the poet's grave.

Most had never been to the plot or even the Cemetery before, although a few had begun to acquaint themselves with the site in preparation for the production. Scene 1 of Act Two, "Becoming a Poet," is set there, where her "departed friends" emerge from behind their tombstones. One can easily visit, or just locate virtually, the monuments of Sophia Holland (1828-44) Jennie Grout ?-1851), Abby Haskell (?-1851), and Martha and Ellen Kingman (both ?-1851). The grave of tutor and friend Leonard Humphrey (1824-50) is elsewhere.

A passage recited at the opening of the act suggests how the experience of loss brought Dickinson early on to ponder the fact and symbolism of death and prospects for an afterlife:

I write to Abiah tonight, . . . because I am feeling lonely; some of my friends are gone, and some of my friends are sleeping the churchyard sleep—the hour of evening is sad—it was once my study hour—my master has gone to rest, and the open leaf of the book, and the scholar at school alone, make the tears come, and I cannot brush them away; I would not if I could, for they are the only tribute I can pay the departed [Leonard Humphrey].) You have stood by the grave before; I have walked there sweet summer evenings and read the names on the stones, and wondered who would come and give me the same memorial; but I have never laid my friends there, and forgot that they too must die; . . . To those bereaved so often that home is no more here, and whose communion with friends is only in prayers, there must be much to hope for, but when the unreconciled spirit has nothing left but God, that spirit is lone indeed. I don't think there will be any sunshine, or any singing-birds in the spring that's coming. I shall look for an early grave then, when the grass is growing green.

——to Abiah Root, 1850

For good reason, then, did the "Reader's Guide" to Dickinson's poetry, produced by the NEA and Poetry Foundation for this year's "Big Read" and distributed free to the audience at the ballet, cite the place of immortality as Dickinson's "flood subject."

As the group moved through the cemetery, a simple stroll took on mysterious qualities when the orange haze from the lamps near the Gaylord Gate gave way to increasing darkness and a more restrained, though not somber mood. Near the grave itself, the glow from cell phone screens had to provide most of the light. The dancers investigated the iron fence and monuments and gave Emily the memorial that she craved and doubted. The dancers paid tribute by leaving gifts of flowers—the very bouquets that they had received from friends and family but a short time ago—or striking ballet postures before the family plot.

They also recited Dickinson's letters and poems, chiefly from those used in the ballet, though someone, a parent perhaps, had thought to bring the collected verse, and so the tribute grew. There was a momentary shiver when a fiddler struck up a tune from the opacity somewhere between the 1730 Knoll and the newer section of the cemetery where we stood. In an instant, we relaxed, and he soon came over to join us. A short time later, a group of college women—clearly on their way from a party, but one that had somehow prompted them to want to render their homage to Emily—wandered our way in need of directions, which we gladly supplied.

>

As the gathering closed, someone instinctively reached for the poem that introduced Act Four, "Legacy," on Emily Dickinson's posthumous fate:

The Poets light but Lamps ~

Themselves — go out —

The Wicks they stimulate

If vital Light

Inhere as do the Suns ~

Each Age a Lens

Disseminating their

Circumference —

The reader cried, and she was not alone in doing so.

[updated images]

Next Step in West Cemetery Landscape Restoration Saturday

Following on the successful initial effort this past fall, members of the University of Massachusetts Stockbridge School's fraternity Alpha Tau Gamma (ATG) will undertake a second planting on the 1730 Knoll in Amherst's West Cemetery as part of the comprehensive landscape restoration plan that the Historical Commission is carrying out.

The volunteers will be at work between around 9 and 11 a.m., and the public is welcome. The planting comes just in time for participants in the Annual Poetry Walk, which traditionally ends at Emily Dickinson's grave in the mid-afternoon.

More on the Premiere of the New Dickinson Ballet This Weekend

Following on the heels of the lengthy piece in the Republican, the Gazette ran its own detailed article on Thursday, here via the May 15 issue of Bulletin:

Kathleen Mellen, "Dancing Emily Dickinson":

The inspiration for Amherst Ballet's new, original production, "Emily of Amherst," based on the life of poet Emily Dickinson, came from one of her poems.

It reads, in part:

I CANNOT dance upon my Toes -
No Man instructed me -
But oftentimes, among my mind,
A Glee possesseth me,

That had I Ballet knowledge -
Would put itself abroad
In Pirouette to blanch a Troupe -
Or lay a Prima, mad ...

It is just one of the 1,800 poems Dickinson wrote in her lifetime; fewer than a dozen of which were published before her death. (read the rest)

Early Coverage of Historic Preservation Votes

Scott Merzbach, "Amherst votes to spend CPA money on historic preservation," Hampshire Gazette, 12 May 2009

Last Night's Key Decisions:

Town Meeting voted to spend $337,800 from the Community Preservation Act account for a series of historic preservation, affordable housing and open space projects.

Of this total, $265,600 is aimed at various historic projects, many of which will help the town celebrate its 250th anniversary this year, said CPA Committee member Louis Greenbaum.

The projects at the historic West Cemetery and the preservation of historic buildings, Greenbaum said, honor Amherst's past and helps the town take pride in its accomplishments.

Town Meeting unanimously approved $25,000 for historic ironwork restoration at the cemetery and $30,000 for the town tomb reconstruction.

James Smith of Precinct 6 said the town tomb has sustained damage in recent years. "This is necessary to maintain that historic structure," Smith said.

Town Meeting members, though, had a lengthy discussion on appropriating $20,000 for landscape preservation at the cemetery before approving the expenditure by 128-61.

Mary Streeter of Precinct 8 and Vince O'Connor of Precinct 1, both members of the CPA Committee, said they were opposed to this spending, in part, because the CPA account was being reduced too much. "This is not something urgent to be done right away," Streeter said.

But James Wald of the Historical Commission said the cemetery represents a time capsule of Amherst's social values, aesthetics and history. "This town is in danger of losing an important resource," Wald said.

Town Meeting voted to spend $15,000 in CPA money for preparation of bid specifications for repairs to the Jones Library roof, $10,000 to study a climate control system for special collections at the library and $20,000 for the fourth of five yearly payments to pay for the preservation of historic documents.

Members rejected $7,000 for repair of the roof at the North Congregational Church.

Janet Chevan of Precinct 7 said she was uncomfortable with spending CPA money on a church building,

Smith agreed. "There is a definite separation of church and state issue here," Smith said,

Despite an effort to reduce the $65,000 for restoring the historic Civil War tablets, Town Meeting narrowly approved the full CPA expenditure by a 91-84 tally vote.

By a 95-70 tally vote, Town Meeting agreed to spend $30,000 for historic writers' walk signs that will recognize famous authors who have lived in Amherst.

Other items approved included $10,000 for nomination packages for expansion of the Dickinson Historical District and creation of an Amherst Depot District and $15,000 to complete an historic inventory of barns and other outbuildings.

Another $25,600 in CPA money will go for the third of five yearly payments for preserving the Kimball House on North East Street

Town Meeting unanimously also agreed to spend $47,200 in CPA money for affordable housing projects, of which $30,000 will be used for a Habitat for Humanity home being constructed on Stanley Street. The other $17,200 represents the minimum 10 percent set aside for future housing projects. Town Meeting members Rob Kusner and Jim Oldham both expressed concern that affordable housing is not being sufficiently funded.

Meanwhile, Town Meeting postponed consideration of Article 13, a petition submitted by O'Connor in support of increasing the state and federal gas tax, until after Article 30 is completed, likely sometime in late June.

Light Moment:

When a voice vote to call the question on the CPA spending on historic writers' walk signs seemed to be evenly divided, a Town Meeting member immediately shouted out for a count.

Moderator Harrison Gregg seemed taken aback because he had not yet announced which way he believed the voice vote went.

"I haven't counted it; how can you doubt it?" Gregg said.

After much laughter in the auditorium, Gregg called for a second voice vote, at which time he determined the ayes had won and the question could be called.

Words to Ponder:

Select Board Chairwoman Stephanie O'Keeffe notified Town Meeting that it would likely be adjourning to June 15, instead of the original June 1 date, at which time the fiscal year 2010 budget issues would be taken up.

"As everyone knows this is an absolutely extraordinary budget year," O'Keeffe said.

She said there are unprecedented unknowns in the budget, including the amount of state funding and whether local option taxes will be available, that could be resolved by the later date.

Next Up:

Next year's budget, along with capital spending items, will be considered.

May 14 update: the May 15 issue of the Bulletin (which requires no registration) includes some of the above in the context of all May TM actions: Scott Merzbach, "Town Meeting Wraps Up Until June":

A series of improvements to the West Cemetery, an increase in the density of residential units in downtown and village centers, better protections for transgender individuals and preservation of open parcels in the Lawrence Swamp area have been approved at annual Town Meeting. (read the rest)

It's often interesting to note which items are highlighted in briefer or later coverage. The Bulletin piece leads with the Cemetery improvements, which together are the largest category of historical preservation expenditures, even though they--with the possible exception of the landscape improvements--did not generate much debate.

* * *

Update

Video from ACTV.

Town Meeting historic preservation votes

(via mail)
Town meeting overwhemingly voted in favor of our projects, defeating only $7000 for roof repair to the North Congregational Church (concern over church-state issues seems to have done it in).
A great victory for historical preservation, civic spirit, and right reason.
10:05 p.m.