Test of Civilization: Is Europe repeating the horrors of the past?

"Even though we can't predict the future, at least we have the past as a guide to educate us, to point out the dangers of that kind of rhetoric." Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, UN Commissioner for Human Rights — October 2015

The Test of Civilization website begins with this powerful and challenging quote from Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein. In October 2015, as UN Commissioner for Human Rights, he expressed his concern about the way in which high European political circles were talking about the refugees coming to Europe from the Middle East (Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan) at that time. For example, the Hungarian Prime Minister felt that his country was under siege by the war refugees and he had a wall built on the southern border of his country. The British Prime Minister in turn used the aggressive image of a swarm of refugees threatening his country. The leader of Poland's PiS party claimed that refugees "brought cholera to the Greek islands, diphtheria to Vienna and various types of parasites." Since then, things have only gotten worse: statements that were unthinkable until recently because they explicitly question the core values of democracy and the rule of law are now an integral part of the political discourse...

With Test of Civilisation, the creators of this website want to take people back in time to reflect on various historical events and to consider whether there are parallels with European current affairs. Europe was built on the ruins of World War II. The devastation and horror of the death camps made it clear that a European foundation was necessary for future peace and prosperity. At a time when forces are at work that question this foundation, it is important to look back to the past. And that from a perspective that shakes us up and makes it clear what Europe is essentially about: building a humane, open and tolerant society.