In post-9/11 America, much has been made of the appeasement that preceded World War II, especially the case of the Sudetenland and the Munich Agreement. Somewhat lost in the sands of time are the military conflicts in the years leading up to the outbreak of the war. Chief among these are the Sino-Japanese War, with the Japanese occupation of Manchuria and a wealth of atrocities that make Abu Graib look like a four-year-old’s birthday party, and the Spanish Civil War, the proving ground for the troops, equipment and tactics of the Soviets, Germans and Italians. Even more obscure is the invasion of Ethiopia (then Abyssinia) by Benito Mussolini’s Italy in 1935. That aggression may finally be finding a closure.
An Ethiopian national treasure, the ancient Axum Obelisk that was plundered by Italian fascist invaders in 1937, will be returned by Rome in April, Italy’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
The 24-meter obelisk, believed to be at least 1,700 years old, was split in three and hauled off when Italy under Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini invaded Ethiopia in 1937.
Italy promised in 1947 to return the 200-tongranite column, a symbol of the dawn of Ethiopian civilization, but arguments and logistical problems delayed it until November last year when the two countries finally agreed to fly it home.
[…]
Returning the segments of the monument and the machinery to put it back together is a gargantuan logistical task.
Landlocked Ethiopia has had to build a special runway for the only aircraft big enough to carry the pieces, the U.S.-built C-5 Galaxy and Russian-made Antonov 124. The Antonov was the plane finally chosen to bring the obelisk home.
It’s surprising that the massive artifact took around a year to remove and over a half-century to return. For no reason at all, I blame the recent resurgence of trucker hats.