We're dealing with two devils who both want to rule hell.

Title quote from Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (about Hitler and Stalin)

I am taking a "materials for youth" class, which is about literature and materials for children and young adults, and the most recent project we finished was on nonfiction sources for children/students. I read books and online sites about resistance during WWII, which is a topic I know something about and find interesting. This time around, however, I was struck by how much WWII was also very much a fight between the communists and the fascists. Most of the resistance organizations were politically or ideologically driven, and many of them were communist or socialist organizations. It is slightly disconcerting, especially as I know a bit about how bad the communists and Stalin were. People in the east especially were caught between two evils: Hitler or Stalin. There was no good choice. Most people, however, do not realize how big a player the Soviets and communists were in the war. We allied ourselves with them, and it can be hard to admit that one of our allies was, I believe, worse than Hitler. Also, most people don't know about the Great Purge or of Stalin's atrocities. He was responsible for millions more deaths than Hitler. With all the atrocities and genocide that has happened and is still happening, it is sad that most people only know about Hitler. Hitler is the ultimate bad guy, and the other bad guys get a pass. What about Stalin or Pol Pot or what's happening in the Sudan or Libya or Burma? Maybe it's because we can only handle so much bad stuff at once. We are not God. We can't handle it all. Frankly, I'm not sure how God stands it. He sees everything. All the good, but also all the bad.

Just some thoughts.

I have to finish a big paper this week. I'd really appreciate prayers, as I'm really struggling with getting going on it.