->JCC the Alternate Historian: Added another source.

2021-12-24T23:20:23Z

Added another source.

New page

{{about|the short story|discussion of what will be the last article on Wikipedia|:Wikipedia:Last topic pool|selfref=yes}}
{{original research|date=July 2008}}

{{Infobox short story |
| name = The Last Article
| title_orig =
| translator =
| author = [[Harry Turtledove]]
| country = United States
| language = English
| series =
| genre = [[Alternate history]]
| published_in = ''[[Kaleidoscope (short story collection)|Kaleidoscope]]''<br>''The Best Military Science Fiction of the Twentieth Century''<br>''[[The Best of Harry Turtledove]]''
| publication_type = Print
| publisher =
| media_type =
| pub_date = January [[1988 in literature|1988]]
| english_pub_date =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
}}

'''"The Last Article"''' (1988), is an [[alternate history]] [[short story]] by [[Harry Turtledove]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.uchronia.net/label/turtlastar.html|title=Uchronia: The Last Article|website=www.uchronia.net}}</ref>

The story describes a [[Nazi Germany|German]] invasion of [[British Raj|British India]] and the reaction of the Nazi occupation authorities to the [[nonviolent resistance]] and [[pacifism]] of [[Mahatma Gandhi]] and his followers. This story was later reprinted in Turtledove's short-story collection ''[[Kaleidoscope (short story collection)|Kaleidoscope]]'' in 1990, the variety showcase ''The Best Military Science Fiction of the Twentieth Century'' in 2001, and in Turtledove's short-story collection ''[[The Best of Harry Turtledove]]'' in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stevenhsilver.com/stories.html|title=Steven H. Silver.com: Harry Turtledove short stories|website=www.stevenhsilver.com}}</ref>

==Plot summary==
Germany's success in [[World War II]] has led to their invasion of the [[British Raj]] in 1947, resulting in the [[British Indian Army]] being decisively defeated. Rather than struggling for independence from the [[British Empire|Crown]], [[Mahatma Gandhi|Gandhi]] and his friend [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] find themselves in the position of resisting Nazi occupation using the techniques that were [[Indian independence movement#Civil disobedience movement|successfully employed]] against the British. Although Nehru has a general concept of the inherently immoral nature of Nazi ideology, Gandhi thinks they still can be persuaded, not heeding the warning from an [[History of the Jews in Austria|Austrian Jew]] named [[Simon Wiesenthal]], who was able to flee [[German-occupied Poland|occupied Poland]] to India.

The Nazis, however, led by [[Generalfeldmarschall|Field Marshal]] [[Walther Model]], are completely unmoved by Gandhi's strategy. They view themselves as a [[master race]] and have no moral qualms about killing those who resist non-violently (or even [[The Holocaust|those who do not resist at all, if they are of a certain race]]). In the end the movement collapses as it proves unable to deal with the savagery of Nazism.

==Themes==
Gandhi assumes a [[moral equivalence]] between the Nazi and British imperialists, naively dismissing reports otherwise; the story makes clear that this is a lethal mistake stemming from Gandhi's reluctance to entertain the idea that his moral and ethical assumptions are not shared in common among all human groups. Loyalty is explored as a powerful but amoral force. Gandhi is loyal to his concepts of passive resistance, however poorly they fit the situation or inevitably they lead to violence; the Indians are loyal to Gandhi, and some die for it; Model is loyal is to his rank and [[volk]]; the British are loyal to their ideas of decency and mercy and defend them to the last, through the medium of war.

The story illustrates the weakness inherent in Gandhi's{{snd}}and later [[Martin Luther King Jr.]]'s{{snd}}[[nonviolence]] movement, the success of which depends on a reasoned appeal to the enemy's conscience—that is, on the ability to arouse shame and remorse in the oppressor, who eventually relents. This was a plausible strategy against British imperialism or American [[institutional racism]], as the notion of oppression clashes unpleasantly with the values espoused by these nations. Historically, ideals of freedom, justice, and equality for all citizens are at the root of the British and American political system and, perhaps more important, the religion and national self-image of the people. The story explores the strategic difference between opposing a tolerant competitor, such as the British, and opposing a remorselessly violent foe, suggesting that violent resistance to malign forces like Nazism, such as the [[Warsaw Ghetto Uprising]], is more likely to succeed than a pacifistic approach. Violence does not guarantee success, however; the Warsaw uprising is indicated as a failure.

Field Marshal Model compares the Nazi empire with the [[Roman Empire]] facing the [[Christianity in the Roman Empire|early Christians]], pointing out that Rome's collapse came as a result of its tolerance of a force that sought to undermine it. The story does not characterize Model as a bloodthirsty savage; rather, he is a merely a professional doing his job. Turtledove provides an appearance by [[Jurgen Stroop]], the [[Schutzstaffel|SS]] officer responsible for the [[Warsaw Ghetto]] massacre, to contrast Stroop's mindless savagery and Model's workmanlike, impassive decimation of the Indian resistance.

==Connections to other works==
It has been speculated{{who|date=June 2020}} that the story takes place in the same universe as ''[[In the Presence of Mine Enemies]]'' by the same author, but he has never confirmed this.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

==See also==
{{portal|Novels}}
* [[Axis victory in World War II]]. It includes an extensive list of other Wikipedia articles regarding works of Nazi Germany/Axis/World War II [[alternate history]].

* [[Mahatma Gandhi#Jews|Mahatma Gandhi and the Jewish question]]
* [[List of artistic depictions of Mahatma Gandhi]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Harryturtledove}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Last Article, The}}
[[Category:1988 short stories]]
[[Category:Alternate history short stories]]
[[Category:World War II alternate histories]]
[[Category:Short stories by Harry Turtledove]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Mahatma Gandhi]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Jawaharlal Nehru]]
[[Category:Fiction set in 1947]]
[[Category:Short stories set in India]]
[[Category:Short stories about Nazi Germany]]

The Last Article - Revision history

->JCC the Alternate Historian: Added another source.