When will Germany be forgiven?

[MrBurns]

I'm not German or Jewish but I've been thinking for a while that all Germans are tainted with the sins of their forefathers and the stigma shows no signs of abating.

How long will this go on, when will German youth not be tarnished with the sins of Hitler and the 3rd Reich ?

I can't see an end to it.

 

[wayneL]

Re: When will Germany be forgiven.........

I'm not German or Jewish but I've been thinking for a while that all Germans are tainted with the sins of their forefathers and the stigma shows no signs of abating.

How long will this go on, when will German youth not be tarnished with the sins of Hitler and the 3rd Reich ?

I can't see an end to it.

Various other groups get too much mileage out of it.

But fwiw, in my social circle (which is mainly people with an interest in equestrian sport), Germans are the gurus and held in high esteem. Hitler is a non-issue.

 

[springhill]

Re: When will Germany be forgiven.........

I'm not German or Jewish but I've been thinking for a while that all Germans are tainted with the sins of their forefathers and the stigma shows no signs of abating.

How long will this go on, when will German youth not be tarnished with the sins of Hitler and the 3rd Reich ?

I can't see an end to it.

Are they? I've met heaps of young Germans and i have to say they are amongst the nicest & most genuine of all.
The last word that would've come to mind is Nazi.

What's brought this topic up?

 

[MrBurns]

Re: When will Germany be forgiven.........

Various other groups get too much mileage out of it.

But fwiw, in my social circle (which is mainly people with an interest in equestrian sport), Germans are the gurus and held in high esteem. Hitler is a non-issue.

Yes and I drive one of their superb automobiles, no doubt about their talent or ability but how would you like to be German and see one of the zillions of TV shows on Hitler and the Holocaust that air regularly on TV, are they mentally divorsed from that ?

 

[white_goodman]

Re: When will Germany be forgiven.........

I like Germans, gotta admire a race/country willing to go long and aim for world domination, shame that their stop loss got hit...

If I could be any nationality besides Aussie itd be German (serious)

 

[MrBurns]

Re: When will Germany be forgiven.........

Are they? I've met heaps of young Germans and i have to say they are amongst the nicest & most genuine of all.
The last word that would've come to mind is Nazi.

What's brought this topic up?

I agree I've nothing against Germans personally.

I posted this because I was watching SBS and another doco on the Holocaust was on and I wondered what effect does this have on the current generation of Germans?

 

[sam76]

Re: When will Germany be forgiven.........

I think the 'official' move on from the war was during the 50th anniversary

 

[greggy]

Re: When will Germany be forgiven.........

Yes and I drive one of their superb automobiles, no doubt about their talent or ability but how would you like to be German and see one of the zillions of TV shows on Hitler and the Holocaust that air regularly on TV, are they mentally divorsed from that ?

Wrong Mr Burns. Only Smithers has ever driven your car..Maybe its time to "release the hounds".
I'm sorry to say that this is an inflammatory topic...As Basil said in Fawlty Towers "whatever you do don't mention the war..I might have said it once but I think I might have got away with it"..Time to move forward I reckon.

 

[MrBurns]

Re: When will Germany be forgiven.........

I think the 'official' move on from the war was during the 50th anniversary

Well thats good.

I was at Pearl Harbor recently at the memorial of the sinking of the USS Arizona, where 1100 US servicemen died.

The Japanese were there taking their happy snaps, it was astounding in it's irony, that they could do that knowing their forefathers had possibly been the pilots who did it.

I guess the new generation just move on ?

 

[MrBurns]

Re: When will Germany be forgiven.........

I'm sorry to say that this is an inflammatory topic....

Perhaps when discussed by fools but there are non in here

 

[doctorj]

Re: When will Germany be forgiven.........

Forgiven, but never forgotten.
Not that I blame Germans (particularly the younger generations that were not even around), but I think it's important to remeber these things to limit the chances of them happening ever again.

If you've never been to a concentration camp it's worth going once.

 

[greggy]

Re: When will Germany be forgiven.........

Perhaps when discussed by fools but there are non in here

Don't you mean "none" not non. D'oh!

 

[MrBurns]

Re: When will Germany be forgiven.........

Don't you mean "none" not non. D'oh!

I dont take spelling lessons from ducks

 

[cuttlefish]

Maybe he meant "nein".

 

[MrBurns]

Re: When will Germany be forgiven.........

Forgiven, but never forgotten.
Not that I blame Germans (particularly the younger generations that were not even around), but I think it's important to remeber these things to limit the chances of them happening ever again.

If you've never been to a concentration camp it's worth going once.

It's a conflict really, how do you keep the memory alive without sentencing all future generations to bear the guilt.

Would be good to hear from some Germans on this.

 

[cuttlefish]

I think that the younger generation has moved on from it, but are aware of the history, the corresponding guilt/reaction/introspection that it has inspired has infused itself into their culture and made for quite a positive people.

 

[Wysiwyg]

Manipulating persons and groups via guilt/indebtedness does happen and disappointingly so.

 

[MrBurns]

I think that the younger generation has moved on from it, but are aware of the history, the corresponding guilt/reaction/introspection that it has inspired has infused itself into their culture and made for quite a positive people.

Interesting perspective, you put some thought into that, makes sense.

 

[greggy]

Re: When will Germany be forgiven.........

It's a conflict really, how do you keep the memory alive without sentencing all future generations to bear the guilt.

Would be good to hear from some Germans on this.

Seriously though my grandfather never liked Germans after they destroyed his house during World War 2, payback I suppose for supporting the partisans. Also, in the next village everyone (men, women and children) that the Nazis could find were herded into the local church only to be razed completely to the ground. When I visited that part back in the 80s the site was left as a memorial.
As for the younger generations I think theres no hatred against them...War criminals perhaps but no one else.

 

[MrBurns]

Re: When will Germany be forgiven.........

Seriously though my grandfather never liked Germans after they destroyed his house during World War 2, payback I suppose for supporting the partisans. Also, in the next village everyone (men, women and children) that the Nazis could find were herded into the local church only to be razed completely to the ground. When I visited that part back in the 80s the site was left as a memorial.
As for the younger generations I think theres no hatred against them...War criminals perhaps but no one else.

I also remember Bruce Ruxton head of the RSL for many years could never forgive the Japanese after what he saw them do to Aussies in WW11 but subsequent generations get over it, they have to.