That's very interesting. I really haven't heard many Germans talk about it so I have to say your post was quite insightful.
Personally, while it's difficult to think of Germany and not think of the Nazi regime, I really look at that as a different Germany that only existed for a brief period of time. It's no different, really, from other nations who have had rulers rise up, seize power, and lead their nation into doing terrible things. I think just about any country--probably literally EVERY country--that has had the good fortune of possessing a lot of power at some point in time has done some pretty horrendous things. This is true whether talking about Germany or Russia or Japan or France or China or, my home country, the United States. It seems almost unavoidable. As the saying goes, power corrupts. But even though it wasn't that long ago in the grand scheme of world history, the Nazis have been gone for a while. I don't see why anyone today should feel any sort of guilt or shame over the situation. Sadness, perhaps, for those who died or were treated poorly, but the blame falls upon those who committed those acts.
And while it's different, there's a similar situation that constantly hangs in the air in America. The situation, of course, being slavery and the subsequent civil rights abuses that lasted until very recently. Like you mentioned about Naziism, we are constantly reminded of it. And I myself, being from the Southern part of the country, get a double-dose of it. It definitely gets old. And while I freely recognize that it is a big black mark on American history, and we should not forget that part of our history lest we repeat it--as the saying goes--I certainly won't accept the blame for it. I wasn't there, I didn't do it.
The issue of romanticizing the Nazis is an interesting one. The problem with the Nazi regime is that there are things about it that, for lack of a better way to phrase it, are attractive and that summon up a degree of admiration. I've always found Hitler's rise to power to be fascinating. He was no one special and went from nothing to the leader of one of the most powerful nations on earth. The sheer power of his will, and the way that he was able to manipulate the situation, was amazing. His Nazis had a certain air of cool about them that seemed to set them apart (not the least of which was their impeccable fashion sense) and Hitler came within a breath of essentially becoming the ruler of the world. It's pretty difficult to research the Nazis and not admit that those guys were pretty bad ass. The problem, of course, was that Hitler put his energy toward the wrong ends. He chose to work toward evil, rather than good, and a great deal of harm came from it. I have often wondered many times what would've happened to the Third Reich if Hitler had had a noble goal. It's a shame he made the choices that he did, because someone with his drive and charisma could've done a lot of good in the world.
Personally, while it's difficult to think of Germany and not think of the Nazi regime, I really look at that as a different Germany that only existed for a brief period of time. It's no different, really, from other nations who have had rulers rise up, seize power, and lead their nation into doing terrible things. I think just about any country--probably literally EVERY country--that has had the good fortune of possessing a lot of power at some point in time has done some pretty horrendous things. This is true whether talking about Germany or Russia or Japan or France or China or, my home country, the United States. It seems almost unavoidable. As the saying goes, power corrupts. But even though it wasn't that long ago in the grand scheme of world history, the Nazis have been gone for a while. I don't see why anyone today should feel any sort of guilt or shame over the situation. Sadness, perhaps, for those who died or were treated poorly, but the blame falls upon those who committed those acts.
And while it's different, there's a similar situation that constantly hangs in the air in America. The situation, of course, being slavery and the subsequent civil rights abuses that lasted until very recently. Like you mentioned about Naziism, we are constantly reminded of it. And I myself, being from the Southern part of the country, get a double-dose of it. It definitely gets old. And while I freely recognize that it is a big black mark on American history, and we should not forget that part of our history lest we repeat it--as the saying goes--I certainly won't accept the blame for it. I wasn't there, I didn't do it.
The issue of romanticizing the Nazis is an interesting one. The problem with the Nazi regime is that there are things about it that, for lack of a better way to phrase it, are attractive and that summon up a degree of admiration. I've always found Hitler's rise to power to be fascinating. He was no one special and went from nothing to the leader of one of the most powerful nations on earth. The sheer power of his will, and the way that he was able to manipulate the situation, was amazing. His Nazis had a certain air of cool about them that seemed to set them apart (not the least of which was their impeccable fashion sense) and Hitler came within a breath of essentially becoming the ruler of the world. It's pretty difficult to research the Nazis and not admit that those guys were pretty bad ass. The problem, of course, was that Hitler put his energy toward the wrong ends. He chose to work toward evil, rather than good, and a great deal of harm came from it. I have often wondered many times what would've happened to the Third Reich if Hitler had had a noble goal. It's a shame he made the choices that he did, because someone with his drive and charisma could've done a lot of good in the world.
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