VeenenbergR :
I do believe that in this particular case
alecsandros is quite right, this can be easily and disastrously misinterpreted because can slip into the ideological and war crimes issue which is beyond the scope of this forum or this webpage. So, let´s try to discuss this without any ideological heading.
I know what you are talking about and, if reviewed, it goes earlier than WWII all the way to WWI and beyond. Germany as a nation is a phenomena that is offensive to many western nations. How Germany was born? By destroying the French Empire of Napoleon III. And to many that´s a crime per se because there is a good deal of admiration in the West for everything french. How Germany became a power? By printing in their products "made in Germany" because the British forced them to do so in order to show where "inferior" products came... only to get the "best" quality perception from the consumers. It´s obvious that Germany search of it´s own colonial posesions and extra maritime comerce was very bad seen by many... then there is WWI. Germany´s doing? Not more than the French or the Russians or even the British. OK, OK, Kaiser Willy wasn´t the ideal leader and his handling of things was not the best, but neither it was the management of more "profesional" heads of state that praised themselves of being "Master of the Universe". Was the German Empire tyrannical in comparison to the Russians or the British? Maybe it was much the same as the British and much better than the Russians. But the general historical perception is that of an evil German Empire that raped Belgium.
Then came something that is, I believe, it´s what really upsets many, specially in Europe. A subdeveloped and bankrupt Germany in 1932 was a serious concern to the "winning" of WWI in 1936. They beat the commies in the Spanish Civil War when the democracies stood helpeless uncapable of understanding what happened. In 1938 a social failure as Adolf Hitler was capable of giving chills to the British and the French and had his way beating "professional" diplomats that studied at Oxford and can eat lunch with four sets of forks. In 1939 Germany invaded Poland with an Army that is far from what it become in 1941-1942 and the British and French can´t did anything about it. Then Denmark, Holland and Norway one step ahead of the allies with not that great amount of troops. Of course it cames the big prize: France defeated again. This time in record time. The British defeat of the Luftwaffe confirmed, somehow, the continental roll of the Germans who then decided to invade Russia. It took four more years for three empires, USA, British and Russia, almost half of the world surface and population and almost all the wealth and natural (oil) resources to beat a country a little bigger than Texas without ZERO natural resources.
No wonder it´s important to came with all kind of stuff proving that the Germans were not that proficient. It´s offensive that a country in which a match box costs millions of marks in 1930 was defeating the profesional armies of the world ten years later.
Of course a way to throw mud on the memory of millions of brave German fighters is the Holocaust, because it´s easy to merge the image of the Wehmarch´s branches to those Concentration Camps SS criminals. People don´t care, the youth don´t care: they go to the movies and see Inglorious Bastards and believe that´s history, or U 571 or those cheap documentaries of History Channel where they see an episode of Air Aces and come out believing Gregory "Pappy" Boyington was the maximum air ace of WWII. There were no Me-262 nor Prien´s U 47 nor Bismarck nor Tigers, there were only "French Maquis" defeating single handed criminal Germans. And there was no war in the East, only a notion of a campaing that the Germans lost to a miracle winter in 1941 taking that way the reality that it was the Russians those that finally destroyed the Third Reich with their masses and costly sacrificy.
So, there is the reason, VeenenbergR , there is the reason. Ambrose Syndrome.
Byron Angel:
.... Good God! Don't take creatively bankrupt and morally cowardly Hollywood as being representative of the feelings of the American public; President Reagan's appearance at the ceremony honoring German war dead moved me deeply. It was IMO a true and honest gesture of reconciliation and it made me proud to be an American citizen.
You are right,
Byron, quite right. But bankrupt and cowardly is just a way to see it. There is purpose in that. A guy, which is not idelogically "friendly" to me,
Oliver Stone, mentioned today something odd:
"Hitler was an easy scapegoat". Read it, is all over internet. He is right in that sense, at least. Not saying Hitler´s crimes were not true. They were true, of course. But is the easy way out: blame Hitler and the Germans for everything, make them Darth Vader and the Evil Galactic Empire (Have you seen Star Wars and the start of A Bridge Too Far when Rundsted get´s into his HQ: it the same scene with the same music!).
Your mention of what Reagan did move me, too. No one like him: the greatest democratic leader the world ever had and a pragmatist! No wonder why his memory is hated by the left wing in Latin America. Back to topic: Reagan was a morally superior man which is why he honored the 7 million German dead. And that is why America is such a great country, because it´s capacity of putting men like him as leaders. How much he is missed and how much he is needed. RIP hero!
Byron is right, no doubt, we cannot confuse what stupidities Hollywood mades to what the average american knows and feels. But liberal education is changing things, potraying distorted lies to the young. In a time, Byron, Hollywood will be reality for million of afirmative action educated generations.
As Genda says, my preaches are boring. If that´s so, I ask forgiveness.
