Germany’s selective amnesia after WWI

Since the anniversary of VE day is near I have decided to do some research on Germany’s selective amnesia after WWII using my favourite tool google. To my great surprise there is very little if nothing on that subject. I remember reading something on amnesia in Russia’s War Blood upon the Snow but this is the only exception. It is well known in Germany that the WWII was started by Nazis (read not Germans). “I still cannot figure out where they are coming from”. Most people in III Reich were not Nazis themselves, opposed the war of any kind in favour of peace. Killing infrastructure like concentration camps did not exist or were built by Nazis (not Germans). As far as I know wherever Germans forces showed up they manage to set up a little concentration camp even on Channel Islands. Anyway, what is a deal with this lost memory and recent attempts to rewrite the history by portraying oppressors as victims?

 

It's sort of like Japan's total amnesia about WW2, except for getting nuked twice. Must be something in the water.

 

I believe it is the shame also. But I´d like to remind that Germany was a dictatorship, there were no other parties, no other papers than the ones which said germany was always right, those who did not agree were sent to camps, there was s special guard in every block of flats who , if I recall correctly, was rewarded by money for telling the police who should be arrested for being against the government. Many people were guillotined.SO there is the other side to the story, but like said, shame is one of the reasons , I believe, why they do not want to put the "cat on the table". And the power of propaganda is huge, any nation can be turned against anyone with propaganda. But the blame is still theirs, no doubt about that. But remember the ones who died fighting the Hitler machine.

 

I found a very good link about German atrocities committed on women. Just wondering why post-war world did not go with Stalin’s idea of removing Germany and its people from the map of EU. German nation sickens me Execution of women by the Nazis

 

It´s because suddenly it was Stalin and communists who were the enemies of the free world. And Germany a friend again. That´s how the tables turn....

 

National pride is not served well by consistent looking over one's shoulder at past crimes. In many ways, both Germany and Japan had to simply start again and look forward. Maybe the watchword was "Don't mention the War". Crikey, I can remember the German family that moved into the block of units across the road from our townhouse block in Cabramatta, Australia. Their boy was soon nicknamed "Kraut", and other kids would sling him the Nazi salute when they wanted to get a rise from him. Even his mom and dad and sister had to endure this from kids on our street, simply because of their ethnic origins. No proof on the part of these children needed that they were guilty of anything accept their Germanic origins.


The defeat of Germany was a national disgrace, given the 'racial superiority' touted by the regime, a story that many German people followed a little too enthusiastically. To declare yourself "The Master Race" and then be comprehensively defeated by those same inferior races must have grated on the consciousness of the people themselves. Who would want to recall that?

Spike Milligan spoke for a generation..
"Passing groups of German prisoners. They get the usual treatment from the lads. Stiff arm salutes, rasberrys and shouts of "Ein Reich, Ein volk, ein arsehole!" Had we, the ordinary layabouts, beaten the formidable German Army?"

 

The Germans were not that happy about the war to begin with:

"On Friday morning, September 1, 1939, about five hours after the invasion of Poland had begun, Hitler was driven through the streets of Berlin, going from the Chancellery building to the Kroll Opera House, home of the Nazi Reichstag. News of the invasion had spread by now via radio announcements and special edition newspapers. However, people on the street reacted to the news of war with silent dread. The only cheering Hitler heard this day was from the handpicked members of his Nazi Reichstag."

It was after the victory in west 1940 that the people started to believe Germany was winning the war.

 

Hitler believed it was the home front that betrayed the soldiers in late ww1, and through propaganda he achieved that the home front did not fail in ww2.

 

What a potentially informative this topic has the potential to be. But an extremely complex one as well.

I think if you look at the heart of it, it is the story of most "losing" countries. No one wants to own the mantel of defeat longer than they have to, and the easiest way is to begin to disassociate yourself with that defeated regime.

The problem that existed with the Germans and Japanese is the brutality. A passionate opponent on the battlefield is one thing, but there is a line that can be crossed which cannot be forgotten when the battle ends.

But, that being said, some "victors" get a free pass on some acts of brutality simply because they are on the "winning" side. Stalin was brutal enough on his own troops, so is it any wonder that he condoned the brutalization of civilians after the war ?

I Remember talking to my German cousin about how the Germans viewed WWII. Basically they wanted to ignore it and when prodded to explain why it came down to Hitler, the Nazi's and the SS. Everyone wanted a scapegoat.

When things began to fall apart, it was everyman for themselves. Unfortunately, it's hard to say that it was the "other guy" when the NSDAP rolls had a membership over 8 million people. That's not a small group. Even within the military, you had post war finger pointing. Read Reitlinger's SS, Alibi of a Nation.

Was Hitler psychotic? Yes, absolutely. Did he have some good ideas, Yes, Absolutely. That's why people were willing to fall in line and ignore things. Cause when things are going good, who cares about the details. After the demoralizing defeat of WWI and the financial collapse they faced, who didn't want a little infusion of national pride and good times.

But they lost and here we are, a few generations out, and it is time to move forward. There comes a point in a nation when someone says OK, we have apologized enough for the misdeeds of that period in our history. We must look ahead and not back.

Just my humble $.02