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Catfish · 01-21-13, 02:21 PM

Obviously, regarding the OP i can only speak of Germany

I went to school in the 70ies and 80ies, and we learned of the 'Nazi' atrocities in a lot of courses and lectures, including visiting some of the concentration camps, and seeing original footage of the time, and of the liberating armies.

Which certainly led to some questions regarding our elders .. it is certainly convenient to be born long after this time, and to think of oneself as an all-knowing superior being, and of surely having been a would-be hero against dictators, if only born in those times. You usually do NOT have the hindsight of the time you are living in.

There are also a lot of memory sites, museums and graveyards, along with the holocaust memory sites, and also 'monuments of shame', if you like to call it that.

I do not know though, how and if that much is being told today in Germany, about this time. And after all there is even more german history, than the 12 years of Hitler's dictatorship.

The problem is also the allied re-education project in Germany, there was also a lot of propaganda in it, e.g. WW1 was just explained as the typical german way to declare war to the world and be generally the bad guy. If you look a bit closer it's a lot of smoke and mirrors though. Niall Ferguson's 'The pity of war' is a real eye-opener in that respect. WW1, mind you.

When i look at what is done today in the name of 'freedom', 'helping' other nations or 'defense', and how the media report about atrocities internationally (atrocities and breaking of international law depending on who did it, otherwise it's the road to freedom), and how willingly people wage wars and join them for the 'right cause', i really do not think that people have learned much.

IMHO the problem is that people die too soon - when they have learned enough about how things and propaganda really work they die, and the new kids are as dumb as those in generations before, and they make the same errors again. And again.
How can you know as a kid, that your education is 'right' ?

That said, i think there is still more thinking about the bad old times in Germany, than in most other countries of the world. I do not want to attack our english or american friends, but i seldomly see a national monument of shame about anything, in their special imperial histories.

Thanks and greetings,
Catfish

01-21-13, 02:21 PM	#1
Catfish Dipped Squirrel Operative Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: ..where the ocean meets the sky Posts: 17,799 Downloads: 38 Uploads: 0	Obviously, regarding the OP i can only speak of Germany I went to school in the 70ies and 80ies, and we learned of the 'Nazi' atrocities in a lot of courses and lectures, including visiting some of the concentration camps, and seeing original footage of the time, and of the liberating armies. Which certainly led to some questions regarding our elders .. it is certainly convenient to be born long after this time, and to think of oneself as an all-knowing superior being, and of surely having been a would-be hero against dictators, if only born in those times. You usually do NOT have the hindsight of the time you are living in. There are also a lot of memory sites, museums and graveyards, along with the holocaust memory sites, and also 'monuments of shame', if you like to call it that. I do not know though, how and if that much is being told today in Germany, about this time. And after all there is even more german history, than the 12 years of Hitler's dictatorship. The problem is also the allied re-education project in Germany, there was also a lot of propaganda in it, e.g. WW1 was just explained as the typical german way to declare war to the world and be generally the bad guy. If you look a bit closer it's a lot of smoke and mirrors though. Niall Ferguson's 'The pity of war' is a real eye-opener in that respect. WW1, mind you. When i look at what is done today in the name of 'freedom', 'helping' other nations or 'defense', and how the media report about atrocities internationally (atrocities and breaking of international law depending on who did it, otherwise it's the road to freedom), and how willingly people wage wars and join them for the 'right cause', i really do not think that people have learned much. IMHO the problem is that people die too soon - when they have learned enough about how things and propaganda really work they die, and the new kids are as dumb as those in generations before, and they make the same errors again. And again. How can you know as a kid, that your education is 'right' ? That said, i think there is still more thinking about the bad old times in Germany, than in most other countries of the world. I do not want to attack our english or american friends, but i seldomly see a national monument of shame about anything, in their special imperial histories. Thanks and greetings, Catfish