Teh Nazis!

[CaptainHaplo]

My mother, a naturalized US citizen - was born in Germany in 45. My maternal grandfather was a Nazi. It took me over a year longer than normal to get my security clearance because of that fact. Turns out he was a party member on the basis of being asked if he was, with a gun to his head. He gave the only answer that meant his immediate survival so he could care for his family. I never met the man, he died well before I was born. But I think no less of him because of his answer.

To say that every German was a Nazi is a gross distortion of reality. Many were - at the point of a gun. In a country being torn apart by war, when your asked by thugs who you know will pull the trigger if they don't like the answer, and you have children and one on the way - what would your answer be?

To claim that Germans did nothing to stop the rise of Hitler to power is pure fallacy and demonstrates a total lack of understanding history.

Now - as to the question of how to move past the issue of Nazi-ism in today's youth hero worship world. First off the German government needs to stop trying to suppress the reality - swastikas exist. Nazi-ism exists. History - exists. What you tell youth they cannot see, display, learn about, etc, only makes them want to do wo. But here is the key. Not one German leader today was part of the Party Heirarchy that led Germany in those terrible years.

Today in the US some people still agitate for "reparations" to blacks for the history of slavery this country has. My response - "If I ever have a slave, then I should pay.". Simply put - it wasn't me that did it, and it won't be me that pays for it. I have never owned a slave, I recognize every person's equality as a human, and thus I owe nothing to the descendants of those who were enslaved.

Same thing applies to Germany today. The SOCIETY of Germany has to learn to stop feeling sorry for the actions of people other than themselves. They didn't create the Nazi menace, they didn't allow it to build power. What they must do is learn to stand tall and say "We are smarter, we are wiser, and we are united in not allowing it to happen again - we learn the history lesson and will not repeat the errors of OTHERS - for these errors were not our own."

Only then can German society put that period of history in perspective. Once they do, then they can look any accusation referring back to nazism in the eye - and respond with pride that they have learned the lesson of history, matured as a society, and that it is sad to see their accuser has not matured as much in this day and age.

Nationalism is strong in the German heart. Its hard to look at your grandfather and think what they may have been a part of. But its time to stop living in their shadow. Do that and you open doors for true pride in things worth being proud of.