Swastikas and Germany in the modern day...

[Gammelpreusse]

Originally Posted by areo16

Many war veterans cannot watch war films or play wargames. But I don't think that brings reason to ban such war films or wargames. I'm trying to understand your point?

War != War. War != holocaust. It's also a difference if only your soldiers are sent to some distant place to fight for a "just" cause or when your very own home becomes a battleground and your mere existence a matter of surivial, only to hear afterwards that during this battle some of humankinds most heideous crimes have been comitted in ->your<- name.
Not asking for you to understand it, I guess that comes down to trying to explain to a blind man how colors look like.

I would now like to direct the conversation to another concerned matter of mine:
How are German World War 2 veterans treated in modern day Germany?

Let me all put this in context from my American point of view. World War 2 vets are treated as the "king of veterans" here in the states. WW2 overshadowed WW1, and Korea was seemingly forgotten. For some reason the public turned its back on the Vietnam vets, and the Gulf War veterans don't get the praises of the WW2 veterans because the Middle East wars weren't as bloody or grand as WW2. But of course, I am exaggerating this all a little bit. We do treat all of our veterans well today. Much better than we did in the 60's or 70's.

That being said, we praise our WW2 vets. They are in the news, newspapers, and the movies about the conflict always are popular. Can the same be said of the German veterans of WW2 in Germany? How were and how are they treated in modern-day Germany? Is there a since of pride? Can good things be sought from their actions during the war, even though they fought on the losing end? They did have initial victories.

In regards to german soldiers, that is like asking for rape victims to be praised. Most people back then went through hell and for what? Some gangsters with grandeur complexes. Everything in regards to bravery they may have shown was tainted to the core by their very own leadership. They and their love for the nation got abused, used, that simple. Would you want to be reminded of that every year, no matter in what light it would be shown?

I remember my gradfather, a distinguished soldier, holder of the iron cross 2 class and commander of a quad 20mm AAA unit, who severd in France, Sicily and Italy, in Monte Cassino amongst other locations, breaking out in tears when asked about WW2.

Quote in regards to Hitler "That damn a**hole!"

He neither got nor wanted any appreciation for that whole affair.

Btw., the denazification after the war was not very effective in regards to actual "brainwashing". Nazis stayed on board throughout all levels of society. National Socialism was a good idea badly implemented was a regular point of view well into the 70ies. What really brought the turnaround in how the country dealt with it's past was initiated by the 68ers, as mentioned before.