Oh my goodness, totally OT on this one...but mildly interesting...
- Thread starter phillinois
- Start date
Good point Schooner'.
As the history I've read reflects that the Catholics didn't have any better chance with the Nazis than did the Jews.
Although, I'll agree that the Jews were #1 on the hit list for extermination.
Followed by Gypsies, gays...well anyone that wasn't Aryan pure blood Germanic.
Hitlers short list for those to be spared wasn't that long.
He was pretty well, a monster of epic proportions.
(Funny, there's considerable evidence that Hitler was part Jewish.
Go figure on that nugget)
As the history I've read reflects that the Catholics didn't have any better chance with the Nazis than did the Jews.
Although, I'll agree that the Jews were #1 on the hit list for extermination.
Followed by Gypsies, gays...well anyone that wasn't Aryan pure blood Germanic.
Hitlers short list for those to be spared wasn't that long.
He was pretty well, a monster of epic proportions.
(Funny, there's considerable evidence that Hitler was part Jewish.
Go figure on that nugget)
Hitler's birthday (along with my youngest son's: you know the one...) is 4/20. The Branch Davidians & Murrah bldg explosion/bombing anniversaries are on this day (actually the 4/21 I think). I don't know if these are mere coincidences or what to think actually.
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Hitler was an example of political maneuvering gone very wrong.....he played upon the fear and anger that resulted from Germany's defeat in WWI and the extreme punishment of Germany that followed and found a convenient scapegoat in the Jews.
Hitler's rise and fall should be regarded as an everlasting lesson in bigotry, but it isn't.
Ever wonder how German children are taught about WWII.....or if they care to know ?
Hitler's rise and fall should be regarded as an everlasting lesson in bigotry, but it isn't.
Ever wonder how German children are taught about WWII.....or if they care to know ?
I think the date of Waco & the OKC bombing was 4/19 as it was my Grandpa's birthday.
I'm not sure how much the Germans cover this period in school, but they undoubtedly are very aware and ashamed at thst portion of their nations history. Swaztikas and anything having to do with the Nazi's and Hitler and pretty much illegal there now. When I was stationed in Germany we had quite quite a few German Air Force guys we hung out with. One day we were all over at my place and I am at huge WWII buff and I had quite at few books on my book shelf. One of the books was "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" and the sleeve of the book had the Nazi Swaztika on it. I will never forget the reaction of my German friends when they saw it. They couldn't believe I had that in my place while living in Germany. It would be the equivalent reaction to walking into your friends house and funding some meth or drugs laying on the table. I later found out that Germany banned the symbols of Nazi Germany and even banned anything of that nature being mailed to Germany from outside the country. It's a very serious matter over there.
And another thing...if anyone visits Germany, please don't make a fool of yourself by doing the "Heil Hitler " crap over there and thinking it's funny. It's not. You can get arrested for it, not to mention you are only making yourself look like a total jackass.
You're quite right about all of that Billy.
I had that book too. One of my favs. Big read that one, like War and Peace.
I've always been a WW2 buff too, and have read everything I could get my hands on about it, which is shockingly extensive. I got to think more authors were made millionaires on that war than the Nazi officers that were. (think Oskar Schindler)
Also, when you're looking at the coins et al on Ebay, it says illegal to ship to both Germany and France.
I had that book too. One of my favs. Big read that one, like War and Peace.
I've always been a WW2 buff too, and have read everything I could get my hands on about it, which is shockingly extensive. I got to think more authors were made millionaires on that war than the Nazi officers that were. (think Oskar Schindler)
Also, when you're looking at the coins et al on Ebay, it says illegal to ship to both Germany and France.
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I have the book(s) also. It's a two set hard back with the Nazi symbol. Here's a story that's more interesting and it kind of contradicts your vision of the Germans after WW2.
I had a part-time employee, let's call her Elke, that married an American GI during the occupation following the war. She didn't need to work, she drove a personal BMW as her company car and refused to fill out a simple expense report. She and her family were rich. I'm talking Swiss Chalets and silver spoons before the war. Her brother is or was a famous abstract painter from Germany and her family owned most of the gift shops in every airport in Europe.
Her father and Uncle were hardened SS. One was a doctor and one a lawyer. She told me all professionals were required to join the SS in those days or be shot. She admitted they joined freely. They both survived the war. Her father hated her for many years for marring an American GI.
She gave me a book her father wrote describing the conditions he suffered directly after be captured. He was in a fenced pen above the Rhine river and they were being starved and given no water. His finger was cut off for his wedding ring because it had swelled so bad the Allies couldn't get it off.
She described the immediate time following the armistice. Germany was flooded with Muslims to replace the Jews that left for Israel. The German nationals were expected to be tolerant with the new influx, with the threat of jail.
I could write more, but you get the gist immediately after the war. I never agreed with her, but just found it interesting. She died a German National.
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the rise and fall of the third reich on the history channel is the best documentary ever,and is a must see for any student,american citizen or human being.
Ya man that's a really good documentary for sure!
A few of my other favs are,
Nazis - A Warning from History
The Fatal Attraction of Adolf Hitler
World at War
World at War is prolly the best series on WWII of all time. It was made in the 1970s. It has lots of interviews of the people who were there and made the decisions that shaped the war and that have long since passed away.
I lived in Germany as I did my post-doctorate at the MaxPlanckInstitute (one of thirty-eight of the MPIs) for almost three years. I lived as a German, being paid in marks and having no contact with the American military. I couldn't even get on post to buy pancake flour. For all intents, I was German, and my son was born in Heidelberg.
This is in the late seventies. The young people didn't know much about the war or the causes for it. Those who were fifty or more made absolutely certain that you knew that they hated Hitler and the Nazis. It was so unanimous that I wondered how he had acquired power with a nation that "hated" him. The cynical remarks of Richard Widmark in Judgement at Nurembourg that "haven't you heard? There are no Nazis in Germany. There have never been any Nazis in Germany,' are best understood after you have heard the same sentiments from so many.
The older people seemed to be very concerned that you didn't believe that they were a part of the Nazi era. They did keep the lid on any neo-Nazi effort, and there has always been one, although probably no more o than in the US. They did learn one thing from the Nazi era. I think they are much more concerned about the preservation of human rights than are most Americans. They have seen what happens when you aren't.
It did take the hospital six days to find a Jewish priest (?) that could circumcize our son. They kind of disappeared from Germany.
The Turks were imported because Germany lost so many young men from its work force due to the war. They didn't have enough males. They lost over five million young males in a population of about sixty million. That is more than a slight dent.
This is in the late seventies. The young people didn't know much about the war or the causes for it. Those who were fifty or more made absolutely certain that you knew that they hated Hitler and the Nazis. It was so unanimous that I wondered how he had acquired power with a nation that "hated" him. The cynical remarks of Richard Widmark in Judgement at Nurembourg that "haven't you heard? There are no Nazis in Germany. There have never been any Nazis in Germany,' are best understood after you have heard the same sentiments from so many.
The older people seemed to be very concerned that you didn't believe that they were a part of the Nazi era. They did keep the lid on any neo-Nazi effort, and there has always been one, although probably no more o than in the US. They did learn one thing from the Nazi era. I think they are much more concerned about the preservation of human rights than are most Americans. They have seen what happens when you aren't.
It did take the hospital six days to find a Jewish priest (?) that could circumcize our son. They kind of disappeared from Germany.
The Turks were imported because Germany lost so many young men from its work force due to the war. They didn't have enough males. They lost over five million young males in a population of about sixty million. That is more than a slight dent.