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Yes it's unfair, and it starts getting old 70 years after the events
I'm French actually, but I had the chance to have a bicultural education (English/German) because I'm the scion of a highly cultivated family, and to see how Germans are pictured on French TV sometimes (I know, I know, ad usum delphini) or all that fuss around the last Tarantino's (Inglorious Bastards) makes me positively furious.
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I served 23 years in the USAF and consider myself SO fortunate to have served two tours in Germany. It is a wonderful country with so many wonderful people. German history is about FAR more than the few years when a madman was able seize control... As proud as I am of the U.S. military and our allies around the world, living in Germany was a jarring reminder of how insane war is. We lived three blocks from the cemetery at Bitburg where President Reagan laid the wreath to honor the fallen German soldiers. Critics derided the ceremony as "honoring the hated SS troops". Folks, we looked at those graves, There were 15, 16, 17-year old boys buried there. You had no choice but to serve during the Third Reich.
I'm sorry, but too many Americans who are clueless about Germany and world history throw the word "Nazi" around with absolutely no thought or understanding of what they are saying...
I served 23 years in the USAF and consider myself SO fortunate to have served two tours in Germany. It is a wonderful country with so many wonderful people. German history is about FAR more than the few years when a madman was able seize control... As proud as I am of the U.S. military and our allies around the world, living in Germany was a jarring reminder of how insane war is. We lived three blocks from the cemetery at Bitburg where President Reagan laid the wreath to honor the fallen German soldiers. Critics derided the ceremony as "honoring the hated SS troops". Folks, we looked at those graves, There were 15, 16, 17-year old boys buried there. You had no choice but to serve during the Third Reich.
I'm sorry, but too many Americans who are clueless about Germany and world history throw the word "Nazi" around with absolutely no thought or understanding of what they are saying...
Great post! True that many Americans toss around the term "Nazi" without really understanding the meaning, much less the historical content.
In current Germany Nazis exist, known as the NPD (Nazional Partei Deutschland). Their primary party platform is against all foreigners. Wherever they plan to march and have speeches they are met with a greater number of counter-demonstrators.
Few Americans know that possessing Nazi material (such as literature) is illegal in Germany. Some Nazi material sent to the German NPD has been supplied by Gary Lauch, an American (I think he lives in Nebraska).
Like CrewChief states, many who died during the latter part of WW2 are very young. The German military suffered severe shortages of able bodied men, so older boys were forced into service. One documentary film I've seen is of a 14 year old who manned an anti-aircraft gun. Upon being captured by the Americans he burst into tears, probably vastly relieved at being unharmed and knowing his ordeal is over.
I lived in Germany more than 18 years. German TV often shows old film clips, along with panel discussions about the Third Reich. From watching I've learned much about that infamous era and seen the same films countless times.
Many German cities were bombed to rubble. I think it's very commendable how they have been rebuilt so that no traces of destruction can be seen. Germany has maintained a terrific blend of historical structures and yet kept pace with the modern world.
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"reefer madness: reefer quits when hauling dairy stuff"
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Well said, Visvaldis! There's no better way to be educated about a place as living there for an extended period. And truly getting to know the people. Germany and Germans are FAR different than much of the U.S. media portrays them...
The thread is a few days old, but I'd still like to say something. I'm a german who moved to the U.S a few years ago. I don't really get why Americans think we are "way to organized" "pedant" etc. I don't think that's true. Every society needs to be organized to some extend, otherwise there would be chaos.
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Welcome to City-Data.com forum! Make sure to register - it's free and very quick! You have to register before you can post and participate in our discussions with 700,000 other registered members. User profiles and some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your free account you will be able to customize many options, you will have the full access to over 15,000 posts/day about local topics and you will see fewer ads. 
I'm fed up with that prejudice
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