German POWs buried in America to be honored

[GTaudiophile]

Text

FORT BENNING, Georgia (AP) -- They are foreign enemies buried thousands of miles from home, but they are not forgotten.

 

[DurocShark]

Love it! Thanks for the link!

 

[Ausm]

That is the right thing to do!

Ausm

 

[waggy]

even though they were in the German army the soldier still deserves respect. good story!

 

[BW86]

right thing to do.

good read

 

[bobbybe01]

:thumbsup:

 

[Analog]

I wonder if the Russians would ever do something like this (to the German POWs that died there..)

 

[K1052]

Originally posted by: yellowfiero
I wonder if the Russians would ever do something like this (to the German POWs that died there..)

I kind of doubt it.

The Eastern front saw the most vicious fighting of the war. The level of death and destruction wreaked by the Germans and Russians upon each other was unseen in warfare up until that time.

 

Originally posted by: bobbybe01
:thumbsup:

 

[Mermaidman]

Why do soldiers get honored even if they fought for an evil cause?

 

[DurocShark]

Originally posted by: Mermaidman
Why do soldiers get honored even if they fought for an evil cause?

Because soldiers fight for their country. Whether the cause is evil or just isn't decided by them.

Should we stop honoring our soldiers for fighting in Iraq when many think THAT's an evil cause?

STFU.

 

[K1052]

Originally posted by: Mermaidman
Why do soldiers get honored even if they fought for an evil cause?

Many of them were just soldiers fighting for their country. Wehrmacht soldiers were not allowed to be Nazi party members. Though, there are instances of Wehrmacht soldiers committing atrocities, particularly on the Eastern front.

 

[Bumrush99]

Originally posted by: DurocShark

Originally posted by: Mermaidman
Why do soldiers get honored even if they fought for an evil cause?

Because soldiers fight for their country. Whether the cause is evil or just isn't decided by them.

Should we stop honoring our soldiers for fighting in Iraq when many think THAT's an evil cause?

STFU.

WTF is up with your attitude, he was posing a valid question. Do you think everyone is as enlightened as you?

 

[Mermaidman]

Originally posted by: DurocShark

Originally posted by: Mermaidman
Why do soldiers get honored even if they fought for an evil cause?

Because soldiers fight for their country. Whether the cause is evil or just isn't decided by them.

Should we stop honoring our soldiers for fighting in Iraq when many think THAT's an evil cause?

STFU.

A WW2 German soldier either
1) was evil
2) was brainwashed
3) didn't care that his country's cause was evil, or
4) was otherwise unable to not aid his country's evil cause.

The heroic thing to do would have been to resist his leaders. The soldiers who plotted to kill Hitler, had they succeeded, may have spared Germany another year of destruction!

 

[K1052]

Originally posted by: Mermaidman

Originally posted by: DurocShark

Originally posted by: Mermaidman
Why do soldiers get honored even if they fought for an evil cause?

Because soldiers fight for their country. Whether the cause is evil or just isn't decided by them.

Should we stop honoring our soldiers for fighting in Iraq when many think THAT's an evil cause?

STFU.

A WW2 German soldier either
1) was evil
2) was brainwashed
3) didn't care that his country's cause was evil, or
4) was otherwise unable to not aid his country's evil cause.

The heroic thing to do would have been to resist his leaders. The soldiers who plotted to kill Hitler, had they succeeded, may have spared Germany another year of destruction!

That oversimplifies the situation quite a bit, IMO.

You have to take into account the post WWI years and the Germany's internal problems that were caused by the terms of the peace treaty and the depression.

It is easy to judge everyone in hindsight, though rarely fair.

 

[Analog]

Originally posted by: K1052

Originally posted by: Mermaidman

Originally posted by: DurocShark

Originally posted by: Mermaidman
Why do soldiers get honored even if they fought for an evil cause?

Because soldiers fight for their country. Whether the cause is evil or just isn't decided by them.

Should we stop honoring our soldiers for fighting in Iraq when many think THAT's an evil cause?

STFU.

A WW2 German soldier either
1) was evil
2) was brainwashed
3) didn't care that his country's cause was evil, or
4) was otherwise unable to not aid his country's evil cause.

The heroic thing to do would have been to resist his leaders. The soldiers who plotted to kill Hitler, had they succeeded, may have spared Germany another year of destruction!

That oversimplifies the situation quite a bit, IMO.

You have to take into account the post WWI years and the Germany's internal problems that were caused by the terms of the peace treaty and the depression.

It is easy to judge everyone in hindsight, though rarely fair.

If they resisted, they may have been executed.

 

[GTaudiophile]

Originally posted by: Mermaidman

Originally posted by: DurocShark

Originally posted by: Mermaidman
Why do soldiers get honored even if they fought for an evil cause?

Because soldiers fight for their country. Whether the cause is evil or just isn't decided by them.

Should we stop honoring our soldiers for fighting in Iraq when many think THAT's an evil cause?

STFU.

A WW2 German soldier either
1) was evil
2) was brainwashed
3) didn't care that his country's cause was evil, or
4) was otherwise unable to not aid his country's evil cause.

The heroic thing to do would have been to resist his leaders. The soldiers who plotted to kill Hitler, had they succeeded, may have spared Germany another year of destruction!

What about option 5: fight or we'll send your parents and siblings to the concentration camp?

Germany was suffering from the treaty of Verletsstartanotherwar. Hyper inflation, massive unemployment, and all industry being shipped to France. The German people would have followed Mickey Mouse had he said that killing all cat lovers would bring an end to the depression.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: Mermaidman

Originally posted by: DurocShark

Originally posted by: Mermaidman
Why do soldiers get honored even if they fought for an evil cause?

Because soldiers fight for their country. Whether the cause is evil or just isn't decided by them.

Should we stop honoring our soldiers for fighting in Iraq when many think THAT's an evil cause?

STFU.

A WW2 German soldier either
1) was evil
2) was brainwashed
3) didn't care that his country's cause was evil, or
4) was otherwise unable to not aid his country's evil cause.

The heroic thing to do would have been to resist his leaders. The soldiers who plotted to kill Hitler, had they succeeded, may have spared Germany another year of destruction!

heh just a little bit wrong there. While that may hold for the SS it does not work for the average soldier.

They had pride in there country just like many in the US do. After WWI Germany was really screwed. It kept Germany down for years. It is no surprise that they rebelled against the treaty's they were forced to sign.

Its not that they didn't care that what was going on. Its they really couldn't do anything about it. If they argued about it they were killed.


While i agree the SS troops were evil. The average German soldier just did what he was called on to do. That was to fight for his country.



oh and i know of 2 German soldiers that were not evil. My grandfather (on my mothers side) came over after WWII and yes he was a fought for them. Also my wife's grandmother was a nurse in the German Army.

 

[GTaudiophile]

Among the invited guests are the German consul general in Atlanta...

I speak with that guy like once a week...guess I should ask to join him on Wednesday...

 

[MichaelD]

I found this an interesting read; I learned many things I did not know, such as German POWs were workers in the fields and they got paid.

I agree w/many points in the article, such as "They also fought for Fatherland and Country and gave all they could; their lives".

Still, War is War. I'm curious to hear the opinions of those Americans that actually fought in WWII.

There are none on this board, but possibly some of our older members have a Grandfather that's still alive that fought in WWII?

American POWs were not treated so kindly. The same applies today.

Mr. Iraqi goat farmer fires his AK47 at American troops when they are 1/4 mile away. As they storm his house, he throws his gun down, hugs his children and shouts prayers to Allah, proclaiming to be a man of peace...until the Americans walk past him and he picks the gun up again.

War has many different opinions.

 

[Squisher]

My wife was watching a special the other day on German POWs in this country.

I found it shocking at the number that were hauled over here(425K)

There was also a big stink about the lavish conditions that the POWs were kept under in comparison to the average U.S. citizen with all the war rationing going on.

Things changed when we started showing the conditions of POW camps in Germany.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
I found this an interesting read; I learned many things I did not know, such as German POWs were workers in the fields and they got paid.

I agree w/many points in the article, such as "They also fought for Fatherland and Country and gave all they could; their lives".

Still, War is War. I'm curious to hear the opinions of those Americans that actually fought in WWII.

There are none on this board, but possibly some of our older members have a Grandfather that's still alive that fought in WWII?

American POWs were not treated so kindly. The same applies today.

Mr. Iraqi goat farmer fires his AK47 at American troops when they are 1/4 mile away. As they storm his house, he throws his gun down, hugs his children and shouts prayers to Allah, proclaiming to be a man of peace...until the Americans walk past him and he picks the gun up again.

War has many different opinions.

My grandfather on my mothers side was in the german army. My grandfaather on my fathers side was in the Army.

I remember them sitting around and drinking beer talking about the war. There was no hatred, No arguing about who was right. They just respected each other as Soldiers.

 

[olds]

So they probably shot at and killed our troops and we are going to honor them?

 

[Ronstang]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
So they probably shot at and killed our troops and we are going to honor them?

Grow up.

 

[Triumph]

Originally posted by: Mermaidman

Originally posted by: DurocShark

Originally posted by: Mermaidman
Why do soldiers get honored even if they fought for an evil cause?

Because soldiers fight for their country. Whether the cause is evil or just isn't decided by them.

Should we stop honoring our soldiers for fighting in Iraq when many think THAT's an evil cause?

STFU.

A WW2 German soldier either
1) was evil
2) was brainwashed
3) didn't care that his country's cause was evil, or
4) was otherwise unable to not aid his country's evil cause.

The heroic thing to do would have been to resist his leaders. The soldiers who plotted to kill Hitler, had they succeeded, may have spared Germany another year of destruction!

You've never talked to a real soldier, have you? Chain of command, obeying orders, formations, strict regulations, are all tools used to quench the desire to question authority. A soldier will tell you that it isn't his job to question, his duty is to follow out his orders. This is absolutely necessary for any army to function, time tested throughout history. In a sense, yes, the German soldiers were brainwashed, just like the soldiers of ancient Rome, the Crusaders, Napoleonic France, the Spanish Inquisition, and our soldiers fighting in Iraq right now. What you're really criticizing is the practice of warfare.