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Should I never ask my German classmates about WW2/hitler?

F

FearoftheNight

Diamond Member
I'm studying abroad and I'm pretty friendly with some of my German classmates. I'm a little curious about their perspectives on this topic? But is it something that I should never talk about w/ them?
 
When I have discussed it with my German co-workers they brought it up. They had no issues talking about it, though.
 
My German friends had no problem talking about WW2. I was in Hamburg. They feel ashamed about it (not directly their fault, but still).

I wonder if the same can be said about the Japanese slaughtering tens of millions of Asians yet they just cover it up and pretend it never happened.
 
Originally posted by: KLin
They'll probably say "WE WEREN'T BORN YET!"
Click to expand...

Unless the OP has 90 year old classmates, I wouldn't worry about it. I am pretty much 100% German and I am extremely interested in WW2. To be honest, Hitler was a distant cousin of mine. He was an evil man, but a huge part in history.
 
It depends. Hamburg was one of the most anti-Nazi/Hitler cities in Germany, a lot of resistance stemmed from around that area, yet since the cities in Northern Germany were perceived as the centers of commerce and industry, these people got bombed the most. My grandmother who lived in Germany at the time has a lot to say about World War 2. Often times, she repeats her stories, adding in new bits of info/details when she remembers them.

I don't know what you'd hope to accomplish by talking with your German classmates about it--most people seem to either detest it or a few people--embrace it.
 
Originally posted by: NSFW
Originally posted by: KLin
They'll probably say "WE WEREN'T BORN YET!"
Click to expand...

Unless the OP has 90 year old classmates, I wouldn't worry about it. I am pretty much 100% German and I am extremely interested in WW2. To be honest, Hitler was a distant cousin of mine. He was an evil man, but a huge part in history.
Click to expand...

He was only a huge part of history because he was an evil man. Also, I wouldn't tell too many people that hitler was your cousin and then follow with "he was an evil man, BUT..."

There are no buts.
 
I never thought of it as rude to bring up. I asked some what the textbooks were like in grade school and they said it was like someone wagging their finger saying "Bad, bad, bad!"
 
German students are extensively taught about the Nazi times as a deliberate attempt by the German state to forestall any resurgance of the ideology.

In the last several years, you may have heard and read a ton about neo-Nazi skinheads in Germany. What most don't realize is that this happens almost exclusively in the parts that were the former East Germany.

During the entire time East Germany existed, there was ZERO anti-Nazi education, because the official stance of their Russian overseers was that all the citizens of East Germany were no doubt non-Nazi socialist working class heroes, and therefore no de-Nazification was necessary.

Ironic, no?
 
Originally posted by: finite automaton
Originally posted by: NSFW
Originally posted by: KLin
They'll probably say "WE WEREN'T BORN YET!"
Click to expand...

Unless the OP has 90 year old classmates, I wouldn't worry about it. I am pretty much 100% German and I am extremely interested in WW2. To be honest, Hitler was a distant cousin of mine. He was an evil man, but a huge part in history.
Click to expand...

He was only a huge part of history because he was an evil man. Also, I wouldn't tell too many people that hitler was your cousin and then follow with "he was an evil man, BUT..."

There are no buts.
Click to expand...

Don't get all high and mighty about it. Are you trying to deny he's a huge part of history? Just because he was a diabolical bastard doesn't mean we should ignore him. NSFW is dead on: he was an evil man, BUT still a huge part of history.
 
Originally posted by: alphatarget1
My German friends had no problem talking about WW2. I was in Hamburg. They feel ashamed about it (not directly their fault, but still).

I wonder if the same can be said about the Japanese slaughtering tens of millions of Asians yet they just cover it up and pretend it never happened.
Click to expand...

Although obviously one should never do something terrible and get away with it; personally I think we don't literally need every detailed history on genocide to remember it's wrong. Especially within asian culture, something like race can easily take society apart. So, for the future, it may be better to just forgive and forget.
 
On my flight from Frankfurt to New York City this summer, I had an old German lady sit next to me. She lived in Berlin during WWII and told me a few stories about the bombings. She would randomly talk to me in German because she was use to talking to her relatives while back to visit family in Germany.
 
Originally posted by: nestlewater
Originally posted by: alphatarget1
My German friends had no problem talking about WW2. I was in Hamburg. They feel ashamed about it (not directly their fault, but still).

I wonder if the same can be said about the Japanese slaughtering tens of millions of Asians yet they just cover it up and pretend it never happened.
Click to expand...

Although obviously one should never do something terrible and get away with it; personally I think we don't literally need every detailed history on genocide to remember it's wrong. Especially within asian culture, something like race can easily take society apart. So, for the future, it may be better to just forgive and forget.
Click to expand...

Hell no!

To forget something like that is to allow the possibility of it happening again.
At least the Germans admitted their wrongs and apologized, I'd be pretty pissed off if a relative had died in a Japanese death camp, with their "let's just forget about what we did and pretend it never happened" attitude, they owe their victims a big apology, at the very least.
 
It should also be noted that the modern world owes a lot to WW2 era German scientists. Rockets, anything nuclear and a lot of other technologies came from the Germans.
 
Originally posted by: NSFW
Originally posted by: KLin
They'll probably say "WE WERE ON VACATION"
Click to expand...

Unless the OP has 90 year old classmates, I wouldn't worry about it. I am pretty much 100% German and I am extremely interested in WW2. To be honest, Hitler was a distant cousin of mine. He was an evil man, but a huge part in history.
Click to expand...

Go watch the family guy episode "Road to Europe" to get the reference. Kthxbye.
 
Originally posted by: NSFW
It should also be noted that the modern world owes a lot to WW2 era German scientists. Rockets, anything nuclear and a lot of other technologies came from the Germans.
Click to expand...

That part is completely wrong. The German nuclear effort was massive and basic fail.



 
Originally posted by: NSFW
It should also be noted that the modern world owes a lot to WW2 era German scientists. Rockets, anything nuclear and a lot of other technologies came from the Germans.
Click to expand...

QFT, good thing a lot of them decided to come to the United States.
 
Originally posted by: barfo
Originally posted by: nestlewater
Originally posted by: alphatarget1
My German friends had no problem talking about WW2. I was in Hamburg. They feel ashamed about it (not directly their fault, but still).

I wonder if the same can be said about the Japanese slaughtering tens of millions of Asians yet they just cover it up and pretend it never happened.
Click to expand...

Although obviously one should never do something terrible and get away with it; personally I think we don't literally need every detailed history on genocide to remember it's wrong. Especially within asian culture, something like race can easily take society apart. So, for the future, it may be better to just forgive and forget.
Click to expand...

Hell no!

To forget something like that is to allow the possibility of it happening again.
At least the Germans admitted their wrongs and apologized, I'd be pretty pissed off if a relative had died in a Japanese death camp, with their "let's just forget about what we did and pretend it never happened" attitude, they owe their victims a big apology, at the very least.
Click to expand...

See how you're reacting? We have numerous historical reminders of genocide already. Asians are already very culturally clic.
 
Originally posted by: Perknose
Originally posted by: NSFW
It should also be noted that the modern world owes a lot to WW2 era German scientists. Rockets, anything nuclear and a lot of other technologies came from the Germans.
Click to expand...

That part is completely wrong. The German nuclear effort was massive and basic fail.
Click to expand...

I thought German scientists worked on the Manhattan Project?
(Netflix has a documentary on this that I have been meaning to watch)

Link for reference
 
Originally posted by: Pepsei
hmmm... if you go to china, don't ask about Tiananmen Square.
Click to expand...

First off, if you're refering to the various pictures of burnt bodies hanging off of bridges, those were the soldiers. The riot was Started by "extreme" students, "very few" in the bunch. The soldiers had no choice but to open fire. because the first to die were a few of the SOLDIERS

The politics behind it was this, China at the time = very fragile government, you allow bloated idealist students to riot, the gov lose face, and public faith. Every other country was riding ontop of their heads at the time, something like this unlikely democracy should be stopped.

The media will obviously spin it however they want to, and that is what most people hear. My source has been my friend's father who was a teacher at the time, and was there at the protest...

The current congregation of "Don't Forgets" are the same bunch of naive and misguided kids.
 
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