Quote:
Originally Posted by finnbow
My earlier point was that modern-day Germany has done a very good job in coming to terms with the atrocities committed in its name during WWII (unlike Japan). Was it also incorrect to have said Japan in this context (as opposed to some convoluted construction like "the militant followers of Hideki Tojo")? Similarly, should any criticism of the American first use of the A-Bomb at Hiroshima be directed solely to members of the Army Air Corp or Roosevelt/Truman's Democratic Party? 
As for there having been another Germany from 1933-1945, there was certainly political opposition in the early years. But, it faded quickly with the growth of the (militarizing) German economy and the ease of early battlefield victories. You would have been hard-pressed to find many skeptics among average Germans after his march into the (demilitarized) Rhineland in March 1936 or the overwhelming victory against France in May-June 1940. At the risk of offending you, I believe that a lot of modern-day Germans try to downplay the level of support Hitler had. It did indeed become overwhelming before it all came crashing down.
This tendency among nations to airbrush their pasts is not unique to Germany. Currently, there are a lot of Republicans who want to edit what is taught in American History in high school to emphasize only the positive while ignoring the negative. |
And people tend to conform, once they realize the futility of opposition. The Nazis had efficiently systematically terrorized Germany.
02-20-2015, 02:06 PM
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