News Reverse classism/being afraid of germany or germans

[Never_falter2]

Yes, I only wanted to say that there have been no massacres or a plan to infect people with tuberculosis. It was something that happened because of poor living conditions, but nobody said: Let‘s infect them all with tuberculosis.

 

[shimmerz]

I think it is legit to try and talk about class,

Me too. Classism is still at the root of many deaths. That was the thing that was pointed out but relating to historical timeliness right?

It still is.

 

[shimmerz]

I am really sorry for your fate.

It's not my fate yet @Never_falter , but thank you. I don't know where your country is so can't look up what you are saying but I believe you.

And yes, you are right, in that circumstance you describe, those are horrors. Shouldn't be happening to anybody. Just not quite certain this was about classism rather than theft. It doesn't make any sense to steal from the poor.

 

[Never_falter2]

Oh, we do not have those little flags anymore. I forgot. I was talking about Eastern Germany.

I was born in 1988, in 1989 the system was history. I had a good life... but I always asked myself why they hated my kind so much... like what we actually did to them to be hated so much at this time of history... and when we discussed it in school the teacher was a commie and she just said that it was just done to correct a historical wrong... you know, for the love of humankind... and then I grew afraid that one day they think they must correct a wrong again.. because I think there are people who believe that for the sake of human kind the likes of us must be kept down... I do not understand why there are people who believe upper middle class and upper class people are dangerous because typically they do not do a thing. They just want to be helpful.

 

[Ronin]

It doesn't make any sense to steal from the poor.

No, it makes perfect sense to steal from the poor:

You have a whole group to blame so very fast, and a group of people that is also useful, because having nothing to lose and a lot to gain. It is so super fast divide and conquer one does not have to be Einstein to come up with it.

 

[shimmerz]

Yes, I can relate to having nothing to lose.

My apologies @Never_falter , I did not at all recognize that you were German. My parents were as well and I believe they were so incredibly in-adept at parenting me (why I am here) because they were raised in the war. Generational trauma is a thing... cultural too ... even if the children were not raised in the culture.

A horrifying time. I can't imagine it and I can see how you would have been greatly influenced by such. Thanks so much for staying so cool with me and helping me to understand.

 

[Never_falter2]

Yeah, no problem. I like to inform people about that, not sure if you know the German saying: The ones who do not know history will repeat it. Basically this.

I think we have a complicated fatherland and I am not sure if we have much talent for democracy... but let‘s hope so.

When did your parents arrive in the US?

 

[shimmerz]

Mine came to Canada back in the 60's. They knew nothing besides the war until they were 6, which is just about long enough to screw up their development. And then mine.

Oddly enough I met them (I was taken from them and adopted out) at 19 years of age and was booked to go on a trip to Germany with them but the day prior to my leaving I was hospitalized with severe pneumonia. Looking back now I am going to suggest that that pneumonia was actually somatics in action. I rarely have been sick, ever really. The timing of all of that and knowing what I know now, it just seems odd.

I actually should have known you were from Germany from what you were speaking about. I just didn't think of the impact at that time in history.

 

[Never_falter2]

Okay... I hope I am not overstepping my borders here.
In another thread @shimmerz shared her ancestry is German and her parents grew up during the big war... and it seemed to me that she is stressed a bit by the idea of Germany, going to Germany... but I might be wrong.
So I have met people before who were a bit stressed by Germans, especially German soldiers... but as the wife of a German vet I can say that modern Gernan soldiers are very friendly people.

I know @Hojay is German and @joeylittle did research about Germans and I just want to ask you: do you think that one must be stressed by Germans?
I do think one can have a fun time in Germany and would really like to say that people should come to Germany to meet the fun and friendly people and have an enjoyable time with them.

I can understand that people who do not know Germany must think it is a hell hole because of our history... and yes, it is not an easy fatherland... and maybe we do not have a great talent for democracy... but modern day Germans they are really friendly and approachable people... of course there is always exceptions from the rule.

 

[bellbird]

Hi :) German, here. Well, part German part British to be exact.

do you think that one must be stressed by Germans?

I don't think that one must be stressed by Germans.
I believe it is possible, in fact I know it is possible, for this to be the case, given I have ancestors who fought on opposite sides of the War.
But I also know that it is possible for even those who were bombed by Germans to graciously accept "modern day Germans" into their family :)

 

[Briar Rose]

Hi!
I am German living in Germany, and I don’t think you must be to stressed around us.
I mean there are idiots everywhere…but most Germans are friendly and open-minded.
My Grandparents grew up during the second world War as well, but their family didn’t talk about this a lot, I only remember my great-grandmother bursting into tears when she got reminded. She never revisited the place she lived that time etc. so I am able to understand someone might be stressed around Germany and Germans, with a family history like that….
And I can tell you we are really educated around that topic, and really aware of it. It is a big thing in our schools over years.

Germany is very multicultural these days, especially in the younger Generation like mine (I am 30). I mean we can seem to be a bit reserved because we don’t seem to be really ‘outgoing’…
I can’t speak about soldiers to be honest, I don’t know any.
Just British soldiers because there were a lot in a town nearby I grew up, and a lot of them stayed after the barracks get closed etc.
So we don’t seem to be unpleasant to be around :D
I would rather say we are curious about foreigners, this might get misinterpreted?
When we ask where you come from etc. it's because we really want to know!
Germany has a variety of beautiful places to visit, and tourism is getting bigger and bigger the last years, especially after the World cup 2006.
Germay is really welcoming around foreigners! :)

 

[Hojay]

People love to project all flavors of inherent evil onto the German psyche. What better way to explain the atrocities of the 20th Century than to assume there is something wrong with Germans in general? It’s only natural to split off such balant horrors and attribute them to “the other”; to think within dichotomies of good vs. evil. The issue with this reasoning is that such a split will most certainly ensure that history will repeat itself. If we don’t recognize that the potential for evil is in all of us, not just Germans in the 1930s/40s, we will be blind to the horrors we are perpetrating ourselves.

In other words, no. There is no reason to be “stressed around Germans.” If you’re stressed around Germans, be stressed around humans in general. What happened during the war was immensely complex and complicated. Reducing it to some imagined pathology in the German psyche is not only shortsighted, it’s dangerous for all of us.