American Reacts to How Germany Deals With Its Dark Past..

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[stace]

I'm British myself, had two grandads who fought in ww2 and 2 great uncles who were killed in ww1. I don't hold any hatred towards the Germans, even after the horrific stories my grandad told me or photos he had shown me. You can't hold a nation responsible for their ancestors actions. Every nation has a dark chapter, if you go back far enough. As a brit I'm not proud of things the British empire did in the past, and people still hate us for that hundreds of years later. Every German I've met has been very nice. The only rivalry we have with them these days is when it comes to the football. I think people should move on, and learn from past mistakes, and try to ensure it never happens again.

[jrick]

A german comedian once said, that germans are proud of not beeing proud. For me, the quote summarizes my feelings quite well.

[arno]

Oh boy. So much to say. As a German. So:
A. The „parents“ generation couldn’t deal with what had happened. They needed distance and forgiveness. Possibly trying to forget
B. So it had to be the next generation bringing up the „how could this have happened?“
C. The stumbling stones to me are beautiful. Heart-breaking as they should be. I bow down and kneel and read every single one of them. welling up. On the day of the night of broken glass, many Germans polish the stumbling stones. Place a flower next to them. What makes them so relevant and affecting is: you will be reminded that in this house, your house people were taken, removed, tortured and killed. And now you are there. How can you not feel the pain?! As a gay man, there‘s a good chance I would have ended up in a concentration camp. Time for me to be grateful. Or what we call „the blessing of being born after“.
I am not guilty of the past. But I sure am obliged to make sure nothing is forgotten. And hell yes, obliged to make today‘s Germany better. And see the signs if fascist ideas are in the rise. In Germany. Or anywhere.
Great reaction. Thank you!

[ottle]

basicall for me (and as far as I know most young germans) dont feel like we are responsible for the shit stuff our ancestors did, but we do feel the responsibility to not let shit like that happen again

[RainbowHomo]

The idea behind the stumble stones was that you have to bow down or even get on you knees to read them. In that way showing your respect to the murdered people.

[jensbarlau]

Greetings from Germany – I can understand that it is interesting why Germany did not start with analyzing its past right after the war even though it was the case in quite some instances, but the country itself had really other concerns in the first years after the war. A large portion of the infrastructure and houses were destroyed. Many people were driven from their lands that now belong to Poland. So there were millions of people that were homeless. That is of course not ment as an excuse, but it is understandable I think.

[pirangeloferretti]

All the Germans I ever met were very kind, generous, correct people. I'm all in favour of truth, but then a lot of very bad propaganda has been cast on a people that do not deserve that as a whole.

[BlackWater_]

8:18 I agree. Having them in the pavement has multiple advantages for example that they stick out of the grey pavement much more than out of the potentially more colourful facades, that when you read them you inevitably bow your head and probably most importantly that property owners can't object or prevent them from being installed since they're on the pavement which is public ground while wall plaques are installed on the buildings itself requiring the owners consent.

[JayNovak]

In school we also learn a lot about history. My school is named after the siblings Hans and Sophie Scholl, who were members of the „Weiße Rose“ (White rose), an organisation against Nazis and Hitler. On their Death Day we have a whole year in which we learn more about their story, WWII, Antisemitism then and today and also how to stand up against discrimination, hate speech and more. At all the WWII is a really big theme. Not only in history lessons but also in German, religion, politics and sometimes even music classes. In the 12. class one can make a Berlin trip (where everyone who wants rides to Berlin for a week). I was there this year and we were in a lot of museums and at all talked and learned a lot about WWII. When we are riding with our class to the last school trip we‘ll visit a concentration camp because we, as students wanted to go because we think one should see one once in their life to really realise what happened in WWII. So I think it’s right and important to learn a lot about that time so it never happens again.

[TMTMmmmy]

I actually take care to not step on the "stumbling stones" when I walk thru the streets.

[johanassumner]

Joel, you said on the other site that history wasnt you thing... we are seeing here again you absorbing history... not only the actual events... but the reactions and involvement of people both then and now. You are showing the features o09f an excellent historian... questioning... reasoning, comparing versions, reacting, drawing conclusions, and based on evidence making prediction. We all saw a wonderful side of you joel in this vlog. Keep it up young man... your comments during this would earn honours as an assignment in a masters history class

[kimscott]

I like the stones on the ground. As a tourist, I would probably not notice the ones on the wall, but I would notice something different about where I was waking, hence "stumbling stone", I guess.

[stefanus]

You asked: Is that really so ? Yes. I, for example, often asked my grandfather what the war was really like. He was very hesitant to answer, and it was obviously uncomfortable for him. But I also understand that it is difficult for a young man who has been deprived of his best years (22-27) to talk about it. My grandma often took me aside and said: Don't ask grandpa so much - he will tell you when he is ready for it. Very difficult topic.

[WetAdek]

Hey, I'm a polish living in germany and I quite enjoy your reaction videos about it. You dont stop every god damn second to comment on some pointless stuff. Good job man

[leglessinoz]

I had both an English grandfather and a German one (of Polish descent). One fought in Europe in WW1 against the Germans and the other one quickly distanced himself from Germany itself while never denying he was German. There was no animosity between them and they lived a street apart here in Australia.

[blacksheep]

As a German. in my younger years i thought "Why the fuck should I be responsible for what our ancestors did? Yes, it was the absolute horror. But what has our generation to do with it?"
Later I realized that it is not about guilt. It's about this dark history never, never ever repeats. And we still fight against populism, stupidity of the masses and assholes proclaiming "easy solutions" for big problems.
Thank you for this open and fair reaction!

[listey]

I'd be fascinated to see you react to a video on how the US deals with its dark past.

[derravensberger]

To be able to reflect on the past, you have to have a personal distance. Untill 1955, when the last POW came back from the USSR, many people where focused on rebilding - a lot of them where directly involved, be it as soldier, party member or silent witness. It took until the late sixties, after the children born after the war went to university, that the discussion became more personell. And the sight regarding the war has changed even later - it was the speach of Richard von Weizsäcker, the then president of West Germany, in 1985 that helped shine a light at the connection between January 1933, September 1939 and May 1945.

[johnfisher]

That was a good video Joel and I agree with you that Germany does deal with its past. For context, my grandfather and great uncles fought in World War 1 in the British and Canadian armies, my father was World War 2 and Cold War, and I was Cold War and Bosnian War. During my military career, my German colleagues would comment that we could be proud of what our parents did during World War 2, but they looked at their parents’ generation with shame, as if the were all on drugs and nuts! That was a perspective I had never contemplated.

My grandfather was a prisoner-of-war and some of my classmates’ fathers had also been prisoners-of-war. Some of my high school teachers were World War 2 veterans from both sides! My better half’s grandfather was Luftwaffe infantry, serving in Army Group North, at the Siege of Leningrad. He and I used to have great chats about the war, and I would take him to the officers’ mess to socialize, where he was always warmly received and peppered with questions.

In my view, the duty of present-day Germans is not to perpetuate guilt, but to preserve history and example as a warning, so that no other nation is tempted to go down a similar path. Before the war, Germany had one of the most advanced cultures in the world, in the arts, architecture, philosophy, music, science, engineering, and technology, yet in only 12 years (1933-45) it destroyed itself and changed the world forever. A warning indeed. Great choice of videos and reaction Joel. John in Canada

[Mike-hrns]

there is a song by a very well-known German rock-metal band about the German past. The band is called Rammstein and the song Deutschland. Watch this video, which is very impressive, with English lyrics. It will surely impress you very much