Chigirl I did not know that happened to you. I know in your country they have a election in which Merkel who was from Kohl's party won the election from Schroder's party. The Greens had a impact but not this time. I read when the German's won the consolation World Cup from Portugal they sang their national anthem,Deutscheland Uber Alles. Do they stand up like the Americans?

 

What happened to me??? lol

Yes Merkel won (CDU Christian Democratic Union) against Schroeder (SPD Social party Deutschland). I think Schroeder did some good things since he brought in the changes Kohl so long denied making. However it hurts those German pockets and were unpopular so the SPD lost. The CDU doesn't however have a clear majority so it's compromise time on everything which is probably hard.

The Greens are not really who they used to be. They were in a coalition with the SPD during Schroeder's term and they watered down a lot of what was needed. In addition they are a bit to radical in their pursuit of green. I mean how much can one country surrounded by eastern european states do when they don't adopt the same principles or at least work in that direction. Long discussion needed to sort that one out.

Lastly, Germany and Germans went NUTS during the World Cup. Probably the first time since WWII that Germans were proud, flag swinging, national anthem singing citizens. Seeing the pictures made me happy and proud. Now we don't sing (or SHOULD not) sing "Deutschland ueber alles" that was the text of the anthem during Hitler's reign. It was changed afterwards. If anyone uses the old version you can be assured that they are Nazi's.
In general we are no way as patriotic as americans and never will be. American's are very (sometimes to) patriotic in my opinion. However we can stand to be a bit more proud. When someone in Germany says I am proud to be German it is associated with being Nazi... that has to change.

 

Chigirl,there is more to Germany than the twelve years of Nazi Rule. Before there was Frederick the Great,The Kaisers,The Weimar Republic,and the postwar boom which made their currencey the best in Europe before the Euro. Besides,inspite what happens in the Eastern part of Germany,the entire country ist gut.

 

I agree with you, Soul. The great things Germany has done in history gets overshadowed by the few yet brutal years of Nazi rule. I find it quite hypocritical to be honest. Afterall, America after more than 400 years of slavery still allowed Jim Crow to go on right into the 1970s. Yet not many people say America is a racist country. In case you didn't know, Germany has the best economy in the whole of Europe and on average, has one of the longest life expectancy rates in the world. Crime isn't as rampant there (although that may be the backdrop of America being more than 3 times the population of Germany) and the country has done its fair share to atone for its past (something a certain country has yet to do).

So there you go.

 

I agree with you both, the "problem" is that due to Germany dealing, in my opinion, well with our history we are also forced into the role of the ever guilty. I've mentioned in many discussions Germany is not the first or was the last country to cause genocide. Not that this is an excuse but it's not 'owned' by Germans it's not a "German thing" to do. The constant guilt created a mentality of which we now finally seem to come out of. It probably didn't help that our former Chancellor Kohl was at the reign for 16 years, not much fresh air or new attitude.
Israel and much of the Jewish commnity of course do not like the "new confident Germany" and do whatever they can to remind us of our place in history. I think we've done an amazing job addressing our past and dealing with it. I am ready to move on and so are many other Germans.

 

Also Chigirl, Japan did a lot of bad things as well and didn't get much of the guilt like Germany. A lot more genocide happened in other countries after WWII,it seems the Germans did theirs like a bureaucratic entity of recording every single detail of the jew,gypsy,and other minorities. Anyway,I doubt Japan would pay reparations to their Asian neighbors whom they invaded. Germany,has its faults but it is a country I continue to visit and most of all the German woman loves Black men either from Africa,Caribbean,America,or anywhere else. Leni Riefenstahl the german movie maker seems to love Black men since Jesse Owens even though she would not admit it to her death.