Do Germans Talk About World War II? What Do They Teach About the Holocaust? | Feli from Germany
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- Опубликовано: 15 май 2024
- Do Germans talk about the Holocaust? What do they teach about World War II in school? And is it okay to make a Hitler joke around a German? These are questions I get asked all the time and in this video, you'll find out how Germany has dealt with this topic publicly since the end of WWII [00:01:52], what German students learn about it in school [00:09:22] (I asked my German viewers for their experiences!) [00:14:40], and whether or not it's okay to confront a German with the topic [00:29:37].
Anni's (@AmericasGotGermans) full response video▸ • Do Germans Talk about ...
When you ask a German something about WW2 by @RadicalLiving ▸ • When you ask a German ...
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00:00 Intro
1:52 Germany's Vergangenheitsbewältigung (coping with the past)
9:22 Learning About WWII - My experience
14:40 Learning About WWII - Other experiences
29:37 Confronting Germans
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ABOUT ME: Hallo, Servus, and welcome to my channel! My name is Felicia (Feli), I'm 29, and I'm a German living in the USA! I was born and raised in Munich, Germany but have been living in Cincinnati, Ohio off and on since 2016. I first came here for an exchange semester during my undergrad at LMU Munich, then I returned for an internship, and then I got my master's degree in Cincinnati. I was lucky enough to win the Green Card lottery and have been a permanent resident since 2019! In my videos, I talk about cultural differences between America and Germany, things I like and dislike about living here, and other topics I come across in my everyday life in the States. Let me know what YOU would like to hear about in the comments below. DANKE :)
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Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to fill out the survey! It was important to me to have different German voices heard in this video.
What were your experiences like learning about World War II and the Holocaust? Did you go to school in Germany or somewhere else? Let me know in the comments!
Both sets of my grandparents were holocaust survivors from Hungary, my paternal grandparents lost most of their immediate families (parents, grandparents, siblings, in-laws, nephews and nieces) at the Holocaust (most of them in the Auschwitz gas chambers), my maternal grandparents' respective families mostly survived, and only went through the torturing and imprisonment parts of the Holocaust, but eventually survived.
There were a lot of tragedies in my country (Ukraine) due to it being one of the most suffered parts of USSR by Nazi occupation, and a place with the largest Jewish population in Soviet Union. But I feel like the most important here is to learn lessons about your nation dark pages, sometimes in a hard way. Russians carried genocide in 1933 in Ukraine and after world war II we've been told for 50 years that population decrease in Ukraine was caused only due to severe Nazi occupation (it did have millions of victims, but barely more than artificial famine in 1933). And ever since Russians denied their wrongdoings, which resulted in today's aggression.
My father was born in the 1940s. Which means my grandparents were around teenagers, early twenties during the war.
I never asked about their experiences, I instinctively knew it would rip open wounds that had taken so long to heal a little. I know my grandfather was just a kid during that time. He didn't even know what he was forced into.
I think if the tone is respectful and it's real interest behind the question, it's okay to ask. Just make sure the other side wants to talk about it at that moment.
30:28 That strongly depends on how it is represented. I had a lot of great discussions about WW2 and many other historical topics with people from all over the world.
However...I've also met more than one person - mostly from the UK or the USA - who made insulting jokes or spoke about the topic in a "we are the good guys, you Germans are evil" way while at the same time completely disregarded the crimes committed by the British Empire (including genocides committed by the British btw) or the USA (like the nuclear attacks against Hiroshima and Nagasaki, both of which where civilian targets, not military) in discussions about history in general.
This is deeply concerning, especially in regards to the political development in both the UK (Brexit which gave right wing groups and xenophobes a huge push in the UK and Trump in the USA).
I was born in the mid 1960ies. One of my grandfathers was a soldier in WWII. He didn't sugarcoat anything about his experiences and his own actions which weren't very exceptional. He voluntarily became a soldier in 1939 and fought in Poland, France, USSR and Italy. His brother, however, tried to avoid becoming a soldier which caused him to suffer bad consequences. A sister of my grandfather disappeared in a psychiatric clinic at the end of 1939. I had already learned a couple of things about the war itself and a little more or less baised bit about the Nazi era from my older relatives when the topic was dealt in history lessons.
I was really lucky to have a teacher who had prepared different aspects of that matter very considerately and thoroughly. In fact his lessons about earlier periods of history had been very interesting for me already. The visit to the concentration camp Dachau was particularly impressive because our guide had been imprisoned in Dachau three times and was liberated by the US army in 1945. He was a member of the social democratic party and had been "working underground" for the resistance against the Nazis in Munich.
For my generation it seems that education about the Third Reich and the Holocaust was depending on the school and the teacher quite significantly. And I remember that there have been a few parents complaining about that matter being treated in school at all.
The entire field of Weimar Republic, Third Reich/Nazi era and the Holocaust was dealt with during around 18 months. Hence there was enough time left for looking at other periods of history like medieval times, Martin Luther and the Reformation, the 30 years war, the French Revolution, Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna, Industrialisation, the German Revolution of 1848, etc. Looking back I'm impressed of all the stuff we've been learning about in school. However I think all of that is important because it shows that in the long run German history shows a path of progress despite several serious setbacks.
As an American, it sounds to me like a lot of Germans have a strong distinction between blame and responsibility. The attitude seems more forward looking than backward looking, like 'we're not going there again.' Which I respect. I wish my own country could address some of our dark chapters as well.
Germans alive today have neither blame or responsibility for the holocaust. Same as Americans alive today have no blame or responsibility for slavery.
To any who read this : Call on His name Jesus
Christ and save your soul my friend ❤️ ( I care about you! Your Father in Heaven cares about you, and Jesus Who had you also on His mind while He hung on the cross cares for you!)
God created us and made us all but He also gave us free will to follow or reject Him. Those who follow Him and accept Jesus as their Savior have everlasting life, those who reject and turn away will be in eternal damnation and constant torment. Many choose to believe and many also choose to not believe... I just don't understand why you wouldn't wanna believe in a soul saving Savior and a God who has mercy and compassion on those who TRULY follow Him.
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:17 “after the most famous verse John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son and whoever believes in Him will have everlasting life.”
Dark chapters such as?
I agree that the dark chapters in America should be talked about more in a reality based way. Not in the anonymous guilt-trip laden trash that is so often thrown around the Internet.
America is under a socialist coup . Wish to overturn that . Say no to indoctrination.
I lived in Germany for three years while in the US army. This was in the 80s. I was dating a German girl and she took me to visit her grandmother. While there, her grandmother got upset about modern politics and blurted out, “We just need another Hitler.” My girlfriend looked at me and said, “Time to go!!” lol. I really miss that girl.
Well, she’s kinda right
I know the real Germans don’t regret shxt it’s mostly the German Americans talking about accountability 😂
This contradicts this woman's own comments. She is not a German American.@@curtiszyr
Look her up!
@@LovesTheGashWhat?!?!?!?
My husband’s uncle is from Germany. He was 3 during WW2 and was used as a distraction by his parents while they snuck Jewish to freedom. They would hide them in their house and would send his uncle outside to play while the Nazis would do their routine patrols and searches. After all, there’s absolutely nothing suspicious about a little German boy playing in his own front yard. They would just look at him and smile. If his parents didn’t immediately grab him to bring him inside when they arrived, then they weren’t afraid of them. No fear clearly means they weren’t hiding anything. Their goal was to be perceived like minded. They were never suspected and saved many people.
I had a great aunt that was a Nazi Youth. She would go to school durning the day and make blankets at night. I don't think children knew what was going on in those days. I heard very interesting stories from her. I found her very interesting. She had an amazing worth ethic and was super strict, as you would expect from someone that grew up during that time.
Amazing and insightful content. So well explained. I’m from Norway. My grandparents also lived through wwii here in Norway. The Nazis came to their village in Gudbrandsdalen & occupied the village & neighbouring house (next to my grandparents house). I remember the stories that my grandparents told me. I’m in my late 40’s now. In my eyes, the effect of the war didn’t feel that long ago. It is important to talk about in the hope it never happens again.
Greetings from Norway 🇳🇴
Hi, I'm a German student who spent a semester living in Lillehammer. While I was there, I went to the Sigrid Undset museum and got a tour, which was incredibly interesting, the guide also told us about the German occupation time, in which Sigrid had to flee, because she had publicly positioned herself against the Nazis. Your comment just reminded me of this and I wanted to recommend this museum, in case you don't know it yet :)
@@BeatleSoph takk for tipsen! God helg 🙂
As a Russian, I wish our schools have adopted yours' approach teaching how such a thing can happen at all and recognize the red flags early. Instead they taught us how bad Germans were and how heroic Russians were fighting against the invasion and how we suffered immensely but eventually won the war. Which made sense (and also bored most of us), but kinda missed the main point: how to avoid creating the same horror. Now this "heroic fight against the nazi" narrative that was programmed into us is being used as a trigger to suddenly hate some claimed-to-be-nazis in Ukraine, all the way to actually going and killing innocent people. It seems that our education system that programmed us to hate nazi and be proud of our nation as winners has as a result actually produced something very similar in our own country... And yeah, thank you for covering this topic, I was never sure if it's ok to talk to German people about it!
Thank you, the amount of self reflection is incredible. Let’s hope this war ends as quickly as possible with the least amount of harm moving forward.
The Great Patriotic War, which began when Germany invaded The Soviet Union, and lasted until the Germans were pushed out of the Soviet Union was a defensive war, the invasion of Ukraine is not! Now I feel that Russians fought harder when they were defending their own country from invasion than when they were invading someone else's. Russians and other Soviet Nationals could see the reason why they were fighting the Germans.
Right now its the Ukrainians that are defending their homes, and the Russians that are occupying their country, a lot of the Russians don't want to be there, they left their peaceful homes and families to go fight in a foreign country to satisfy Putin's imperial ambitions, so they die in order to make Putin into "Putin the Great" although that does not appear to be happening right now, Russians are just getting killed over there.
All Russia has to do is get rid of Putin and withdraw its troops, the soldiers can go home and resume their civilian lives, and the West can lift sanctions after an agreement for Russia to pay reparations to Ukraine for the damages it caused. I want those reparations to be affordable, that is its purpose is to rebuild Ukraine, not to wreck the Russian economy, we don't want to repeat that mistake the Allies made with Germany after World War I. The United States can help as well, we can start by rebuilding that dam that Russia blew up. I think those houses that were destroyed in the flood zone should not be rebuild and the residents there should be relocated and the flood zone should be turned into a national park. We should rebuild the dam as quickly as safely possible. The environmental impacts have already oc.cured, so all that's left is to rebuild that dam
I guess they don't teach the part in Russia where the Bolshevik NKVD taught their National Socialist allies in Poland from 1939-41 how to slaughter people and turned Jews over to them for disposal.
@@thomaskalbfus2005 You are correct. Although I have no idea how Russian can get rid of Putin at this point. It's like saying to Germans in 1940 that all they have to do is to get rid of Hitler. I personally hope that this stupid war will fracture the inner powers enough to make him lose and fall, although it seems rather hard given the efficiency and power of the security agencies and the propaganda machine.
Wrecking Russian economy is not a potential consequence of reparations, but is already a result of Russian government being in power for the last decades and doing everything to ruin it, starting the war obviously being the last nail in the coffin. Which will probably mean having to give in to external interests, like letting China help Russia out for a number of long-term benefits in return. Just like the help of the US to Ukraine will probably not come without consequences.
The whole of the world wishes this. We could do better in the US as well.
I can only speak as an American but I think Germany has done an exceptional job of tackling this very difficult topic. I also think it's incumbent on people EVERYWHERE to learn how/why it happened and ensure it's never allowed to happen again. There are plenty of wannabe authoritarians out there, it's not a Germany-specific threat, and we need to make sure those hard-learned lessons aren't forgotten as time passes.
As a German that has that fear: thank you. Yes, it's not just one county, not just one nation.
It's all around the world and we need the education about that era so it won't happen again.
Also American here, and thank you Feli for sharing this, it's something I'd wondered about often. I agree that Germany seems to be doing a very good job of handling its past, which is something America could learn from as we try to grapple with our own past of racism and chattel slavery. I feel like we are where Germany was in the 1960s with a younger generation wanting to be more open and honest about some of the less savory aspects of American history.
As a German, I can also thank the Americans. Especially after the Allies won. The help in rebuilding, but also (and in my experience even more important) that the trials were public and people were not simply sentenced behind closed doors. I think that also helped a lot to develop an awareness of what crimes were being committed at that time.
Thank you, Sarah. I always thought we did quite a good job here as well. But over 70 years later we have to experience that our government is reluctant to do everything they possibly can to prevent another genocide. I always thought "Never again" ("Nie wieder") was a moral imperativ.
But suddenly there are people telling me this slogans only mean German cruelties and we shouldn't support any kind of war at all.
They don't express it that way, of course, but what they mean is "just let Ukrainians die and as soon as the last of them is gone, there will be peace".
As strange as it is, both of our far-right and our far-left want us to stop supporting Ukraine.
Luckily, both of them, even combined, are a minority.
Nevertheless, I don't understand why we don't do anything we can to support Ukraine.
Because of course, it's the right thing to do (and I feel the pain Ukrainians suffer everyday), and yes, also because it's better for our economic future. And our social and cultural future. And maybe, of future at all.
I mean, does Russia offer any future? They want to re-establish the past.
They really have nothing attractive to offer.
And, as a German, growing up educated the way described in this video, I do feel a special responsibility.
I'm sorry, this was too long, but somehow Feli's vid made me so emotional I had to get out all of it.
Slava Ukraini!
@@michanone Well one nation was not responsible in the death of 50 million people. Germany started the war which turned out to be a catastrophe. However it was the German State. One can't blame all private citizens. However one should not forget or attempt to whitewash it.
This video was a true gem of a find and this is exactly why I watch RUclips now instead of TV.
I consider myself decently educated on WWII because I've always been extremely interested in that era of history specifically and have devoured nearly every bit of documentation about it that still exists. However, one of the things that has always been absent or foggy in my overall picture of WWII, is the feelings and reactions of everyday Germans that stayed, and remain, in Germany post-WWII. I feel like it's partly because US schools and historians have a way of just blacking out/glossing over that part like it doesn't even matter how average German citizens felt or what they went through and still go through even to this day in regards to societal and geopolitical consequences, guilt, and reparations.
As an American, I've always wondered these exact questions that you have addressed here and I think that it's only fair to let actual Germans speak for themselves on the subject because they're the only ones that we haven't really heard much from, which, it is now clear, is no fault of theirs. I feel like that part is necessary for everyone to digest so we can all seal these lessons in the past and move forward without lingering prejudices, misunderstandings, or soreness due to historic silencing or white-washing by the powers that won the war.
Thank you for this video. (Also wanted to compliment you on your American English, it's probably the best ESL non-accent from a German-born person I have ever heard. 99.5% undetectable.)
Lastly, to all Germans, you've done an amazing job emerging from WWII with an admirable balance of ownership, repentance, grace, silence, and resilience. We can't erase the past, but we can learn from it, hopefully. Don't ever be ashamed of being German because fascism is not a German flaw, it's a human one.
My own country, the USA, could still learn a thing or two from Germany about owning it's dark past and taking real steps towards repairing the damage we have caused to get to where we are today. (Native Americans, Slavery, Hiroshima/Nagasaki/Internment, Pacific Islanders, Mexican/Central Americans, Iraq/Afghanistan, Vietnam, Korea, and on and on)
I visited Berlin with my mom in 2010. As jews growing up in NY, it was kind of a bold move at the time for us to travel there. Especially my mom who grew up during the war and always hated the Germans. It was an incredible experience for both of us. We were so impressed with how in Berlin it was apparent how the city had addressed the history. From visiting the holocoust memorial, a synagogue, the memorial cobblestones outside buildings. It really affected us in a positive way. We appreciate the German people, owning their history, learning from the past, and trying to be a force of good in the world forever. Thank you for this wonderful video.
I'm from Poland so this topic is very hard for me. Almost 20% (around 6 million people) of Polish people were killed and our land was brutally occupied. Now we have another war just on the other side of our eastern border. Like you said: War is the worst thing invented by human kind. Thanks for your video. Hopfully we all learn from our history.
Learn from history? Not so much in Poland, one of the most antisemitic countries in the world despite having almost no Jewish population since WWII ended.
Many Polish civilians willingly helped the Nazis round up Jews. Polish still haven’t returned stolen Jewish property.
It was indeed hard for the poles, as the nazis commited war crimes against poles,
but The nazis did not target poles. The Nazis targeted Jews, and alot of poles helped them. Jews were not poles, neither the Jews in poland or the ethnic poles seen the jews as polish.
whats hard for you? She has said only about holocaust like they like to do. Nothing about the true victim, Poland. This Jews were polish. Our country was destroyed and robbed. If you ask some random German he will tell you that polish people were collaborating with Nazis xD thats what they know about ww2
My Polish friend always says he wish the German had won cause Russia was even worst to you then germans. War isnt a human thing, its a monkey thing. All monkeys go at war against other monkey clans. We are just an hairless ape🤷
My father fought in World War II under General Patton. He lived in New Jersey after the war. His neighbor, across the street, was Herb Kracker. Herb's father fought for Germany in World War II. There was great concern about the two meeting one another since my father met weekly with others from what America calls the Battle of the Bulge. However, when they did met, they became fast friends over having fought in a war. Most men did not fight due to politics, they fought to stay alive. My father and Herb's father understood one another. They both endured the hell of fighting in a war to stay alive.
My father said the same thing.
Many Germans went to the US after WW2 in Operation Paperclip. Many high ranking and wealthy Americans agreed with the Germans. Heck, there was almost a coup called The Business Plot in 1933 where wealthy industrialists attempted to overthrow FDR and install a fascist dictatorship. They didn't succeed then but if you look at the names of some of the plotters, you might realize who actually won.
Many have said Germany lost the war but fascism won.
Put simply, I feel like this is the most beneficial time I've ever spent on RUclips. Thank you so much.
Wow! I'm so glad I stumbled over this channel! My dad was stationed over in Germany in the early 70s and has a lot of cool stories about his time there. I've always been a bit of a history nerd and took German in highschool for my foreign language credits. It is really cool seeing somebody with your perspective covering a lot of things I'm curious about!
As an American Jew of parents who survived the Holocaust, (yeah, I'm 70 years old), your video explaining the curriculum in German education was very encouraging.
I personally can not ascribe guilt to current German people but knowing that this German nation understands what their grandparents were involved with is all that can be asked of.
Thank you for posting this very important video.
You should visit..its a fantastic country..i’m a british jew of german origin..i’m a huge fan of football (soccer) and boxing,my pursuits have taken me there over the years-the people are fantastic
Funny how so so many people survived this supposed genocide eh? Genocides tend not to leave millions upon millions of survivors
Mostly the parents of our grandparents.
they should teach that true Holocaust death numbers have not been firmly established and have been inflated for rhetorical effect. 6 million? I don't buy it.
Yes we do here and specially for my ppl(and yours) who grew up in a jewish village is this a hard theme ... Because we protected the holy spots of us until today even while this war. Its always important to remind about . This should be an excample not only for germans . This should count for the whole world how fast humans as nation can change on a really more as evil way. Because i can just admit thats not the germans from the past before this years and definatly not the germans today. So for me they are not duty because they grewnup later. Sadly is this mindset still in many heads...
Proud of the German people for facing what happened there. When I was 16 yrs old I was sitting on a park bench in the Bronx. An older lady came over and started to talk to me about her experience as a prisoner in a concentration camp. This was in 1975 or so. She showed me the numbers tattoo on her arm. It helped me change my perspective and as I look back I can only love that sweet old lady that took 20 minutes or so to share her story.
Don’t beat yourselves up too much . Although not mentioned there were large numbers of Poles , Russians , and Gypsies, homosexuals. And many other not mentioned by Spielberg.
Probably the “man on the spot” was George Patton. Interestingly he was court martialled after the war because of the large amount of god he has acquired.???? Regards.
About Americans being more informed about the military aspects of the war. I notice in American book stores "history" is mostly books on military history. I'm not sure this is a good thing. About education and popular culture, what I'm hearing that it increasingly dominated by people who despise the hoi poli and want to guilt trip them into accepting "punishment" ( cruelty ) from their "betters". It's also becoming more apparent that our rulers are also pedophiles. America has changed. From Potsdam to Nordstream America has gone from Cincinnatus to Caligula.
it wasnt the old lady that convinced u...its the years of mead ear indoc plus u believe the L eyes are pushed on skuul kids from aged 11
Sounds like a Mormon passing out their Book. Sounds like a Moonie selling flowers.
@@andrewmclaughlin2701 are you a complete asshole or are you having a stoke? You must be ten yrs old to say something like that.
Thank you for sharing! It’s important to understand everyone’s perspective. I love studying WWII and really love how there are more perspectives out in social media to learn from today. 🙏🙏🙏
Thank you for sharing, Feli! As a child of Ukrainian Catholic Immigrants to the USA, I see so many nuances to WW2 that are never discussed. Most narratives have been controlled by the Allies, which included the Murderous Communist, Joseph Stalin. I know that my family sheltered Jews during Nazi occupation, and got beaten for it. And, Bolsheviks mamed, tortured, and murdered tens of millions at the time - including a vast majority of my family. And, partisan Kovpaky also hunted down native Ukrainians attempting to flee the insanity. Oddly enough, no one seems to want to acknowledge the millions of Germans that were brutally killed in apparent retribution (mostly by Communists & Communist Sympathizers) after the end of the war. Nonetheless, it seems that the Allies only concentrated on preserving the narrative that Germany and Japan (which was trying to fend off the spread of Communism in China) were the only bad guys. Now, here we are, roughly a century later, after the Marxist/Communist influence has spread globally, wondering, WTH happened?! Never stop studying history, and listen to the voices - especially those who have been silenced. Of course, use discernment. No matter what one believes, the Freedom of Speech is the most important thing to fight for (even if it's not what we want to hear or seems offensive), and I thank you for your voice.
I worked for a German company in NYC. they were aware I was Jewish as I took off for my holidays. So much respect, so much love. I met some fascinating people and made friends.
This was a very interesting discussion. I am 56 years old, raised in the Chicago, Illinois area, and I am Jewish. Highland Park, the city I grew up in, and the surrounding area have many Jews and Jewish communities.
In 1979 I was in seventh grade. When the TV mini series you mentioned, the Holocaust, aired on American TV over four nights, we shifted from our normal homework to being assigned to watch the entire show. We had homework assignments and in class discussions all about it. This was an era in the United States in which Holocaust documentaries began to emerge showing us the true horrors of the persecution of Jews and others in WWII Germany. Despite the brutal imagery, I watched everything I could find, as did most other people I knew. Then, a most curious thing happened to me.
My father worked for Abbott Labs, based in Northern Illinois but with facilities around the world. He was a project manager and was working on a new facility in Wiesbaden. He traveled back and forth to Germany for about a year before announcing to us we would be moving near Frankfurt for 14 months. I was incredibly excited for this new adventure. I excitedly informed my classmates of our impending move. I was taken aback by their reaction. "You're moving where the Nazis are?!? Why would you ever do that?"
It had been 35 years since the end of the war, The United States had numerous military bases all around West Germany and it was common knowledge that being stationed there was a desirable deployment for American service men and women. Despite being only 12 years old, I was very aware Deutschland was a staunch ally and respected trading partner of the US. I had difficulty believing my classmates could be so anxious about my move.
When we arrived in Germany, our neighbors in Steinbach im Taunus were lovely. There were many children around my age in the neighborhood and we had great fun playing American football (using what was an alien object to them, a Nerf football,) and fußball. We rode our bikes all over town, went to the local pool, and played tag and other games. We never, ever discussed the war. My neighbors were fully aware of our being Jewish, but to my knowledge we never asked them about their war experience or their parents involvement, and they never asked us about our family history. For the record, although as a Jew I feel strongly about what happened in the Holocaust, my grandparents and great-grandparents (with the exception of one grandfather's parents) had immigrated to the US before WWI. I'm unaware who, if any of my family tree were direct victims of the Nazis To my knowledge, I have no ancestors who died in the camps. It did occur to me that these wonderful people, our friends, could very easily have family who were complicit in the crimes of the Nazis, but I refused to judge them on anything other than their kind treatment of me and my family.
We took a family trip that included Dachau. It was certainly moving to see the displays of iconic pictures I'd seen before of starving inmates and the ovens that were used to dispose of bodies, but that was not the most emotionally impactful memories I have of our visit. Rather, walking through the barracks, which at that time at least had the three high, bunk bed frames spaced so closely together, left an indelible impression on me. The thought of so many people, crammed in such a small space, really affected me.
I'm glad Germany has chosen to educate its children about the sins of the past to prevent them from ever being allowed to thrive in our future. I wish I could say the same for the US, which in many places has worked to whitewash our history of the sins of our own past. In recent years it's only gotten worse as white nationalist politicians parade themselves as average Americans, stirring up rage in constituents over race and religion.
Thank you, very much, for tackling this head-on. I didn't need to hear from Germans how they view the Holocaust and how it's taught in Germany, but I'm glad so many of you have been affected in a positive way by learning about horrors perpetrated by Adolph Hitler and the Nazi Party.
I had anexperience similar in SW France. We became friendly with a lovely belgian lady married a second time to a considerable older cultured & intelligent German husband. They knew my background vaguely and in the course of conversations I became aware he was an obligatory member of the Hitler Youth.
I knew of the HY but not that much. When I delved into it I appreciated he like most HY were actively involved in the likes of attacking German Jews during Crystal Nacht November 1938 and generally tormenting the Jews.
Was I wrong not to ask him of his past? Probably but in a social context in small rural area ? I still feel a bit guilty
Cry about it
I disagree with your stance on the US whitewashing slavery. It is taught, but not taught to the extent that WWII & Nazi Germany is in Germany.
WWII ended in 1945. Slavery in the United States ended officially in 1865.
Slavery was horrible and a stain on the entire world. No, slavery was not just a US issue. As the United States was embroiled in the American Civil War, many European countries started to outlaw slavery. Yes, slavery did happen in many countries of Europe.
@fantasticsound Great to hear of your experience. Thank you.
@gordon spicer No wrong or right here. I think you likely learned more about this man, and people in general, by being non-confrontational and observing how he reacted to you as a human being.
So 'white nationalism" is evil but Israel ethno nationalism is good? It's a well known fact that Israel conducts DNA tests for those applying for Israel¡ citizenship. Please tell us, what color skin do Israel¡ politicians have?
Thank you Feli for a great video and your courage addressing the subject.
I'm not critical of your work, not at all, but ... your work brought up so many issues, so many emotions, so many unanswered or even presented questions. The reality of the "then, in between and now" has not been as simple or black-and-white as your pogram may suggest, nowhere near. And it continues ... to this day. It doesn't get worse, it doesn't get better ... it is just there ... with us, all the time. All we can is ... bottle it up and take it with us when we go.
Thanks again.
i always wondered about this. thanks for the video. very informative. will be sharing this to my friends. 😊
I went to school in Germany, but as an American. I always found that the young people around my age were much more open and willing to discuss the holocaust than most older folks. I had the opportunity to visit Dachau and hear stories from a survivor. It was much more than I feel like many of my American peers learned and really understood about the subject. Excellent video and thank you.
Same just got back from visiting Dachau. Literally spent the entire day there and it was the most chilling place I visited on my trip. Its one thing to be told about something its an entirely different experience to physically interact with it.
Did you immigrate from America to Germany and later went back to america or did you fully grow up in Germany and then immigrated to America?
In high school, we went to Dachau from my school in Switzerland. It was over 50 years ago and I still remember everything. It had a profound effect on me. I think often of the millions of lives lost in both world wars and How our world would be a different place.
I think they go a little too far bringing the topic into music and geology . Really should just stay in history, civics and maybe language arts. I think you create a counter culture when you inject it into unrelated topics . It’s like what’s going on in US where people will bring up politics in completely unrelated things . It gets exhausting
I have also visited the concentration camp in Dachau with my school and I really learned a lot there. I am a German going to school in the US at the moment. Interesting coincidence.
As a german who is just finishing off my higher education (Fachabitur), I can very clearly remember how much the teachings of the subject affected me. We mostly discussed it in german class, history class and PoWi (Politics and Economy in english), which is actually a subject that was formed to keep awareness of our country's former actions. I remember us reading "the wave" in german class and then watching the movie. We also watched "Schindler's List" and "The boy in the striped pjama" the latter having quite a big impact on me. We also watched many documentations in history class and talked thoroughly about it in PoWi, especially the actions to change germany after the war. Visiting the Dachau holocaust was also mandatory, although I need to admit that I myself did not join my class on this trip. For a couple of years, the mere though of especially the holocaust brought tears to me and therefore me and my parents decided that I had a good enough impression of the horrors of the whole situation. The topic was always discussed in quite a brutal way, that conveyed responsibility and guilt.
It has now been 3-4 years since we first watched those movies that left such a big impression on me and I feel ready to talk about this. I have to say, writing this now makes me feel emotional all over again. But it was a good experience to watch this video. I actually remained silent through out, maybe out of respect for the topic or out of a sense of guilt for the past. Although I know that no one in my generation or even my parent's generation is directly responsible for any of this, it is still a topic that is often discussed with regrets. Now with the incline of voters for the AfD (a german right-wing political party) I feel scared for the future.
I know that is very likely that no one will ever find this comment (the video has almost 16 thousand comments as of writing this), but it felt important to make it. Even if just to get it off of my chest. Thanks for listening.
- Amy (18) from Kassel, Hessen, Germany
Did you learn at school what Rheinwiesenlager was? No? Why not?
Did you learn at school when and where the greatest mass rape in world history took place? If not, why not? Because it was in Germany after the war?
I can tell you what we don't get teached. We don't get teached that over 12 million german civilians got expropriated and expelled from their homeland after ww2 and that hundredthousands of Germans got killed even AFTER the capitulation on Mai 1945.
We don't get teached the details of the Versaille treaty and the consequences for the germans, we don't get teached the details of the system of "Re-education" and we don't get teached about the lost sovereignty and the still existing US Sonderrechte and UN Feindstaatklausel.
The history story of the former enemies who burned millions of women and children alive with phosphorus, napalm, and atomic bombs is guaranteed to be true. Guaranteed. How dumb can someone be?
Why is the report by the International Red Cross on its activities in the German camps during WW2 locked away in the Geneva archives and not publicly accessible? WHY?
Great video Feli, Thanks so much for the time and effort you put into this.
Thank you very much for this video. Having grown up in Germany (three tours in Neu Ulm, Kaiserslautern, and Stuttgart) while it was still divided, the subject was very much at the forefront of living there. We visited Berlin while it was still divided and seeing the wall, being at checkpoints manned by East German soldiers, are experiences I'll never forget. We also visited Dachau and while i didn't fully understand the significance being as young as I was, you could still feel the presence of sadness.
German here. My schools visit of a concentration camp is over 25 years ago. What happend there is almost 80 years ago. But I will never forget the smell and my feelings that I had at that moment. Every time I think of this, I have goose bumps and tears in my eyes. I wish that every one in the world, no matter which origin, goes to such a place and learns what humanity can do when we are not practice compassion, trust, and good will into each other.
I think the world could use a little more humanity empathy and compassion.
@@user-xl3de3xv9s you did not get my point
As an Australian I agree America was pivotal in helping the Allies win the war in both European and Pacific theatre's but I think all the allies combined contributed to overthrowing the Nazi's including partisans such as French resistance.
@@user-xl3de3xv9sthat many of us did until America voted a narcissistic fascist into the office in 2016. Sad but true.
@@rufust.firefly6810get over it. You’ve been brainwashed by the political machine.
As a 54 years old German, I do agree on every single word. This is 100% in line with my experience. Couldn' t be explained in a better way. Thanks a lot!
The most impressive memorial for me in everyday life is the constant reminder on all paths through the stumbling stones.
Also the constant exchange with the old hereditary enemy France and a visit to the wonderful neighbours, e.g. in Alsace, make us understand the value of the European Union today. Never before have we had such a long period of peace in Europe. A visit to the battlefields of Verdun helps to appreciate this value.
You DO remember it was France who declared war upon Germany, right? You DO remember they INVADED Germany in 1939, right? You DO remember they invaded Germany in 1925, right? Yet, you feel bad about Germany attacking France? Seriously? Please learn about the Versailles Treaty, how it bled Germany dry, for a war Germany never started.
As a Kiwi born in England, of British ancestry, I am so disappointed that the English have chosen a Brexit divorce. High time they realized that their best future is to work with Germany and France to make a better world.
Yet Europe is pretty much at war today.
@@peternewman7940 It is people like you who destroy Britain. Did you know Britain and Germany fund by far the largest chunk of the EU payments, yet the unelected body of the EU can order Britain around? As you can see, I am an Nationalist of the highest order. I would go much, much further than Brexit. Are you to suggest a freed Britain cannot work with Germany and France? Why not? They have for almost a thousand years. What changed kid?
@@peternewman7940
'As a Kiwi born in England, of British ancestry'
WTF? What esle would you be if not of British ancestry my little anti-White racist??
Danke für Deine tolle Arbeit zur Völkerverständigung mit diesem Beitrag.
brilliant, so well-prepared and produced. thank you
what, in particular, was brilliant?
Thank you for sharing this. I wish Japan would take this same honest approach to their history starting from the late 1800s to the end of WWII. The atrocities they committed against their neighbors was similarly heinous but what's more surprising is how many modern-day Japanese have NO idea of the atrocities committed nor the scope of said atrocities by Imperial Japan. It's not about assigning blame or inducing guilt, but learning from past mistakes so that history does not repeat itself (ensure everlasting peace).
Such policies are mostly only there for inducing guilt on the people of the losing side's countries. After all, I see almost no Russians feeling sorry for the mass rapes and murders commited upon german civilians after the red army drung into german core territory.
Maybe all the Japanese Billionaires and Millionaires OUGHT TO spend ALL of their fucking money turning AT LEAST ONE Philippine City into a SAFE AND PROSPEROUS ONE!!!
No Japanese deserves to be a Millionaire or a fucking Billionaire until the Philippines and Brunei are FIRST WORLD FUCKING NATIONS!!!
Young people in Japan may not have a thorough knowledge of the specifics of their nations history, but they have more awareness than probably any other nations surrounding the concept that a severe lack of certain values led to one of their darkest and most shameful points in history. The Japanese are very in touch with this, they just don’t have a culture that proliferates guilt on these matters. It’s a completely different country today. Different government, military, social classes, cultural values etc have all been dramatically reformed to prevent similar occurrence in their future. Honestly very few countries if any have done as much to prevent the crimes of their past being propagated in the future. Just because a country promotes cross generational shame doesn’t mean that they will avoid the same pitfalls of 20th century that all the axis powers fell in to. It really helps to understand what has to take place at a national level psychologically for any of the 20th century nightmares to take place. Many countries which push the whole “guilt needs to be a main driver into the future” are currently at risk of acting out a lot of what we’ve seen in the early to mid 20th century. There’s a lot data and social science on this matter which is thoroughly corroborated by modern and historical geopolitical sciences.
This honestly sounds like the kind of well mannered anti-Japanese rhetoric that comes out of modern day China which is usually through some sort of emotional appeal to morality and judgment. China is actually one of the countries where “progress” is heavily driven by fear and guilt, and when you think about it you can really start to understand where this sort of rhetoric comes from in the first place.
None of what you’re saying here is very well supported by reality. Japan has stripped itself of the military capability to commit such crimes in the future. They’ve infused their economy with literally enemies to their freedom in order to prevent future crimes as well. If you ask Japanese students to tell you about specifics dates and battles of their WWII crimes they probably can’t give you many details, but they will be able to tell you what lack of cultural values weren’t present during those times and why they hold them so dear now. They will all tell you that this specific version of Japan from the 20th century was literally aligned with evil, and they utterly reject the ideologies of those times in a way that few nations have been capable of. Most modern Germans probably can’t tell you why so many Germans supported the Nazis during their reign. This subject has honestly done more to advance modern psychology and psychoanalysis than any other single subject and again there is just a ton of data which can support the points I’m making.
I guarantee there will be a response to this comment in vicious defense of China that proceeds to say something like “well what about America doing XYZ” because that’s literally what people are trained to say in response to a comment like mine in a discussion like this. We call these sorts of actors of the communist party wumao or members of the 50 cent army.
The links between USA and the rise of the nazis party to stop communist in the east thats another topic of henesty
Henry Ford factory was used to produce engins for the germans
That idea can be taken too far as the idea of race based slavery is being taken in the US far enough to cause our citizens to burn our own flag.
I very much appreciate everything you shared about the war, the holocaust and the German people. I especially appreciate the responses of Germans living in Germany today. As a Jewish man these issues are very important to me. You a very fine young lady, and I'm encouraged by your sincere commitment to educating others. Again I thank you so much for all your efforts. Blessings!
Show your real face
maisamsadigi1658
?
that is very nice of you
I am a german living near munich. Ask and i shall answer.
@@TheKaos8 will bavaria separate?
Amazing video , you talked about so many topics and shared such great answers by people
Amazing video! Thank you for your honesty. I'm a history teacher so this will help me inform my students.
I am a Singaporean and I hope Japan has the same courage to own up to the suffering they inflicted on other countries
And also Russia for the suffering it causes even to this day to Europe and the former Soviet Union members
Why should they? They are not Europeans
Or maybe you just need to start listening?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_war_apology_statements_issued_by_Japan
Have you ever even asked a Japanese person about WWII?
@@hlog3902 My Granddad fought the Japanese soldiers in the Burma jungle. When he came home he had horrendous nightmares he wouldn’t talk about it as many British soldiers at that time. All he would say was that they are a very cruel nation! Do your homework my friend and you will find the atrocities that went on.
@@user-ny7rt6rt2e Even the Nazis were scared of the Japanese. They were vicious and genocided& raped their way across Asia.
I'm Polish, so this topic is obviously discussed at schools, I remember learning about it around the age of 16. We watched movies, read books, poems and diaries about this topic, but we also learned about Hitler, how it all progressed and what were the exact steps during the war, tactics and artillery used. Very little was said about what happened to Germany after the war, as our focus shifted to Poland being under communist rule. I am living in Warsaw in the area heavily impacted by the war, and there are lots of memorials (mostly from Warsaw Ghetto, Warsaw Concentration Camp and Warsaw Uprising), so it's hard to miss that either way.
You Polish are some of the toughest on earth! From here in the States, best of luck!
After the end of WW2 Poland was under communist rule?
That's quite interesting. I'm not sure if it's something I learned at school but forgot, or didn't learn at all.
You have to admit it's ironic.
Whatever your thoughts on AH, he did intend to rid Europe of Communism, and many expert's, both back then and in today's days say Germany was pushed into a war that AH said never wanted. Curiously of all the peace proposals from AH, all mentioned that Germany would remove their troops from the invaded lands. They were always rejected by the great churchill who admited wanting the war.
churchill was so enamored with Poland, and wanted to protect your homeland from the horrible nazis so much that after they capitulated your nation, he never once thought about you guys again. He only needed you so he could start the war in the first place.
Thankfully your country won the fight against the communist plague and is now an amazing place for Poles to live in. It's more than I can say for my country.
@@MilkmanPT
Well yes, up until 1989 actually.
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact left Poland divided between Nazi Germany and Soviet Union. Once Germany lost the war and was retreating from Poland, Soviet Union assumed control over the country (Poland attempted to fight for their sovereignty with Warsaw Uprising - this was when the Germany still had control over the city, but right before the Red Army came - yet failed miserably). Our nation is feisty but was never particularly lucky with neighbours nor allies.
All those events unfortunately still haunts us and our politics are heavily fear-based to this day (For example during elections connecting politicians with either Russians or Germans to use as an argument against voting for them, etc)
You polish folk need to learn how to drive! So many accidents
Aren't Jewish groups like the ADL trying to implicate you guys in the Holocaust now too?
I loved this video. Its not an easy topic to cover but it must be remembered. Good work Feli!
What an important and informative video! Thank you for educating me further on this horrific topic. I learned a lot watching this
This one of the most eloquent pieces I've seen on RUclips. This is world class work. Very intense. I appreciate the time you took to handle the topic.
Ahh, the ignorance. Must be nice
@@thelightthatlightsthelifeo6881 are you even german or do you just denile the holocaust because you wanna be edgy
@@ticktacktate2484
Lol, bet you don't even know what the Haavara Agreement is. In fact I guarantee this.
@@ken_caminiti zou know that in 1933 there was no holocaust in those early days of the nazis they just tryed to get rid of the jews by discriminating against them or by trying to get them to leave the country like it is the case with the Ha’avara-Abkommen
because of people like you who denile such tragig things like the holocaust and are imagening some kind of jewish secret conspirecy history is bound to repeat it selve
Id@@ken_caminiti
Im 61 American of Mexican and German descent. My dad fought in the war (his grandparents came from Prussia) in the Philippines 42-45. I have many German friends but like me born in America. Ive studied the war since I was little looking at every aspect. But this is the first time I've heard this perspective. It was enlightening. Thank you.
Same. In 34 yr old women half Mexican half German American. My dad was German (his father engaged in the war) and would speak to us in German but I actually didn’t know it was German or that I was German until high school. He had a lot of shame and never told us. So if you can imagine I was speaking a language that I didn’t even know what it was until a German exchange student told me.
interesting Linda Ronstadt is also of Mexican German heritage boy can she sing!
Linda Ronstadt is a great talent, but I didn't know her blood till now.
@@bigp3006 : yes, she sure is you should be proud of her!
Excellent video. I loved how well this was done. If I were a history teacher, I would include this video as part of WW2 curriculum.
Tolle Leistung! Dieses Video ist dir sehr gut gelungen! Hut ab!
Feli, It is very refreshing hearing such a comprehensive discussion of this topic from a German's point of view. I am of German descent, lived in Stuttgart & Berlin in the '60s and now live in Massachusetts. There are so many things happening in the world today very similar to what Germans endured in the '40s through the early '90s. I really believe they could teach us a lot about how to recognize the mistakes we are making even today. American democracy is so fractured around hate, nationalism, racism, authoritarianism, fascism, disinformation and Orwellian censorship in schools. I was in West Berlin on the day the USSR stormed Czechoslovakia and massed their army on the Polish border less than 80 km away. History repeats.
Harry Truman said: "The only thing new in the world is the history you don't know."
I commend the attitude that present-day Germans need not feel guilty for what others have done, but rather maintain a responsibility to remember what happened, why it did, and how to keep it from happening again. I hope Americans will recognize how at-risk they are before things go too far.
I also am from German descent and I agree with everything you said.
You are right to a degree but most of what you said is based upon minority groups having a mic to convey their feelings. majority of united states citizens are not racist in the slightest and I guarantee that number is above 90% today. We are proud and the basis of our society comes from war so naturally we are hard headed. If it came to the defense of this country, we would not hesitate to die for one another regardless of race or ideology. Anyway, to reiterate, you are right degree.
if only u knew what the real facts are
American democracy doesn't exist, and it hasn't for years now.
I'm worried that if I'm not reminded every so often how horrible slavery is, i might start enslaving black people.
I like the response from Karina from Dortmund where she said that "We were never told to feel guilty". One of my favorite sayings is "Don't be afraid of history." The past should be studied to learn both the positive and negative so we can promote the positive patterns and learn how to NOT repeat the negative aspects of society.
We can see a move to more Nationalistic patterns in many parts of the world. This is where history class pays off. Work hard to keep things from degrading into hatred, violence and war.
"Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering." Wise words... even if they are from a little green puppet in a movie.
The problem isnt the "National" part it is the Socialism part that kills millions of people. You can look up the "top 10 list of state leaders who mass murdered in the last 100 years" = 9 socialist (E.g. Mao, Stalin, Lenin, Hitler, Pol Pot, Kim family, Mussolini, etc...) and 1 King (King of Belgium)
It is like you have "Car Driving terrorists" and suddenly you say that all Car Drivers are killers and the problem. No terrorist are the problem in that example. "National SOCIALIST" are leftwing and not rightwing and the problem is not being national focussed. Because all national states should be national focussed that is the idea of national states. That is why the left always wants to ban borders and form "Welt Reichs".
You know that "Nationalist" are for all people of their country? So for all races, for all two sexes, for the rich and the poor, for gays and straights, for all religions and even atheists.
It is the left that forms groups and elivates one above the other. The left are the -ists people!
Ganghi for instance was a stout nationalist. Churchill as well. And yes Trump is one too. But the lefts smear campaign, was called back then propaganda, works pretty well. Billions of people worldwide are brain washed.
Socialism has NOTHING TO DO with being social. Quite the opposite.
jesteś pewien że uczysz się prawdziwej historii??? a nie kłamstwa??? zastanawiałeś się kiedyś dlaczego rzekomo nacjonalizm jest zły??? czy demokracja nie pochodzi od wspólnot narodowych? od Greków? nie jest największą wadą nacjonalizmu to że na podstawie narodu dziś nie da się budować imperiów??? Rosja USA Chiny Indie czy nawet pomniejsza Turcja niewolą narody! innymi słowy nacjonalizm jest dla nich zagrożeniem! jednocześnie więzi etniczne narodowe to jedne z silniejszych więzi między ludźmi stąd te próby budowania "nowych" narodów opartych o jakiś wydumanych wartościach ale też pacyfikacja i niszczenie wchłanianych narodów! dlaczego Niemcy wymordowały Żydów? bo się z nimi nie zintegrowali! żyli we własnym świecie obok nich! dlaczego mordowano Polaków? bo po 123 latach niewoli odbudowali własną państwowość! Niemcy to było (i nadal po części jest) państwo totalitarne! oni nie znali demokracji! stąd te obrzydliwe zbrodnie popełniane przez cały naród! nie dlatego że stanowili naród! ale dlatego że nie znali demokracji! demokracja przyjechała do nich na amerykańskich czołgach!
a co do nauki historii to czy wiesz dlaczego obozy śmierci powstały na ziemiach dzisiejszej Polski???
Feli, you are awesome. Much love and respect to you and all of Germany.
A very well crafted discussion of a difficult subject. Well done and thank you.
This popped up in my feed & I’m glad about it. I’m a 53 year old Brit & my father served in WWII. He was a Tanker who landed on D Day and went all the way to Germany. He was involved in the liberation of Belsen. Full respect to you for tackling this subject & to Germany. I love being a Tourist in German. It’s a great Country & seems very compassionate. Britain has lost its way IMO.
The UK is not alone in one regard: the US has totally lost its way.
@@sylversyrfer6894 As a American I can confirm that us Americans have lost our way, Our structure is in shambles as well as our leaders & no peace we’ve lost our order, The people’s voices have been silenced. But that’s just it we know sex drugs money trans LGBTQ etc all in that order
All peoples eventually lose their way, the US is in that groove now under current regime….. and we hope to reverse this soon.
if you're father knew the full extent of modern society. he would have joined the British SS
Everything you just said but from me change UK to America ,
change tanker to infantry( prisoner of war )
My grandfather would Be Completely disgusted if he was alive today to see what has become of the US
Our govt has crashed our country intentionally.
I'm disgusted w the attitude of people and politics in the US these days
Also I got so much respect for this video this popped in my feed also and I was thinking " I don't wanna watch this shit. .. " gave it 2 minutes and ended up watching it 2 times in a row .
Great vid for sure .
I did 3 tours in Germany with the US Army between 1978 and 1987. I found the Germans to be honest and forthright about their Nazi past. As the son of a WW2 veteran it was refreshingly interesting to learn about the war from the German side especially the veterans of the German Whermacht, Waffen-SS, Hitler Youth who fought as teens, and Luftwaffe's paratroopers. Thanks Feli for this video.
Wow, so you were over there when the Berlin wall was still up? I remember seeing that wall come down when I was about 22 and it was the best thing ever.!! it’s hard to believe how the Soviets treated them and I can understand how the Russians were so angry because they were invaded and stabbed in the back by Hitler, but the Soviets treated the East Germans so badly treated them so badly. People were starving and search widespread natural disaster because Berlin was blown to pieces and for years, the United States was taking stuff across the border, and then the Russians build the wall, and they had to do the Berlin airdrops so they can drop food and all kinds of things for babies, including blankets and coats, and things like that, because nobody knew if the Soviets were providing for them at all and they weren’t before. Sad!!
If you believe gentile-nations reign themselves after already the pagans were slaughtered by subverted gentile aristocrazy to install the sio-psyop Christianity you are wrong, the Nazi thing was jewish, one goal was creation of Israel, another goal slaughter and demonize gentiles, especially Germans, because we are the descendants of Amalek for them.
@@montrelouisebohon-harris7023 Yes. I was there during the Cold War. Sometimes things got a little tense when the then Warsaw Pact nations were on annual major military exercises just across the border in then East Germany. NATO was on occasion likewise holding such annual exercises too. Thankfully nothing came of it. I'd like to one day return to see a reunified Germany. The Wall came down while I was attending college and was in the Army Reserve then. I was just as amazed as everyone else never thinking for a second if I'd live to see it.
Tim Heavrin, you mean Wehrmacht, but what did learn from your time in West Germany, can't imagine you spent much time in East Germany. Since, the soviets hated the Americans, and vice versa. Not much has changed since then. Plus, Germany as it is known today didn't exist between 1978 and 1987.
Hi Tim like you I did 2 tours in West Germany in the Royal Air Force (RAF) I was there in the 80's and my second tour was when the Berlin wall came down. I since have lived and worked in Germany in Aviation working for the various airlines. I have a lot of German and Dutch friends from my Military life there and I have visited my old Bases that I served at sadly they are all no longer in use. The town of Gutersloh which was my last posting a friend married a local girl who's mother is a Town councillor, she say's they would love the British back as when we left we took about 20,000 people out of the Towns economy which has made a huge difference. I Love the place and the people as like you my Grandfathers both fought in WW2 and I met men who had fought against our RAF which was interesting to hear their views.
The 'Stumbling Stones' project is brilliant! Never heard of it and it makes so much sense on so many levels. We all pay a bit more attention when we stumble and learn to pay attention to what's happening around us.
Feli, it has been very delightful watching your video experiences and how you approach them with such positivity. We have lived around the world, primarily in Latin America and the Middle East, so your experiences resonate very well with us! Vielen Dank! My father was in the Air Force so we spent several years at Ramstein, from 1962-64. There we many wonderful memories like the birth of my brother at Landstuhl Army Hospital. But most of all I recall (at the age of 6 years) that many of cities still suffered from war damage. For instance, I returned to Frankfurt for the first time in 2017 and was shocked by the extent of reconstruction, the new buildings, and the changes to the Airport. We were there when the wall was built, Kennedy was killed, and the Cold War ravaged everything. Since the War had only ended, many fears existed in the Ami community about bread being poisoned by Nazi guerrillas and fanatics (which is why the military created enormous bakeries to support the bases and all the flour was brought from the States). This concern came from most of the senior American military people had fought in the war, and had returned to Germany 10-15 years later. Their fears were still robust after 18 years. If you would like more of these stories, we would love to share them with you…should we send them to your email? The Cold War had many strange memories as well, but also so did our return to Germany. I completed doctoral studies in Grenoble, France and some of my research took me to the Ruhr where I was examining industrial aspects of supply chains. Germany has changed, but in many ways it remains the same. Aufrichtig, Darly & Randy Jackson, Frisco, Texas
Thank you very much for this. I am from the USA.
My father fought in Germany, and his ancestors (only 1-2 generations earlier) were from Prussia, Bohemia, Bayern, and Luxembourg. In fact, my dad’s uncle fought in WW I, in Germany, also. After that war ended he went to Luxembourg to meet his first cousins.
I hope to travel to Europe some day. I had hoped to take my dad, but by the time I maybe could afford it, he was too elderly. He died in 2009.
One interesting thing. I was with my dad when he had an appointment with a doctor he hadn’t seen before. The doctor came in, greeted us, introduced himself. Then he said, “Hentges. That’s a German name, right? Have you ever been there?”
My dad said, “Well no, not as a tourist. I was there during the war.”
The doctor said, “Me, too, but I was on the other side.”
Then they each shrugged their shoulders and nodded their heads once as if to say, “I understand. War is hell. Been there. Done that.”
From Subscriber in Asia It's Reported that Once Mother Russia re occupies all of EAST GERMANY again to prevent WW3 (NUCLEAR WAR) all the Groups that were not murdered (it's survivors) during the awful Nazi period must be transferred to the large Area of Germany under RUSSIAN RULE to protect them as the Nazi Movement is growing in the WESTERN SECTION OF GERMANY. THE NAZI MINDSET IS ALIVE N WELL IN GERMANY. GERMANY MUST BE KEPT OCCUPIED N DIVIDED FOR THE NEXT 1000 YEARS SAID BORIS YELTSIN 1989. who's family was murdered by the NAZI SS. RUSSIA WILL NEVER EVER FORGET! MUCH BLESSINGS YULIYA BEAUTIFUL N RICH GOD 1ST ALWAYS ⛪✝️
Once upon a time, men were raised with the principles of “fair play”. Whether in sport or any other contest including war, we were taught to be gracious in victory as well as defeat. There was no honor in salting the wounds. Both of my grandfathers fought in the second WW, but neither of them held grudges about it even though they both lost siblings and friends. To bury the hatchet and move on with life after the war, was the best way to prevent another one. The same was said to be true about the American civil war.
To those who use these events of the past to try and instill shame in someone, or to derive some profit from others, i say this. You are no better than those who perpetrated the original atrocities. Both you and them have profited from the same actions and events. If you use labels from these events to try and silence someone because they have different opinions or values than you, then you are using the same tactics that brought those events to pass. It needs to stop now, and we need men who once again understand the concepts of fair play.
This shouldn't be normal. NO MORE BROTHER WARS for these rich bankers.
@@coldwater5707 your father's culture was raped and taken from him
@@coldwater5707 on behalf of Anglo America, i am truly sorry
History is not for us to like or dislike. It's for us to learn from. Feli I am grateful for all your work on this and everyone who took the time to answer your questions. I remember two of my history teachers using the term Nazis instead of Gemans during that time period. Sending love too everyone in Germany
pfff, "History is not for us to like or dislike." If only people actually practiced that when addressing history and past crimes. People have poisoned study of historic events with their emotional attachment to human suffering that should be addressed separately.
You are exactly right Ca and if we don't learn from it, we may repeat it.
If we learn anything from history, its that no one learns anything from history and it tends to repeat itself.
some, like the current regime of China and many other Nations in history, they look back on history not for avoiding the mistake that was Socialism... But how to do Socialism Right, how to do Socialism without losing the reins of power as you murder and marginalize your own populace. They see The Nazis and their only mistake to learn from history was how they ended up losing.
I get pretty Furious when looking at German History of the 19th century. The was a boatload of opportunity to create a modern German state even before WW 1. Prussian blue blood militarism and their boneheadedness ruined a lot
Facinating insight and a very well made and narated vid, thanks from the UK!!
I love you. Ty for telling me this from a germans point if view. I'm so happy that you told me your story.
As the son of Holocaust survivor who lost his entire family in the gas chambers of Auschwitz I would like to thank profusely for this most important video . Your video has given me a lot of insight into modern day Germany . You have provided me with a sense of peace and closure about this very dark period of mankind. You are truly a unique and compassionate person . You cannot return my family to me but you provided me with peace and hope . Thank you for this fearless and comforting video . This video should be mandatory viewing .
Great lecture!
I'm german and I only want say, thank you for this comment.
Marius, you have brought tears of sorrow as well as joy to my eyes
I never knew I needed to hear that. As a German I bow to you and your family. I feel so incredibly sorry for you and so many others. What my ancestors did is an almost unthinkable act of terror, evil and monstrosity. And yet it happened. May your family be never forgotten, may they rest in peace and may we never fall so low again.
@Gary Russ yes, and since we are a democracy, this law is protected by the majority. Which is a good thing.
@Gary Russ absolutely untrue. We have freedom of speech as well. You are just not allowed to sh*t (sorry for this strong word) on the memorials of the victims of an atrocious crime (the victims of the Holocaust) by denying their existence. You can absolutely discuss historical facts and talk about theories.
Exceptionally well done. As a retired U.S. military officer I spent quite a bit of time in Germany and had the opportunity to visit several of the locations you mentioned. They were all respectful and thoughtful memorials to the people affected. Your video also covered these issues very well. Thanks!
Thank you for your service, sir!
Israel appreciates you fighting for their country.
A very nicely put together video and very informative how how Germany talks about WWII. I only remember talking about the war for a couple weeks in one grade in high school... it was no where long enough to make it feel like it even really happened. I've learned more things in this short video about that time than I did in school at all. Thanks for that ❤
Thank you for this video! I think it was very well done young lady!
My grandfather was a jewish resident in Düsseldorf and fled with his family to the Netherlands before the start of the war. They managed to survive in the Netherlands hiding at many addresses. About ten years ago a German holocaust museum in Düsseldorf got his phone number and they asked about my grandpa's story. The interviewers drove hundreds of kilometers to his house in the Netherlands multiple times. His story is now at display in the museum. My grandfather held close relationships with the director of the museum until he passed away a few years ago. It is incredible through how much effort the Germans go to spread information about the holocaust, I have immense respect for this.
My Grandmother was a German-Jew. Last name...Silberberg. They came here to the U.S. in 1886. They were all blue eyed blondes. They didn't hate Germany. They came to the U.S. for the opportunity to live a better quality of life. None of them wanted to go to War with Germany before, or after Japan attacked the U.S.
Germany did go batshit crazy with the Nazis, but if the Allies hadn't shit all over Germany with the Treaty of Versailles...never would have been a Hitler, or a Second World War
Hi Feli, as an American Jewish son of German Jews that fled the Holocaust, I want to thank you for your hard work and willingness to do an in depth dive into this subject. I thought that you might want to know that my father's family had lived near you in Germany for over 500 years until the 1930's. They always felt that they were "good Germans," (my great grandfather was even a bugermeister!), so you can imagine how difficult it was for my father to leave home. He was so homesick for Germany that he wanted to go back, but he knew it was too dangerous. My grandmother (his mother) stayed until 1938, refusing to leave! My mother in Berlin barely made it out alive right before Kristalnacht due to the difficulty of immigration at that time. I almost was never born! I would love to talk to you about my family's experiences, and some that were part of the 6 million Jews murdered. Most people don't know that there were only 9 million Jews in Europe in 1933, so 2/3 were killed. Only now, 80 years later has the Jewish worldwide population recovered to a level of 15 million, equaling pre war levels. Feli, thanks again, you are the best!
I'm glad you were born.
Stop controlling everything
@@FalangeRevolutionary986 ok Muslim cult back off
Informative video. Thanks for doing that. 👏🏼
Thanks, Feli. I appreciate this very much. Vielen dank.
This has been a very fascinating video to watch. My Jewish Grandfather was able to flee Germany with my father in July 1939 and ended up in Cincinnati. My grandmother and Uncle where supposed to follow a couple months later. We know what happened in August of 1939. My grandmother, uncle, and Great Uncle ended up in a camp where my Great Uncle passed away. My Grandfather and dad both had their German Citizenship stripped in 1941. Eventually my Grandmother and uncle got deported and made it to the USA many years later. My father never talked about what happened to them leading up to them fleeing Germany. As my dad knew his health was deteriorating he wrote a book about his life, growing up in Germany, and what lead up to them fleeing Germany. I learned last year that Germany was allowing descendants of persecuted classes in Germany to restore the German Citizenship which I am now in the process for myself and my kids. My dad was always very proud of being German.
Thanks for this story. My Jewish Grandfather and grandmother flee Germany with my mother, a young child at the time, in 1934 but they mobed to Israel, then under British control.
That is the tragic irony behind the Nazi-time. German Jews before the Nazi-time felt very much connected to Germany and the greatest scientists of our time were often Jews from Germany.
This is a topic I have thought about a number of times. I’m a 71 year old American woman who is encouraged by what I have learned here. I truly appreciate your efforts to educate and inform. You are a bright and sensitive young woman.
I don't think she is. She is the perfect example that anti-German propaganda is just as alive as 1945.
This is a good effort.
Lesson has to be learned so that this kind is not reenacted.
Thank Q🎉❤
I really like the German flag, I ain't gonna lie and also I have deep admiration for German culture but only thing that disappoints me is that they are so less patriots. Let me say this whenever I hear the word "Germany", nazi / h*tler aren't the first thing that comes to my mind, that is the thing of the past, don't cope just move on. Just like in the US, I hope to see those beautiful German flags on top of people's houses in Germany while I'm still alive. peace
Ich mag die deutsche Flagge wirklich, ich werde nicht lügen und ich habe auch große Bewunderung für die deutsche Kultur, aber das Einzige, was mich enttäuscht, ist, dass sie so wenig Patrioten sind. Lassen Sie mich das sagen, wann immer ich das Wort „Deutschland“ höre: Nazis/H*tler sind nicht das Erste, was mir in den Sinn kommt, das gehört der Vergangenheit an, komm nicht zurecht, geh einfach weiter. Genau wie in den USA hoffe ich, noch zu Lebzeiten diese schönen deutschen Flaggen auf den Dächern der Häuser in Deutschland zu sehen. Frieden
How does two world wars find germans in the middle? How nice it must be to forget your own pain while countless families suffered their losses and sometimes there were no bodies to bury. What really did happen? is there a repeat to come did we learn something? Maybe its not war maybe we tolerate evil and for what? I would not want to be a survivor my conscience would not let, yes I get it the shame the hideous actions of one leader, I am not a german but you did not stand up against this tyrant now you live with the shame it was a difficult time in history so good for you germans who stand a up . Many of those who lived through this are now gone. As long as we treat this as just something that happened History has a way of repeating. Abhoring 😢 Germany we forgive you. God have mercy on us all.
@@raytafoya9046wtf? 😂
Just stumbled across your channel today and after watching this video, I subscribed. My father fought in WWII and I had the opportunity to worked in Wiesbaden, Germany for 2 years (2013 to 2015). Germany is a beautiful country full of beautiful people. It was a highlight of my career and one that I plan to repeat. Look forward to returning some day. Greetings to all from Las Vegas, NV., USA.
Thank you for taking the time to do this video
Great video. As a dual Polish and American citizen, this is a topic that has interested me my entire life. My great-grandmother used to tell me first-hand stories about her experience in the war. My great-grandmother and grandmother(as a child) were both in Warsaw during the Uprising.
I'd like to mention something I don't often enough see Germany receive sufficient praise for. Germany is a shining example of the power of enlightenment and transformation. A nation once consumed by darkness, it has become a beacon of light in the modern world. It proves, beyond a doubt, that change is always possible.
Thk U 🙏& Thats the first time I ever read such a comment. In my 55 years on earth I was raised as Feli explains it perfectly. It got stucked deep in my heard and brain what germany did in WW II & Holocaust. I don´t feel to be real guilty(in a way I do) to what happend because I am much to young BUT I feel the very strong reponsibility that these or similar things can´t happen again. I was always against right winged pardies in germany. But I don´t stop at the borders of germany. For me "Never again" means everywhere. I try to tell people from everywhere to learn out of the mistakes germans made in these dark germany history years. A Problem what we have in germany is that these times where differently refurbished in the two totally different school systems in West and in East Germany. As a Westgerman raised I only can guess that in the east it was more like "the Nazi´s are all in West germany and they are guilty not us" I is hard for me to understand that the extrem right wingend Pardies always get the most votes in former east german parts. Maybe it would be goood if some one of my age and Eastgermany raised would explain his view to it. Maybe me I am wrong here. I like to learn about other views about why there is the difference. That is what we always should do. Learn to under stand the others view. For me the most importantthing what everyone need to learn is Emphathy !!! More Empathy, less wars !
Germany still did not pay reparations for war for Poland even tho it was the most destroyed country and first victim they are saying it is expired but world crimes never expire German country do not want to pay because of how much it is and they did not even give back what they stolen what a democratic country they are or rather try to act like one .
You mean "bacon of light" 😂
This is so very true
I hope u r right. We need some change is the USA. pls pray for us
American perspective; I have a deep respect for how Germany handled the war, and not only in just the latter decades. I've read quite a few memoirs of Weirmacht soldiers, and their private process of coming to terms with their beliefs and what those institutions had done. Not all were so open to self reflection of course, but their stories of the German population pulling themselves back up and simply getting back to work was admirable. I don't think any other country as badly beaten as Germany could have achieved what they have.
I also definitely think it's worth mentioning how the last 18 months has likely signaled the end of the post-war era. Germany deciding to send weapons to Ukraine (rightly or wrongly), to be used against Russians, was a very significant decision that was a little understated in the foreign press. It was hard for us to understand the hesitancy of Germany to back Ukraine in this way. We know of Germany's past, and often make off-handed jokes, but to the majority of the world Germany is simply the economic superpower of Europe; not the direct descendant of a murderous tyrannical mob. We failed to realize how internalized the war is for modern Germans; far more than it is for other nations. In other western nations, sending arms to another country is a political decision. In Germany, it was a personal one. We could all certainly stand to learn a lesson or two from Germany.
Ich als Deutsche habe nicht mitbestimmt, dass wir Waffen in die Ukraine schicken. Politik handelt nicht im Sinne des Volkes, schon lange nicht, oder noch nie.
Now if only Americans would do the same and realize they have actually ruined the world.
Well you could say that sending weapons to Ukraine is also very personal for other former Soviet states. Living under the Russian occupation is now again a real possibility in Europe. Not something to be taken lightly.
This was so interesting. Fantastic job!!! Thank you.
Thanks for talking about this and sharing.
Thank you for discussing this topic so forthrightly. I know it had to be difficult for you.
I must tell this story: Around 2000, when I was living in Chicago, my curiosity sent me to a rundown bar in my neighborhood. I sat at the bar & met an 80-ish year old man from Bavaria. I realized this would be my only opportunity to talk to someone who witnessed the rise of the Third Reich. I asked him what he remembered. He was about 13 when Hitler came to power as Chancellor, so he was aware of what was going on. He explained Germany was flat on its back economically due to reparations from WW1. There was a feeling of hopelessness everywhere. After the collapse of the Weimar Republic, they were willing to give him a try. First thing he did was make the trains run on time. The feeling was, if he can do that, let's give him more party members & see what he could do. There were public works and other things that improved people's lives. He repeatedly denied knowing about systemic attacks on Jews or the Holocaust; he said he learned about those after the war. As a teenager, he admitted getting swept up in the emotion, though he had suspicions of people's fervent following. He learned what was going on behind the scenes after the war. He realized he had been duped and was visibly angry that he had been manipulated.
I'm so happy that I took the chance to ask him and doubly happy he was so open. It was like he was waiting for someone to tell his story to. My advice: If you have a chance like this, take that chance. If they say "Get lost", you've lost nothing. But if they open up, you'll have a view of history you'll never learn from books.
"He repeatedly denied knowing about systemic attacks on Jews or the Holocaust; he said he learned about those after the war."
The usual cop-out of that generation. I talked with enough of them to know that this is a lie. They DID know, they made an effort to not notice.
@@Quotenwagnerianer
Absolute nonsense.
"I talked to enough of them" Lol.
My mother LIVED through the war. Her side of the family is German. My grandfather fought in the war. They did more than "talk to people" about it.
Unless they were in the middle of a major city, they would not have known about the mass roundups.
Of course they knew that Jews were rounded up, but that's exactly the same thing that is happening in America right now. A certain group of the population has been singled out for their politics and are being arrested without charge and sentenced by corrupt judges, yet half the country cheers it on because they are brainwashed by media. Exactly the same situation.
Playing Call of Duty of course makes you an expert I'm sure. In the video game, everybody knew what was happening to the Jews, right?
All your cartoon characters explained to you what happened, I'm sure.
@@dialecticalmonist3405 "Of course they knew that Jews were rounded up, but that's exactly the same thing that is happening in America right now. A certain group of the population has been singled out for their politics and are being arrested without charge and sentenced by corrupt judges, yet half the country cheers it on because they are brainwashed by media. Exactly the same situation."
You did not just compare... oh. my. God...
Get your ass out of your head. Fast!
And you are talking to a german you dingus!
Not some "My mother's side is german and my grandfather lived through the war"-dude who thinks he has it all figured out. I live IN Germany. I think I know what I''m talking about.
My Grandfather was in a russian POW camp. I remember the fights my father had with him because he feigned ignorance to the Holocaust.
So don't talk to me as if you had any first clue about anything.
@@Quotenwagnerianer Complete bullshit. Life back then did NOT transcend your village or the next one. There was no smartphones, no internet, there was no TV, ppl barely had radios.
It simply happened behind most peoples backs... Always so easy from someones perspective who grew up in peaceful & easy times, judging people who you know nothing of.
Shame on you
@@Quotenwagnerianer -- I'm sure they were caught up in the 'blaming the Jews' thing, but they didn't know about the death camps, because after the war, the Americans were was so po'd at the horror they found at the death camps that they dragged German citizens in to see it (and this is on film), and they were visibly horrified. I don't think there's any way they could know about the death camps. Even the allies didn't believe the leaked death camp intelligence stories until they finally saw them after the war.
I am a 57 year old American. We discussed WWII in 8th and 11th grade. However, my greatest education on the subject came in 1989 when I was stationed in Augsburg, BRD. I toured Dachau not long after I got there and then several times after as I made it my mission to bring as many of my fellow soldiers to Dachau as I could. I also toured the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam, and the beaches at Normandy. While all these experiences were very important perhaps the most important was in talking to my girlfriend's father, who was a Hauptsturmführer in the Waffen SS in the war. He was not apologetic and actually still had his intact uniform, with all the illegal regalia on it. He did not like me nor the fact that his daughter, who was a German MD, was dating me, a lowly enlisted man. He also was held in a prison camp after the war and was not released until the mid 50's. Overall, I found the German people to be quite up front about the war and only a few that I called "The Unrepentant" . To this day I miss Germany and In meinem Herzen ist es mein zweite heim. Thank you for taking your time to do this.
i'm german and i've been to hadamar, which supposedly was a concentration camp. not sure what you have seen in Dachau that i haven't seen in Hadamar, but probaby nothing since there's nothing to look at. Some fake gas chambers and fake gas showers, heavily restaurated and nothing as it was there originally. If any of the obvious fake stuff impressed you, you're not smart. Are you jewish? You're probably so mixed up you don't even know
anyway, respect to your girlfriend's father the Hauptsturmführer in the Schutzstaffel. but when it comes to getting his very awful and worthless daughter to act proper, he failed miserably if he let her marry an am*rican of all people. In other better cultures, she'd be dead and so would you. The few germans that you encountered that were NOT unrepentant were just losers that were too cowardly to die in the war. americans are annoying, i'm glad for afghanistan for beating you and maybe Russia has a nuke for you too
he did nothing wrong, anne frank didnt write a diary and it never happened
@Erik The Bourbarian, what makes you say his uniform was illegal? And good for him for not being apologetic. Many Russians, Americans, and British showed no remorse, nor any guilt for their evil deeds. So, why should this German have been expected to apologize. When many people played a significant role in murdering millions of people on all sides.
It would be prejudicial to insist he apologize. When others did worse and were treated like heroes, saviors, and saints, but nobody demands their admission of guilt. Although it wouldn't change anything now anyway cause most of them are dead, if not all of them, any of them still alive would be a miracle.
Plus, during the aftermath forcing people to admit guilt. Is not genuine guilt, it is coercion, but they didn't have many individual trials. Most of the time they just said a group were guilty, not Individuals. So, they didn't present more precise evidence to prove someone played a role. Other than loosely linking them by association. Rather than finding their fingerprints on a murder weapon, and witnesses to help prove the facts.
So, touring Dachau and the Anne Frank house serves as your greatest education? Of what exactly? Cause world war 2 goes far beyond two sites turned into museums. Plus, what do the beaches of Normandy teach you?
And you felt the need like a typical Jew to bring others to view Dachau. What was the benefit for you at age 22 or 23, to bring others to see Dachau in 1989?
Did you ever considered the fact you're an American was why the woman's father didn't like you. Especially since you were part of the armed forces. A representative of his old enemy, and adding insult to injury by dating his daughter.
@@chriss3030 @Erik The Bourbarian does not appear to be asking for an apology, rather noticed how some are still adamantly unapologetic. That a member of the US military took the time to educate himself about the sacrifice for democratic liberties and the results of a demented ideology is sadly something you Chrissy definitely lack. Surely there are German educated students that would happily take the time to educate you. Es ist nie zu spät, sich weiterzubilden.
@@davidnunez4947 i don't need to educate myself about the fact you are ignorant. I already know that. Plus your silly misguided statement about "the sacrifice for democratic liberties and the results of a demented ideology..." It isn't something I lack, but it is your stupid irrelevant nonsense shining through.
War has nothing to do with democracy, you're an idiot for saying such foolishness. Plus any sacrifice during world war 2 wasn't made in the name of democracy. Yet you have the audacity to say it's never to late to educate myself. Obviously, you are the fool in need of an education.
Pardon me for coming late to this video. Absolutely wonderful channel and presentation on this topic. Keep up the wonderful, hard work. I can't imagine the BTS work you have to put in to make great content like this!
This is so interesting, thank you for the video
I served in West Germany (as it was then) as a Soldier from 1970 - 1974. My own experience was one of the 'younger generation' being reasonably comfortable when the War years were mentioned. My own dear Father survived those dreadful times and lost many good friends from 'U boat' attacks in the North Atlantic. I often wondered how he would have felt knowing that I had a German girlfriend during my time in Nienburg (Weser) - He sadly passed away in 1968 - I would have been happy to relate that your people were so much more like the British than anywhere else I have ever been (which covers quite a lot). One of the happiest times of my life was spent Langlauf skiing in Mittenwald (Bavaria). I just love your Country and the German people, what a pity I was not able to let my Father know. God Bless
If he was anything like my grandpa he wouldn't have cared about the girl. He got a purple heart from D-Day, and as he told my dad " I went over there to kill them and then I came back home and married one".
I don't think your father care that you dated a German. I did a few tours in Iraq and if I had kids who dated and Iraqi I wouldn't care. The governments go to war, the men fight the battle. If your dad is a reasonable and wise man he's not going to get mad at the soldier on the other side.
My mom and American daughter of an American soldier married my father who also was from Deggendorf of the Bavarian part of Germany . 👍👍 My American grandfather being the way he was he was not very happy about it as he was a pow in Germany at the battle of the bulge . All my life while he was alive my grandfather would call me a Nazi bastard not realizing that Hitler wiped out my father's hometown all because they were Roman Catholics . My dad came to the states 10 years after the war was over at the young age of 15 and was a true American patriot till the day he died back in 2009 .he always the loved the Americans . The German people are wonderful and beautiful people that were victims of their own political leaders .
@repentandbelieveinJesusChrist8 bad translation,
@@NinjaSushi2 Yeah, war was just a deadly game men played. We should have asked the German POWs we captured if they had much fun fighting for Hitler! Did they lose any friends playing this game?
Its all in good fun after all! Europe would have been such a boring place if World War II just didn't happen, people would have gone on living their boring lives without the opportunity to shoot and and kill human beings. American servicemen could have spent their Christmases with their families. So that German fellow that was shooting at them and keeping them in Europe was a real annoyance.
I'm 48 & from England. My old English teacher served in the RAF and was shot down over Germany. He told us some great stories. A quote I was given "nobody wins in war" is so true. We were taught about WW2 but also many other points in history.
Another saying, "The next saddest thing to losing a war, is winning it."
Nobody wins at war lmao
So we should have stood by and just waited ????? Interesting.
Is that not the TRUTH?@@b.m.t.h.3961
No, we shouldn't have had wars full stop. And here we are in 2023 with a war in Europe!@@DarkNJuju
Many thanks.
I have been in Bayern and it’s lovely. The people there are friendly and genuine.
Tschuss!
I was based in Germany, with the British Army at Bergen-Hohne, next door to Bergen Belsen, from 1985 to 1990. My Great Uncle Andrew, coincidentally, was one of the British soldiers that liberated the camp. I remember going to a local pub and chatting with an older German veteran that had fought the Russians on the Eastern Front. It was a very interesting conversation (auf Deutsch - a few beers always improved my German, or so it appeared! ) and I'm sure he's long gone, 39 years later. I enjoyed my time based in Germany. I don't really recall any discussion of the Holocaust with the locals. As soldiers, we all visited the memorial/museum, at the former site of the concentration camp.
Im 31 and live in Northern Ireland, WW2 was taught too me back when i was going through primary school and my teacher once said "not only is it German history, but it is mankinds history. It is the foundations for our world today"
Danke für deine passende Herangehensweise und Set-Design für dieses wichtige Thema. Nie vergessen - nie wieder zulassen!
I found this today in my feed-thank you for this video. I’m an American living in SW France. I do enjoy reading/watching history from a different perspective. Having grown up in the US, it’s interesting to read/watch things from an English/French/other country perspective. I wish the students in the US were taught about the dark things in our post the same way.
I subscribed because of this video. Often wondered about how German's handled this subject. I was in Germany when I was younger but was not smart enough to ask questions of the natives. This video helped enlighten me. Thank you so very much.
Ich hatte die Gelegenheit mit 2 Menschen zu sprechen die den Holocaust überlebt haben. Es war kaum auszuhalten wie einen das mitnimmt. Wir haben nicht nur die Verantwortung, dass so etwas nie wieder passiert, sondern auch die Verantwortung den Menschen weiter eine Stimme zu geben, die nicht mehr können. ❤ danke für dein Video. Grüße aus München 🙂
Und "Krank ist Last?"
Wir waren im Rahmen meiner Ausbildung mit der Firma in Weimar im Arbeitslager Buchenwald. Das war so unfassbar unangenehm. Viele Gebäude waren schon nicht mehr da, aber die verbleibenden reichten.
Veeling Danke . I'm happy to state that I ran into this level of enlightened awareness more than a few times in Germany.
Die Verantwortung dass es nicht in Deutschland wieder auftaucht oder weltweit? In Deutschland ist es unmöglich dass so etwas durchkommt. Jedoch in anderen Ländern? Völlig möglich. Jedoch würde man Sanktionen kassieren bis zum Bitteren Ende. Früher hat man nicht viel was von Sanktionen mitbekommen. Mittlerweile ist jede Nation abhängig von jedem. Wobei Qatar sehr nahe dran ist.
Es ist hart. Ich habe im Stadtarchiv meiner Heimatstadt gearbeitet und Zeitzeugeninterviews mit überlebenden Zwangsarbeitern gesprochen.
Hallo Feli. Thank you for this video. My mother was a rebellious Dutch teenager and signed up with the SS to become a Schwesterhelferin. She was put to work all over the east, and towards the end of the war she was even arrested by the Russians. You know what that was like for women working for the German armed forces. She was handed over to the Americans in a prisoner exchange and slowly made her way back to The Netherlands. Shortly after arrival, she was arrested, tried, imprisoned for two years for collaboration with the enemy. All this completely destroyed her relationship with her family. Her mother testified against her at the trial. She married my dad in 1950, and I was born in 1955. She and her family hid her past from my father till around 1960 after my father started making inquiries. People who were "wrong" during the war were ostracized by many non-german societies after the war. I grew up with this cloud over my head with a severely PTSD mother who refused to be treated. Recently I found out that you can inherit PTSD, although the trauma is not from the war but from living with a PTSD sufferer. I left The Netherlands for the United States in 1982 to remove myself from all this, although I often think of all the things she might have witnessed. She never talked about it.
Your video made me wonder about the impact on Germans my age (67).
Thanks for all your insights.
thank you for posting your video. I was stationed in Neu Ulm in 1973-4. While there I was well treated by all the West German citizens and soldiers that I met (I had trained with a group of Luftwaffe NCO's in the USA, also and we were good friends). Having visited Dachau a couple of times, and being well read on WWII history, it was perplexing to me how these kind, generous people could have been involved with the holocaust. I returned to Germany a few years ago, and noted the "stumbling stones" and had a local woman describe how the Americans had liberated Germany from the Nazis. Perplexing, at first glance. However when looking at history, there are many examples of civilized people being intimidated and controlled, through fear, such as the Russians under Lenin and Stalin, the Chinese under Mao, the Iraqis under Sadam, the Russians again under Putin the Iranians under their current government, and many other populations over the centuries. Again, thank you for adding some light to the discussion.
@@azpete6436 Americans are also being controlled through fear by the current GOP and with the help of propaganda channels like FoxNews, OAN, Newsmax, social media and the dark web. I have a feeling that history is repeating itself...this time on this side of the Atlantic Ocean.
My mother was a rebellious Dutch teenager and signed up with the SS to become a Schwesterhelferin.
Never happened. SS were GERMAN.
If she was SS as you claim, and she was arrested by the Soviets, she would have been executed where she stood. Cut the bullshLt.
Thank you for sharing your story. I remember my mother speaking of one of her neighbors in the early 60s when she first married my father who was a German immigrant and apparently priased Hitler and whose opinion of him was of a revitalizing force in rebuilding Germany from wherever it was post-WW1. This having been about and around the time of my conception, I never met this woman, but it my takeaway from it was that people could be in very different places and have very different perspectives of anything, so using words like "everyone, nobody, always, or never' is our own form of exaggeration and not an accurate world view.
Großartiges Video! Hut ab & vielen Dank! ✌️😉👍
Wow, I really enjoyed this. Thank you.
Thank you for this video!
My father was German, a child during WWII. My grandfather was SS, one of my great-uncles is still (as far as I know) considered missing in action on the Russian front. The home my father's family lived in during and just after the war is in Dachau, I remember, when visiting Germany with my father, combining a stop to see his childhood home with a tour of the KZ and memorial. One of his earliest memories was, as a child, looking out towards Munch from Dachau, and see the sky as it glowed as the city burned from allied bombs. After the war, as he grew older, was a much stronger memory, of course, not the impressions of a young child. He talked about attending school in shifts (you were assigned to either morning or afternoon classes) due to a lack of both schools and teachers, and earning money for university expenses doing construction in the late 1950s efforts at rebuilding. (He earned his PhD in chemistry, and eventually wound up working in Kodak in Rochester, NY in research, your family probably took pictures on film he helped work to improve, and had them developed on paper his work improved, as well.)
My father's experience learning about WWII seems parallel to my experiences learning about Vietnam as a high school student in the US in the 1980s. It was too recent to make it into the history books, to far back to be current events, and still a living memory for my teachers, who tended to take for granted that this was something people just knew from experiencing it. His understanding was to a certain extent shaped by post-war slogans and public reeducation, e.g. "Never Again a German Soldier."
My father was profoundly anti-war and anti-fascist, and deeply resented that Germany was re-militarized, which he felt was under US pressure, as part of the Cold War. One of the last political conversations we had, as my father's dementia progressed, was leading up to the US 2016 presidential reaction. He was quite clear that the Republican candidate at that time (who shall remain unnamed here to hopefully avoid the attention of search bots on your page) was "a N@zi" and "just like H!tler." (Words again obscured to help keep out unwanted searches...)
My father was quite willing to talk about WWII, and the associated atrocities, seriously, with anyone. However, he was not at all comfortable with any sort of jokes, either about the war (which was a living memory of horror, for him), it's aftermath, or the Holocaust and associated persecutions and atrocities.
Just wondering if we knew each other. We wound up living in Henrietta NY for seven years 67-74. I had a paper route close to RIT.
Clearly, ALL kinds of ordinary decent Gemans were swept along with the tide of fear as the nazis became completely entrenched in every aspect of ordinary day to day life, whether you fully approved of their false propaganda lies or not. There was a film on YT showing inside a German Cinema, just after the war, that was full of ex German Military men. They were forced to watch Allied News Reel scenes, of the discovery and opening of the Death Camps. Many of these young Germans were in tears, and watched through cupped hands over their eyes.
Your father isn't alone with his thoughts about that candidate. I see him as still a want'a be.
Hi Feli, thanks for an excellent video on this sensitive topic. As an Israeli who’s worked with many Germans (still do) and has visited Germany many times for both work and leisure, I’ve always found Germans to be well informed on this topic. Most Germans living today are of course not to blame for what their grandparents or great grandparents did, but knowing the facts and accepting the historical context is important. Whenever the Holocaust was brought up, it was always by my German counterparts who were either curious about my family history in that regard, or simply wanted to broach the topic and address what they thought was the elephant in room (it isn’t, I don’t feel compelled to ask every German I meet about it…)
I wish other countries were as honest and astute about teaching their unrevised histories as Germany is about this topic.
I had no idea Germany was so forthcoming about that sad time! Thank you!
I wish my country (America) was so forthcoming in its own affairs. Instead we try to change the narrative so it doesn't appear so bad. Even to this day with all the infighting in Congress. I didn't think something like Hitler could happen again but Putin scares me. Thank you for your stories, I'm half German but not born there, my grandfather was but never spoke to my father about it. I sometimes feel a little guilty about it too.
I honestly couldn't believe people could do such things. Until I saw dudes in south central L.A. beat people up with no compunction, remorse or tinge of humanity on there faces. I had someone rob me with a gun in my face and the look on his face was cold, uncaring and terrifying.
So watch out, people can still be like that. In this day and age, with all the history to look back on you'd think that wouldn't be the case. Sorry I'm rambling but you put so many thoughts in my head, forgive me.
Great video. I was born in Munich and my father was from Cincinnati, so we have that in common. 😊
Really detailed and informative, thank you
I remember my visit to Dachau. It was a life changing day and chilled my soul. I admit I sat down at one point and just cried. The memory is 40+ years old, and still makes me sad. For a nation to keep such a place open and bare its soul and sins to the world in such a memorial takes great depth of character
I lived and worked in Germany back in 1980. Since then it has always had a special place in my heart. My longest friendships are from that time. In 2014, I was speaking to a dear friend after Germany won the World Cup in what had to be the most perfect game I've ever watched. She told me how people were out on the streets waving German flags and singing the national anthem. Then she said, "This is the first time in my life I've felt proud to be a German". That made me sad. But she never felt she was allowed to be proud of being a German - 60+ years after the end of the war! Germany has gone to great lengths to repent of its past. More than any other nation. It has gone out of its way to show compassion and kindness to outsiders. More than any other nation. I think Germany has faced a lot of shaming by people who often express bigotry and hate under the guise of 'history'. They deserve better. Germany is not a perfect nation, but it is better than most.
Agreed. I also find it more sad and more sickening than I could possibly describe that there are more than hints of the propaganda and the beginnings of the "othering" and abuses in my own home country which has always before taken great pride and more than their own share of credit for ending such things in Germany. Ironic doesn't hold enough meaning as a word at all, does it?
All lies and propaganda.
Yes I was a much more uplifting visit to the soviet gulag graves scattered across east Europe to see all the 30,000,000 dead Christians killed by the future victims of Germany. I guess Lev Bronstein knew what Germany would do in a couple decades so he worked out a preemptive strike. After all the New York Times posted about the Holocaust as early as 1915.
That place was used for propaganda
Hi Im from Germany and live in a smaller city near dachau called Hebertshausen.
When I go outside I usually go down the small mountain near my Garden.
I walk through a forest and I arrive at the KZ Graveyard of the Victims.
It is allways really sad when I enter the place because I can fell that something very cruel happend here a long time ago.
May God bless you !
Have a good day!
Excellent video presentation, Feli. I’m American, 69 years old, and a student of History. I’ve learned that we humans are capable of shocking atrocity, yet also capable of incredible kindness. Your presentation has helped mature and deepen my understanding of the duality of those extremes that are part of our nature. Thank you.
DIDN'T AMERICANS KILLED MILLIONS OF NATIVE AMERICANS? AND ENSLAVED MILLIONS OF AFRICANS?
recently there was an Earthquake in Turkey, and just a short distance away there was a Russian invasion of Ukraine, it wasn't controversial to send aid to the victims of the Earthquake in Turkey, but it was somewhat controversial to send aid to the Ukrainians that were affected by this human made disaster cause by all those armed illegal aliens coming across the border from Russia, and they started shooting, killing, and bombing innocent civilians!
There is a mind trying to kill people in Ukraine, but just mindless nature killing people in Turkey, the quake is over but the war is ongoing, so are we to blame the humans that came across the border without proper visas and with illegal military grade weapons, for this human made disaster in Ukraine? I sometimes wish those Russians were never born, like if there were no children born in Russia from 1990 to 2010, there would be no one to fight Putin's war. I hear Putin also visited Ukraine without permission, where was Putin's visa?
This is a truly wise man !
Wow you figured out something the religious people knew already thousands of years ago.
@Anon Ymous some atrocities are more shocking than others, the United States never ran a death camp for instance, the United States never started a World War. World Wars are atrocities in and of themselves. The United States fought in many wars, a few of which we started ourselves, but most of which we didn't.
Danke für dieses herausragende Video.. well done 😌🙏
An add of a young Japanese girl , the caption reads , " Does she need to feel guilty about what Japan did in WW II ? "
No one in Germany needs to feel guilty about what occurred .
However , People should recognize it happened , and learn why it happened .
.
As a German I can tell you we always talked about WW2 in school. From 6th class to 12th, we also went to a concentration camp. Also with my family we always openly talked about the war and nazi germany. We don’t want this to happen again but as some say, we aren’t hostages of our time.
Germany would be better off if they had won the war. The cesspool the country is in today is a testament to their failure since the war.
Schuldkult.
still a lot of racists in germany. and it is shifting towards them at the moment
LOL Germany persecuted the unvaccinated based on flimsy evidence just 2 years ago! 10 to 1 if the situation had been any worse you would've started rounding them up in camps.
For Germans, the ends always justifies the means.
Remember, if it wasn't for Hitler, Germany would never have been the way you are living now
Go study the agreements that were forced on Germany before Hitler
- Germany should give up all its assets in other countries
- Germany should produce 5000 train engines and 150 thousand cars for the Allies without taking money
Germany had to place large amounts of mines under the jurisdiction of France and other countries for years.
Elbe and Oder rivers as well as the Kiel Canal in Germany should be declared international
In addition, Germany must pay 6,600,000,000 pounds sterling in cash compensation to the Allies.
Saarland region to be handed over to France
Germany will be denied the right to have a submarine and an air force
The Germans did not even have the right to a proper education and a happy life in their country
And hundreds of other things
It is true that Hitler caused the death of millions of people, but he was an unrepeatable person for his country and this should be respected.
With this work, he turned a ruin into Germany
England and Russia did the same thing with Iran during the last 200 years, they left the king of Iran and destroyed the country, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Tajikistan, turkmenistan -Nakhchivan, etc. were all part of Iran's territory, but unfortunately someone like Hitler was not in Iran to reunify Iran and invalidate these imposed contracts
Feli . . . first let me say that your English is absolutely amazing. (Scarcely any foreign accent.) My family hosted four exchange students from Koln, and my brother and I learned much from them. What was never discussed (as teens 30 years ago wouldn't) was your topics in this video. THANK YOU so much for addressing this, especially in these times of differing cultures trying to understand each other. You seem to be wise beyond your years, and I hope you continue to educate the US viewers to look beyond our borders. It is MUCH NEEDED.
Her english is faultless .which amazed. I don't hear any accent. If she didn't say she was from munich I would think she was an American.
A friend of mine, also a German, speaks pretty much excellent English without any accent.
I wish she kept more of her foreign accent but I think Feli can turn it on and off at will. Linguistics is her specialty.
Imagine that. A girl that has been living in US for years speaking excelent english.
@@absolutedegenerat3372 It is amazing. Generally anyone who is speaking a non-native tongue has an accent, no matter how many years they've been in a new country and no matter how hard they try not to have their accent. Only exceptions I know are linguistic professionals or people that learned their second language as very young children. When older children learn they often still can't hear the nuances enough to not have an accent, so she's really special unless she learned English very early on. It's impressive! But hey, you go on being sarcastic and thinking just anyone can do this if they live somewhere else a few years.
Thank you, Feli for bringing this subject up. Im a history buff, and have always wondered how germans felt about ww2
Very informative. My family sponsored an exchange student from Kiel Germany over twenty five years ago and we learned alot about the German culture and cuisine. We never brought up the Hitler subject, and our student (Sandra) never mentioned it either. So I think unless you ask, they are not inclined to bring it up.
While studying in Austria in the late 1970s, I became acquainted with a nephew of a major Nazi figure and decided to bring up the topic. He willingly spoke of it, but didn’t feel any personal guilt. It was a family member but not a particularly close one. He did express some embarrassment. I think he was willing to talk because I approached the subject with curiosity and not blame.
Hitler was very popular up until the 1970s in Germany. Only one a new generation was drilled into their heads from a young age how bad Hitler was that’s when the shift of hero to villain occurred. Germans who lived through the war still loved the Nazi party many years after the defeat.
Rammstein's "Deustchland" is also a really good take on coming to grips with the love/hate relationship Till has with his home country... hard to feel proud of it, but hard to leave it too.
Yes🤘
You can be proud of your country and still criticize it. No country has a perfect history.
@@prodigalbrock Agreed, and this is the beauty of free speech! I just wish the US was better at learning from past mistakes rather than fighting a culture war over whether it can be taught in schools or not.
@@bover-5 free opinion is way better then hate speech
@@prodigalbrock Hitler got his ideas for his eugenics program from America.
I watched the video today after your post. Never clicked it cause I wasnt sure if you'd had done it properly (such a serious topic by a more fun topic youtuber) But: You did! really interesting and worth watching video!