Surely it is not ok to say this..?

[CristinaYang]

I was out with a large group of work colleagues on Friday night. They all seem to be normal, nice people.

We were talking about places in Europe we had visited, and our favourite places. I said my favourite city so far was Berlin. I absolutely loved Berlin. The people were so friendly and welcoming and, I mentioned, that on the walking tours we did I had admired how they didn’t shy away from Germany’s role in the war. I liked the way the dealt with it in terms of their monuments and the way tour guides spoke etc. Granted I was only there a couple of days and I certainly wouldn’t claim to be any kind of expert but I felt it was sensitively and honestly spoken about but there were no attempts at denial or justification. This is a summary of the conversation, a few people chipped in and agreed with me etc.

Anyway one woman then pipes up “I’m sorry, is anyone else just not ok with Germans, even now?!” I was aghast and thought oh dear that’s awkward. I was then even more aghast by the people that nodded in agreement, made comments about relatives killed in concentration camps and how they still “feel weird”, “can’t warm to them” etc.

But how can they blame Germans for that these days? It’s an entirely different generation of people and things have moved on. You can’t blame individuals for it. I realise that may be simplistic but as I said I’m no expert and I don’t want to spout off about things I don’t fully understand.

Drink was taken (not by me, i wasn’t drinking) but no one seemed to be out and out hammered.

Is this a secretly commonly held view these days? I can’t imagine that it is...

Crikey.

The sons of the father are not visited on the son...

Suppose they all can't reconcile with being British either, considering we invented concentration camps?

DH is like this, but he was born just after the war, and I think he still believes everything his DPs told him.

Because those people are morons.

I get it all the time. I’m Japanese.

YANBU, but I'm afraid I think it is relatively common. Some lovely German friends of ours were Language assistants over here not so long ago and were constantly told by pupils, "We hate Germans". You only have to see the jingoistic nonsense in the papers when we play them at football too.

Some of us humans can be 'lazy' and paint others with a very broad brush. I'd like to think they wouldn't, but I've seen it sometimes too. makes me sad we are not always very wise

Jurgen the German... Harry Enfield

I've come across a lot of anti-German rhetoric, not directly because of the war, but because of the EU. I guess it stems from their parents generation they couldn't bomb us into submission 80 years ago, so they are going to financially screw us.

Don't forget every nation has a stereotype - and the German stereotype is stand offish - hence “can’t warm to them”

As for this - made comments about relatives killed in concentration camps - it will take longer than two or three generations to forget the holocaust happened directly to your kith and kin. Some people still moan about the Battle o Bannockburn and that happened in 1314.

Narrow mindedness strikes again.

I assume they don't like themselves because their ancestors had slaves.

No? Why on Earth not? 😇

Anyway one woman then pipes up “I’m sorry, is anyone else just not ok with Germans, even now?!”

Is she British?

I went to an international school at one point, which had many different language streams, including a German section. This was in a country that had been occupied so VE Day was a big public holiday. The school decided we couldn’t celebrate the end of the war as it might offend the Germans, so the entire rest of the country got a holiday except our school. None of us held any ill feeling to Germany for the events of the war, but we certainly did about an extra day of school!

Irony is she probably has a Germanic surname 😊

Yabvvu.
It’s easier to have your stance if you had no relatives murdered by the nazi’s.
You have your opinion.
Others are entitled to there’s.

Their’s

What if you had relatives murdered on 9/11? Is a general hatred of Muslims ok too? Because I don’t think it is.

It’s easier to have your stance if you had no relatives murdered by the nazi’s.

Erm, you do realise German does not = Nazi? Right? Many Germans were killed by nazis too.

Its not ok, it's a form of racism

I have sympathy with the people whose relatives were in concentration camps though, that's a very personal thing to deal with even 2 or 3 generations later.

Saying you just can't warm to them though is horrendous.

NewYearNewMe18 we are all member states of the EU. It's not run by Germany so not sure where the idea of them financially screwing us comes from

I have never come across this OP.

And yes she is British. Just has an affected and immature way of speaking.

DH is German and my dc have a German surname
Some of the comments they have had at School,have been awful, even the “jokes” are not very nice. It was especially bad for DD when they did about WW1 at Primary
Sadly for a lot of people it still seems to be an issue.

How do they feel about the UK concentration camps? My great grandfather was in one her in the UK because he was Austrian.

I assume they're British. I wonder if they struggle to look at themselves in the mirror when thinking about all the crimes the British have committed (even against their own people) over the years.

It's an unreasonable comment in this day and age.

And I say that as the daughter of a German Jew whose family members were sent to the camps. It is a complex history, a tragic history, and a history the Germans do not hide from. They wear the hair shirt. They cannot make up for their past errors but as a nation, they absolutely have gone above and beyond the call of duty in owning their shit. I think the way they have dealt with their bitter history is remarkable.
We learn from history. But what we have is NOW. So many Germans have parents who aren't even from Germany and had nothing to do with those atrocities of the past. You just can't punish the current population anywhere for past crimes. Do we make them stand trial for the life they never lived and crimes they never did? No.
I love Berlin too. It's a fabulous city and one I know well. I went there for the first time a few months after the wall fell. If you ever get a chance OP, watch Matt Frei's 3 part series on Berlin. I believe it's on YouTube.

mission DH has relatives “murdered” by The British
Should he hate all Brits then?

And yes she is British.

Well then maybe she should be more wary of her family and friends and neighbours because the British have been right bastards and far more recently than the Second World War.

This is the problem with the teaching of history in schools. It doesn’t cover the British atrocities and war crimes. It makes Germany out to be the baddie and that’s what kids walk out of school believing.