Germans believe some positive aspects to Nazis

[Kyt]

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/...y-Nazi-Era.php

Poll finds quarter of Germans believe there were some positive aspects to Nazi rule

The Associated Press
Wednesday, October 17, 2007

BERLIN: A poll published Wednesday showed a quarter of Germans believe there were at least some positive aspects to Nazi rule — a finding that comes after a popular talk show host was fired for praising Nazi Germany's attitude toward motherhood.

Pollsters for the Forsa agency, commissioned by the weekly Stern magazine, asked whether National Socialism also had some "good sides (such as) the construction of the highway system, the elimination of unemployment, the low criminality rate (and) the encouragement of the family."

Forsa said 25 percent responded "yes" — but 70 percent said "no."

Dieter Graumann, vice president of Germany's Central Council of Jews, said the poll should be considered a warning sign.

"The result of the poll is ugly, disastrous and makes me sad and angry," he told the Netzeitung online newspaper.

Still, he cautioned against "alarmism," and called for more education about the Nazi period.

Stern commissioned the survey, conducted Oct. 11-12, after Germany's NDR public broadcaster last month fired talk show host Eva Herman following her statement on the Third Reich.

News reports quoted her as saying at the presentation of her latest book that, while there was "much that was very bad, for example Adolf Hitler," there were good things, "for example the high regard for the mother" under the Nazis.

Since then Herman, a 48-year-old who has written books urging a return to more traditional gender roles, has stood by her comments.

She later said: "What I wanted to express was that values which also existed before the Third Reich, such as family, children and motherhood, which were supported in the Third Reich, were subsequently done away with by the 68ers" — a reference to 1960s leftists.

Any praise of the 1933-45 Nazi dictatorship is taboo in Germany. The Nazis were responsible for the murder of some 6 million Jews and starting World War II — a conflict in which at least 60 million people died, including more than 7 million Germans.

The poll, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, showed that people 60 or older had the highest regard for aspects of the era, with 37 percent answering "yes."

Those who grew up directly after the war, now aged 45 to 59, were the least enthusiastic about the Nazi era, with only 15 percent responding "yes."

[morse1001]

That will always be a problem! It is true to say that if Hitler had been killed during the attempt on his life in 1938, then the rest of the world would have hailed him as a hero for rising Germany from the ashes of the Weimar republic!

[Kyt]

Originally Posted by morse1001

It is true to say that if Hitler had been killed during the attempt on his life in 1938, then the rest of the world would have hailed him as a hero for rising Germany from the ashes of the Weimar republic!

Thinking about it, I could probably live with that - it would have saved 60+ million lives, and Nazism would probably have succumbed to capitalism soon enough, just like communism.

[Blackwatch]

wow, is this a wide subject...

In my opinion, there is something in the German mentality that wants to conquer and go to war...having said that, prior to the war and during the war years, remember almost ALL of the senior leadership within the Nazi Party (NSWP) and within the SS were Austrian, NOT German...

when the Kaiser took away ALL firearms in the early 30's, it left the entire population wide open to be subjugated and 'dazzled' by the actual and promised standard of living practices by the Party...many of the average German were starving to death by actual inflation of the German Mark (hence the food riots)....

there is also something within us all the loves mysticism and the connection of 'greatness' with the past...The Nazi's were Loaded with it....

and remember, there was going to be a war with Russia ANYWAY....Stalin actually had the plans to invade Prussia in motion when Russia was invaded by Germany...and what Stalin had planned for Germany paled in comparison to what Hitler had planed for Moscow (Hitler was going to kill the entire population and flood Moscow and make a huge lake were the city is now)....

[writersthought]

Yeah, its interesting how people can uphold a stance when their memories of that era were very good. It doesn't shock me that Germans who live during that time would have fond thoughts of those grave events. Many Germans claimed they didn't know what was going on, and that could be the case, but Nazi victories paved the way for the common German to live the high life upon another's expense. There was a good chance that the average German had no ideal how he was living so good, and what you don't know can very well hurt you. I guess its hard to let the good times fade away out of your mind, even if you knew they came the wrong way. Those principals that the Nazis "brought out of their country" were already there, they just exploited them with propagada.

[CTNana]

Am I reading this too simplistically? The people responding to the poll were NOT necessarily supporting the nazi regime nor it's ideology then or now. Merely acknowledging that even in the midst of that dreadful evil there were some tiny rays of sunshine. The price that went with those rays of sunshine was outrageous but it doesn't mean that they weren't there. I just can't see that we can ever move forward if we are stuck in polarised views of events of history without looking at the bigger picture too sometimes.

Only in jest can I subscribe to the notion that millions of people, within what are often politically inspired, man made borders, share personality traits. I do agree that good orators can manipulate the masses to convince themselves that they share common beliefs (Arthur Scargill nearly convinced me to join the strike too!!!!).

Looks like we are going to have to agree to differ Blackwatch.

Cheers
CTNana