The German Problem

Comments · 8K

• JE

  @jeromelukas7223 · 2 years ago

  As a German myself I am a bit surprised that the side-effects of and aftermaths of WWI are not taken into consideration here which played a vital role in the whole story:<br><br>1) Germany was not part of the Versailles negotiations were reperations and cessions of territory were discussed therfore the peace treaty as a whole was widely viewed as a &quot;Diktatfrieden&quot; (dictated peace). Especially the part where Germany had to accept to be the only nation responsible for the atrocities happened felt revengeful and belittling to Germans <br><br>2) There was a common belief fueled by high ranking militaries and right wing politicians known as &quot;Dolchstoßlegende&quot; (Legend of the dagger blow). <br>It said that Germany was on the verge of winning the WWI and didn&apos;t lose in battle but communists, socialists and other democrats put a knife in the back of our forces politically home which led to the defeat. <br><br>The politicians and ambassadors who signed the Versailles treaty were part of this alleged conspiracy which led to the problem that the democratic system of the Weimar Republic was not accepted by a considerable part of the general society and the majority of industrials and upper class opposed democracy<br><br>3) On top of the economic crisis the winners of WWI still demanded that reperations had to be payed eventhough the nation was more or less bankrupt <br><br>This is why the Weimar Republic was characterized by instabillity right from the beginning and throughout its existence.

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• FL

  @Flynn-dy5zv · 2 years ago

  Between 1871 en 1914, after the defeat against Prussia/Germany and having to give them Alsace-Lorraine, one of the only focus of our french politic, propaganda and education was &quot;Get prepared, we got to have our revenge from the humiliation of 1870, we have to get back what we lost&quot;... It&apos;s strange that they couldn&apos;t imagine that Germany would think the same thing after 1918...

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• TI

  @TiGGowich · 2 years ago

  German perspective here: My great grandparents and partly my grandparents grew up in Nazi Germany. My grandparents and my parents then lived through the socialist hell in East Germany.<br><br>You know how I know that the current situation is bad? I know, because all 3 generations continuously describe how much they feel reminded of the times that led up to these horrible regimes.<br><br>This applies to the corrupt political class, to the way information is presented in the (social) media landscape. This applies to how an elitest class demands everyone agree with their views and accept their decisions. This is reflected in the way that young people have absolutely no clue about the horrors of nazi or socialist regimes. <br><br>I feel devastated... I have grown up being taught to question everything and everyone all the time... but I see 90% of my peers who either refuse to think things through because it might make them uncomfortable, or they deny everything I say claiming I am some sort of conspiratorial nutjob, or in the worst case... they either just quietly go along with it, or actively support it to benefit on a personal level.<br><br>I am hopeless :(

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• PR

  @pramodskumar5037 · 2 years ago

  Fascinating discussion...

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• JO

  @joergsi5788 · 2 years ago

  What was not mentioned in this discussion was the state that Germany was during the great depression. In a nutshell, Germany had areas which were facing local civil wars. In addition, the parties were acting like mobsters, the SPD, KPD and NSDAP Members were beating the crap out of each others, the result was the founding of &quot;protection groups&quot; within the parties, Reichsbanner for the SPD and SA for the NSDAP. I&apos;m qite sure that this kind of unrest did not happen in the USA.

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• JO

  @josefacundoabiega6146 · 2 years ago

  In Argentina, when Perón was asked about how could he lead massive group of people he just said: I didn&apos;t lead them, I just saw where they were going and started walking in front of them.

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• LI

  @liberty-matrix · 2 years ago

  &quot;A conclusion you could make from the Stanford Prison Experiment is that when you tell people to be cruel they&apos;ll do it, if you tell them it&apos;s for a greater good.&quot; ~Vsauce

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• SI

  @sigurdkaputnik7022 · 2 years ago

  For a historian its remarkably ignorant to ignore the effect of the defeat in WW1. The humiliation of the Versailles treaty, the reparations, the occupation of the Rhineland by the French in 1923, the dagger-in-the-back legend, the as ineffective percieved Weimar democracy - this attributed to Hitler&apos;s rise. His followers felt like he would he would give Germany their pride back.

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• JO

  @joemac84 · 2 years ago

  “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” - Paul (Ephesians 6:12)

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• RE

  @Redeye308350 · 2 years ago

  The fact that today it&apos;s very difficult to find a complete video of any of his speeches is terrifying in itself of the modern world.

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• AU

  @Augustus_Imperator · 2 years ago (edited)

  This interview excerpt perfectly encapsulates why there should be no taboo in discussions, no censorship and prohibition in studying and learning history. People have to learn, know and engage in discussions about bad ideas and ideologies exactly with the purpose of stopping them, understanding them and avoiding them to manifest at a societal level. We just can&apos;t afford the luxury to ban ideas that we don&apos;t like and get away with it. We either fight them through debate or we are condemned to see them take power again

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• AN

  @annygetshistory · 2 years ago

  This was a very thoughtful conversation. As some earlier commentators mentioned it was not only the depression and inflation but also the reparations and - what it is more - the feeling of unjust treatment. That was the breeding ground for this anger. And Hitler gave easy answers to it. There is one aspect which is from my point of view very often forgotten: Germany lost it elite, its ruling circles. The Kaiser had to leave and all the way society worked and grew over centuries. It is a very bad idea to destroy the ruling structure of a country; changes have to come from itself over time. Up to now Germany lacks a real elite, real leaders. This vacuum was filled with Hitler. By the way my grandfather also pointed out the importance of the importance of the charimsatic personality of Hitler. He wanted to kill him because he thought without Hitler it wouldn´t have worked so well. But the lesson really is: It can happen everywhere if some circumstances come together. Loosing the ethics is one very important aspect.

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