America now is Germany then!?

Question

The German people of the late 1930s imagined themselves to be brave. They saw themselves as the heroic Germans depicted by the Wagnerian Operas, the descendants of the fierce Germanic warriors who had hunted wild boar with nothing but spears and who had defeated three of Rome's mightiest legions in the Tuetenberg Forest.
But in truth, by the 1930s, the German people had become civilized and tamed, culturally obsessed with fine details in both science and society. Their self-image of bravery was both salve and slavery. Germans were required to behave as if they were brave, even when they were not.
It's easy to look back and realize what happened. But at the time the Hitler administration, with the help of the media, looked pretty good to the German people. Hitler was TIME Magazine's Man Of The Year in 1938; the German people assumed they were safe from a tyrant. They lived in a Republic, after all, with strict laws regarding what the government could and more importantly could not do. Their leader was a devoutly religious man, and had even sung with the boy's choir of a monastery in his youth.

Answer 1

Just so everyone knows, if you post an answer that this guy doesn't like, he sends nasty emails. This is the gem I got for posting an answer:
Hello C*nt,
You must be another robotic bush wacker.

huh.
This guy is a real gentleman

Answer 2

As a german living in the US now for almost two years let me tell you that your thoughts are not wrong at all, but you are making a few mistakes here:
Hitler was not a religious man, other than Dubya.
The government (i.e. Hitler himself) gave itseld the power to do everything. This is something GWB is, in another way, is also trying (see wiretapping). That does not mean though that I will compare GWB with Hitler.
What makes me worrying here in the US is, that most people do not care about politics at all and so GWB can do what he wants to do. Because the media is telling his story about national security again and again and what is said on TV is always true, everyone believes now that Iraq has something to do with Al Quaida and therefore 9/11 blablabla.
It's a topic for an hourlong debate, but I have to go back to work...Good night - and good luck!

Answer 3

And so you're saying the U.S. is this way now?

I don't see the correlation.

Germany, prior to WWII was dealing with the aftermath of WWI and the Treaty of Versailles - which place a lot of blame for WWI on the Germans, stripped them of land they had acquired in WWI (or earlier), made them pay reperations, and strictly limited their military.

The Treat of Versailles also generally humilitated the German people. It's no wonder that somebody like Hitler (who ironically wasn't even German) could come in and tell the Germans how great they were - and that all their problems were because of somebody else.

Like I said, I don't see the correlation between pre-WWII Germany and the U.S. today.

We haven't suffered defeat in a major (i.e. World War) - we haven't been forced to pay reparations, we haven't had to give back territory, we haven't had our military might severly limited, we haven't been humiliated.

Granted, there is a lot of national pride, perhaps our focus isn't in the correct area (though that would be a matter of debate), and American's aren't "required" to act as if they are brave.

Yes, pre-WWII Germany was a "republic" - but once the Nazi party was able to gain control, they quickly approved the "Enabling Act" which allowed the Nazi party to deviate from provisions in the German Constitution.

None of this has happened in the U.S.

Answer 4

Actually the Germans loved their leader. No one seems to like ours, so I wouldn't be too worried. Yes I do think that there are people who follow GWB unconditionally with out thinking which is not good. This "imagining themselves to be brave thing is really scarey though" These people have never seen war but on a TV screen. I hope they wake up before they themselves are stuck fighting in it.

Answer 5

usa might win. study your history of WWII. usa grow to be unprepared for the warfare. Germany grow to be arranged for warfare and so grow to be Japan. usa wasn't scuffling with in 2 fronts yet litterly 2 wars. usa gained conflict after conflict the two in Europe and interior the Pacific often concurrently the place usa grow to be out manned and out gunned. The Grace of God and remarkable methods gained the warfare for usa. in assessment to usa, Germany and Japan lost there air and sea superiorities via unfavorable making plans and administration. usa's air superiority in WWII is what generated the separate branch now noted as the united states Air tension. The WWII twentieth. military Air Corps grow to be formed in April 1945, loose from Theater administration, grow to be the variety for the slicing-part us of a Air tension. Semper Fi

Answer 6

so.. you noticed this as well. Glad to see that I'm not the only one making a similar connection. Though, I would hate to think of President Bush as another Hitler..I do see the government even fooling him.
Good for you! Ten points to you!

Answer 7

You make some very good points and I can see the parallel. Scary. I've used that comparison myself in political debates with friends, but you put it a lot better than I ever have. Kudos!

Answer 8

I dont have an answer but thank god some one else sees what i have been seeing

Answer 9

You are such an idiot i don't even now where to tell you where to begin. Man your just a stupid idiot and I'll leave it at that.

Answer 10

Not even close. I've spoken to old Germans, and there IS no comparison.
The Nazis saw themselves as heroic...but the regular Germans were scared to death to speak out against the government for anything they knew. They had to ignore the stench from the concentration camps that were popping up all over Germany...they had to ignore their neighbors disappearing in the middle of the night...they had to ignore the fear, the stigma of having ANYTHING to do with those who were deemed a "scourge" by the Nazi party...they had to ignore the lessons that schoolchildren were being taught, about how the Aryan race was "superior"...
Does this sound like the US? Not even close. The fact that you still can make statements like these without having to worry about the gestapo showing up at your house should tell you something.
You have no idea.