do they remember the war dead in Germany and Japan?

Question

in countries such as USA, Aus and GB they have remembrance days and veterans, Anzac days to remember war dead and service.

in germany do they celebrate the brave sacrafices of young brave german and japanese soldiers in ww2.

although they had terrible govermnents the soldiers fought very well against heavy numbers and nearly pulled off an unwinnable war. through hardwork and sacrafice.

or do events such as the holocaust cause too much guilt in there countries

Answer 1

In Germany they do. I'm sure they do in Japan as well, but I've never been there.

Germany has numerous memorials for their dead, as well as a national holiday, similar to the US's Memorial Day and Veteran's Day.

Answer 2

I'd wager that the United States would have declared war on Germany the second German troops landed on British soil. If only for their own self preservation. Assuming the Germans were even able to win the Battle of Britain. The US was never fond of Nazi Germany or Hitler. In 1940 FDR openly accused Hitler of attempting world conquest and said negotiations with him were pointless. Also calling the USA the "Arsenal of Democracy." and enacting the lend lease act to support the British war effort. When Paris fell the size of the US Navy and the rest of the US military was significantly increased because Roosevelt knew that the USA would probably eventually enter the war against Germany. The US did not have a powerful ground force at the start of WW2 but they still had a formidable navy and air force. As well as the largest industry in the world. The US was BY FAR the leading producer of both aircraft and ships during WW2. I'd think that they'd break their neutrality and immediately start sending over both naval and air support to the UK in an effort to stop the invasion.

Answer 3

I'm German and no there are no "brave sacrifices" "celebrated"... or I'd better say only by those who are extremely right-winged, not by the normal people, mainstream media or the government. Most Germans are ashamed of the war and there is not much spoken about the soldiers. There are people who wish it would all be forgotten. In some places there are memorials and the names of dead soldiers from that town listed, but they are not celebrated, their death is rather considered tragic and senseless. . Personally I think their crimes should be much more exposed. However there are others who complain that their dead relatives aren't honored. There was an exhibiton about German war crimes in Germany ("War of Extermination: Crimes of the Wehrmacht 1941-1944") with many visitors, many protested against it but others appreciated how the truth was shown (that including me). Most people now avoid to speak about the topic of the army entirely. It's like a making a deal "don't speak about braveness so you can be silent about the atrocities too". We have a memorial for soldiers from our town who died but it's made of sandstone and the wind and rain have almost erased the names already and nobody intends to renew them. But the memorial with the names of the 300 Jews from our town who were murdered in the Holocaust is stable and will stay... and they too were our countrymen. There is also a commemoration ceremony for the Jews each year in our town and none for the soldiers. I think it's right this way.
Believe me I am so glad they did not "pull it off" and this Nazi scourge was smashed. That was more than a terrible government, that was the worst evil the world has ever seen, I cannot describe my feelings about this. They fought on the wrong side, they did NOT fight for Germany, the Allies actually saved Germany. I am truely grateful to the British and American armies that I can now live in a free and peaceful country, I am even thankful to the Soviets although they were themselves brutal, but still better than Nazis. Now most Germans are glad that Germany lost the war. Somewhen in the 90s the German president Weizsäcker spoke it out that Germans too should consider May 8 [Germany's surrender] a day of liberation. Again there was protest against it, but I agree.
There were about 20 000 German deserters in WWII who were executed and others who survived jails or concentration camps. They were officially rehabilitated in 1995 and there is even a memorial to honor them. There was protest against this too but I am happy about it, they truely deserve honor. I wish the whole army would have deserted or mutinied right at the beginning, then there would have been no World War II and no Holocaust and millions of lives would have been saved. The deserters were called cowards but actually they were very brave to refuse to fight for Hitler and this way risked their lives more than they would have in combat. Those who could not think themselves and just obeyed were the cowards. I have also heard some kids now read at school a book about a German deserter who is really a very brave person who refuses to fight for Hitler due to his strong conviction that the war was evil. He is now presented as a role model. I fully agree with that.

Another issue is that many Germans now claim that the German soldiers had fought only out of fear from the Nazis because they don't want to admit that so many willingly followed Hitler. And they can't say at the same time that they were brave and that they fought only out of fear.

And as to the first answerer here.... the biggest memorials we have are the Holocaust memorial in Berlin and the former concentration camps... and such people who do not accept the guilt unfortunately exist but they are a minority and they don't have any say in politics.

Answer 4

I saw quite a few In Germany, And forget about Japan The war memorials are all over the place, I forget where it is located but they have a huge temple with thousands of war deads ashes they are really gung-ho about it over there.

Answer 5

Japan has Yasukuni shrine.. their version of Arlington National Cemetary.

Answer 6

yes they remember their dead. there are many memorials in germany. and many people there do not accept gilt for the attrocities their country commited