Do Europeans hate Germans?

Question

Do people in Europe have any type of hatred towards those of German descent because of World War 2? I know a lot has changed since then, but is there still any bad blood that anyone knows of? especially with the British & French?

Answer 1

No, I don't think so. I'm German and I've been to many European countries and never made any bad experiences. When I was 12 I spent two weeks in England for an English course and stayed with a family there, and all people I met there were really nice to me and they had a lot of patience with my English that was very poor at that time. My mother went to England for a semester during her studies, that was in the 1960s and she has very good memories of it and never experienced any hatred directed at her. She also took part in a students exchange with France when she went to school and lived with a family there. That was in the 1950s and even so short after the war she didn't make any bad experiences there, but remembers it as a great time. Nowadays there are so many students exchanges between Germany and France, personally I didn't take part in one but I know many who have and met French exchange students here, and I'd say that for us now it seems simply absurd that we could hate each other for our nationalities. In the 90s I travelled a lot through France with my parents when I was a teenager, and I have never experienced even a light expression of any anti-German sentiment.

However, why do you ask especially about the British and the French? The countries that suffered the most from Germans during World War II and had by far the highest civilian losses are Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and other countries in East Europe. But I know quite a lot of people from there and travelled to Russia three times (one time just as a tourist, one time as a volunteer in a children's village and one time for a 2 weeks students exchange) and even from them I haven't experienced any hatred, on the contrary, I met a lot of really nice people.

I haven't spoken about the war with other Europeans often, but when I did, then it was clear that Germany was to blame for it and committed horrible crimes, but I have never experienced that anyone somehow blamed me for it only because I'm German. I mean everybody knows that I was not even born when it happened and I don't behave like a Nazi. I'd say if Germans now experience negative sentiments it's probably often not just because they are German but rather because of their behavior. I mean when Germans start to act as if they were the greatest and better than others etc. I think this will upset everybody and will also bring back bad memories. But if they are respectful only few people would blame them for something they have nothing to do with personally.

Answer 2

WWII ended 60 y ago and things have radically changed since then, last but not least the creation of the EU and the falling of the Berlin wall.

Also Europe is a bit too generic as a definition; it is a continent not a single state (in the EU for ex. there are 25 States now).
Anyhow being an european I can say that overall, no one really hate the Germans for the WWII.

Answer 3

Very little bad blood between them, actually. Most of the people who were involved with that are old or dead, and the threat of the Cold War helped mend a lot of fences really quickly. The Euro-Union pretty much patched up whatever little problems still remained. I am sure there are some exceptions, as there always are, but for the most part there has been little to no resentment between those countries. The fact is that such resentment after WWI is what caused WWII, and Europe learned its lesson.

Answer 4

There is more hatred between the British & French than either and the Germans

Answer 5

they do no longer. although that's kinda a shaggy dog tale around Europe approximately how plenty the Germans recycle and how inflexible they are. yet many human beings basically shaggy dog tale approximately untrue, overgeneralized stereotypes. something of Europe would not hate Germany or Germans (for the main section.. they are probable some loopy human beings available)

Answer 6

After working many years for Siemens and meeting with Siemens folks from throughout Europe, it would appear that Europeans for the most part are ok with the Germans.

Back in 1985 while attending college in Germany, I traveled from Aachen to Bastogne in Belgium. When the train conductor (a Belgian) came to collect tickets, my travel companion and I needed to purchase one. We instinctively asked in German to which the conductor became very agitated and called us Boche and went to get another conductor (for what purpose I to this day have no idea). We immediately began speaking English and his smile returned and he promptly sold us a ticket.

So the answer to your question is yes and no. Overall most Europeans seem to have made nice with the Germans, but certainly there are others who have bitter memories of invasion and occupation.

Answer 7

World wars are now part of history. European Common Market is clear proof of strong desire for co-operation. Germans themselves hate Nazi rule.

Answer 8

No they don't, except for perhaps still many European Jews (and I'm Jewish).

Hate ALL Germans!

"There is a time to love and a time to hate; whoever does not hate when he should does not deserve to love when he should, does not deserve to love when he is able. Perhaps, had we learned to hate more during the years of ordeal, fate itself would have taken fright. The Germans did their best to teach us, but we were poor pupils in the discipline of hate....Every Jew, somewhere in his being, should set apart a zone of hate - healthy, virile hate - for what the German personifies and for what persists in the German. To do otherwise would be a betrayal of the dead." Elie Wiesel 'Legends of Our Time' (1968), pp.177-78

Answer 9

As a half british wench, I don't hate germans. but I like ter mek jokes 'bout them. when I see 1, I say "we're not gonna talk 'bout the war". they all have fuddie accent though.

Answer 10

No,i actually like Germany a lot.