Post by Tristan Herman on Jul 9, 2012 23:24:06 GMT
There is a common misconception, it seems, in our generation and even the generation preceding us, that every German in the second World War fervently supported the Nazi cause, or was a member of the Nazi party. When Allied troops were being trained, the terms "German", "Nazi", "Jerry", and "Kraut" were all synonymous. Soviet soldiers were encouraged to killed every last German individual they came across. Women, children, old men; if they were German, they deserved to die. The level of ire held by the Soviet people toward the Germans, while earned, resulted in nothing short of the largest incidence of mass murder, rape, and intended genocide that the world has ever seen. Either side had the intent of completely wiping the other off the face of the Earth.
Yet, if you are reading this, I am assuming you are here to be enlightened to facts you were previously unaware of.
Whenever you fire up Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, or Company of Heroes I will bet, ten to one, you have at least once thought or exclaimed: "Die you Nazi bastard." Or something close, yes?
Let me enlighten you to a little fact.
If you were to ever go to Germany, modern day, and begin to openly talk about Nazism or what happened in the country between the years 1933 and 1945, I can guarantee you that a constable would be by shortly to ask you to leave the premises of whatever structure you are defiling with your speech.
If you ever had the gall to call a German citizen a Nazi, modern day, I would bet a fair amount of money that they would be shocked into an inability to speak, or you would be slugged across the jaw so hard you would need to get your fillings replaced.
Calling a German a Nazi is like using a racial slur; it's a one way ticket to making an enemy out of someone.
By the way, the terms "Kraut" and "Jerry"? They're both racial slurs for a German. "Kraut" comes from the American stereotype that all German's enjoy sauerkraut: a German dish consisting (often) of sliced apples, cabbage, and bratwurst. The term "Jerry" is old British slang for a chamber pot. It became interchangeable with a German soldier toward the end of World War One.
You may be still wondering, thanks to my little tangent I spun off on there, what the difference between a German and a Nazi is.
A Nazi, or Nationalsozialistische (National(ized) Socialism), is someone who believes in a form of government combining fervent patriotism and the ideals of a closed society, with the ideals of classic socialism. More often than not, the Nazi party encouraged military officials to register with the party, many of which did. The Nazis, to enforce their political and social ideologies, produced a number of paramilitary groups. The most memorable of which with the Schutzstaffel or SS, and the Gestapo or "Brown Coats". Both groups were very active in the persecution, arrest, and murder of the Jewish race, as well as Gypsies, Homosexuals, and Blacks, as well as several other people of various origins, religion, or political belief.
A German, is self explanatory: someone who lives or originates from Germany.
Now, the difference is clear, yes? All Nazis are bad, Germans are just people, yes?
Wrong.
Ever heard of Oscar Schindler? A Czech businessman who became affiliated with the Nazi party, and went on to spend his entire fortune saving, hiding, and protecting the lives of over one thousand Jewish forced laborers? He was a member of the Nazi party.
Albert Speer, the German Armaments Minister, was little beyond an architect and businessman with a brilliant mind, put into a position of political power. He was one of the few Nazi officials who, toward the end of the war, took steps to prevent the total annihilation of the German people and the destruction of infrastructure in abandoned occupied territories. He was also the only defendant at the Nuremberg trials to accept responsibility for his actions (which were comparatively minor in nature to the other defendants). He was a Nazi as well.
Both men were inherently good people in their own ways. And they were Nazis. These aren't men who sat in their offices and pondered the "final solution" on a daily basis, or proposed ways to kill endlessly higher numbers of enemy soldiers. One was a businessman, and the other was an architect. That's it.
When we are writing our stories here on Issuing Orders, we mustn't forget that there is a fine line between fact and fiction. Generalizing the German people isn't wrong for your character. But it is wrong for you as an individual.
I am not saying that while you are here you should avoid joking or playing about and having a good time. I am saying you should keep a firmly open mind, and to wear your character like a hat.
Here's hoping you learned something.
