http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/11/15/german.pow.graves.ap/index.html
I respect Germans, but I think this is silly and wrong.
I respect Germans, but I think this is silly and wrong.
German POWs buried in America to be honored
- Thread starter NsXMas
- Start date
How would you feel if the German government and army wanted to honor the memory of American POW's buried in Germany, and to invite American dignitaries to join them in doing so? Would you consider that silly and wrong, too?NsXMas said:
Or American POW in Vietnam? That happened recently...
I think that it is a super idea. No soldier, no matter the country, should ever be forgotten. If we forget our past and the people who were part of it, we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of that past. Besides the average soldier acts, even in war, honerably. It is the few misfits and malcontents in military service that I would like to be able to forget.
I just want to add that we Germans have many reasons to be thankful to the U.S. One of them is that you treated our POWs way better than any other country. In relation to that they lived like kings in the U.S. and mostly better than the civilians at home (in destroyed cities with no food).
Of course we still honour regularly american soldiers that died here in Germany - if you do the same I would call it honourable.
Of course we still honour regularly american soldiers that died here in Germany - if you do the same I would call it honourable.
Germany is our friend. We should honor their fallen soldiers.
Wolfgang,
Wo ist ihre Stadt (veilleicht in Bayern)? Konnten Sie eine Landkarte posten?
My German sucks but, you get the message.
Wo ist ihre Stadt (veilleicht in Bayern)? Konnten Sie eine Landkarte posten?
My German sucks but, you get the message.
Here, you are quite close! I live 50km south of Konstanz (southest part of your Map). 
Interesting quote from the CNN article:
"They were educated in another time period, with another political guideline. In their opinion, they also fought for freedom, liberty and for their fatherland. That's why these people gave all they had -- their own lives."
That is what I have said in many political discussions in this forum. All soldiers in all wars think they are fighting for freedom, liberty, etc. In reality, few really are. But that does not make their sacrifice any less honorable. Soldiers cannot be blamed for the policies of the government who sends them into battle.
"They were educated in another time period, with another political guideline. In their opinion, they also fought for freedom, liberty and for their fatherland. That's why these people gave all they had -- their own lives."
That is what I have said in many political discussions in this forum. All soldiers in all wars think they are fighting for freedom, liberty, etc. In reality, few really are. But that does not make their sacrifice any less honorable. Soldiers cannot be blamed for the policies of the government who sends them into battle.
It sounds wonderful, to honor all soldiers.
But maybe I've watched too many history documentaries, where German soldiers execute POW's, innocent villagers who are suspected of collaborating with allies, and many other war crimes.
These guys right or wrong killed or tried to kill our American soldiers. I think to respect them is fine, to honor them? It's hard for me to do, knowing the history of the Nazi regime and its warriors.
I feel the same way about the Japanese WWII military, who perpetrated the rape of Nanking and many got away scot free. Many japanese still deny that it ever happened. Honor? There is no honor there either.
But maybe I've watched too many history documentaries, where German soldiers execute POW's, innocent villagers who are suspected of collaborating with allies, and many other war crimes.
These guys right or wrong killed or tried to kill our American soldiers. I think to respect them is fine, to honor them? It's hard for me to do, knowing the history of the Nazi regime and its warriors.
I feel the same way about the Japanese WWII military, who perpetrated the rape of Nanking and many got away scot free. Many japanese still deny that it ever happened. Honor? There is no honor there either.
Should we honor our Vietnam vets? There were some among them that committed the same war crimes that you are attributing to German soldiers.NsXMas said:
Every war has its war criminals. To generalize, and equate every soldier with some sadistic individuals, or even with a government, is totally unfair.
NsXMas said:
As nkb said, all wars have their war criminals. Unfortunately, rarely is the foot soldier repsonsible and almost always it has to do with the policies of those in charge.
Nazi officials who were tried at the Nuremberg trials tried to lay all the blame on foot sodiers and claimed it was not policy much the way the Nixon administration tried to lay blame for Vietnam war crimes on a few individuals, and much the way they are doing the same thing now with war crimes being committed in Iraq.
The problem is war itself. For most people, killing another person is not natural. In training soldiers for war, they must be indoctrinated to the point of no longer caring what is right and what is wrong and simply following orders regardless of what the orders are. While the Geneva Convention states that following orders is not an excuse, the reality is much different. And even the international bodies governing these laws know better. In the history of such laws, no foot soldier has ever been tried for war crimes. It has always been officials much higher up.
Germans soldiers during WWII were no different than our soldiers in Iraq now. They were fighting for freedom, and to protect their country from evil -- at least they thought/think so.
I read your post there but I have not the model year you look for.
