Americans might have the curious nature, family stories going back to WW II, or just a continual trend to watch over old movies and want to engage on Nazi Germany, the 1930s, or Adolph Hitler. The odds of engaging with an German on these type of topics? Zero.
So, you settle back and just act puzzled.
Nothing personal, but look over the situation.
Germans came out of the war with a fairly marginal life situation. Husbands, brothers, uncles, sons and other family members died on a significant scale. Bombing took place throughout Germany and most every urban area had causalities. The simple little war that was ushered by Hitler and his staff.....had major consequences. None of them were really held responsible for what they did. They might have gotten brought into Nuremberg for some court action and death/prison sentences......but it really didn't pay back what was lost.
The Marshall Plan? It was an enormous effort which did start to take place in 1947, and probably rebuilt every single building destroyed within one generation. By the mid-1960s.....most people would have stood up and said they were shocked over the new image.
The economic promises of the Nationalist Socialists Party? Whatever positive trend people felt was going on from 1932 on.....was mostly bogus and built on a great deal of IOU paper money. It took around two decades for economic experts to sit through the history and actions taken.....to figure out why things were that screwed up.
German youth got yearly seminars over the Nazi era and what happened to the Jews. It's safe to say that most came to a realization after the 1970s.....they were the guilty party and they weren't to blame for the political choices in the 1930s. As much as intellectualism blossomed in the 1960s.....a large segment of society just got tired of the guilt factor.
Since the wall came down in 1989.....you can assess that most East Germans had a bigger disconnect from the guilt trip.....thinking it was mostly West Germans at fault.
The youth of today? Most know little to nothing about wall business, and have a limited historical view of Germany in the 1930s. Opening a chat forum or discussion over Hitler? It's like topic number seven-hundred-and-eighty-eight on the list of topics that most Germans would engage upon. Most would prefer the topics of bikini styles, Alf episodes, or fashion fads before engaging on Hitler. I'm not just talking about eighteen-year-old kids.....this goes on up the line to twenty and thirty year old folks as well. Maybe if you hang around some pub where eighty-year old guys stand.....you might find a couple who still have some sense about the war and events relating to it. Otherwise, it's a doomed topic.
And a word of caution.....if you think this is an 'ok' topic to drag up.....be prepared for the German to want to discuss the American treatment of Native Indians, the years leading up to the Civil War, and the Vietnam War. They've had plenty of opportunities to watch documentary pieces and get the bullet-listings on how to condemn American policy. They might want to discuss some events and lead you around in a circle as well.
So, play it safe.....stick with soccer rules, beer, famous castles, trampy German singers, the Frankfurt airport, cheesecake styles, and Tatort murder episodes.
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