|
Post by darthdract on May 21, 2012 11:55:05 GMT 8
Yep they are sick and weird back then. Now they are just somewhat different in some aspects its really hard to imagine that 50 years later the same country and culture will be selling Hello -Kitty and Video Games.
|
|
|
Post by JohnEakin on May 21, 2012 22:26:43 GMT 8
Was Nazi Germany any different? Bayonet? gas chamber? what's the difference.
Consider the various "ethnic cleansing" campaigns of more modern days. Basically, some politician blaming a minority group for something in order to inspire a group to follow him.
I lived in Germany for several years in the late 1960's and knew a lot of Germans. Good people and to hear them tell it, they hated Hitler, but there was nothing they could do about him and the Third Reich.
|
|
|
Post by okla on May 22, 2012 4:22:00 GMT 8
Hey All....Speaking of how "attitudes" change/don't change as a result of a horrific war, while serving in the USAF during the Korean War Years I became acquainted with a few GI War Brides, both German and Japanese. Upon occasion, when I felt comfortable in doing it, I inquired if any of these women had Brothers, Fathers, etc who had served in World War 2. If the answer was yes, they would quickly add that this military service was confined to either their nation of origin or, if in a combat situation, fighting the Russians on the Eastern Front or in Manchuria. I never pushed it past these explanations. I did find it most interesting, though. I believe I have expounded on being quizzed by some Japanese of the opposite sex (while on R&R) whether I had served in B-29s, even when it was obvious that I was too young to have been in the military during the WW 2 years. The next question would always be whether I was serving in a B-29 outfit at that time, 1952-53. When they would finally be convinced that my unit was composed of F-86s, the conversation changed to more cheerful subjects. Cheers.
|
|
|
Post by JohnEakin on May 22, 2012 5:17:46 GMT 8
You're bringing back memories, Okla. I well remember as a 17 year old kid ending up in a gasthouse somewhere out in the boonies one night. Old guy (to me) at the table started telling stories about being at a POW camp in the US and how wonderful Americans were, blah, blah, and I couldn't buy another bier all night. My memory gets a little foggy about that point.
Maybe some former POW's avoided Americans and I just didn't hear about it, but in the four years I spent in Germany in the 60's, I never heard a story of an American mistreating civilians or POWs during the war. (Of course, we didn't always behave that well, but that's another story.)
|
|
|
Post by okla on May 22, 2012 6:47:50 GMT 8
Hey John...Before we beat this dead horse to death, I gotta pass this tidbit on to you. During WW 2 there were a couple of POW Camps in the Muskogee, Oklahoma area. The German POWs were PAID (a far cry from Cabanatuan, and Stalag, pick your number) to work on local farms since farm labor was at a premium with so many young Yanks doing their patriotic duty bearing arms. More than one of these former German POWs returned to the Muskogee area, married Oklahoma girls and remained to rear "American" families. I will bore you with one more little yarn along these same lines. During this same time three German POWs left their farm chores near Pryor, Oklahoma (in the same region), walked into Pryor wearing their POW garb, plainly marked as being prisoner clothing, went to one of the local "bootleggers (Oklahoma was dry as far as hard liquor was concerned in those days), took their booze, paid for with script earned from their farm chores, went out to the Pryor Cemetery and proceeded to get plastered. The local police found them passed out, laid out on some graves. They were forthwith returned to their stockade. I would imagine these former enemies would take an Oklahoma POW camp rather than being taken prisoner at Stalingrad, doncha think??? Cheers
|
|
|
Post by darthdract on May 22, 2012 9:57:44 GMT 8
haha Everybody fights the Russians nobody likes the russians. hehehehe
|
|