What do we know/think of the states of the world?

So uh...
What do you want us to say?

 

It'll be interesting to see what direction Germany takes now that the first generation of leaders who have little if any memory of World War II comes to power. With the war and the Holocaust passing from memory into history and with the Cold War over, Germany is being forced to re-evaluate itself.

 

Although I've been to Austria, I've never been to Germany.

It seems that Germany with this past election is becoming more anti-US. I'm not sure if this is the case for the everyday German citizen, but it seemed so with the candidate who won.

I think Germany has become much more relevant since the horror that was WW II and the Cold War. They are starting to once again reassert themselves onto the world stage. The question rises: Can we trust them as an ally?

We will have to watch them (their politics, I mean) closely.

 

and I would also like to come over the "anti-US" part...
Disagreeing with the USA is NOT being anti-american!

 

Hi Emilie!
She has a point... my husband is French and I am American. Sometimes he disagrees with US policy but he is not anti-American. Actually there are plenty of things he really likes about the USA(American football/Star Wars )

About Germany: This is how I view it, for educational purposes I like to look at the big picture of history. Sure we all know the horrifying results of WWII and Germany's involvement. There is alot of other things to see learn about Germany.

The History of the German people go back to about 1000 B.C. ,when warlike tribes began to migrate from nothern europe to what is now Germany. They wandered, hunted and farmed. About 100B.C. they moved south to the rivers and the Romans called them Germani and the land Germania.
The Romans tried to conquer them but they couldn't. Clovis, a Frankish King(now France) defeated the Roman governor of Gaul in 486. The greatest Frankish ruler Charlemagne(now France) came to power in 768. He expanded his kingdom over what is now parts of Germany and brought Christianity to the Germanic tribes. The Franks stayed and claimed parts of Germany until about 962 which was beggining of the Holy Roman Empire.
1024-1125 during the Salian Dynesty many German princes sided with the pope.
1438-The Hasburg family of Austria began rule of Holy Roman Empire. 1517-Reormation began in Germany.
1618-1648- Thirty years war between protestants and catholics devasted much of Germany.
1815-German Confederation was established.
1914-1918, The Allies defeat Germany in WWI and the German Empire ends.
1933, Hitler establishes a Nazi dictatorship.
1939-1945, Allies defeat Germany in WWII, and divide Germany into four military occupation zones in 1945.
1953-Soviets crush an East German revolt. 1989-Berlin wall opens
1990-East Germany and West Germany officially united and became the single nation of Germany.

There you go! A brief overview of almost 3000 years! Quite a history. That is one thing I love about studying European history...there is so much of it!

 

I have two mental adjectives for the stereotypical German

1. Nazi
2. Enterprising

They usually don't overlap, and the fact that they have become the opposite of anti-semitic has lessened my tendency towards the first.

Also visiting there drove that home even more. They are very friendly people on the whole, though almost half of the Germans I spoke with were friends of my father and treated him like family so my opinion is probably elevated too much .

--Joey

 

Emilie is right. Just because a nation is NOT for America does not mean we are against America. And it goes for posters here. You guys have such a limiting, "black and white" perspective. Germans are independent in their thought. And it happens to disagree with US imperialism. Why is that bad?

E_S

 

Germans are independent in their thought. And it happens to disagree with US imperialism. Why is that bad?

LOL!

I'm going to start a thread about "The Biochemistry of Triglyceride Metabolism" and see how many posts it takes to get to the "bash America" post.

I'm guessing it would take one.

"That lecithin cholesterol acyl transferase enzyme is just another example of U.S. imperialism! Fascists!"

LOL!

 

Germany has good beer and sausage.

or so I've been told...

 

Thanks to rsterling for proving my point in a way I couldn't.

Germany has some fascinating aspects to it that no other nation does. I'd attibute this to post-war reconstructionism, personaly. IIRC, the unemployed are entitled to four weeks paid vacation each year! And, unlike many nations, Germany states can engage in treaties and foreign relations with other countries, which can't happen in Australia or GB. It also wanted a place on the Security Council as a permanent member, which flustered the UK! I would also submit Germany is an example of a nation effectively dealing with shame and guilt, and I personally believe Australia could learn a lesson from that. And of course, who could forget German beer, the second best in the world.

 

What I think of Germany;

Nazi's
Arrogance
Berlin Wall
Opression
Technologically adavnced


Kinda weird huh?

 

Yeah, I guess... ?

E_S

 

My views on Germany, I love the country, it's beautifull, people are nice there is only 1 little problem why I never go there,

the language



IIRC, the unemployed are entitled to four weeks paid vacation each year!

Isn't like that in any other European country? ?

 

Alot of us in the USA have some German Heritage and at the University I have met real German exchange students. When I think of Germany I think:

Warriors of old(past)
Cold/aloof people(some)
Nazi Germany(the past)
Beer
They have to be pacifist now

 

It may be the standard in Europe, but it certainly isn't here, nor the US.

E_S

 

Well, when I think of germany, here is what comes to my mind :
- Great language (8 years of it at school was the greatest experience!)
- Great people (the nicest, coolest people in Europe)
- Beautiful countryside
- Great food
- Great friends (Anja, Jenny, another Anja, Alex... among others)
- Great politic (Go Schröeder, I am so behind you!!!)
- and politically France's best friend forever more, because we struggled so hard in the last century that we made sure it will NEVER happen again!

I LOVE Germany!

And if I may add something, I'm noticing lots of people think of Germany as Nazis. this time is over. I have a little story about it (yes, again. I'm very found of little stories )
It happened when I was in Woodland High School, when I lived in California. I was an exchange student, and there was Phillip who was an exchange student from germany. So naturally, we got to talk to each other and became friends. After some time, a group of students came to me and told me :
"how can you talk to him?
- uh... what?
- yeah, you know... After what he has done do you!!!
- uh... what has he done to me? (I trully didn't understand what they were talking about)
- You know! He occupied your country, killed everybody...
- !!!"

I found nothing to answer. Come on guys!!! I just was so shoched that I stood there with an opened mouth and begunn to think there was something wrong with American students.
I must have looked so stupid at that moment that they taped me a "stupid french *******" label on my forehead, and I had do deal with it for the whole year I stayed there... (Rsterling, by the way, that's how I started to wonder why I wanted to see the "New World" so bad. And it went worst and worst everyday. And now I think the way I do (and you know what I'm talking about) )

So please, get over the nazi Idea. That was 50 years ago. Germans of today are in NO WAY responsible for it (just like you are not responsible for the slavery on America!)

 

I don't think most Americans think of Germans as Nazis anymore. Though of course that visual comes to mind. Also the drunken bavarian guy in traditional clothing is another image.

--Joey

 

That's called stereotyping! It happens alot. People think we're all like Steve Irwin, but there's a reason he's more popular in Europe and the US than here!

When I think of Germany, I tend to think of...Germans..?

E_S

 

It may be the standard in Europe, but it certainly isn't here, nor the US.

Oh too bad

 

Meine Deutsch.....ummm can't think of the word; oh well....sucks.

I love the German language. I'm half German so of course I'm one of those odd-balls in school that took it over Spanish. When I think of Germany, I think of Beer, wine fields and of course automobiles.

I of course don't associate Germany with anything Nazi. I beat up a kid in school once for implying since I was half German that I was a Nazi. He stopped after that. One thing about the anti-american climate that seems to be brewing. Any country that experiences economic hardships tends to become more self focused, and so I'm not surprised that Germany is thinking of itself before the US.

 

I really like the German people.

When i think of Germany the first thing that comes to mind is 'beer' as i usually go to every German beer festival in my city. Drinking large amounts of 'Holsten pils' and being served by lovely German women in traditional German clothing .

I also love the language.My Dad speaks some German and my partner and i intend to learn the language in the next year.

I've met Germans in over ten different Countries around the world and everytime i've had a great time with them.

I'll probably go to German next year for a European cup game against Leverkusen or Bayern Munich !!!

 

Meine Deutsch.....ummm can't think of the word; oh well....sucks.

For starters, it's Mein. Yes, yes it does.

I lived in Germany for 7 years, so I consider myself to have a reasonably accurate idea in my head of Germans and Germany.

First, Germans are not Nazis. Germany is the most anti-Nazi country in the world. Unfortunately, it also has more neo-Nazis than any other country in the world. In fact, Germans are so ashamed of the whole thing that patriotism almost doesn't exist there, for fear of Nationalism. Germans are loyal to their city, rather than the country. Those who are patriotic often move away, to either Canada or the United States. Such is what happened in my family.

Second, Germany does indeed have good beer and sausage. Second best beer in the world, after Canadian, of course.

Third, the will of the German people is unlike anything in the world. The German people suffered, during the 20th century, almost as much as the Jews did, first under the First World War, then under the Treaty of Versailles, then under the Nazis, then under the Allied bombings, then under the Communists. And, don't forget the division of the country for 45 years. Germans have rebuilt their lives and their cities in a remarkably short time, and are now one of the most powerful nations in Europe.

 

I agree with everything you just said AT60,apart from the 'Beer' bit.

True German beer is really good,but Canadian ?


Other than that,i totally agree !!!