4 ms·

How long did you go to school and when? German here and ofcourse I heard of IG Farben. They are the prime example when it comes to companies complicit with the

by cf498 8y ago

How long did you go to school and when? German here and ofcourse I heard of IG Farben. They are the prime example when it comes to companies complicit with the Nazi regime.

zaarn 8y ago
Went through that era about 7 or 8 years ago and there wasn't any big mention of it. It might have been in the foot notes but the classes usually focused on a broader overview of the war rather than individual happenings (we did watch Schindler's List though). Of course the crimes at the various KZ' and such are also thoroughly covered.
- jessaustin 8y ago
  Why does any of this have to come from school? I would have expected that a general exposure to culture would have covered all of this? Maybe I'm misled by the fact that in USA there are cable channels that seem to be 50% devoted to Nazi misdeeds...
  - zaarn 8y ago
    This is generally covered in school because Nazi history is a rather depressing topic for Germans. Doesn't really stop the documentary channels but those don't have high exposure (Football and News have high exposure. European Football that is.)
    - ams6110 8y ago
      It sounds to me a lot like the topic of slavery in the USA. It's a historical fact, and everyone learns about it in school, but it's not a popular topic in the culture. I'd wager few people in the USA are familiar with the names of the companies that were complicit in it, though undoubtedly some still exist.
    - cf498 8y ago
      I dont think talking about the nazi regime is a depressing topic anymore in Germany and it hasnt been for a long time. It paved the way for people to define themselves as not just as the descendants of the German empire but people unwilling to be quite about their forefathers misdeeds. It empowered a lot of people to disregard the excuse for horrible deeds as people "just doing their job". It empowered the point of view, that the government can be wrong and should be opposed if so. Between the Gestapo and the Stasi, the German executive has to lobby hard for support outside of their state employed peers to be viewed as a force tasked with their job by democratic mandate. As little as that is the case in reality, it still is a great development historically. Just the part alone, that soldiers are meant to be citizens in uniforms has done a lot to root out any possibility of the military having a say in politics. Just to point it out, I dont think that shift happened with the end of the war or shortly after, quite the contrary. It is sadly clear, that warcriminals were protected by large parts of society. The change happend two decades later, when people were willing to speak up about their parents beeing mass murderer who got away.
  - kojon55 8y ago
    Let’s say there’s a part of the American population for which it is very important to leave the wounds open. The rest of the world has long moved on. As a European (not German) the holocaust topic was just quickly mentioned during history lessons as part of WW2.
    - frostburg 8y ago
      The rest of the world hasn't really moved on. By the way, new account, creeping nazi apologism, oblique (but not really) references to the jews... do you people have some kind of bot warning you of certain keywords being used? I recall a thread from last year that immediately summoned a bunch of nazi propagandists, too: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13704300 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13704300
      - kojon55 8y ago
        No, I visit daily. I use new accounts every time I visit for privacy reasons. I don’t know which part of my comment you found inaccurate, I’ll be happy to explain further.
        jessaustin 8y ago
        Whenever I'm around Britons, they're always slagging on the Germans. If there are any French around, they join in. (although maybe only to avoid becoming targets themselves?) When I ask why they won't stop picking on the poor Germans, it becomes very clear that they haven't "moved on". I presume that e.g. Poles or Czechs would agree, but I haven't had the opportunity to find out. If you get to know e.g. Filipinos or Singaporeans, especially those of a certain age, you'll find they have similar feelings about the Japanese. History has consequences. I fear for my own nationality...
    - perl4ever 8y ago
      I don't think it's accurate to say the world has long moved on other than "a part of the American population"[1]. IBM[2] and Prescott Bush are constantly mentioned in association with the Holocaust. It's a fair question why IG Farben or for that matter Thyssen-Krupp should be obscure. [1]By which I assume you mean American Jews. [2]As in this thread.

by cf498 8y ago

How long did you go to school and when? German here and ofcourse I heard of IG Farben. They are the prime example when it comes to companies complicit with the Nazi regime.

zaarn 8y ago

Went through that era about 7 or 8 years ago and there wasn't any big mention of it. It might have been in the foot notes but the classes usually focused on a broader overview of the war rather than individual happenings (we did watch Schindler's List though). Of course the crimes at the various KZ' and such are also thoroughly covered.

jessaustin 8y ago
Why does any of this have to come from school? I would have expected that a general exposure to culture would have covered all of this? Maybe I'm misled by the fact that in USA there are cable channels that seem to be 50% devoted to Nazi misdeeds...
- zaarn 8y ago
  This is generally covered in school because Nazi history is a rather depressing topic for Germans. Doesn't really stop the documentary channels but those don't have high exposure (Football and News have high exposure. European Football that is.)
  - ams6110 8y ago
    It sounds to me a lot like the topic of slavery in the USA. It's a historical fact, and everyone learns about it in school, but it's not a popular topic in the culture. I'd wager few people in the USA are familiar with the names of the companies that were complicit in it, though undoubtedly some still exist.
  - cf498 8y ago
    I dont think talking about the nazi regime is a depressing topic anymore in Germany and it hasnt been for a long time. It paved the way for people to define themselves as not just as the descendants of the German empire but people unwilling to be quite about their forefathers misdeeds. It empowered a lot of people to disregard the excuse for horrible deeds as people "just doing their job". It empowered the point of view, that the government can be wrong and should be opposed if so. Between the Gestapo and the Stasi, the German executive has to lobby hard for support outside of their state employed peers to be viewed as a force tasked with their job by democratic mandate. As little as that is the case in reality, it still is a great development historically. Just the part alone, that soldiers are meant to be citizens in uniforms has done a lot to root out any possibility of the military having a say in politics. Just to point it out, I dont think that shift happened with the end of the war or shortly after, quite the contrary. It is sadly clear, that warcriminals were protected by large parts of society. The change happend two decades later, when people were willing to speak up about their parents beeing mass murderer who got away.
- kojon55 8y ago
  Let’s say there’s a part of the American population for which it is very important to leave the wounds open. The rest of the world has long moved on. As a European (not German) the holocaust topic was just quickly mentioned during history lessons as part of WW2.
  - frostburg 8y ago
    The rest of the world hasn't really moved on. By the way, new account, creeping nazi apologism, oblique (but not really) references to the jews... do you people have some kind of bot warning you of certain keywords being used? I recall a thread from last year that immediately summoned a bunch of nazi propagandists, too: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13704300 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13704300
    - kojon55 8y ago
      No, I visit daily. I use new accounts every time I visit for privacy reasons. I don’t know which part of my comment you found inaccurate, I’ll be happy to explain further.
      - jessaustin 8y ago
        Whenever I'm around Britons, they're always slagging on the Germans. If there are any French around, they join in. (although maybe only to avoid becoming targets themselves?) When I ask why they won't stop picking on the poor Germans, it becomes very clear that they haven't "moved on". I presume that e.g. Poles or Czechs would agree, but I haven't had the opportunity to find out. If you get to know e.g. Filipinos or Singaporeans, especially those of a certain age, you'll find they have similar feelings about the Japanese. History has consequences. I fear for my own nationality...
  - perl4ever 8y ago
    I don't think it's accurate to say the world has long moved on other than "a part of the American population"[1]. IBM[2] and Prescott Bush are constantly mentioned in association with the Holocaust. It's a fair question why IG Farben or for that matter Thyssen-Krupp should be obscure. [1]By which I assume you mean American Jews. [2]As in this thread.