The Set Up of Modern Germany

It was an interesting article about the relationship between American troops and German women in post World War II Germany. What was striking about the article was the new found freedom that German women were already tasting, arguably, under the Nazis. I am not implying that all women were experiencing independence and freedom under the Nazis but there was certainly a breakthrough in the traditionally patriarch dominated German society.

This became more evident when the Nazi party fell and Germany surrendered to the Allied Powers. Women for the first time were able to express their sexual freedom as well as work and study in places that were traditionally dominated by men. For the first time, women outnumbered men in post-war Germany. While men were either killed, held prisoners of war, or divorced, women found themselves free from all social constraints and norms. Some of these developments rose from the total destruction of the society and the nation. Germany found itself occupied by four nations - Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States. Germans were left with barely enough food and the nation's infrastructure in shambles. These new developments portray the new beginning of modern Germany where old traditions and German values have been broken down.

It is more apparent in newly created East Germany. German women can now work and contribute meaningfully to the state. While West Germany tried to maintain the old policy of discouraging women from stepping outside their homes but as capitalism and democracy developed, women found new opportunities. It's interesting to note that the destruction of lives, society, and the nation as a whole leads to news changes in attitude, culture, tradition, and the relationship between a man and a woman.

Ordinary Men vs. Ordinary Germans

It is simplistic to assume that every German was a blood-thirsty, anti-semetic demagogue. That's plain bigotry towards a group of people based on their nationality. There has been anti-semitism all over the world with brutal policies aimed directly at Jews. Along with Germany, Russia, Poland, Spain, France, and other countries have a history of antisemistism. Why do historians often target Germany as the hotbed of anti-semistism and the holacoust. Well it is mainly because the Holacoaust is a relatively recent genocidal event involving Jews that was caputured in pictures, films, and pop culture. Even today, there are suvivors of the Holacoust that are still alive.

Therefore many historians tend to focus solely on Germany since there is widespread data available. But in retrospect, I am not going to declare that all Germans in the end wanted to see the Jews massacred. There was massive Nazi propaganda which was state sponsored via a 24 hour cycle of constant bombarded of hate towards Judaism that appeared in schools, films, newspapers, and almost infested in every inch of public space in Germany. In addition, intimidation and political oppression with a grandiose sadio-machismo party machine in full effect, there is not doubt that the German society became a mass flock of sheep following the wolf's orders to go after every Jewish person.

A more recent example is in China where the state has influence in every Chinese person's lives. The state controls the media, the internet, and every public instititution. Even private businesses have to follow what the Communist party dictates. It can be assumed that an average Chinese person thinks Dalai Lama is out to disrupt unity and harmony in China by supporting Tibet's independence. There is also the widespread that the Western media portrays China unfairly and tends to harm the country's image internationaly.

When you are faced with intimidation, state brutality, and a constant reckless bombardment of one-sided message continoulsy being over played, eventually society will conform to it. There is no doubt that Germans will have to feel the guilt of electing a mad men to run their lives. Remember the Nazi party came to power through a democratic election. There is no doubt that there was a substantial number of Germans guilty one or another of helping the Nazis implement the "final solution" of the Jews. But today Germans fully accept that the Holacoust was a large black hole in their nation's history. It is said that no one is innocent and that is true especially in Rwanda, Sudan, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and numerous stories involving indigenious people fighting for their land and livelihood.

Here is my take on ordinary men vs ordinary germans. Men are naturally, I believe, evil and everyone is out to look after themselves. The Germans have always been ordinary men and they are not alone in having a history of committing a grave genocide that lead to the murder of six million Jews. Liberal democracies such as the United States, Canada, and Australia have all, you can argue, been founded on the genocide of indigenous people. Ordinary settlers in the United States and Canada pushed the Native Americans off their ancestral land rather than respect their land and way of life. My point is what constitutes an ordinary man? It is not based on race. like Germans, Americans are equally guilty of committing genocide as well as having an infamous history of maintaing slavery of African Americans. The same can be said about Spanish conquistadors and their invasion of Latin America, the Armenian genocide, the Apartheid, the break up of Yugoslavia and the ugly civil war that followed.

Every society has taken orders from the top to carry out horrific acts of genocide against another race. So the question does of ordinary men vs. ordinary Germans does not pertain to Germany itself. The question should be extended to ordinary men vs. ordinary Americans, ordinary British people. I take that example since liberal democracies are equally guilty of committing a similar incident like the Holacoust.

I have written what I think now, but my views will change as I grow older and more mature on this debate.

Women in Nazi Germany

Women in Nazi Germany experienced different circumstances and conditions. Not all women were treated the same the Nazi regime. Some found the regime supportive of their new found freedoms of individuality while others seemed to be forced to confine to social norms such as being at home, having a family, and nurturing kids. German women who were held up as role models for the nation were given the opportunity to marry and receive loans from the government. However their freedom was curtailed ironically. Even though they were held as the ideal "German" woman, they were the one expected to get married, stay at home, and raise kids.

Those were not held with high standards, some of them experienced individual freedom than ever before. Some single woman were now able to work and live independently without the obligation of staying at home or getting married. Despite single woman having the freedom to live independently, they were shunned from society and treated like a pariah. The Nazi government nonetheless demeaned them either because of their flaws in their physical characteristics or their personalities.

In Nazi Germany, the treatment of women was mixed and contradictory. Women who the Nazis saw as the "Aryan" type were held in high regard but confined to strict social norms. Single women who were not allowed to get married, for the first time, had the opportunity to experience independent life although their situation was not any better than married women who were considered part of the "Aryan" race.