Questions for our German Friends

[MaxJoker]

Was it the darn Austrians who gave Germans such a bad name

I`m specifically thinking of trouble making Hitler , and my ex

Who in terms of personality traits like appreciation , kindness and empathy were both pretty indivisible

Although in a certain light Adolf was far the better looker and definitely had less of a visible mustache

[Slayer80]

Originally Posted by uli12345

Do you think I am a German?

No.....

Come from deepest Bavaria.......

ok, then i'm also no german . not directly from the deep side of bavaria but included in this famous federal state

Originally Posted by MaxJoker

[B][COLOR="Indigo"]Was it the darn Austrians who gave Germans such a bad name

germany is called "germany" since the 15th century, more for the german language spoken in this area than for it's "government". meanwhile it had some variations of this name, also "german reich", while hitler ruled the shit.

you can take a look on the structure of germany over the last 1000 years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF6g9-3_KkY

there isn't a typical german culture like in every other european country. it's more like dozens of different cultures that have overlapping parts in it, the "typical german" characteristics like language, sense of order, practicality and last but not least, BEER.
in germany you can travel around and even as german feel like an foreigner , the amount of dialects is gigantic.

[vinceprince]

When you watch a American/British WW2 film which side are you supporting?

How come the German soldiers didn't realise they were 'baddies' when they had skulls and crossbones on the cap and uniform?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToKcmnrE5oY

[haroldeye]

Wasn't that Call Me Dave and Squeaky George?

[beutelwolf]

Originally Posted by vinceprince

When you watch a American/British WW2 film which side are you supporting?

Largely we do not, i.e. watch those films.

How come the German soldiers didn't realise they were 'baddies' when they had skulls and crossbones on the cap and uniform?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToKcmnrE5oY

That's the SS for you. Was not part of Wehrmacht uniforms.

BTW Has someone told the Queen's Royal Lancers?

[Ninjaturtle]

Originally Posted by vinceprince

When you watch a American/British WW2 film which side are you supporting?

How come the German soldiers didn't realise they were 'baddies' when they had skulls and crossbones on the cap and uniform?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToKcmnrE5oY

They were knowing exactly what they doing

[Slayer80]

Originally Posted by vinceprince

When you watch a American/British WW2 film which side are you supporting?

i don't watch this kind of movies because most of them are simply propaganda in my eyes. good allies, bad germans.

Originally Posted by vinceprince

How come the German soldiers didn't realise they were 'baddies' when they had skulls and crossbones on the cap and uniform?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToKcmnrE5oY

only the ss-soldiers who where at the concentration-camps had this skulls. and i guess they had no problem with that, i think they were proud of it.

[SanteeFats]

Originally Posted by Slayer80

i don't watch this kind of movies because most of them are simply propaganda in my eyes. good allies, bad germans.

Well look at who made/make them They don't sell if you make your side look bad.

[vinceprince]

Propaganda? So they prefer Generation War (German: Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter)

The film's portrayal of its main characters as non-zealots, spirited young people forced to confront unpleasant realities and make agonizing choices, has been criticized as a historical; one critic described a leading character (Friedhelm) as "a 21st-century German parachuted into a period where he wouldn’t have survived more than a few seconds".

The historian Ulrich Herbert wrote that the film showed Nazis as "others", different from "Our Mothers and Fathers". It showed all Germans as victims. The film showed nothing of the love and trust that Hitler inspired in German youth, or of the widespread belief that Germany deserved to rule Europe. In reality, he wrote, these "mothers and fathers" were a highly ideological and politicised generation, who wanted Nazi Germany to win victory, because that would be right.

[beutelwolf]

Originally Posted by vinceprince

Propaganda? So they prefer Generation War (German: Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter)

Not really (BTW I haven't watched that film, and I'm not going to). The real choice is not to source that period for entertainment purposes, and leave the reflection on that period to historians. The fascination with WW2 is more a British one.

Yes, there have been some German movies over the decades which covered the war, and which typically diversified the German characters within it a bit more, in contrast to the allied style of war film that basically treat all Germans like Cylons in Battlestar Galactica. To what extent that diversification is apologetic and to what extent closer to the truth or not than the Cylon approach is debatable. As an unusual example of this kind that is also more in the spirit of this forum I can recommend Eine Armee Gretchen, actually a Swiss production.