Denazifizierung war zu der Zeit (nach dem Krieg oder in befreiten Gebieten) nicht mehr als Propaganda. Später haben sowohl BRD als auch DDR bereitwillig nationalsozialistische ‘Fachkräfte’ eingestellt oder beibehalten, Aufarbeitung sabotiert oder nicht verfolgt. Die ‘Wehrmacht’ hätte ja angeblich eine weiße Weste gehabt und in der ‘SS’ war angeblich niemand. Rechte Vereine wurden gegründet, die teilweise noch heute existieren oder erst vor Kurzem verboten wurden. Rechte Parteien sind mit Gründung in die Parlamente gezogen. Antisemitische Positionen blieben Grundkanon, rassistische, sexistische, klassistische Positionen weiteten sich noch aus und wurden in Gesetz, Kultur und Infrastruktur zementiert.
they don’t care. they’re just trying to hide their faces from the photographer. people always take this photo as an indication of shock or remorse, but in reality, they don’t want their pictures taken. That’s it., i’m sure.
The mayor of one of the neighboring towns to a camp hung himself after the forced tour of it post-liberation.
It’s one thing to ignore authoritarians going after a minority group and turn a blind eye, especially when speaking up or opposing those authoritarians can get you killed.
But it’s entirely a different thing to be directly confronted with the suffering you’d turned a blind eye to.
Just as we saw with the Milgram experiment that obedience to authority was not a ‘German’ thing but a ‘human’ thing, I wouldn’t be so quick to ‘other-ize’ the flip side of the empathy of the POWs pictured here.
I don’t think their concern was their faces being seen. Cancel culture wasn’t exactly a thing at the time. It was widely known in the German population that the Jewish population was being deported to prison camps, but the details of extermination were not necessarily well-known, or believed. These men are being confronted with the reality of what they fought for.
If this is the end of the war there are probably some end of war draftees. I can’t speak for them. But generally speaking the enlisted soilder had not clue about the concentration camps
But generally speaking the enlisted soilder had not clue about the concentration camps
Perhaps not… but they sure as shit knew about - or witnessed and/or participated in - the carnival of mass-slaughter going on in eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. People are quick to forget - the six million (estimated) victims of the Holocaust doesn’t even make up half of the genocide the Nazis committed. The actual number is more like thirteen million - and that’s a conservative estimate.
6 million Jewish people, 5 million and change Slavs (mostly worked to death, they viewed Slavs as like beasts of burden unfit to self determine, not dangerous to society like they viewed Jewish people), various and sundry people with disabilities, lgbt people, a good chunk of Roma.
The extermination machine of the Nazis was indescribable. There was no clean wehrmacht, there could not have been logistically. Maybe some soldiers lying to themselves but they must have wondered where all the prisoners went and why they never heard of them again.
Then of course the horrific slaughter in the eastern front in terms of military casualities. How many poorly armed conscripts do you have to gun down before you ought to be questioning your orders?
Usually they don’t ask about your political views at the conscription / draft office. Like, they didn’t go “oh you voted for Humphrey? Well no Vietnam for you then son! Enjoy staying safe at home!”
It requires context to determine whether “German” refers to the captor or the prisoner here. After all: if Germany captures a POW, it is their prisoner. Hence, it is a German POW.
Technically I can’t say you are absolutely wrong, but since you argued with “context” you must either not be aware of this pretty famous depiction of those German POWs. must have ignored what the picture clearly shows, ignored it or something entirely different I honestly can’t fathom.
I just wanted to explain to the person asking what a POW is or to be more precise what the abbreviation stands for. It is legit to ask if you don’t know something.
I have not the slightest clue what you even hoped to get across with your reply, I am sorry. Obviously. without any context whatsoever. your point would be a 100% valid. But there is alll the context right in front your eyes. I hope you not just trolling and this was all just a misunderstanding.
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