Every winter we would drive to Servaus, Austria for a ski vacation. I had learned the basics on a high school outing, but Servaus was more sophisticated with a cable car and ski lifts. I did not notice it then, but later realised that we always went around through Belgium and France instead of straight through Germany. Occasionally, Germany would come up in a conversation and that is when my mother spoke pretty negative, because of what Germany did to us during WW II. When we lived in Venezuela, we had a German doctor because my parents were not confident with local doctors. She did not like it he was German! She would not talk about the war, but the consequences of that time were obvious if the subject came up. Of course there is a difference between Germans and Nazis, but I did not think about it like that, then.
Fast forward two generations: her grandson, my nephew, had a hard time finding his niche in the computer world in the Netherlands and found an opportunity in Germany. To him, WW II was an event you learned about in history class at school. Germans were fine people, as far as he was concerned. His parents, my sister- and brother-in-law, enjoy visiting him, especially in October during the beer fest. How does the attitude toward another country change in two generations? I am sure there are American families in the same boat, if you consider they lost a loved one during WW II. I guess the USA is geographically further removed from Germany, so was not as close to the heart. What about the French who had fought with Germany for generations over the border between them? How Germany took the border area in WW I and the French got it back (with allied help) after WW II. You hear how the European Union is not only a Union to operate economically but also became a deterrent of conflicts among the European countries.
I am amazed how we human beings adapt to changes. We still read and see a lot more of WW-II events relative to other wars. We say that people living in the 1930's and 40's are dying, and we want to get the last thoughts directly from them. Why can't we say the same of prior and more recent wars?
Recently Marise was asked to tell the story of her parents' hiding place during WW II in the Netherlands. She went deeper into the mishandling of Jews and referred to today's increase in anti-Semitism. In her presentation she had a group of WWJC residents, reading diaries from people who survived the war. One of the residents was born in Germany right after the war. His family emigrated to the United States when he was a boy. He does not talk about the war, but offered to be a reader in a presentation about the war atrocities his countrymen performed in a neighbouring country only one generation prior. What if you, an American, is asked to share statistics and embarrassing actions taken by slave owners, 1-2 centuries ago, while at the same time producing a Constitution and Bill of Rights? Yes, I am comparing apples to oranges here, because black people were considered property, and even sub-human at that time. What about slavery in Bible times? That is like comparing apples to grapes...
In the mid 1950's we were taught about slavery in 5th-8th grade in Social Studies class, but I never connected the contrast between the Bill of Rights and slavery. Idealism is an American strength. Except for the war of Independence, the civil war and some Indian wars, America had no wars on their continent. Europe has had many, and still has the Russian-Ukrainian war going on today!
We so easily play the blame game, but forget to set it in context to the time period those atrocities and wars took place. When separated by only one generation, it must hit close to home.