Germany: Should modern day Germans be responsible for making reparation for Nazi terror?

No

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by Joseph Whalen

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Despite the noble but fruitless efforts of Woodrow Wilson an attitude of vengeance and retribution smoldered on in Europe after the First World War. Countries that were hard hit by the German lead aggression, now victors in a long and bloody war set out to make Germany pay for its expansionist efforts. Imposing oppressive penalties on the German people, the victorious countries lead by France shatter the German economy and demoralized the defeated Germans. This devastation wrought on the German people result in a bitter and contemptuous subjugation that gave rise to the acceptance of the hate filled propaganda speeches of Adolf Hitler, which in turn saw his rise to power and ultimately culminated in the Nazi regimes attempt at world conquest during the Second World War.

Philosopher George Santayana once wrote the famous quote 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it', are we doomed to repeat the same mistakes of the vengeful people of Europe after World War I? More than sixty years after the atrocities of World War II we are contemplating imposing a responsibility for horrible actions on a population that had nothing to do with such heinous acts. Doing so would be more criminal than the acts committed by the vile Nazi's during the war.

There must come a time when society must put aside its differences and move past the bitterness of such terrible events. Punishing people of today for the sins of their fathers is as unjust as punishing an innocent man. While there is little doubt Nazi sympathizers that participated in the tragedy that was World War II still live today, the vast majority of the German people have no ties to the crimes that were committed during that dark time. If the world wants to punish those still living for the acts they committed so long ago then so be it. Imposing the crimes of previous generations on today's society will only breed the same bitterness and anger that led to the Second World War in the first place. Let us not be responsible for breeding another Adolf Hitler of the modern age.

Something that many people fail to consider now and at the time of the war was that not all of Germany supported the Nazi movement. Politically it was a minority which won power largely through threats and intimidation. Should a legitimate election have been held at the time without such inappropriate influence it is unlikely that the Nazi party would have ever come to power. Therefore the Nazi's that are so justly reviled for their horrific treatment of Jews and other minorities during the war were not a representation of the German people. In fact not all those who served in the German armed forces during the war were considered Nazi's. Like many countries in Europe, Germany has a long and proud tradition of military service. It is a tradition that is often passed down from father to son. Serving one's country is not a crime but an honor. Many of those who fought and died on the German side did so out of patriotism and love of country, not blind obedience to a misguided and corrupt cause bereft of any moral fiber.

The true extent of Nazi war crimes did not come to light until after the war. Many Germans, both civilian and military alike were as appalled at the terrible acts of the Nazi's as the rest of the world. Having had no knowledge of such atrocities and no part in committing them it would be unfair to hold the entire populace of the country at the time accountable for the actions of a few. It would be even more unfair to hold the current generation of Germans accountable for the crimes committed by a few so many generations ago.

Instead of finding ways to punish the ghosts of monsters past, the world should be working to prevent such atrocities from happening in the future. Clearly human beings have not learned the harsh and difficult lessons of the Second World War. Had we learned the proper lessons the world would not have seen the likes of Idi Amin, Saddam Hussein or Slobodan Milosevic. Since society continues to breed monsters of the caliber of Adolf Hitler generations after such evil was put to pasture we clearly need to learn better from history rather than continuing to repeat it.

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