Microblog Memes

I think non-Germans can’t understand the deep social guilt that’s been drilled into them since WWII.

Then why are you speculating about it.

when I was living there I asked some question I don’t even remember about the Holocaust of one of my German friends, and he quite politely told me “we don’t talk about that.” It’s a subject of guilt and embarrassment.

Yeah that's surely the only possible interpretation.

Truth be told: Just by using the term "guilt" you're parroting Nazi talking points. It's the precise type of rhetoric they're driving, and you're a dogwhistle's understanding away from "The Jews invented the Holocaust to shame Germany to keep it from being strong".

Maybe that's why people didn't want to talk to you about it.

For people actually interested in understanding it, instead of merely having an opinion: Start by distinguishing between "guilt" and "responsibility", the latter not in the sense of culpability, but... OSHA.

The whole Israel thing is actually distinct from that. If, tomorrow, Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir etc were to keel over and we'd have the second coming of Rabin, the collective sigh of relief in Germany would knock the earth off axis. The trouble is supporting, at the same time a) Israel to exist within its internationally recognised borders and b) supporting the same thing for Palestine allthewhile c) fascists on both sides making shit impossible.

There's been plenty of criticism within Germany towards the hesitant stance of the government. On the flipside, what you also don't see is German media -- also public, also state media (DW) sugar-coating what's happening in Gaza.

For the longest time the government kept to its age-old approach of working the Israelis quietly, in the background. Stuff that, on occasion, led them to relent on settlement projects etc. Germany did it that way because it was a way to influence things while keeping an in. That seems to be over because there's no "in" with Israel any more, they're simply not listening to things they don't want to hear.