How do Germans today feel about the Holocaust? How is it taught in schools?

Question

How do Germans today feel about the Holocaust? How is it taught in schools?

Answer 1

I agree with everything Ina said (we must be around the same age and have a similar background at school). My parents are a little younger, born in 1939, and my father is also from the eastern part (Silesia) and had to flee with his mother and sisters. When we were talking about it at school, I asked him for details he could remember, but he refused to share them with me. Many years later he told me why he did not want to talk about it and tried to forget as much as possible. Fleeing alone was one nightmare, but as a six year old boy, he was a witness to the rape of his mother and his sisters, then 12 and 13 years old and he said he will never be able to totally be over it. For him that is the main reason he is not willing to talk about the war.

I better apologize in advance for what I`m going to write now, it is a little off-topic and no offense to you and your question meant, okay? Iknow that many people of my parents` generation are very reluctant to talk about the Holocaust, some because of shame, others because they still may have some doubts. But all of them are definitely tired of the same stereotype German = n**i, which many foreigners still believe they/we are. How would you feel being defined by one bad thing in your nations history more than 60 years ago? We don`t consider all Americans being bad, just because your own holocaust against the native Americans little more than a century ago....

Don`t get me wrong, I`m far from nationalistic, have travelled a lot, my friends are from 37 different nations on five continents. But this question comes up every now and then and mostly the people still expect all Germans to feel guilty about Hitler and the Holocaust. Sorry, but I can`t...almost everyone here has learnt from our history and is doing his/her best not to let it happen again. We won`t forget it, but after three to four generations we should no longer be held responsible for what happened.

Answer 2

The holocaust is the darkest point of german history, maybe of human history even, and we shall always keep it in mind. Therefor the industrialized killing, massacres and suffering of groups like jews, roma and sinti and other fringe groups is a fundamental part of history classes about 20th century, as well as problems like racism are intensively discussed in several other courses.

It's not all of german history, but an essential part and the thing, the world will remember about us. It's a feeling of regret and shame, as Germans and as human beings. Almost everyone will agree, that it was an awful crime, and this memory shall be kept alive in those generations, who grow after us.

At least, that's my view to the education system. Hope, it's not too far from reality...

Answer 3

Hi there,

I'm German and I did learn about the Holocaust in school.

Well, probably we need to separate your question into two parts or even more parts.

Throughout the years and centuries (now already over 50 years) students have learned about WWII and the Holocaust, but teaching was quite different for each generation.

Were my generation (far past those years) did openly learn about these cruel years, did earlier generations avoid that topic.

I would think that this had a couple of reasons.

Right after the war the people needed to be motivated to rebuilt this country (which worked out pretty well, especially with the help of the Marshal plan), so looking back was something nobody really wanted to do. Some adults were taken to the concentration camps right after the war to show them which bad things happened in their neighborhood and had been traumatized by these sights. People like my parents were just children and had not been exposed to these things too much.

This generation still tries to avoid talking about this time, especially as they experienced bad things themselves and do not want to be reminded of them. My father was 12 when he escaped with his mother and two siblings from East Prussia to the west in winter 1947. I still do not know what happened exactly during that winter, but I know that my father had to see people die (starving or been shot), women raped and so on. So in this respect, do I fully understand when he does not really want to be reminded of this time. An older uncle of mine had been a tank driver at the eastern front. His stories sound more like a big adventure, but what would you other think of an 18 year old, trying to cope with a war. And a neighbor at home is openly talking about his friends been taken away to a working camp, were he was puzzled that such an old guy could work there. It really depends on what this generation experienced to get some information out of them.

The coming years the German youth tried to distinguish themselves from their parents which lead to the student groups during the 60th.

I attended high school during the 80th and must say that we took an emotional but also fact based look at those years. The topic would normally be raised in history, language arts, political sciences and religious classes. We saw movies, read books like Anne Frank and I even participated in a contest to write essays about people like von Staufenberg or Moltke who attempted the murder of Hitler.

In essence this topic is an open theme in German schools and every student gets a good insight into that topic. It is not hidden from students eyes and everybody should be taught that this had been a bad time, were he though is not to be blamed for, but is responsible to make sure that things like this never happen again.

So compared to other countries was Germany forced to cope with their past and it's reality and did find a good way to educate it's students.

One remark though, as I did grow up in West Germany can I not comment on schools in East Germany.

Ina

Answer 4

Depends on their backround and in schools they play it from their point of view BUT describe Hitler as an imaptient, blood thirsty animal yet heroicly sharp.

Answer 5

I dont know how its taught but i do know they dont like talking about it....espescially the older generation....Its kinda like re-opening an old wound....even though it has nothing to do with most germans today but they are the ones still paying for it....many germans will tell you in those days hitler was not wrong....its just how he went about doing it...everyone had a job and he helped bring the world into the most  ''modern'' technology of its time...

Answer 6

d**n, you know people in africa have killed 250,000 people and its still GOING ON and what you are worried about something that happened 60 years ago. why dont they teach you about all they people that have been killed. Is that not a holocaust? are africas not as good?

Answer 7

I can't speak for Germans in schools - but it is clear from the point of view of the tourist that it is not forgotten.  Having visited places like Buchenwald and Sachsenhausen, and the Holocaust Denkmal in Berlin, as well as the Topographie des Terrors exhibit, it is clear this is not being "swept under the rug."

I think Germans understand now that this is history, not the current state of the German Nation.   And I will note the new memorials that I have seen in many cities, that commemorate families and individuals who were Jewish and who died in the holocaust. These small metal stones in the ground are very moving.  

One thing that I have noticed is that Germans avoid nationalistic things. - They don't fly flags very much, you don't hear the national anthem very much.  One exception to that was the national celebration of the 15th anniversary of unity in Potsdam, but even there the emphasis seemed to be as much on the Laender as the country.

Answer 8

How do you THINK they would feel?  How do YOU as an AmeriKan feel about the way the U.S. Army WIPED OUT an entire Indian nation to make room for white settlers?... If you are proud of the way AmeriKa has treated it's own indigenous people then you would be proud, as a German citizen... of the Holocaust...  you would also be in denial.