Look at the history of the Germanic races, Why were they so uncivilized? Why were they like animals?

Question

What does that say about Hitler and oher Germanic peoples?

Answer 1

Germanic races were no more barbaric than the Celts of the time. They were a feudal society and resisted the advances of the Roman Empire as they tried to sieze and acquire the lands that were rightly theirs. As far as Hitler is concerned, you are reaching. I would compare him to Stalin, or any other number of people suffering from malignant necrophilia, that are non germanic. The Germanic tribes, which probably originated from a mixture of peoples along the Baltic Sea coast, inhabited the northern part of the European continent by about 500 B.C. By 100 B.C., they had advanced into the central and southern areas of present-day Germany. At that time, there were three major tribal groups: the eastern Germanic peoples lived along the Oder and Vistula rivers; the northern Germanic peoples inhabited the southern part of present-day Scandinavia; and the western Germanic peoples inhabited the extreme south of Jutland and the area between the North Sea and the Elbe, Rhine, and Main rivers. The Rhine provided a temporary boundary between Germanic and Roman territory after the defeat of the Suevian tribe by Julius Caesar about 70 B.C. The threatening presence of warlike tribes beyond the Rhine prompted the Romans to pursue a campaign of expansion into Germanic territory. However, the defeat of the provincial governor Varus by Arminius at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in A.D. 9 halted Roman expansion; Arminius had learned the enemy's strategies during his military training in the Roman armies. This battle brought about the liberation of the greater part of Germany from Roman domination. The Rhine River was once again the boundary line until the Romans reoccupied territory on its eastern bank and built the Limes, a fortification 300 kilometers long, in the first century A.D.

The second through the sixth centuries was a period of change and destruction in which eastern and western Germanic tribes left their native lands and settled in newly acquired territories. This period of Germanic history, which later supplied material for heroic epics, included the downfall of the Roman Empire and resulted in a considerable expansion of habitable area for the Germanic peoples. However, with the exception of those kingdoms established by Franks and Anglo-Saxons, Germanic kingdoms founded in such other parts of Europe as Italy and Spain were of relatively short duration because they were assimilated by the native populations. The conquest of Roman Gaul by Frankish tribes in the late fifth century became a milestone of European history; it was the Franks who were to become the founders of a civilized German state.

Answer 2

Marine had a great answer.  I lived in Germany for two years and I can attest to how civilized they were/are.  Much of our ancient written history comes from the  Romans.  All people tend to categorize their enemies as less then human.  We did that with the Japanese.  That tended to give the Barbarians a very prejudiced place in Roman history.

Answer 3

There are way too many presuppositions in your query: at what point in history? How you define animalistic behavior? How were they any less uncivilized than their contemporaries?

If you want answers, you'll have to ask better questions.

Answer 4

It was an uncivilised period. They were forced to fight or die. You could ask why early humans were always on the hunt to kill other animals. It was because they had to. Being Germanic and Celtic I can tell you that if you looked at an unbiased history of those races you would see that they also gave the world a number of advancements.

Answer 5

I don't accept your statement and question as fact. I have not seen this to be true at all. In fact, it seems to pretty universal among all races at one point or another.

Answer 6

Many Years ago when they had disabled or retarded  children   they killed them.they felt it was not good to raise them, it was a burden and the neighbors would talk.it made for a smarter but more uncivilized people.they have been a close knit nationalistic people.But they don't have as much common sense as most people do.I have noticed.smart though.But lead easily.

Answer 7

@Tom B: I don't know of which time you are speaking of, but euthanasia of retarded or disabled people wasn't confined to Germany. In times when eugenics was a big topic (in the first half of 20th century), it was common practice in all of the western world ... yes, even the US.

@sciencegeekmckinley: What does the Great Wall of China have to do with Germans? Maybe you wanna throw Pearl Harbor in, while you're at it?

Answer 8

Define Germanic.  Would they include the Franks, Gauls, Celts, Goths, Teutons also?  It's actually a very mixed group as far as "aggressiveness" goes.  Your broadbrushing is like putting Hitler in with Olaf Palme or the Saxon invaders of England in with the modern-day Dutch.  Does Not Compute!

Answer 9

The German people have a strong sense of nationalism and are thus swayed by orators who espouse that position other all others.

Answer 10

What is your definition of uncivilized. Some topics have to be more specific. Historically, all  races have or are uncivilized at one time or another. I would like to be more specific but do not want to offend anyone. I guess I'm civilized.

Answer 11

Maybe because they too often took serious bafoons like yourself, hence becoming like the very bafoons they sought to please.

Answer 12

So, how come Rome was sacked by the Goths, Vandals, Huns and Visigoths, and the Roman legions beaten back many times, if they were "like animals". As I remember, Einstein was a German, too! They were the first to split the atom, and make a jetplane, and a workable liquid fuelled rocket.

Answer 13

Stereotype much?

Answer 14

The Romans wrote the history of their period. The Romans were savage and they enslaved people. But they got to write that the Germanic tribes were barbarians (Their speech sounded like "barbarbarbar").

Later Germanic history is usually written from the point of view of England or France -  biased. Look at all the great science and beautiful literature that has come from Germanic peoples. Hitler is not a fair example of Germany just as the Ku Klux Klan isn't representative of the US.