jacky780001
96119
1956
45
German Kids.
Apr 25, 2020 3:15 AM
jacky780001
96119
1956
45
michaelfire
U.S. kids, never actually understanding polio blankets, slavery, lynchings, trail of tears, Hiroshima, firebombings, Vietnam, Kubark, Abu Gh
Bex316
Thankfully I'm British and we never did anyth.............. what? really?.......... that too? ...........Jesus that's horrible! ....oh fuck!
Jonathan11111
Every country has done despicable things - at least German kids are taught about it at school.
minqapoc
We don't learn about that part in school until we're like 15 or 16 iirc.
DrKonrad
Going from Minecraft to Mein Kampf very quickly
DrKonrad
German kids:
phoenixsphinx
We have the first history lessons in 5th grade not 3rd. There we start with neanderthals. Holocaust is taught in 9th and 10th grade
Irax
American way of counting maybe?
POGOTheOGOP
ByronGetronfree
I did once, but I think I got away with it.
skwotingdog
You started it
KonaDarbles
No we didn't! Yes you did you invaded Poland!
svcAlex
Poland shot first! (joke)
theblondeone
As a Canadian still learning how horribly we treated the First Nations... :'(
Theamaizingcivicracersebby
My gf is native and she brought it up , and I did some research and omg , it’s truly awful
theblondeone
My very first bf is also native His mother told me quite a bit. I was 15 and cried... Heartbreaking, eh?
harrison100012
American History was founded on the back of Genocide and Human Slavery it's equally hard to teach.
Onewireysnake
It however should be thought! As i understood it, those topics are often sciped or heavily wattered down in the US.
Rifneno
Seriously though, bravo to Germany for owning their actions. Japan doesn't have the balls to take responsibility for being every bit as bad.
ByronGetronfree
The atom bomb was so awful they think they’re exonerated from owning up to raping and killing with bayonets and shovels millions of Chinese
TheJomsborgViking
Oh? several times throughout the years, the Japanese have apologized for their actions during the war.
TheJomsborgViking
Even the average Japanese citizen knows of and acknowledges that it happened. They do not openly discuss it, but that is their culture.
TheJomsborgViking
But Bravo to you for pointing this out when here and now, in our generation China is doing much worse to a people and outright denying it.
thisisausernamelikeanyothersbutthisonesmellsweird
Google operation paperclip.
Understopper
Admittedly that’s a painful history to have behind you, but a helluva lot of countries have shameful history in the last century.
mormacil
I think all have some black pages.
wadenelson1
And SOME countries neither admit it NOR learn from their mistakes: Japan, USA...
Mokisan
...Turkey
longshorttermmemorynetwork
I mean. Pretty much my reaction learning about American history. The Native American holocaust was pretty awful as well.
Ilovetomakestuffup
Let me destroy the joke and tell you that we actually learn about 1. and 2. WW in the 8th grade ;)
LillyReke
Well, I went to the museum in a bunker in kindergarten, so... I learned about it by age 4/5y.
RecurringNightmare
7th...and nazi time before ww1 because fuck chronological order...same book from 7-11, 10 chapters for 5 years, so 5x nazis to make it stick
R100GSPD
Germans suck the fun out of everything...
Staddi
We just skipped everything america-related, had a bit of french revolution, 1 month ww1 and it felt like 3years of ww2.
ChrisKittenSmuggler
Makes sense, there was no WW2 without the way WW1 ended.
mormacil
It's becoming the majority idea that WW1 and WW2 are the same continued conflict with a peace period. Which is not unheard off in 1/2
mormacil
history during things like the 80's year wars, 30's years war and the 100 years war. Creative naming I know... 2/2
LurkerOfDarkness
No WWI without the 1871 Franco-Prussian, and no 1871 without Königgrätz, no Königgrätz without 2nd Slesvig/Schleswig war....
sadurdaynight
The history of what pushed Germany into WWII is a good read. Other countries wanted to treat it like a debt slave for life.
evasiveinaction
You know, except that time in 1932 when the debt was effectively forgiven? Or the numerous times it was reduced throughout the 1920s?
DeadpoolsTinyHand
kkanne20
WasntThereDoneNothing
1933 let's say he was 20 means he's about 107. Checks out
harvestoftacos
Still working in his nineties, that's some dedication...
DeadpoolsTinyHand
He’s just following orders.
TrueLegateDamar
Work sets you free
HankeringForASpankering
boblives
That's super dark
tiberGameVillain
Best response
commentsectiontrafficcop
TwoFlower68
That has a nice ring to it. Can I use it as a slogan for my temping agency?
denryAwwVillain
It sounds even better in German!
forkstuckinthebrain
Better than: "Dear children, God created heaven & earth. How I know? Cause it's written in a book. Why? It's much more simple to understand"
imakeurglassesfoggy
Explaining history to a 5 year old is awful. I fucking hate us history. And i was a history major.
IdontReallyHaveTimeForThis
I was explaining Martin Luther King day to my young kids and couldn’t stop crying. I couldn’t bear to tell them what eventually happened
hastykoala
My kid just learned about nuclear bombs.. discussion led from The Butter Battle Book from Dr Suess
Fzoid
When it comes to history it's mostly dates of wars one after another.
asm80dfa8sdfj
The US's past is moderate compared to the world. It's good you hate it though, means they did a good job at teaching it.
Dybidude5
NotmyMonster
Moderate??????
asm80dfa8sdfj
Compared to the world. All of the words in a sentence are important.
Degarafarat
Considering that you only exist for less then 250 years, your average score is on par with ours
Imguralterego
That's revisionist history, right there.
ErikRed
The many acts of cruelty inflicted on native americans among other things got something to say about that statement.
TheInfamousPenguin
I dunno man, German imperial era is pretty cool and not more evil than anyone elses imperial era :D
ErikRed
Counterpoint: the german colonization of Namibia
AtomicCarp
Better than the US, wasn’t till university I learned we were built on smallpox blankets, rampant murder and desecrated graves
Norono
Diseased blankets is misinformation. No such thing as germ theory at the time. "New world" also gave "old world" their list of diseases.
motocierra
Yes! This. I felt the same way
TheJomsborgViking
I learned all that in middle school US. History. It's not uncommon knowledge by any means, it's just different school, different teachers.
TwoBitGreaser
I haven't seen this much concentration since Dachau.
mormacil
Really? I had concentrated orange juice for breakfast.
wadenelson1
That jokes so dark it doesn't know who it's father is.
thirdworstidea
and it was even harder back in the 70ies and 80ies when you make the math and find out that your lovely grandpa must have taken part
missingdodo
And that the scar on his back are likely not from the legendary "fight with a bear" as the story goes...
Kats8652
Replace German with all nations in the world ever. They all murdered and raped their way to glory except maybe Luxembourg and Liechtenstein.
Prophetbardt
Yeah, but we overreacted maybe a little bit.
Kats8652
I am Belgian and not exactly proud of what happened in the Kongo thanks to mad monster king Leopold 2, responsible for a milion deaths.
smellfromyourarmpits
I'm sitting here as an naive norwegian thinking 'ppft yeah right' but then I remember the vikings......
mormacil
Luxembourg region used to be part of the Dutch kingdom. So you got slave trade, spice wars, colonialism etc.
BadPunCentral
It actually gets awkward for German kids four days after they learn the alphabet. A day, B day, C day are okay. D-day though...
schlummi
The importance of D-Day is mostly that western allies managed to end the war quickly and that russia was not taking all german territory.
schlummi
For germany were stalingrad and operation citadel more important.
SmolTenk
Eh, the actual war is generally covered under "events that also happened at the time" there isnt really much about it.
CoarseAndSalty
It is fucked up that that chapter of history isn't talked about at all, then sprung on children.
cheesehole
English kids learning About their history...
Bidiogames
Like what stopping slavery??
Waaaaghhumbug
We owned half the world and everyone was lovely and happy... henry had a bunch of wives... blitz spirit chaps!
Skuggen
There are certain countries where this _doesn't_ happen, which is much more concerning.
Rifneno
Japan (a mile long list of war crimes in WW2), Russia (Stalin's infinite body count), Turkey (Armenian genocide)... anyone got any more?
PetricusGaming
If you dont hate some of the things your country has done in the past, then you dont know history or you are an asshole psychopath.
PedestrianElectrobastard
M8, I had nothing to do with any of it, and there is too much horror in history to be worth getting worked up about it all.
LetMeGoogleThatShtForYou
*Japan starts sweating
MasterMookie
It's not YOUR history it's your ancestors! Learn from it so you came your history great.
iHateMyselfButIHateYouMore
American textbooks in the south: During this time, migrant laborers from Africa were given full accommodations and employment to work ...
mammothfart
Scotland, Ireland here, soz we invaded you in 1500 years ago.
foiltoiler
They got their own back at us with the plantations lol
Shpielers
As an American, yes
Nelmom
Yes, I wish the British actually knew what happened when they tried to spread their empire, but unfortunately a lot of them don't.
Nelmom
And we are not taught this in history classes either, we are taught pretty much everything but British history.
AnticlockwiseMetamorphosis
*sighs in Sir John A. McDonald*
AuryxBecauseWhyNot
*as is true for every country
HankeringForASpankering
*but especially true for Germany and America
godzilla2341
And? Please continue those aren’t even a 50th amount of countries who has committed mass genocide
asm80dfa8sdfj
I thought that was implied
AuryxBecauseWhyNot
I read it as such, but realized others might not, that’s all
fineletsdoeverythingyouwannado
They are already covering all countries with thier comment.
AuryxBecauseWhyNot
I read it that way too, but realized some others might not.
OnsonSweemy
What did Iceland do?
DeadHamster
As an Englishman, I learned long ago to accept that we are very much the bad guys of history. Like, death-star building level bad guys.
Jthechef
We are not the only ones, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain historically etc Russia, China, Japan, USA etc then and now.
poontangpython
But so many of us see empire as a a carry on film instead of the slaughter and subjugation that it was. Its treated more like space balls
LeBisounours
Ask the Japanese how do they learn their history HAHA (hint: they don't)
VodkaReindeer
EXCUSE ME. We were co-combatants and not at all allied with the axis.
HereDueToYourOnePeskyDownVote
The British say hi. Our history is airbrushed to the point of supermodel perfection. Atrocities swept under the carpet because "we" won...
HereDueToYourOnePeskyDownVote
Two world wars. Our conduct in Ireland, Africa and India was abhorrent to name a few. But my countrymen bang on about Dunkirk and the blitz.
HereDueToYourOnePeskyDownVote
Like they were there, they forget Dunkirk was a retreat and the Blitz people's behaviour wasn't always exemplary.
HereDueToYourOnePeskyDownVote
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/oct/05/secondworldwar.world
Muffdiver9
For Americans it's slavery, we get re-taught it every year and by the time we graduate it's pretty fucking old.
NoonaComputerTerror
You're taught surface shit at best and not even the interesting surface shit
missingdodo
Also segregation. Soldiers that fought ww2 came home to being "black". And that didn't end right away but took closer to twenty years...
mormacil
I'd feel you might spend some of that time better going over Manifest Destiny.
Muffdiver9
There's a lot of stuff they need to cover more of and more accurately. Our history books don't even cover Wilson's ventures into Central Am.
ericus220
Meh, whats 2 be ashamed of realistically? What country hasn't conquered at some point? US is super safe due to not having hostile country1/2
ericus220
Bordering it because it suppressed the natives of the land. Imagine a modern native country with hostile intentions. Not something Id lik2/2
mormacil
Oh yeah the fear of the Finns for the Sami. It's not about conquest, it's about how the civilians were treated.
mormacil
Finland, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Costa Rica, just a few who never invaded anyone. Ireland hasn't since colonizing Scotland, etc.
ericus220
Ah so countries that can't actually WIN a war are what you list. Interesting. I certainly exaggerated w/my statement but it list is lacking
Hapsdinersdumpsterfire
Even liddle ol' Canada? Can anyone say cultural appropriation, genocide, kidnapping kids & forcing them to attend "christian schools"
AnticlockwiseMetamorphosis
Hapsdinersdumpsterfire
Understopper
Yep. Here in Australia we’ve got many good things in our past, but we’ve got a bunch of crazies and poor behaviour in our past (and future).
mormacil
As it is with most countries but it's more shameful to forget the bad parts then the good parts IMO.
sprayingmantis4
Soo many Aussies talk about genocide of our first people as if we did them a favour.
mormacil
I find the 60's and 70's more shocking because of the lack of learning and a better perspective. 1800's? Okay but the 1960's?
sprayingmantis4
"It was 200 years ago why should I be sorry" Mate it was 50 years ago and the ramifications are still apparent. Of course we should be sorry
LupusIgnis
Yeah, Denmark's part in the Triangle Trade was horrible and not covered enough in history class, and the way we treated Greenlanders...
doesntmatter
Stockholm Bloodbath
LupusIgnis
That too
doesntmatter
I was just joking, you're supposed to answer with any of the numerous travesties committed by Sweden against Denmark
LupusIgnis
It is important that we acknowledge the wrongs of the past. Perhaps that way we can keep our fragile peace.
ZeOberon
Both of you should be ashamed for what you did to Norway. Both. Of. You!
capngoat
And then in 4th grade, and 5th and every other year. We have a very solid understanding of not wanting to repeat that.
doesntmatter
If only you did something to work on the pervading culture of superiority and imperialism
blackplaga
Learn from your mistakes. Improve. You can do better.
Etereo
And in doing so risking repeating the same mistakes.
Hubbles
I want to like but then the likes go up from 666 to 667. That would be a shame!
TacticalChungus
1/2 As a history teacher in the US with German friends, I'm always surprised yet kinda not when my friends don't know their own nation's...
TacticalChungus
3/3 At least a couple of them can tell me why Helmut Kohl is important. And then again, they are all engineers... so I kinda get it.
wheredoisign
History classes kinda stop at 1945. 30 mins for vietnam and reunification. nothing about middle east, post-colonial africa, south america..
SuperIncoherentRantingMan
Can you send that stuff over to the US? Feels like we're about to fall I to that trap.
badexampleforagrownup
we had that until 9th grade. then ww1. confusing
CaptainLitClicker
And yet there is a resurge in right wing nutcases
Rylinn
OttoZeimer
Kids in Russia learn too with joyful slogans "we can repeat it again". Country that together with Hitler started ww2 and some 50m dead.
JohnMagneTrane
And then Merkel came.
kutison
Thank you. I'm sure it is difficult and shameful. The rest of us appreciate your dedication to surpassing your ancestors..
kutison
Clarification. I doubt blame modern Germany. I'm saying deserved it not, people often tie themselves to their parent's legacy.
kutison
Hell, people are still waving the Confederate flag. Wrongbsidenof history, and 150 years later.
bukkakeshots
Apparently teaching kids about their history like this. Is very effective in not having a repeat.
HotsauceIsLethal
Yup now it is China's turn!
hollanderpolder
As it should be. But younger generations should not have to apologize over and over again. It is over, also for my Dutch family. Wiedersehen
Come2Japan
Japan does something similar but its more about understanding, than apologizing. They due play up the A-bomb victim card bit too much...
hollanderpolder
Japan is schizophrenic in its beauty (sakura for example and its ugliness. Tentacle porn, groping, etc. Strange country.
baldbear
Very nice of you. But not everybody looks at it like this. Some british, polish, greek and italian always call us Nazis to make us feel bad
Irishda
I didn't realize understanding meant apologizing
hollanderpolder
A lot of younger Germans feel obliged to apologize for what happened. They should not.
UsernameAlreadyTaken058
It think it's rather being used as a justification by people on the far right. They deliberately confuse "responsibility to keep this from
UsernameAlreadyTaken058
happening again" with "collective guilt spanning over generations". And then they use the imaginary latter to break the former.
Cazadordebrujos
As grandson of SS Officer: understanding and stating that what was done by my grandparents was wrong and not wanting to repeat, does not
Cazadordebrujos
mean apologizing or feeling guilty. We will only be guilty if we let it happen again, or if we allow future generations forget what happened
HaplotypeX
Do you live in Argentina? You are right though.
ganglionater
Meanwhile, in Merika, polarization in only 2 parties and unification in those parties climb in numbers.... Umm
AaronPaulSturtevant
i was kicked out of school after 9th grade, and neither world war ever came up.
TacticalChungus
Tangential: Whenever a new one arrives to the US for the first time, I make a point to warn them about how nerdy about WWII Americans are.
RunningCook
Third Reich lasted for 12 years, I went to school for 13 years and I learned about the Nazis in real-time.
TacticalChungus
2/3 history outside of the rise and fall of Nazism and the Holocaust. Holy Roman Empire? Martin Luther? Schleiffen Plan?... nothing...
HerrFraeulein
I was taught about all of those in history class? Did you go to school in Saarland?
TacticalChungus
I'm an American. I'm speaking for my German friends. They are all Bavarian
daybydaybydaybyday
That is all in the curriculum. Maybe you just forgot
RecurringNightmare
maybe its in the list of shit teachers should teach, but its definitely not taught...
TacticalChungus
I'm an American. I'm speaking for my German friends. They are all Bavarian
againchina
My Chinese girlfriend doesn’t know who mao is
TacticalChungus
Synphore
We learned that German history begins 1914 and end 1945. No German history before 1914 and after 1945.
RecurringNightmare
yep and ww2 ended with the german capitulation...pacific war didnt happen...nukes didnt happen...ridiculous...
capngoat
And, pray tell, why didn't you guys tell us this earlier? We just existed for the past 75 years without knowing we don't actually exist.
TheS4ndm4n
You don't matter. It's different. Ask the French, they have more experience
capngoat
This is Bielefeld all over again.
Infinias
If it exists thou
[deleted]
[deleted]
DoctorWhoDoctorFancy
I'm way more concerned about Turkey. There are too much parallels...
egoAristippos
Sorry: One person is NOT the real problem.
capngoat
I'd say it's a neutral and condemning view. We're being told in what way the events unfolded, how they got in power,
capngoat
how it affected Germans, both actively supporting and opposing the party, what the party used to influence people
capngoat
(religious minority as scapegoat, vengeance for a lost world war and high debts that resulted in it, expert-level propaganda, fear,
capngoat
false hope, etc.) how some churches and people risked a lot to save Jewish people, the results of the end of the war,
AGiantTransWoman
I hate my country and want to be anywhere else just so I'm not associated with our dipshit president.
capngoat
Regarding how I view it: dangerous levels of patriotism, which has always been prevalent in the US,
capngoat
and propaganda are the base ingredients for a authoritarian government.
capngoat
But your current situation isn't the same as the one we had in the 1930s.
capngoat
Trump is a buffoon who unfortunately is doing a good job playing an authoritarian.
egoAristippos
One person is the real problem. Hitler alone could never have done much damage. It is the many people that followed him and eagerly 1/.
egoAristippos
committed the crimes. After 1945 suddenly no one knew Jews had been deported, handicapped euthanised, if you do not raise you voice 2/.
egoAristippos
you are a complicit!
Scarsn
Feels like a poor life action adaptation of my history classes.
elecomio
For my part, i can not understand how nearly no one is going on the streets to protest against this destructible 'leader'.
NoDefinitivelyNotARobot
that's what the voting system is for. november 2020
AlexSomething
As a french, I don't understand it either. We protest pretty intensely for far less, we'd burn the country if we had the same president
Irax
Goddamnit, we nearly burned the country over MACRON! And I'd give my arm to keep him over having Trump
SoberAsABird1
This worries me too. I think one of the reasons for this is for some reason he's still quite liked by the Americans.
Imguralterego
This is the part that worries me. I do not understand how anybody can look at this man and admire him. It's chilling.
wallschmall
It’s because so many of us have to keep our head down and eek by for fear of falling below middle class.
renslow
We do but its not picked up by the media so well plus those people usually cannot afford to take time off work to protest. /1
renslow
We had teacher strikes and other protests prior to this event but those were not shown so much on TV. Many of us are wondering the same /2
renslow
We too wait for a revolution.
Irishda
Wish that's how America treated the Civil War
GuesstimatedFacts
You mean we still haven’t learned about the consequences of southern states caring about economic well-being over human/society well being?
ThatElliot
Wish that's how we treat the British empire
Taxicat
Well, America had a group of rich white people who very deliberately altered textbooks to reframe the whole issue, so...
pandro
I haven't seen modern textbooks. Have they changed them or do you believe it's been "softened" for decades?
areweprophets
Here’s one example. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/oct/05/mcgraw-hill-textbook-slaves-workers-texas
pandro
thank you for the link!
CrimsonHawkeye
Yes history books are being whitewashed. I'll be 30 soon and when I was in college I met many people who knew almost nothing about slavery
crispyraccoon
I've been out of school for 15 years and remember the whole "states rights and economy, not slavery" argument, despite Slavery...
crispyraccoon
...being exactly the "right" those states wanted to fight about so they could maintain their economy (with free labor).
asm80dfa8sdfj
What's that even mean? We have successfully not been close to another civil war for the 154 years since our only one ended.
AGiantTransWoman
People damn well want one with the bickering constantly Red vs Blue, because we're idiots.
ImNotTaylorSwift
Exactly. And how many different separatist or secession movements are there in this country?
ImNotTaylorSwift
Well there is the problem that a lot of people seem to think that the American Civil War had nothing to do with slavery.
WontPumaPantsAgain
This right here is the problem. “States’ rights” my ass. States’ rights to own slaves, period. But sure, fly your loser flag, dumbass.
MrZev
So are you saying it had nothing to do about states rights? I mean it was states rights sure, just a shitty right to back
bhobby1212
I don't get this did you not learn about slavery the civil war and the atrocities that happened during this time or are you just now>>
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bhobby1212
I'm going to play devil's advocate for a minute with that being said slavery's bad wars bad etc etc
bhobby1212
<< finding out about it?
Irishda
Even in the north the war is frequently framed as a great tragedy over a "lack of compromise". The reality is the war is very similar to
Irishda
the Revolutionary War, particularly for black Americans. A time of glorious retribution against evil tyranny and long deserved freedom.
TheAngriestBeardman
No, we need another civil war. Rich versus the poor.
BrosephStalin2501
The rich hire the poor to fight it for them. Just like now.
TheAngriestBeardman
Good point.
bannedusername
Honestly they wouldn't have to, they would just buy a military drone and hire someone from a different country to pilot it
Hellstorm99
They keep trying. Along with the civil rights movement, the Great Depression, and the trail of tears, but sadly, too many don’t get it.
Hellstorm99
... AP US history was good though.
TheLordCypher
Textbooks vary from state to state. Guess which states don't go into depth on the Civil War?
jonklein611
Losers don’t write the history books and most down there can’t read too good.
Ifixthingsthatdestroyotherthings
They vary, but not by much, they pretty much cater to the largest buyers now and Texas happens to be one of the largest and loudest.
BrosephStalin2501
Southern states go into shit tons of depth on the civil war, but the framing is skewed towards the "States Rights" bullshit.
cthulhusbestfriend
I got into a HUGE argument with a teacher in middle school about this. Yes I got sent to the office that entire week.
TheLordCypher
I can believe that. One of the guys in my unit was big on that. Never had a good answer for "And what right was that again?" tho
Hellstorm99
Alaska?