dagblog - Comments for "The French Who Never Learned German"

An alternative comparison:

artappraiser — Sun, 25 Nov 2018 00:31:49 +0000

In reply to The French Who Never Learned German

An alternative comparison:

What Happens When a Bad-Tempered, Distractible Doofus Runs an Empire?

by Miranda Carter @ NewYorker.com, June 6

One of the few things that Kaiser Wilhelm II, who ruled Germany from 1888 to 1918, had a talent for was causing outrage. A particular specialty was insulting other monarchs. He called the diminutive King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy “the dwarf” in front of the king’s own entourage. He called Prince (later Tsar) Ferdinand, of Bulgaria, “Fernando naso,” on account of his beaky nose, and spread rumors that he was a hermaphrodite. Since Wilhelm was notably indiscreet, people always knew what he was saying behind their backs. Ferdinand had his revenge. After a visit to Germany, in 1909, during which the Kaiser slapped him on the bottom in public and then refused to apologize, Ferdinand awarded a valuable arms contract that had been promised to the Germans to a French company instead.

Not that this deterred the Kaiser. One of the many things that Wilhelm was convinced he was brilliant at, despite all evidence to the contrary, was “personal diplomacy,” fixing foreign policy through one-on-one meetings with other European monarchs and statesmen. In fact [....]

The hate starts with the

NCD — Sat, 17 Nov 2018 03:18:13 +0000

In reply to 2m Jews from East Europe

The hate starts with the immigrants, and, as in the Holocaust, it then moves to the assimilated members of the minority.

Ettore Ovazza - Jewish Italian fascist, marched on Rome with Mussolini, father a WW1 frontline decorated Italian veteran. Ettore attacked Italian Zionist Jews as traitors to Italy. Leadership level Fascist, known to El Duce, eventually cut loose from the Party. Shot by the SS, along with his family, 1943.

Matilda Olkin - assimilated and highly educated Lithuanian student and poet, murdered with her family during Nazi occupation by Lithuanian Nazis. Article at link has some of her poems, and how Lithuanians from her town remember her, and have memorialized her life, and her family.

2m Jews from East Europe

PeraclesPlease — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 17:46:00 +0000

In reply to Yeah, it's the chicken bones

2m Jews from East Europe passed thru Hamburg from 1880 to 1914.

https://jewish-history-online.net/topic/migration

I suspect this detail of undocumented refugees/immigrants helped to create part of the hysteria just like today, whether with fleeing Syrians or Mexicans long our border (and the last 30 years). Undoubtedly the Newbies from the east were less mannered in European customs than their genteel German-assimilated brethren. This is not to excuse - it's to understand mechanics. What the bartender was talking about was undoubtedly the Poles and other immigrants, but also is obvious that there was plenty of propaganda about the *too* assimilated business-owning Jews causing the world's problems.

If people can be so scared by caravan in 2018 (real in Europe, hyped in Central America), imagine the turmoil post-WWI as the Habsburg, Lithuanian, Russian and Ottoman Empires dissolved.

I was thinking Steph Curry,

PeraclesPlease — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 23:59:47 +0000

In reply to Flavius, white team, 3

I was thinking Steph Curry, but looks like Klay Thompson is the new gun in town.

In the 2008 campaign Obama

Flavius — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 23:39:15 +0000

In reply to Flavius, white team, 3

In the 2008 campaign Obama was handed a basketball by a court.I think it might have been on a visit to the troops during primaries. I was brought up on hockey ,later skiing. But as he watched the screen my heart was in my mouth.

In the net!

And we were lucky as a nation. There was no reason in Dec 2008 that by the date he left office unemployment was lower than on inaugeration day ( his not old yellow ).

I completely the (understandable) frustration that he should spent more energy on punishing bankers. If that was a Misses and children depression. Maybe,But 2008 was a barn burner.

White Men maybe can't jump,

PeraclesPlease — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 23:33:22 +0000

In reply to Flavius, white team, 3

White Men maybe can't jump, but they know Twister. Approach with caution.

Flavius, white team, 3

NCD — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 22:32:39 +0000

In reply to In basketball as long as you

Flavius, white team, 3 pointer ok, IF his teammate prepares to control a rebound.

In basketball as long as you

PeraclesPlease — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 21:30:37 +0000

In reply to Bad people do bad things. We

In basketball as long as you control the ball, the other team's not scoring, and unless you're Mr 3-pointer Steven wassisname, setting up a closer shot greatly improves your percentage. Tossing up air balls seldom helped anyone.

Bad people do bad things. We

Flavius — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 19:08:08 +0000

In reply to Flavius, thanks for the

Bad people do bad things. We know that. We can't stop them from wanting to.

So do good ones. Can we stop them?

Maybe I could have influenced Eric but I was too shocked to consider that. But we do have to consider that. How do we influence not Trump,he's too far gone, but the barber who agrees with him.

I keep coming back to the hope, that we can lead some of the people- my relatives for example -who voted for the loud mouth -to believe that among those 4000 foot sore people in a caravan south of Mexico City there's some number north of 3000 who would pick them up if they stumbled crossing 42nd Street. Or whose highest hope is that this 2 year old she 's shielding could just eat a meal every day. And learn to read.

My office had a poster of a basket ball net and a slogan saying "you miss every shot you don't try". Seems right to me.

Flavius, thanks for the

NCD — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 16:02:26 +0000

In reply to Two comments , one historical

Flavius, thanks for the interesting personal history.

With a racist demagogue in the White House, an increase in hate crimes, with white racists marching in the streets, and Wisconsin high schoolers posing for Nazi salute photos, it is important to "never forget' the depths or degradation of not only national, but human, values to which a nation can sink.

As President Macron just noted this week, history shows a government should never forsake the principles upon which the nation was founded, in the guise of "nationalism".

On "denial". Eisenhower, April 15, 1945, original document (at Eisenhower Presidential Library):

SECRET

DDE/nmr

15 April 1945

Dear General:

....On a recent tour of the forward areas in First and Third Armies, I stopped momentarily at the salt mines to take a look at the German treasure. There is a lot of it. But the most interesting - although horrible - sight that I encountered during the trip was a visit to a German internment camp near Gotha. The things I saw beggar description. While I was touring the camp I encountered three men who had been inmates and by one ruse or another had made their escape. I interviewed them through an interpreter. The visual evidence and the verbal testimony of starvation, cruelty and bestiality were so overpowering as to leave me a bit sick. In one room, where they were piled up twenty or thirty naked men, killed by starvation, George Patton would not even enter. He said he would get sick if he did so. I made the visit deliberately, in order to be in position to give first-hand evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to "propaganda." .....