Fury as AfD politician urges Germany to 'stop remembering Nazi crimes'

[Independent voter]

I don't know a lot about Germany except for what little I get from US media. But this guy might have a point, don't dwell a 100% on all your countries wrong doings since 1800, maybe focus 10-20% on the wrong doings and 90-100% on the great things you've accomplished since then?







https://www.thelocal.de/20170118/far...ng-nazi-crimes

Björn Höcke of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) was giving a speech to the group “Young Alternative Dresden” on Tuesday when he began discussing how Germany remembers its history.

He urged the country to end its 'culture of remembering Nazi crimes', adding that Germany must make a 180-degree change in how it reflects on the past, describing it as a "stupid coping policy", according to broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.

“We Germans, our people, are the only people in the world who planted a memorial of shame in the heart of the capital city,” he said, referring to Berlin’s Holocaust memorial.

He also compared Chancellor Angela Merkel to Erich Honecker - the former socialist leader of East Germany who was put on trial for human rights abuses during the Cold War, including for the killing of people who attempted to flee the country.

When Höcke compared the Allied forces’ bombing of Dresden to the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he received a round of applause.

He further described Germany’s frame of mind as “a brutally beaten people”.

“Instead of bringing up the new generation with the great philanthropists, the world famous, groundbreaking philosophers, the musicians, the ingenious explorers and inventors, of which we have many… maybe more than any other people in the world… and instead of exposing our students in schools to this history, the history - German history - is made into something rotten and ridiculous.”

The politician further said that both de-Nazification and the bombing of German cities had “cleared out our roots”.

Höcke also bashed the famous speech in 1985 by then President Richard von Weizsäcker, in which he called for Germany and all Germans to remember their historic responsibility in the crimes of the Nazis, marking 40 years after the end of the Second World War.

The AfD politician said Weizsäcker had made a “speech against his own people”.

The chair of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, said he was shocked by the comments.

"The AfD have shown their true face with these anti-Semitic and extremely inhumane words," Schuster said.

"I would have never believed that it would be possible for a politician in Germany to make such statements 70 years after the Holocaust."

Höcke responded on Facebook on Wednesday, saying he was astonished by the media coverage of his speech. He defended his calling the Holocaust memorial a "memorial of shame," saying he was also acknowledging Germans' shame over the genocide.

"In my speech in Dresden, I was concerned with the question of how we Germans look back on our history and how this can can help us establish our identity in the 21st century. Undoubtedly, we must be aware in our self-assurance of our immense guilt. It is part of our history. But it is only part of our history," he wrote.

"Guilt consciousness alone cannot create a healthy identity, but only a broken one. And it must also be clear to us that the integration problems that are all visible to us in this country also result from our broken identity."

But Höcke did not comment on his other statements about city bombings, Weizsäcker, or "doing a 180" on remembering the Nazis' crimes.

Opposing politicians have also condemned Höcke’s comments.

“Höcke held a rabble-rousing speech in Dresden, he wants to rewrite history,” wrote Social Democrat Ralf Stegner on Twitter.

“No influence for the neo-Nazi pack!”

[Wells]

Yeah I bet its a "stupid coping policy" when you're a nazi fuck.

[Independent voter]

Yeah I bet its a "stupid coping policy" when you're a nazi fuck.

"nazi fuck" isn't helpful. How is that helpful?

[Wells]

"nazi fuck" isn't helpful. How is that helpful?

I suppose we could make more efforts to my sympathetic to these people or so........nope couldn't do it.

You don't dwell on things like the Holocaust because you're supposed to feel guilty, you're supposed to dwell on them because there is no difference between humanity today and humanity then. The only thing that protects us from repeating these horrors is knowing them intimately.

[derpkitteh]

eh, it would be fine for germans to get over it.

the past is the past, playing to guilt over it is stupid.

hitler was just one of the most recent people like that. all of human history's filled with guys just like him and we don't really get bent out of shape over them.

[Deleted]

That guy is done, hopefully. He can join the recently shamed NPD which is basically illegal, because they have nazi agenda but are just to incompetent to do anything (said the Bundesverfassungs-head-judge when he announced the verdict to not ban them).

[Independent voter]

Japanese are 100% the opposite, they don't cop to nothing, they even leave the stuff they did in WWII out of the history books in schools. Maybe there could be more of a balance.

[Wells]

Japanese are 100% the opposite, they don't cop to nothing, they even leave it out of the history books in schools.

Yeah, makes it hard for them to engage in diplomacy in the region.

[Liftbrul]

It's pathetic how Germans chain themselves to the past. Accept what you've done, make amends and move on. You can't spend your life living in the shadow of what your ancestors did, cowering and apologizing every inch of the way.

[Strangebrew]

Yeah well modern day lefties loves to use the sins of your father bullshit so good luck with that.

[Wells]

It's pathetic how Germans chain themselves to the past. Accept what you've done, make amends and move on. You can't spend your life living in the shadow of what your ancestors did, cowering and apologizing every inch of the way.

This is a rather ridiculous summation of what Germany is like.

[Deleted]

Its important to remember who Bjorn Hocke is and who the AfD are before commenting.

[Deleted]

The "AFD" is a right wing Party with partially pretty extreme intentions. They're pretty much seen as nazis (by non-AFD voters) in Germany although they tell everyone they're not.
Funny thing is that the first AFD leader made some pictures with a hitler beard which went viral.

Most Germans still live with the "Erbschuld" of us being nazis at that specific time which means we still feel guilty for what has happened ( won't be easier since we're still seen as the bad guys sometimes if anything comes up), which prevents most people from having pride in their country.
The AFD tries to "make Germany great again", but in the wrong way. They're way too nationalistic like in this case.

Forgetting the Nazi Crimes is a bad thing to do since we face dire times with many people hating refugees for various reasons which is why is say it is more important than ever to remember those crimes.

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

[Deleted]

Yeah well modern day lefties loves to use the sins of your father bullshit so good luck with that.

Bjorn is a neo nazi, so why dont you fuck off and join him.

[derpkitteh]

Japanese are 100% the opposite, they don't cop to nothing, they even leave the stuff they did in WWII out of the history books in schools. Maybe there could be more of a balance.

i would never want history hidden or forgotten. that's a terrible crime, imo. history should always be recorded and taught. but i don't think the germans should feel guilt over it. i don't feel guilt over the treatment of the natives or slavery. i don't think we should ever behave that way again, but i don't feel guilt over it. i feel bad for the lives lost to it, but that's it.

It's not like ancient history when there are still people alive now who lived during those times.

We don't get bent out of shape over them because many of their impacts have had a chance to settle, all that exists of them are recorded history, everyone involved died long ago.

it's not ancient history that slavery and the genocide against the native americans happened either, though it's bordering on it by now. what i said above is what i feel over it.

you can feel bad about something that happened, without being a whipped dog over it.

[Strangebrew]

Bjorn is a neo nazi, so why dont you fuck off and join him.

Why would i? I'm not a neo-nazi, nor do i accuse people who had nothing to do with WW2.

I know you people love to claim everyone is a neo-nazi when you get called out on your bullshit, but get over yourself.

[Wells]

being a whipped dog over it.

Its weird how people keep acting like this is a thing.

[Deleted]

Bjorn is a neo nazi, so why dont you fuck off and join him.

With people who act like you, I wouldn't wonder why more and more Germans are starting to go towards the AfD.

On topic, I don't really know much about the guy but from my dealings with Germans when discussing their past, some of his argument does ring true. It just feels like modern day Germans are flagellating themselves very hard for something that the great majority of them had nothing to do with. It's sad and pathetic.

Granted the way he expressed himself does lead me to doubt his entire intentions, Holocaust deniers are just as brainwashed as the shaming-culture creators on the left. But the part about Germans needing to stop beating themselves up and get a firmer grip on reality is in my mind quite true.

Should they act like the Japanese and Turks and cover their shameful historic acts and pretend like they didn't happen? Of course not. There needs to be a balance. History needs to be taught exactly like it happened so that it doesn't repeat itself, humanity as a whole has a very shitty "institutional memory" otherwise. But not to this extent. Not being brow-beat by left-wingers constantly, not being blind to what's happening to them now, but not turning to hate as well.

It truly is illogical.

[Maduk]

Oh jeah, the new-age Hitler is speaking.
Lets forget all the crimes we did in the past to we can move forward and commit them again.
Brilliant idea!

With people who act like you, I wouldn't wonder why more and more Germans are starting to go towards the AfD.

On topic, I don't really know much about the guy but [....]

Jeah, so don't comment on it. Because he is a right-wing extremist.

[derpkitteh]

Its weird how people keep acting like this is a thing.

it's pretty true, honestly. you see it in how strictly germans treat their idea of freedom of speech(basically, no real freedom of speech).

all that said though, this guy's obviously some form of neo-nazi, so i don't specifically agree with him. but he should definitely have a platform to speak from, as any free person should have, to speak whatever his beliefs are proudly and freely.