Those who cannot remember the past...
A terrifying survey conducted by the Freie Universität Berlin would seem to suggest that youthful Germans (15-17) are either woefully ignorant about the German 'Democratic' Republic or are having a terrible bout of amnesia. The article does not indicate the level of statistical rigour or otherwise of the survey (and I can't find the German original) but I will assume that it is kosher:
Was the DDR a dictatorship?
Ossis - No - half
Wessis - No - 1 in 3
Who built The Wall?
Ossis - the DDR - 1 in 3
What was the Stasi?
An ordinary intelligence agency - half (not differentiated by former BRD and DDR)
Who was Willy Brandt?
A leader of the DDR - a quarter
Mind you, I hate to think how little the youth of this country know about matters from 20 years ago.
Was the DDR a dictatorship?
Ossis - No - half
Wessis - No - 1 in 3
Who built The Wall?
Ossis - the DDR - 1 in 3
What was the Stasi?
An ordinary intelligence agency - half (not differentiated by former BRD and DDR)
Who was Willy Brandt?
A leader of the DDR - a quarter
Mind you, I hate to think how little the youth of this country know about matters from 20 years ago.
Labels: Extreme Left, Germany, the youth of today - complete lightweights?
This entry was posted
on Thursday, November 06, 2008 at 10:44 am.
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The Germans have an unusual cultural habit of "forgetting" their history. They simply don't talk about it in public or private.
This focuses on the issue of the shelf life of active memory history. Sooner or later, one's misdeeds die away.
I think there is a difference between "feeling guilty" about one's past and openly discussing the issues so that they can be learned from.
I don't take any responsibility for the British encouragement of the triangular trade or colonisation because I wasn't around at the time, but I do think we should learn from those things.
I'd go along with that in toto, BE.
Way back lost in the mists of time when I was at law school, I encountered the garnishee order, which basically switches a debt owed to you to a debt owed to another, so if some organisation attempts a shakedown on the UK, my response would be, 'the Romans will pay'.
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