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The awesome (and chilling) genius of the Germans: From soccer to supermarkets,
UK Daily Mail ^ | July 10, 2014 | Max Hastings

Posted on 07/10/2014 6:51:05 AM PDT by C19fan

Our forefathers knew the feeling. One minute there you are, like Brazil’s football team on Tuesday, settling down to start a long campaign. The next minute, bewilderingly, it is all over: Germany is master of the field, counting prisoners or — in this case — an unprecedented 7-1 triumph in the World Cup semi-final, executed with chilling discipline and precision. What is it about the Germans? Yes, yes, I know we are not meant to mention the war, or rather wars. But how can we not do so, when for centuries the world paid tribute to Germany’s prowess on the battlefield? The Roman writer Tacitus and the French revolutionary Mirabeau alike marvelled at the Germans as a society of supremely disciplined warriors.

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: History; Society
KEYWORDS: britain; german; germany
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You have to marvel at Angela Merkel achieving by Euros what Kaiser Willie and Hitler failed to do with guns; supremacy on the Continent. Unfortunately since it appears the UK is stuck in the EU they are going to be eventually dominated to.
1 posted on 07/10/2014 6:51:05 AM PDT by C19fan
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To: C19fan
Still having fun posting this:


2 posted on 07/10/2014 6:52:43 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: 1rudeboy

Has someone done a super slo mo analysis to see if martini type glass was actually shattered? :)


3 posted on 07/10/2014 6:55:48 AM PDT by C19fan
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To: C19fan

You’ve posted exactly what I thought was going to happen the minute the Wall came down.

At your throat or at your feet.

And by the way, I am very much a Germanophile, at least conversant but not quite fluent in German.


4 posted on 07/10/2014 6:57:08 AM PDT by henkster (Do I really need a sarc tag?)
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To: C19fan

5 posted on 07/10/2014 7:01:20 AM PDT by Dallas59
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To: C19fan

The Germans have always had the drive, discipline, and smarts to be the best. I can only think of the U.S. as the only other nation that matches (or used to) their national attitude. Many of our best businessmen in the late 19th century were German immigrants (legal).

If they just didn’t blow it on stupid militarism over the past 100 years, you might have seen a German on the moon in 1959.

This explains a bit of it:

BBC Make Me a German
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bTKSin4JN4


6 posted on 07/10/2014 7:01:34 AM PDT by VanDeKoik
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To: C19fan

Germans work hard, they insist on excellence and they bring passion to everything they do.

In technology, science and culture, they are the leading nation in Europe and the world and since the 19th Century, Germany has been the economic powerhouse of Europe. Outside of Russia, its the most populous country in Europe.

I’m rooting for them Sunday. They’ll earn it, the old-fashioned way.


7 posted on 07/10/2014 7:03:07 AM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
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To: VanDeKoik

You might want to add Japan to that list.


8 posted on 07/10/2014 7:03:58 AM PDT by C19fan
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To: C19fan

Not to worry, Islam will ruin them as it has all nations which have suffered from its infection.


9 posted on 07/10/2014 7:04:40 AM PDT by Da Coyote
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To: VanDeKoik

As a consolidation prize it was a German who got the Yanks on the moon. :)


10 posted on 07/10/2014 7:04:43 AM PDT by C19fan
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To: C19fan

They won a soccer game. Wow. Let’s steal their successful ideas.


11 posted on 07/10/2014 7:10:29 AM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: C19fan

Technophilia can only get you so far. At least in soccer, Germany’s technocratic style has always put them at the top, but rarely over the top.

I find it interesting that Brazil’s discursive style, with its sudden bursts of inspiration and intuition, ultimately prevails.

I think it is this way in comparing (traditional) American business v. German, Japanese and Chinese business.


12 posted on 07/10/2014 7:14:48 AM PDT by St_Thomas_Aquinas ( Isaiah 22:22, Matthew 16:19, Revelation 3:7)
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To: C19fan

When I walk through Aldi I do have to marvel at it’s highly efficient German organization.


13 posted on 07/10/2014 7:14:50 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: henkster

I too admire the Germans, and worked for various German companies for 27 years. I did finally get to be fluent in German..or so my friends told me.

Like many nationalities there are good at some things but not in others. Flexabilty is not a strong point, but systematic rigor is. I attribute this to their language, which is complicated but has few exceptions. They think this way from infancy.

So they excel at road building and engineering. They love quality above quantity.

In WWII the Tiger tank was much better that the Sherman but we built dozens more per Tiger. In wars quantity is better.

In terms of business though you’ll find few German companies expanding in the Fatherland. They go to other parts of the world if they can. BMW in South Carolina and Mercedes in Alabama are two examples. Maybe that’s economic imperialism of a kind, but we all benefit.

If we could just get them to come over and fix our lousy roads here in the northeast I would be happy.


14 posted on 07/10/2014 7:14:59 AM PDT by JeanLM (Obama proves melanin is just enough to win elections)
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To: C19fan

it is only a matter of time when Germany, which is already the dominate power in EU, turns it into the EG - the European states of Germany. They are brilliant in the steady turning of that massive mass of BS into what I believe is their goal. I have only received shrugged shoulders when I have said this for the past 10 years.


15 posted on 07/10/2014 7:17:04 AM PDT by elpadre (AfganistaMr Obama said the goal was to "disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-hereQaeda" and its allies.)
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To: C19fan
Ah yes, Germany and Japan, pound for pound and ounce for ounce two of the most efficient and competitive societies on earth. What is the secret of their success, you ask?

Why diversity is their strength, of course.


16 posted on 07/10/2014 7:25:34 AM PDT by nathanbedford ("Attack, repeat, attack!" Bull Halsey)
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To: 1rudeboy

I have a few of those liter beer mugs I got from Oktoberfest in Germany. They are as thick and hardy as this gif illustrates.


17 posted on 07/10/2014 7:29:28 AM PDT by lormand (Inside every liberal is a dung slinging monkey)
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To: VanDeKoik
Central Texas BBQ is no doubt, the best BBQ in the World...all thanks to German immigrants.
18 posted on 07/10/2014 7:56:11 AM PDT by lormand (Inside every liberal is a dung slinging monkey)
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To: JeanLM
In WWII the Tiger tank was much better that the Sherman but we built dozens more per Tiger. In wars quantity is better.

I think it was Stalin who said "Quantity has a quality all its own."

Reading one of Stephen Ambrose's books on WWII, when veterans were asked which Europeans they admired the most, he was surprised that most of them said the Germans.

One veteran said that they would fight their way through a town and by time they reached the other side, the Germans were out in the street cleaning up, while in other countries the people were either complaining about the damage or were stealing anything they could from the Americans.

19 posted on 07/10/2014 7:57:13 AM PDT by Oatka (This is America. Assimilate or evaporate.)
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To: C19fan

Yes, having lived there a very large portion of my life, I was amazed at their genius for taking other countries’ inventions and turning them into A+ products. They are still an industrialized nation and take a lot of pride in the products they turn out. You can buy cheap products from other countries there, but if you want quality, you buy German.

We purchased a 2 year old BMW which was still under warranty for 3 more ears. We kept it dealer-maintained because of the service we received. It was always done right the first time. When we got the car back from whatever...even an oil change, it was detailed fully! What a deal! We felt like they treated us like friends when we came in. The customer service people were very professional. I miss that. I really do!


20 posted on 07/10/2014 8:00:10 AM PDT by Shery (in APO Land)
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