"Your wonderful capacity to endlös conflicts"

Der Spiegel ^ | 29 October 2002 | Henryk M. Broder

[tictoc]

"Your wonderful capacity to endlös conflicts"

By Henryk M. Broder

Americans exterminated the Indians. They bombed Dresden. They burnt Hiroshima to the ground and refused to sign the Kyoto accords – in short, plenty of reasons to hold them in contempt. An essay on the upsurge in anti-Americanism and moral arrogance in Germany.

	DPA
	Frankfurt am Main: Anti-American Demonstration

Anti-Americanism: The very word is a sham. It suggests anything you care to imagine, from protest to response all the way to self-defense, and it establishes cause and effect: Anti-Americanism necessarily results from the U.S. striving to rule the world, just as anti-fascism was the inevitable answer to fascism, just as antibiotics are prescribed against inflammation, and antidepressants against a bad mood. Cause and effect, what could be clearer? The pathological symptom comes first, and then medical doctors are called in to decide how to approach the condition. The patient, of course, is told not to resist treatment and assured that the staff has only his welfare in mind. It pays to be skeptical, however. Anti-Americanism is not a conditional reflex in response to U.S. policies; rather, it is an autonomous feeling of resentment that looks around for justification. You might say that the effect will happily accept any cause, provided that the cause enables it to boast of its morally superior position.

No way can these cowboys be superior!

The Nazis' anti-Americanism attacked the Americans for their dance around the golden calf, for turning women into men and men into women. No sooner had the war ended and the last CARE package been consumed than diatribes started against "negro music" and "degenerate" artists like Elvis Presley, who undermined German youth with their crooning and swooning. It wasn't called "anti-Americanism" then, however: this particular resentment had to put into cold storage so soon after liberation. How times have changed since then! Inhibitions imposed by history have fallen by the wayside and been replaced by a footloose feeling that revels in its own recklessness.

Anti-Americanism is a collective primal scream emanating from wounded souls: it is the attempt to overcome the feeling of one's own inferiority. No way - no way! - can these primitive Americans, these cowboys and Bush warriors be superior to us in almost every respect. After all, we invented culture and the collapsible sandwich, and we keep heavily subsidized opera houses even in places like Augsburg, Mainz and Oldenburg. Further aggravation comes from the fact that "the Amis" handed us two defeats in the past century and saved us from ourselves. No other society, wrote Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht, a German professor of comparative literature with U.S. citizenship, in an op-ed for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, comes close to "so proudly and consistently misapprehending its own anti-Americanism as an expression of national sovereignty". Gumbrecht cited examples, including an "artist of nationwide standing" who opined in a TV talkshow that the invention of chewing gum had been "America's sole contribution to world culture". - Let's take this mixture of spite and ignorance - automatically considered proof, in Germany, of healthy self-confidence - and turn it around. Then Germany's one and only lasting contribution to world culture is a sliced bratwurst smothered in curry sauce.

"As a German, it is my solemn obligation..."

Whence the feeling of moral superiority cropping up everywhere in the media, both in straightlaced editorials and in naive letters to the editor? What provides the foundation for a grand coalition of clear conscience, whose members hasten to assure one another that they possess ultimate clearance to intervene? "Must I not call murder by its name because many of our ancestors were murderers? Am I not duty bound, precisely because of this history and for the sake of our children, to name murder for what it is, and murderers, for what they are? Silence these days is complicity"- writes a SPIEGEL reader to the editor. What he means is, he has a duty to take a stance in the Middle East conflict, a stance for peace and on behalf of the Palestinians. His logic is striking in its simplicity: The heavier one's own historical burden, the greater one's authority to preach morals to others. The baggage of the holocaust qualifies the Germans for this job like no other nation.

In days past, we used to say, "Young whores, old nuns," but today we say, "As a German, it is my solemn obligation...". This principle applies everywhere, but especially with regards to Americans. They are the ones who exterminated the Indians, bombed Dresden, burned Hiroshima to the ground, and refused to sign the Kyoto accords. The list of their sins is long, and they are urgently in need of correction.

"NO to war in Iraq. Because war does not lead to peace." It is bizarre that we were treated to this pearl of wisdom in full-page ads taken out on September 1st by the Party of Democratic Socialism, the afterbirth of the SED, which used to celebrate the victory of the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic War as if their own Central Committee and the Politburo in Pankow had personally conducted the military offensive. And suddenly, as if by special courier to the critics of chewing gum, the same language turned up everywhere. "We need to point out the danger of going down the wrong path," said a reader in Neues Deutschland, and: "Who, if not Germany, should do so - given the background of our painful historical experience?" Needless to say, it was a purely rhetorical question.

We'll keep American tourists from using the rest room at train stations - that'll teach 'em!

Writing to the editor of Die Welt, a reader confessed that "in my opinion, the German people are more predestined that any other in the world to warn of the staggering danger of war". A clone of his chimed in with a letter to Berliner Zeitung: "Germans have learned their lesson. You should not be cross with them when they are sensitive to a new offensive war being prepared somewhere in the world."

Such a moral advantage must be used wisely. "Perhaps we in western Europe can teach Americans a lesson in democracy and humanitarian compassion," mused a taz reader, whose subscription had magically transformed him from a German to a western European. He conveniently forgot to mention the heroic resistance by western Europeans against the Nazis (before capitulating under their own steam), nor did he mention the exemplary manner in which they had gone on to solve all European conflicts, from Northern Ireland to the Basque country, from Cyprus to Kosovo, all the while preserving and upholding the principle of humanitarian compassion.

Another taz reader wrote a letter to George W. Bush, in which he managed to combine humanitarian compassion with leet humor: "When you was gorvenor of Texas for example, all the world could see your wonderful capacity to endlös homemade conflicts." [The German noun "Endlösung" is the "final solution of the Jewish question" promised, and delivered, by the Nazis]. Another reader submitted his proposal as to how the next final solution might be prevented: "The USA and the UK must be strictly prohibited from using their military bases and command centers inside Germany for waging war against Iraq!" That'll teach 'em! And if that doesn't help, then no more keys to the rest room for American and British tourists at German train stations!

[tictoc]

(c) Translation part 1: tictoc

[Cyber Liberty]

"Americans exterminated the Indians."

One sentence in, and the author is FOS. Sure seems to be an awful lot of American Indians running around after having been "exterminated".

[tictoc]

Over to the two of you, wideawake and unprintable.

[tictoc]

Der PING !

[dfwgator]

Don't mention the war.

[Warren]

BUT, the Americans didn't start two world wars.
Germany has a way to go before they can start throwing stones.

[Bahbah]

Keep on reading. It is an excellent article.

[SunStar]

"Americans exterminated the Indians."

Hmm... Let's see:

1.) Germans exterminated the Jews.
2.) Germans invaded its neighbors.
3.) Germany caused both World Wars.
4.) Germany killed hundreds of thousands of Russians
5.) East Germany enslaved its citizens for forty years.
6.) Germany currently imprisons its citizens for thought crimes.

Anyone care to add to the list?

[Warren]

AND, are they really going to criticize us for 'exterminating' people.
Geeezz, what a short memory.

[tictoc]

Der PING !

[harpseal]

One sentence in, and the author is FOS. Sure seems to be an awful lot of American Indians running around after having been "exterminated".

There certainly are a number of Native Americans, Indians. And you can bet on that.:^)

Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

[Warren]

Apparently that stuff has been 'exterminated' from school (and other) textbooks, newspapers, etc.

[G.Mason]

It would seem there is but one solution to end this misery.

Bomb them again until they surrender, again!

[dfwgator]

Words to the East German anthem:

Hail, hail East Germany
Land of vine and grape.
Land where you'll regret
Any try to escape
No matter if you tunnel under
Or take a running jump at the wall,
Forget it, the guards will kill you
If the electric fence doesn't first.

(Top Secret is one of the funniest movies ever)

[timpad]

I mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it...

[Weimdog]

"Der PING!"

Dat is unt friggin' funny!

[Goetz_von_Berlichingen]

"3.) Germany caused both World Wars."

You are evidently in possession of documents that prove Gavrilo Prinzip was a German.

[Pahuanui]

3.) Germany caused both World Wars.

Actually, I'm going to detract from the list. The above statement is flat out wrong, but I understand the sentiment behind it.

[kaylar]

Thank you for this great article. I assure that I (and bahbah) actually read the article, rather than jumping to a knee-jerk conclusion about its merits based on a cursory skimming of the first bolded paragraph. For those who did not, here's some highlights:

Anti-Americanism is a collective primal scream emanating from wounded souls: it is the attempt to overcome the feeling of one's own inferiority. No way - no way! - can these primitive Americans, these cowboys and Bush warriors be superior to us in almost every respect.

Gumbrecht cited examples, including an "artist of nationwide standing" who opined in a TV talkshow that the invention of chewing gum had been "America's sole contribution to world culture". - Let's take this mixture of spite and ignorance - automatically considered proof, in Germany, of healthy self-confidence - and turn it around. Then Germany's one and only lasting contribution to world culture is a sliced bratwurst smothered in curry sauce.

Another taz reader wrote a letter to George W. Bush, in which he managed to combine humanitarian compassion with leet humor: "When you was gorvenor of Texas for example, all the world could see your wonderful capacity to endlös homemade conflicts." [The German noun "Endlösung" is the "final solution of the Jewish question" promised, and delivered, by the Nazis]. Another reader submitted his proposal as to how the next final solution might be prevented: "The USA and the UK must be strictly prohibited from using their military bases and command centers inside Germany for waging war against Iraq!" That'll teach 'em! And if that doesn't help, then no more keys to the rest room for American and British tourists at German train stations!

Thank you again.

[dfwgator]

I always thought Austria was primarily responsible for starting WWI. And Hitler was an Austrian too. So I blame the Austrians for starting both World Wars.

[dfwgator]

Yeah, but we gave them David Hasselhof.

[dirtboy]

You are evidently in possession of documents that prove Gavrilo Prinzip was a German.

Technicality. Germany WANTED to go to war with France, and siezed on the Archduke's assasination as justification. Or does the Schliffen Plan not ring a bell?

[ohioman]

IT is a bullshit article if I ever saw one. Whosoever agrees with this pap should get their ass kicked by a good 'ole American Cowboy. The Germans are beggin for another can of whoopass.

[Goetz_von_Berlichingen]

There are causes and there are causes.

Austria-Hungary may have started the shooting war, but Germany was punished for it. This leads suspicious persons to conclude that the real fault for expanding and prolonging the conflict lies on a different side of la Manche than has been taught in Anglophone history books.

[timpad]

FOLKS! Read the article, it's mostly satire!

tictoc, any further translation anywhere? I don't read enough German to get the gist of the rest of the piece.

[tictoc]

Thank you, I'm glad you liked the article.

Apparently some readers are lost without </sarcasm> tags.

I hope you also liked my translation. Some people think a translator is a handheld device that Kirk and McCoy use when paying a visit to six-legged aliens on Planet X.

However, there's still a few of us flesh-and-blood ones left!

[Goetz_von_Berlichingen]

That's odd, because even the "standard" history books claim that it was the French who wanted to go to war with the Germans, in order to conquer Alsatia and Lothringia and "avenge their honour."

[demosthenes the elder]

well, it is nice to see that at least one german has a brain larger than a pea and a memory longer than a few months. thanks, tictoc, for the translation Part One. please do continue, and then translate the "Fairness for Saddam" article.

[GOP_1900AD]

And Germany's moral high ground to comment on other nations' propensities (or lack thereof) toward war is?....

[dirtboy]

That's odd, because even the "standard" history books claim that it was the French who wanted to go to war with the Germans, in order to conquer Alsatia and Lothringia and "avenge their honour."

I would say that both were itching for a fight - but the Germans are the ones who initiated the conflict in Western Europe by crossing into Belgium.

[tictoc]

tictoc, any further translation anywhere?

Nope, I'm done.

However, wideawake and R**sen Schw*nz have promised to pick up the torch.

[riri]

Thanks for the ping.

I have tried to understand the place, it eludes me. I am still trying to make a connection to the place of wonder, beauty and brilliance I was told about. For the most part, I saw alot of hatred, backwardness and refusal to embrace any new ideas.

[demosthenes the elder]

whoever condemns an article without first READING it should get his ass kicked by a good old first grade english teacher. The author was very effectively and savagely slamming his false-pacifist countrymen, which would have been evident to you had you done more than glom the headline and leap to conclusions.

[dfwgator]

And Germany's moral high ground to comment on other nations' propensities (or lack thereof) toward war is?

That's exactly the author's point.

[GOP_1900AD]

BINGO!!!>>>>>"What he means is, he has a duty to take a stance in the Middle East conflict, a stance for peace and on behalf of the Palestinians. His logic is striking in its simplicity: The heavier one's own historical burden, the greater one's authority to preach morals to others. The baggage of the holocaust qualifies the Germans for this job like no other nation. "

Can we get this guy to come over here and have his hand with our own Leftist America haters? I love this direct approach.

[GOP_1900AD]

German "peace movement" ping...

>>>>>>>"NO to war in Iraq. Because war does not lead to peace." It is bizarre that we were treated to this pearl of wisdom in full-page ads taken out on September 1st by the Party of Democratic Socialism, the afterbirth of the SED, which used to celebrate the victory of the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic War as if their own Central Committee and the Politburo in Pankow had personally conducted the military offensive."

Hey Lavaroise, did you write this article? ;)

[GOP_1900AD]

These "pacifists" are more than false, they are morally bankrupt. A number of their leaders used to set bombs and fight against the police in the streets. They also played right along with the Soviets during the 1980s in creating huge street demonstrations on command from the Kremlin back when Reagan announced that we would field ground launched cruise missiles and speed up the Perhsing II deployment in response to the SS-20s in E. Europe. And now, it seems they are as a zombie; we thought they were passed away but they rise once again. I wonder what the Kremlin thinks of all this? Naw.... that's all in the past.... couldn't happen... or, could it? Got Golitsyn?

[GOP_1900AD]

Ping.

[Boot Hill]

Good grief, 38 replies and only a couple clearly get what the author was trying to say: Anti-Americanism is a stupid European sickness. I hope the rest of the posters aren't a true reflection of the intellectual prowess of FR.

Regards,

Boot Hill

[kaktuskid]

More "gas" from the birthplace of Zyklon-B

[valkyrieanne]

Guys - if the translation is accurate, it's *sarcasm.* The writer is mocking the anti-American Germans.

[rogerthedodger]

Something foreign haunts the Germany psyche these days. In the sixth and seventh centuries, the Great Migration brought Germanic tribes to Britain, and later on, their descendants to America. The 'Atlantic' branch of German-dom traditionally have celebrated freedom, were prosperous, and relatively temperate in foreign affairs. When Germans migrated to English-speaking countries in the past three centuries, they assimilated and became excellent citizens.

So what has its grip on Germany today?

[meenie]

It is sarcasm and with most sarcasm both sides were mocked. He didn't pass out any posies to the creators of both sides of his sarcasm.

[demosthenes the elder]

Good grief, 38 replies and only a couple clearly get what the author was trying to say... I hope the rest of the posters aren't a true reflection of the intellectual prowess of FR.

It is precisely this sort of display of intellectual indiscipline, coupled with the occasional lapse into medieval superstition and unsupportable overstatement, which makes it so very easy for the Left to mock and deride conservatism. That Leftists are guilty of far worse than this far more often does not obviate the sins of our own bretheren. Such displays as this do nothing but provide ammunition to the Left, and embarrass me deeply.

Thanks to tictoc, Boot Hill, and the handful of others who have done their level-headed best to steer the erring majority towards wisdom. To those others: For SHAME!

[ohioman]

I read all of the article that was available. When I went to "the rest of the article" the whole thing is in German. Maybe I should fight a Damn German teacher instead of an English teacher Fritz, because I didn't see anything "Pro-American in English.

[americanbychoice]

actually, the article written by one of the few "sane" Germans left is actually pointing out how silly the Kraut argument is.He tried to show the perceived moral superiority of the germans( and for that fact, of the western europeans).
I read that articele a couple of days ago in The Spiegel. By the way, excellent job on the translation.

Another couple of interesting articles appeared there that on the surface may not draw much attention, but to me it is an interesting view into the German mentality :

In a Survey the question was aked what was most important to the population.
The result: In 1998 Freedom lead with approximately 70%, second came Equality.
In 2002 Equality came first with 60% , Freedom came in second with 30%
Interesting, taking into consideration that the communist views of the former East Germans have made such an impact. In short, "No work for equal pay"?

The other one is that the justice minister who equated Bush with hitler was fired to appease the U.S. after their elections only to be rehired as Acricultural Minister. Go figure..................

[Boot Hill]

ohioman says:   "I didn't see anything 'Pro-American' in English."

Un-freaking-believable. The whole article reeks with the author's contempt for Europe's anti-Americanism and you say you didn't see anything. Amazing.

--Boot Hill

[SES1066]

I would say that both were itching for a fight ...

Something that is hard for us to comprehend is the real sense of joy and adventure that marked the start of the First World War in the combatant countries. We see best the end, the exhaustion, the losses and devestation of that war.

At the start it was like the start of our Civil War [/ War of Northern Aggression (Southern Partisan Nomenclature)]. It was a time of optimism, self-confidence and bombastic patriotism which made the end all the worse. A real matter of perspective!

[tictoc]

I didn't see anything "Pro-American in English

It's too bad you don't read German, Ohioman (and I intend no slur on you by saying this), because if you did, you could hop over to the discussion on Henry Broder's personal web page and read the comments there.

Most of the posters are slamming Broder for being so pro-American that he is licking GW's boots, only they're not saying it in those words, but using far, far worse language (unprintable on FreeRepublic).

[dirtboy]

Something that is hard for us to comprehend is the real sense of joy and adventure that marked the start of the First World War in the combatant countries.

Yep, I believe it was a German who said he would be home by the time the leaves had fallen. And then came the descent into absolute quagmire, into probably the greatest wartime insanity in human history, where hundreds of thousands of men would die to gain a few hundred yards. A hell I cannot even begin to imagine.