I kind of had a "duh" moment when reading through some threads by Skepticos here. I've known a number of Germans. They as a whole came off as very remorseful for WWII the holocaust and all that and seemed totally reformed. I figured they were the reason Western Germany had managed to dust itself off so well and reintigrate with the western world after WWII.
However the idea that you could have a nation that was that anti semetic and ruthless and after losing a war they suddenly transform into the people I knew is silly. Of course the old sentiments would run deep.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by wiki
* A majority in the years 1945-49 believed National Socialism to have been a good idea, badly applied.
* In 1946 60% of Germans said the Nuremberg trials had been unfair.
* In 1946 37% in the U.S. occupation zone said about the Holocaust that "the extermination of the Jews and Poles and other non-Aryans was necessary for the security of Germans".
* In 1946 1 in 3 in the U.S. occupation zone said that Jews should not have the same rights as those belonging to the Aryan race
* In 1950 1 in 3 said the Nuremberg trials had been unfair.
* In 1952 37% said Germany was better off without the Jews.
* In 1952 25% had a good opinion of Hitler.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denazification
The change we see in the Germans in international academia at least seems to be a large part of the denazification laws that were put into place after the war. And actually taking people to the concentration camps and the like.
However again it was naive of me to thing that even mounds of crushing evidence would suffice for everyone in the country. Especially since not even enough time has passed for all of the origional Nazis to have died.
No there are apperantely more than an handful who totally deny the holocaust. It also seems this is very common following a genocide.
Quote:
Gregory H. Stanton, formerly of the US State Department and the founder of Genocide Watch, lists denial as the final stage of genocide development:
“ Denial is the eighth stage that always follows a genocide. It is among the surest indicators of further genocidal massacres. The perpetrators of genocide dig up the mass graves, burn the bodies, try to cover up the evidence and intimidate the witnesses. They deny that they committed any crimes, and often blame what happened on the victims."
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide_denial
But more worrysome is that it would seem that Nazism is on the rise again. And it sounds like maybe the laws surrounding denazification have weakened over time.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1301347.stm
Quote:
There is increasing concern in Germany at the rise of support for extreme right-wing groups, especially among east German youth.
Figures just published show that racist crimes, including attacks on foreigners, have increased by more than 50% from 10,000 in 1999 to 16,000 last year.
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However it isn't too easy to get a feeling for the magnitude of Nazism/Neo-Naizsm from bumping around on the net. And I'm no expert. Though it would seem that the annonimity of the net would allow for easier spreading of Nazism especially in countries where it is illegal.
Anybody know the current status of Nazism in the world today and whether it's just a fringe thing by a handful of psychotics or a growing sizable movement? Something in between?