German Identity

[Sarmatian]

Indeed. But are not the poets too often simply thrown aside for a look into the darkest times of our history? When we think of the British, we think of Wordsworth, Tennyson, Queen Victoria, black pudding, and Aston Martin. Do most people really think of the same things in German history?

I believe they do. At least I do. Goethe, Humboldt, Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Schiller, Bismarck, Frederick the Great, Beethoven, Wagner, Mercedes, BMW etc...

Even Stalin said: "Hitlers come and go, Germany and German people remain". Compared to all this, Hitler barely deserves a footnote. If I were German, I wouldn't see anything to be ashamed of. Of course, this doesn't mean that we should forget about Nazi Germany crimes in WW2. In my opinion, the way Germany was able to let go of the Nazi past just added to its "greatness". That's why I'm rather surprised when I see German feeling the need to defend it, or trying to put it "in perspective"...