Lee
------------------------------
Date: 7/31/97 4:23 PM
To: Phillips, Lee
From: Geoff Winnington-Ball -WHISKEY
Andreas,
While I rather suspect that most Nazi paraphenalia captured during the
latter stages of the war was carefully tucked away as souvenirs, surely
you can understand the disdain of the average foot soldier for these
symbols, especially after the incredibly costly combats of Normandy, the
Ardennes and the Rhine.
Let's put this into perspective, and recognize that we're not dealing
here with a question of victor or vanquished; in light of information
gathered since the war (much of it from Nazi sources), all of us have
learned that Nazi period was as much a scourge on Germany as it was on
the rest of the world. We're not talking about a people - we're talking
about an abhorent political aberation which was wiped from the face of
the earth at an enormous cost in blood.
This flag represents that system, now defunct but remembered still by
those who suffered under its wrath. It does NOT represent the German
people. We all know that. It CERTAINLY does not represent the pride and
honour of the average German soldier, then or hence. I don't believe
there is any suggestion to that end. Just look at the current level of
enthusiasm throughout the English-speaking world for the restoration and
display of German tools of war...not as symbols of Nazisim as was the
Swastika, but as artifacts representative of a time thankfully past.
Lastly, may I remind you that many of OUR fathers spent anywhere from
one to five years in German POW camps, too, under extremely adverse
mental, emotional and physical constraints. At least they all survived,
yours and ours, to build a better world than that which came before. The
many who DIDN'T make it home, on both sides, represent this legacy and
the hopes that we will never again have to endure, or see our sons
endure, that degree of human insanity.
The swastika was laid to rest, Andreas, in May 1945. Let us remember it
only in the context in which it existed. And please, let's not let this
discussion get out of hand.
Regards,
Geoff Winnington-Ball
A. Mehlhorn wrote:
> Seems to be big fun for US-boys to use Axis flags as grease rag.
> Ok, you are the victors.
> My father is a WW2 veteran and was POW in an US camp in Germany.
> He never told me that the US soldiers used German flags as grease
> rags.
>
> What do you think about using the stars and stripes flag as a grease
> rag to wipe the dipstick of my Kettenkrad?
>
> Regards from Germany
> Andreas
>
> 1942 NSU Kettenkrad (under construction)
> 1954 NSU FOX (runs like hell)
> 1975 NSU Ro 80 (Sold)
> 1989 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF (I like my GOLF)
>
> =3D=3D=3D
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Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 18:23:09 -0400
From: Geoff Winnington-Ball -WHISKEY- <gwb@interlog.com>
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